The Minnesota Wild had a chance to celebrate on Thursday night in Denver.
Their 5-4 win in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals locked up the team’s first playoff series win in 11 years, and sent the Wild into the NHL’s second round.
Nino Niederreiter’s second goal of the night turned out to be the game winner.
It’s not like Minnesota had never won a playoff series in Colorado before, after all they beat the Avalanche in eerily similar fashion in 2003.
What made the win so sweet, though, is how the Wild never quit battling. They didn’t quit fighting last night, they didn’t quit fighting during the series and they didn’t quit fighting all season after several challenges threatened to make it tough for them to even qualify for the playoffs.
To win, Minnesota had to battle back from four one-goal deficits. Jared Spurgeon’s goal with 2:27 left tied the game at four, to force overtime.
And then when Neiderreiter beat Semyon Varlamov in overtime the Wild put a hard-fought victory away, and set the stage for a few moments of enjoyment.
Face off in game one of the Western Conference Semifinals is Friday night at 8:30 at the United Center in Chicago.
