Carolina Hurricanes 2
Minnesota Wild 3
The Wild snapped their two game losing slide and got their first home win in two weeks with 2-1 shootout win, compliments of Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise. With this afternoon’s win, the Wild are back to being tied with the Avalanche for a wild card slot, just outside of playoff position.
1) David Jones makes a strong effort
Right wing David Jones has been filling in for an injured Jason Pominville alongside Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula and did an admirable job keeping pace with the two bigger names in today’s game.
Jones, who came to Minnesota at trade deadline from Calgary, scored his second goal in a Wild uniform with a flip shot off a Erik Haula rebound and drawing first blood for the home team. Jones looked similarly effective all night with 5 strong shots on goal, many of them coming off of quality setups from Niederreiter and Haula.
.@djones5454 gets his 11th of the season ☺️ #CARvsMIN pic.twitter.com/JkfceeCYR5
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 19, 2016
2) Zucker turns on the jets in second game back
In his second game after being scratched by Wild head coach John Torchetti for lackluster two-way play, forward Jason Zucker utilized his speed to disrupt Carolina’s passing cut off plays in the defensive zone all evening.
In the opening seconds of the third period, the forward streaked deep into Carolina’s zone, beating defenders to the front of the net before dropping the puck off in the left circle for Miko Koivu and Charlie Coyle. Koivu and Coyle drew the defense left with a couple of good shots, allowing Zucker to race around the right side and flick a rebound into the empty right corner.
Zucker nets his 13th of the season 😁 #CARvsMIN pic.twitter.com/fAq46Zw1Pz
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 19, 2016
3) Dubynk holds the line during OT
While Carolina forward Jordan Stall’s game tying goal deep into the third period had to sting, Wild Goalie Devan Dubynk kept his composure during overtime, making 5 of his 31 saves during the extra minutes. Dubynk looked similarly steely during the shootout, making the game winning save on a Chris Terry wrist shot after a Miko Koivu miss.
That Dubnyk save in OT 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/7SRQfv4bq6
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 19, 2016
Tweet of the Night:
Jason Zucker likes to get his goals in a hurry.
Did You Know: Jason Zucker (@Jason_Zucker16) of the @mnwild (via @EliasSports)… pic.twitter.com/e9WwxfFI0W
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 19, 2016
Up Next:
The Wild will play part-two of their back-to-back tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Face-off is at 7:30pm.
