2009-10 Game Thirty-Nine: Wild 4, Kings 3

The way the first two periods were going, it certainly looked like the Wild were going to coast to their first victory over Los Angeles in six tries. Then the third period started, the entire game shifted, and it started to look like Minnesota was going to come down on the wrong side of a one-goal game.

It's amazing what twelve seconds can do.

That's how long it took the Wild to turn around from tying the game to taking back the lead, and, this time, not giving it up. The Wild have played more one-goal games than anyone else in the league, and they seem to keep finding ways to win them. Even when the game started slipping away, the Wild were able to keep enough composure to put the puck back into the net, and they head into the second half of the back-to-back tonight with an impressive victory.

Game pluses:
- Eric Belanger. Just a game ago, Belanger looked like nothing more than a face-off specialist. Against the Kings, Belanger lit the lamp twice, and assisted on Martin Havlat's opening goal. Belanger scored the game winner just seconds after being on the ice for the Kings tying goal.
- Martin Havlat. Taking a great poke check from Belanger, Havlat turned up the ice and fired a quick wrist shot that blew through to the Kings net. The opening goal put a little more jump into the Wild, and helped them carry the first two periods.
- Andrew Brunette. Just watching his pass on the power play goal is mesmerizing. Brunette is starting to find the open spots, and appears to be the third Wild player to get a really good grasp of the team's offensive system.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. Once again, the officiating fell short in the game. Not only did they count a goal that should have been wiped out because of goaltender interference, but they didn't keep control, which almost certainly created a much chippier atmosphere in the final period.
- Kim Johnsson. Yes, he scored a power play goal, giving himself a two-game goal streak. He also deflected a harmless shot past his own goaltender. Again, Johnsson showed a lack of awareness for spacing on the ice, and his own positioning again came into question.
- Antti Miettinen. Maybe the guy's just snakebit, but how can one player hit so many posts and not get a shot into the net? True, he's beating the opposing goalies, but he hasn't been able to do anything more than ring the iron. Looks like he needs to work some target shooting in practice.

Next up: If the Wild played in the East, they'd be firmly entrenched in the playoff positioning, as opposed to still trying to crack the top 8, in spite of their recent success. Tonight, they try to keep things moving in the right direction when they take on the Anaheim Ducks.