Instead of analyzing hits and debating penalties, I'll go against the grain and say what a great game that was. And for the first time in ages, I watched hockey in a bar with about a thousand people yelling.
I liked the way we defended in that first period and cleared away rebounds and secondary shots. And of course, that was the Wild's issue when we scored both of our goals from in close with pucks that hadn't gone where they were first intended. Lowry's shot was a nice reaction but Schief's reflex to knock that out of the air was purely beautiful. Perhaps the best part was the rest of the period where Minn piled it on and Helle held firm.
Second period was great to watch, or maybe it was the second burger, but we outshot them by a nice margin while still remembering defence. I hope all the Schief detractors noticed how often he was backchecking and breaking up plays.
The third period after the Wild goal was deliciously nerve-wracking, or maybe it was somebody pushing beer in front of me, and encapsulated everything I love about hockey. As I've demonstrated frequently, I know little about the game and strategies and line matchups and all that important stuff, I just love the excitement of fast hockey that gets the blood racing. And the third period was exquisitely exciting. After Reaves' boarding non-call, the game went downhill quickly but the last ugly minutes didn't erase how much I enjoyed the evening.
We are now in the playoffs and to honour the occasion, having showered and spouted my lack of knowledge here, I'm going to make some breakfast and work today from my kitchen table.
Can some more clever soul suggest who are most likely opponent will be and what the schedule might look like?