A pair of 5-on-3 power-play goals helped the Wild run away with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night.
The win is the Wild’s third straight and fourth in their last five games. Unfortunately, all of that momentum comes to a screeching halt because of the All-Star break, which has the Wild on break until returning to action next Friday, Feb. 1.
Minnesota was firing on all cylinders on offense, with first-period goals from Eric Staal and Jared Spurgeon, followed by a 5-on-3 power-play goal by Staal to make it 3-2 Wild early in the third period, and then a quick strike by Charlie Coyle to take a 4-2 lead.
Staal has four goals in his last five games, finally busting out of a frustrating scoring slump.
“Try and carry the momentum when we get back,” Staal said, via ESPN.com. “But we’re definitely going to enjoy the break.”
Coyle’s goal was fueled by a great defensive series by Nick Seeler, who sacrificed his body to make a trio of big blocks. He hobbled off the ice but was awarded the Hero of the Game in the locker room.
Well deserved hero of the game hat tonight for Nick Seeler đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/Lar4LgFNb7
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 24, 2019
Minnesota got its second 5-on-3 power-play goal late in the third period when Ryan Suter blasted a shot through traffic into the back of the net.
The Wild hit the All-Star break with a record of 26-21-3, good for third place in the Central Division but still nine points behind Winnipeg and Nashville.
“You certainly wish you could keep playing if they’re going to play like that,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said after the win. “It was really fun to watch.”
