Game Fifty-Three: Wild 3, Avalanche 2

Hockey is generally a game of skill, where the team that skates better and makes smarter plays comes out on top. Sometimes, though, it all comes down to some luck and being in the right place at the right time. After spending most of the game trying to lose, the Minnesota Wild find a way to win with a little over a minute left on the clock, defeating the Colorado Avalanche in a big divisional game.

The Wild started the game relatively well, and a beautiful play set up by Owen Nolan gave the Wild a 1-0 lead. It didn't last through the period, though, as Ryan Smyth knocked home the puck after a weird bounce, tying the score at 1. After trading another couple of goals in the third period, the Wild had a goal waved off after Cal Clutterbuck obviously kicked the puck into the net, setting up the late game heroics by Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. The 37-year-old set up the Wild's first goal with a veteran play, and scored the team's second goal with a wicked deflection. Who says that the old guys can't play?
- Antti Miettinen. He was regularly in the right place, and had a few opportunities earlier in the game. By burying the puck late in the period, he only forced the Wild to defend it's own net for another 71 seconds to secure the win.
- Andrew Brunette. Maybe it's the result of playing against his former team. Brunette's strong play on the puck resulted in the late goal, and his feed to Miettinen was picture perfect.

Game minuses:
- Discipline. The Wild don't generally take a lot of penalties, but they gave up seven power play chances to Colorado. It was almost inevitable that the Avalanche would score on at least one of those.
- Protecting the crease. Once again, Niklas Backstrom spent the game with opposing players invading his crease, and not a lot of help came from the defense. Smyth's first goal, and Backstrom's high sticking penalty, were both results of this. Obviously Backstrom is getting frustrated about the lack of support, as the penalty showed.
- Derek Boogaard. Normally, Boogaard doesn't take bad penalties. Against the Avalanche, he took three penalties (two at the same time) that shouldn't have been taken. His hooking/cross-checking double minor in the third period set up Colorado's tying goal. Don't expect to see him on the ice against the Red Wings.

Next up: The Wild need to play a better game tonight than they did last night, as they face off against the 36-11-7 Detroit Red Wings.