Detroit Red Wings nearly escape defeat beat Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Overtime -NHL Match Update
Detroit Red Wings barely managed to make a comeback late in the second period and followed up strongly in the third, edging out Minnesota Wild, 3-2, in overtime for their fourth straight victory of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season,
on Saturday, October 15, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.
Minnesota was 2-0 during the final moments of the second period before Detroit potted their first, which disappointed Wild head coach, Mike Yeo, after having such a dominating lead.
"Josh was outstanding tonight. He got us a point. We are really disappointed that we couldn't get a second point for him", Yeo, said praising his 27-year-old goalie. "He got us to overtime, gave us a chance to get a second one. ... He was great tonight".
Speaking of Josh Harding, it is not hard to see why coach Yeo was admiring the goaltender. Minnesota Wild had only 14 shots on the opposing net, which was being looked after by Detroit goalie, Jimmy Howard. Red Wings on the other hand had 41 chances out
of which 38 were diverted by Harding.
"I'm happy with the way I played. There's still a lot of work to do. I can definitely get smoother and more crisp on my movement, but it's definitely a good starting point", Harding, who is in his sixth season with Minnesota, said. "I realize how lucky I
am to be playing in the NHL right now".
Greg Zanon scored the first for Minnesota with 12 seconds remaining on the clock during the opening 20 minutes. Cal Clutterbuck extended the lead 16 seconds into the second, followed by Ian White nearly 19 minutes later with 48 seconds remaining to put Detroit
up on the scoreboard.
Jiri Hudler made the equaliser early in the third while his team managed to keep Minnesota out of the net and force an overtime extension.
Johan Franzen scored in the final seconds of overtime to lead his team to victory on a Minnesota penalty as Matt Cullen was booked for tripping.
Wild play their final home game against Pittsburgh Penguins before taking off for another two contests while Detroit Red Wings return home to face Columbus Blue Jackets after a long resting period on Friday.
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