On a spectacular April evening the stars were visible in St. Paul but the Minnesota Wild’s goal scoring barely flickered. Last night at the Xcel Energy Center the Wild’s power play came through on one of five attempts, producing a too little too late goal as Minnesota lost to Anaheim 2-1, falling behind 3-0 in the quarterfinal Stanley Cup series.
A large crowd attended a pep rally in Rice Park before the game. On hand were owner Bob Naegele, Jr., former Wild player Brad Bombardir, Senator Norm Coleman and St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman. Bombardir predicted: “I think we’re gonna go two-for-three on the power play and a 4-2 victory.…”
But the crowd inside the Xcel Energy Center never reached its noise making potential as the Wild fell behind 1-0 in the first period and couldn’t tie the game or take the lead. Twins stars Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer were in attendance. So, too, was Governor Tim Pawlenty. Scoreboard TV shots of Morneau and Mauer excited the crowd. Then Morneau urged the fans to roar louder and get on their feet.
The Wild sold out their 273rd game last night. That includes every pre-season, regular season and playoff game in the Wild’s six year history. The banner hanging in the arena saluting the fans is well deserved.
At his post-game press conference coach Jacques Lemaire praised his team’s effort but was critical of the Wild’s ineffective power play, a troublesome trait throughout the series with Anaheim. He has “good character” players and they will play “hard” again on Tuesday night in game four. Those players, Lemaire admitted, are lacking confidence and somehow must find it to send the series back to Anaheim on Thursday. In three games so far the Ducks have shut down Wild star Marian Gaborik and other point producers, holding Minnesota to four goals.
An early and swift exit from the playoffs can only be characterized as disappointing but at least Minnesota will have some comfort in losing to a highly hyped Anaheim team. In a Sports Illustrated NHL players poll predicting the Stanley Cup winner, Anaheim was the choice. The Ducks received 33% of the votes, followed by Buffalo, 23%, Nashville, 15%, and Detroit, 10%. San Jose, my pick, received 6.5%.