The Minnesota Wild gave NHL fans a great first game back. They bested the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime, picking up a crucial two points.
Minnesota struggled in the first period, which was understandable due to a nearly two-week break. The scoreboard proved that fact, as the Red Wings ended the first period with a 1-0 lead. Alex DeBrincat scored his 25th goal of the season, beating Marc Andre Fleury. Although it didn’t show on the scoreboard, the Wild outshot the Red Wings 12-8 in the period.
The script was flipped almost one-to-one in the second period. The Red Wings outshot the Wild 15-7, yet both teams got on the scoresheet. The Red Wings struck first with 14:19 on the power play. This time it was Dylan Larkin who put the puck in the net. The Wild didn’t let a 2-0 deficit affect them, as two minutes later it would be Vinnie Hinostroza who pots his second goal of the season. Boldy assisted the powerplay goal. It was a mostly quiet second half of the period for both teams.
Minnesota had a less-than-desirable start to the third period. Just 20 seconds into the period, Lucas Raymond went top-shelf on the power play to put the Red Wings up 3-1. The Wild couldn’t get any offense going, and it looked like the Red Wings were gonna skate away with this one. That was until Matt Boldy gave his team a drop of hope, scoring his 21st of the season with 6:53 to go. Now 2-3, The Wild were rejuvenated, and it showed when Marcus Foligno tied the game with just over a minute and a half left. After starting the period down 3-1, Minnesota and Detroit were headed to an extra frame.
Marco Rossi started overtime out rough. He took a hooking penalty which gave Detroit a two-minute 4 on 3 powerplay. Luckily, the Wild were able to kill the penalty, and as Rossi got out of the box he found himself on a breakaway. He didn’t let that opportunity go to waste as he just barely snuck the puck past Cam Talbot.
As the season starts to wind down, points become incredibly important. The Wild picking up two points from this contest will matter much more towards the end of the season. Minnesota comes out of the 4 Nations break with a bang and will hope to continue this momentum into Tuesday when they play Detroit again.
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