It wasn’t the perfect night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as the Wild lost 4-3 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings, but it certainly was one of the coolest night’s at the arena in a while.
Not only did the Wild secure one crucial point to stay 4 points ahead of Colorado for third place in the Central Division, they also had the arena rocking when the U.S. men’s curling team dropped the ceremonial puck.
🥇 @TeamShuster with the puck drop before #LAKvsMIN! https://t.co/soqzSFpDdQ
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 20, 2018
“When that ‘USA’ chant starts, there’s just something inside of us that beams,” said team skip John Shuster, via Wild.com. “When you’re out there playing the game and thinking about the repercussions of what winning a gold would mean for you personally and for your team, and a little bit for your country – I don’t think I ever understood what was going to ensue after that, this crazy craziness.”
Meanwhile, Eric Staal remains insanely hot, scoring his 39th goal of the season. With nine games to go he’s just one goal shy of notching his first 40-goal season since 2008-09.
Defenseman Ryan Suter also tied his career-high and Wild franchise record with his 43rd assist of the season.
The Wild are off until Saturday when they host the NHL-leading Nashville Predators.
