Minnesota Wild bounce back with 3-1 win over Tampa Bay Lightning -NHL Update
After losing two straight to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, both by, 5-2, Minnesota bounced back against Tampa Bay as the Wild took over the second half of their Monday night matchup with the Lightning to win, 3-1, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint
Paul, Minnesota, United States.
Even though Tampa Bay outshot Minnesota, 33-24 throughout the 60 minute contest, the Wild goalie, Niklas Backstrom, remained focused in his net and blocked 32 shots for a near shutout, while his counterpart in the Tampa Bay defensive end, Mathieu Garon was
having issues of his own.
Both teams has two power play opportunities, but failed to capitalise on either one, which could have been the deciding factor for any team.
"We're getting on the power play, if we're lucky, twice a game," Steven Stamkos said. "I don't know if that's just a coincidence or if we're not drawing enough penalties, but in order for our power play to be successful you can't have one a game and expect
it to score every time."
Stamkos opened the scoring 5:53 into the second period after both teams failed to score during the first 20 minutes. Stamkos potted his 15th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season on a breakaway unassisted, but was closely
followed by Cal Clutterbuck for his second goal in two nights, that too shorthanded.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard took the lead for Minnesota with his tie-breaker nearly 10 minutes later followed by an insurance goal by the Wild captain, Mikko Koivu, with 24 seconds to go in the game.
"We've got to make sure we earn every point. Some nights you empty the tank, and you still might come up short. That's part of the game. We've got to start seeing those results shortly here, that's for sure," Tampa Bay’s left wing Ryan Malone said.
Minnesota have now ended their six game road trip, in which they lost only two contests. The Wild will be playing in Edmonton for their next matchup against the Oilers on Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
Tampa Bay on the other hand have the next in Detroit against the Red Wings on the same day.
Tags: