Alex Bader
For the first time in 97 games under Dean Evason, the Minnesota Wild have lost three games in a row. The Wild lost to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout, 3-2. They dropped to 19-8-2 and sit in first place in the Central division by three points over the Blues. The Wild's 40 points has them in first place in the Western conference.
These two teams have not met since November 19, 2019. The Wild won that game and had a completely different roster. Guys like Donato, Koivu, Zucker, Staal, and Kunin were all on the team, and now they play elsewhere or do not play at all.
BADER'S TAKE
The Wild have to be better, especially on home ice.
The Wild had a slow start to the game that continued throughout the game. They haven't played a game since Sunday, they looked rusty and sluggish.
They were playing the Sabers who are still a good team, but a team that Minnesota should have completely dominated. That wasn't the case.
They haven't practiced since December 6th, and it was clear. They just played poorly.
They missed a great chance with a four-minute power-play. Their power-play issues haven't hurt them yet in the season, but in these close games that missed opportunity is heightened.
Talbot was sensational and was a huge reason for why the Wild were even in the game. He stopped 38 of 40 shots and made several great saves.
He was blaming himself during the postgame press conference. He thinks he messed up on the second goal and gave Buffalo a chance.
He has been great the last 15 games and the losses can not be put on him. The Wild need to play better in front of him, they have given up way too many shots in the last three games.
Interesting fact, the Eastern Conference has the top 6 teams in the NHL in terms of points, the Wild are the top team in the West but are seventh in the league.
The Eastern conference looks crazy so far. The top seven teams in the league are all separate by two points or less.
Game Recap:
The Minnesota Wild had extra days off due to the game on Tuesday night that was postponed game because the Hurricanes had too many guys in the Covid-19 protocol.
The Wild needed to start hot and strong against a team that is near the lower end of the standings.
Minnesota took an early penalty that gave the momentum to Buffalo.
The Wild looked rusty instead of energized.
The Sabres had complete control of the play and pounded Talbot with shots early, but he stood strong.
The Wild needed to apply some pressure, they did just that.
Jon Merrill scored to give life to the flat Wild. The Wild took the lead with 9:14 left to play in the first period, 1-0.
Buffalo were not going to just crawl away and hide. They continued to fight back and Talbot had to be great to keep the lead.
The Wild took another penalty and gave Buffalo a chance to tie the game.
The Wild killed the penalty in large part thanks to Talbot's great play.
The Wild were able to get out of the first period with the one-goal lead on the backs of Talbot. He had 21 saves on 21 shots. The Wild had six shots and looked slow and rusty for the most part.
The wild needed to be better in the second period.
The second period started slowly from both teams' perspectives.
It was the Sabers who found their feet first.
Buffalo got on the board with a deflected shot from Cozens to tie the game 1-1.
The Wild responded well and nearly regained their lead off a great scramble in the net from the GREEF line. However, Eriksson Ek drew his league-leading 21st penalty.
The Wild had a four-minute power-play and a great chance to regain the lead.
The Wild couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.
When things seemed to be deadlocked headed to the third period, Kaprizov scored with 55.5 seconds left in the period. The puck squeaked past the goalie and trickled into the net.
The Wild went into the third period with the lead, 2-1.
They needed to be much better in the final period because Buffalo have been outplaying the Wild.
The third period was more of the same - the Wild were asleep and the Sabers pressed hard.
Mark Pysyk tied the game for Buffalo. It was his first goal of the season.
With seven minutes left in the third period the game was even at 2-2.
The Wild pressed and tried to answer.
They couldn't break the tie and the Wild went into overtime. They were lucky to get a point after their poor performance in the 60 minutes.
Minnesota had several chances but couldn't find the twine in the extra session.
A shootout would decide the winner.
Zuccarello missed.
Olofsson missed
Fiala missed.
Okposo missed.
Kaprizov tried to go low blocker and hit the post.
Thompson then went down and won it for the Sabres.
The Wild fall to Buffalo 3-2 in the shootout.
The Wild need to be much better on Saturday when they host the Panthers. The Panthers have been one of the best teams the entire season. The Wild lost to the Panthers in November in what was a close game, but saw Florida use the home crowd to their advantage.
The Wild will need to use the home crowd energy. They will need to play much better than they did tonight.
What's Next:
Minnesota Wild (19-8-2 40pts) vs. Florida Panthers (18-7-4 40pts)
Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. Puck Drop at 1:00 p. m. central time
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