ST. PAUL, MN – Welcome to the Xcel Energy Centre, one of the great hockey buildings anywhere in the world.Tonight, we’ll blog periodically from Game 5 of the Minnesota Wild-Colorado Avalanche Western Conference opening round series.
After getting drilled 5-1 in Game 4 — and trying desperately to appear tough in the third period — the Wild have to lick their wounds, buck up and play legitimately tough hockey, not stupid, penalty-filled, dumb-ass hockey.
The Avalanche, meanwhile, just need to do exactly what they did in Game 4 — skate, skate, skate and take advantage of mistakes made by a tiring Wild defence. With Kim Johnsson, Brent Burns and Martin Skoula playing nearly 28 minutes a night for Minnesota, the Avalanche can certainly use their speed to wear down a Wild defensive unit that is undermanned and overworked.
The lights have dimmed — gone right freakin’ out actually — the show is starting, they’re playing The State of Hockey and 18,000 people, all decked in Wild jerseys are going nuts. Makes me think of White Outs at the Old Barn.
If the Wild don’t respond to this welcome, they’re done.
FIRST PERIOD — Minnesota comes out banging and the Avs don’t like it. Paul Stastny takes a dumb tripping penalty, but the stone-handed Wild can’t convert. Marian Gaborik still doesn’t have a point in the series.
Oh, oh. Todd Fedoruk takes a penalty and at 12:24, Andrew Brunette — a former Wild star — picks up some garbage in front and roofs it. It’s an easy goal and the Wild now have some stress. They’ve carried the play but haven’t been rewarded and Colorado has just too much skill.
About 30 seconds later, David Jones takes a penalty and in the first few seconds of the power play, the Wild get a scoring chance, but Jose Theodore is too quick. The Wild have territorial advantage and plenty of chances, but somebody needs to convert.
With four minutes left, the Wild have outshot the Avs 13-5, but Colorado still leads. The Wild need to score because it’s hard to imagine they can keep up this pace. The Avs are starting to get to more loose pucks and winning the little battles.
With 2 1/2 minutes left, Peter Forsberg takes a penalty and right away Brent Burns has a chance and Brian Rolston gets a big rebound, but Theodore stones them both. Shots are 16-6 and Theodore is getting better.
On the 17th shot with 39.3 seconds left in the period, the Wild get on the board. Pierre-Marc Bouchard takes a great pass from Brent Burns (second of the playoffs) and drifts a one-timer past Theodore. It’s about time and it seems only fair.
Minnesota owned the first period and the Avs scored on their one real chance. That’s hockey.
End of the first: Colorado 1 Minnesota 1.
SECOND PERIOD — Ran into Larry Fitzgerald Sr. between periods. The father of the spectacular Arizona Cardinals receiver, Larry Jr., is a columnist with the Minneapolis Statesman-Recorder, the highly-regarded African-American paper in the Twin Cities and he’s a bigger hockey fan than people give him credit for. He’s also, evidently, a big Derek Boogaard fan. Go figure.
So what happens at the start of the second period? Boogaard gets one of his rare shifts and on a seemingly innocuous play, almost tips in a goal.The Wild have now outshot Colorado 21-9 but just can’t beat Theodore.
Stephane Veilleux, the young man the Denver media believes should be jailed for his behaviour in this series, picks up a penalty and the Avs take control. But despite owning the Minnesota zone and despite making a couple of great passes, Minnesota goalie Nicklas Backstrom has to face only one shot.
Moments after the penalty ends, Gaborik has another glorious chance but can’t get a backhander up over the leg of Theodore.
The building has exploded. Aging Ian Laperriere has big Boogaard lined up and he drills him at the Avalanche blueline (it’s an interference penalty in any other league) and the big guy goes down with a thump. Trouble is, the big guy gets right up and Laperriere doesn’t move. Boogaard went down because he doesn’t skate very well. Laperriere went down because he bodychecked a truck (Boogaard is 6-foot-7, 260 pounds).
This little incident fires up the Wild who take control of the game. Minnesota gets three great chances, but they fire three booming shots right at the A on Theodore’s jersey. The shots are now 30-12 and Colorado isn’t anywhere to be found.
The Wild own this game. It’s like one long, protracted power play. Colorado can’t even clear the puck. First it’s Gaborik, then it’s Burns, then it’s Mikko Koivu. Chance after chance after chance and yet they can’t beat Theodore.
And it’s not like Theodore is unbeatable. The Wild either shoot it right at the goalie’s pads or they miss the net altogether. Burns, the best player on the ice, should have five goals, but officially, he doesn’t have that many shots.
In the final 12 seconds, Colorado gets its first solid chance of the period, but Backstrom has not fallen asleep and makes the save.
Shots at the end of the second: Colorado 14, Minnesota 32.
Score at the end of the second: Colorado 1 Minnesota 1
THIRD PERIOD — Early in the third, Minnesota’s Sean Hill takes a penalty and for a minute and 55 seconds, the Avs do nothing. Then, with five seconds left in the power play, John-Michael Liles sets up Wojtek Wolski who one-times it past a startled Backstrom.
The shots are 34-16 and Colorado leads 2-1.
Colorado’s superior playmaking pretty much puts this one away. At the 6:25 mark, Paul Stastny takes a pass from Milan Hejduk (who took a beautiful pass from Peter Forsberg) and roofs a backhand to make it 3-1.
Minnesota has toughness and heart, but Colorado has speed and skill and that combination looks like a winner.
There are 19,364 rabid Wild fans in this building tonight and probably half of them think they have better hands than the boys on the ice who happen to be wearing Wild uniforms.
This is a truly wonderful place to watch hockey. The Wild are down 3-1 with less than two minutes to go and not one person has left the building. These aren’t fair weather fans who try to beat the traffic. They’ll go down with their team.
The final shots on goal are 40-17 in favour of the Wild, but Colorado’s pure hockey talent was just too much for a big, strong feisty team with plenty of moxy, but not a whole lot of skill.
The place erupts as Brian Rolston finally scores (he had a million chances) to make it close. But it’s 19:57 and the dream is dead.
This series should be over on Saturday in Denver.
FINAL SCORE: Colorado 3 Minnesota 2 – Video highlights below
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjglWRaQr9I]
