2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series – Minnesota Wild win 2-1 against the Washington Capitals
The 134th game of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series took place at the Xcel Energy Centre, home to the Minnesota Wild. This was the 10th game of the campaign for the Washington Capitals and the 9th game for the Minnesota
Wild. There were around 17,000 fans that came to support their respective teams this Thursday. The game was very tight that only saw 3 goals scored during the 3 period, 2 in favour of the Minnesota Wild and 1 for the Washington Capitals.
1st Period
The first period saw both teams restrict each other to their half. This was due to the strong defence that the home and the away teams maintained.
Neither of the team was content on scoring, they concentrated on not letting the opposing team score. During the period, there were not many scoring chances. The shots were often from long range that went flying past the goal.
However, with a little confidence and the backing of the home fans the home team scored in the 8th minute to take the lead. The goal was scored by Chuck Kobasew from close range through a flick shot that was perfectly placed. The period didn’t
see any more goals and neither were there any more chances.
The Minnesota Wild went into the break leading with one goal to the advantage. During the period, the Minnesota Wild scored 1 goal out of the 6 goal attempts they made the Washington Capitals made 4 goal attempts out of which none found the back of the net.
2nd Period
The 2nd period was no different from the 1st period as both team maintained a very tight and strong defence. All the players at the players combined very well with each to dominate the game.
Without a doubt, this was one of the defence dominated games. However, it was the Minnesota Wild was the team that scored once again to double their goal. The goal was scored in the last minute of the period. The goal came as a result of the Captain Mikko
Koivu’s shot from 29 feet which had a lot of power in it.
The period didn’t see much happen except for the goal. There were chances but they were rare and difficult therefore there was a flurry of goals. The period ended with the Minnesota Wild in the lead with score on 2-0. During the course of period, the Minnesota
Wild scored once out of the 6 goal attempts while the Washington Capitals made 7 goal attempts but failed to score once again.
3rd Period
The 3rd period saw the Washington Capitals come out with a lot of confidence and determination to score. They made regular shots at the opposing goal displaying excellent skill with the puck. The plays that lead to the shots were amazing that
formed after fast, accurate and short passing.
However, the away team couldn’t score though this was the most impressive performance of the Capitals throughout the match. With the hard work that the team put in, they managed to score a goal late in the period. The goal came in the 19th minute
through Captain Alex Ovechkin’s shot. The goal was a result of flick shot made from 43 feet.
This proved to be no more than just a consolation goal as the game ended 2-1 in favour of the Minnesota Wild. During the final 20 minutes, the Washington Capitals scored once out of the 11 goal attempts they made while the Minnesota Wild didn’t score out
of the 4 goal attempts.
"We came out early and played well to grab an early lead. More importantly, we found a way to play with the lead late," Kobasew said after the Wild improved to 6-0-0 all-time against the Caps at the Xcel Energy Center.
"It was a really disappointing effort, I thought, from our team for about 50 minutes,"
Coach Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals said.
"We didn't shoot the puck. We didn't hit their guys. We didn't finish our shots," a frustrated Ovechkin said.
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