Early on for Wild
Instead of shopping the day after Thanksgiving, I’m taking in my first Wild game of the season. I’m at the Xcel Energy Center to catch up with Apple Valley native and Tampa Bay defenseman Mike Lundin.
Couple things have happened early on… Lundin is on the second defensive pairing for the Wild and the Lightning are already going after Derek Boogaard. Tampa’s first round draft pick Steven Stamkos slammed the Wild enforcer into the boards near the Lighting bench. The result was a two minute penalty for boarding and their bench received a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. No goal for the Wild.
Wild scored first on Owen Nolan’s beauty of a give-and-go wrister from Annti Miettinen. The goal came 12 minutes into the game.
Stamkos scored the equalizer on a deflection of a shot by Paul Ranger for the Lightning on a powerplay in the final minute of the opening period. Wild out shot Tampa Bay 11-8 in the first period.
Tampa took a 2-1 lead on a bang-bang play in front of the Wild net. Lundin set the play up from the point, sent a diagonal pass to someone who centered the puck to Vinny Lecavalier who dove through the crease, opening up the net for Ryan Malone to burry the puck in a wide-open goal for the 2-1 lead. The goal also tied up the shots, 16-16.
After looking tired in the second period, Minnesota came out firing in the third period with Marc-Andre Bergeron tying things up two minutes into the period period from just inside the blue line.
James Sheppard scored the go-ahead goal for the Wild four minutes later. Mikko Koivu cut around a defensman, sent a backhand on net while Sheppard put in the rebound.
Koivu sent to box with five minutes left in the game after arguing a high-sticking penalty on Nick Schultz. This will test the Wild, 5-on-3 with five minutes left. After a couple minutes in the box, Koivu skates across the rink during a break and heads for the showers after receiving a second 10 minute major.
The Wild get a big non-conference win thanks an explosive third period. Looking for a story about Lundlin’s second year in the NHL in the Dec. 5 edition of Thisweek Newspapers.
