After waiting nearly 150 days for their season to resume, the Wild only got to experience a couple of weeks of life inside the NHL’s bubble.
That was determined on Friday night at Rogers Place as the Wild bowed out of the postseason with a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks in Edmonton, Alberta.
It was a back-and-forth game, and while the Wild hung tough to force overtime, defenseman Chris Tanev abruptly ended their season by netting the game-winner for the Canucks a mere 11 seconds into the extra session.
“It was pretty disheartening for everyone,” Zach Parise said. “To lose 11 seconds in overtime, it was pretty shocking for everyone. Anytime the season ends like that, it’s, I don’t know the word for it. It’s not an enjoyable moment, I guess.”
That feeling resonated on the face of every player that chatted postgame. Eric Staal sat like a statue with a blank stare on his face. Alex Stalock removed his hat a few times and shook his head in exasperation. Jared Spurgeon spoke in a hushed tone about what could’ve been.
“It’s tough to take in right now,” Spurgeon said. “All of a sudden it’s done. We put in a lot of work. To end that quickly definitely stings.”
These past few months were a whirlwind, and that might be the toughest part about this whole thing.
There was so much anticipation leading up to the postseason after the NHL shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. There was so much planning that went into the NHL’s bubble. There was so much hope from every team that got a second chance at the hoisting the Stanley Cup.
All for not, as the Wild return to the Twin Cities with nothing to show for their efforts.
“I think we expected to stay here a little bit longer and were hoping for better results,” Staal said. “Just feels pretty sudden to go out like this.”
Asked about his message postgame, coach Dean Evason said he kept things short and sweet.
“There’s never anything intelligent we can say in those situations,” Evason said. “We just said how proud we were of them and how we battled right from the first day of training camp.”
Even before the puck dropped in a win-or-go-home matchup on Friday night, the uphill climb for the Wild got tougher as Ryan Suter sat out with an undisclosed injury.
Luckily for the Wild, they have been stellar in the face of adversity this season, and that proved to be the case once again with seemingly everyone stepping up on this particular night.
Whether it was Jonas Brodin playing the game of his life in both ends, or Kevin Fiala continuing to be dynamic up and down the ice, or Nico Sturm scoring the biggest goal of his young NHL career, the Wild got a little something from everyone.
In the end, though, it wasn’t enough.
While the result obviously wasn’t what the Wild wanted, the fight was impressive. That much was evident from the onset.
Maybe sensing the Wild needed something to take the edge off facing a must-win situation, Ryan Hartman dropped the gloves in the early stages of the first period, and Luke Kunin promptly rewarded him with a goal barely a minute later.
That lead only lasted about 10 minutes, though, as the Canucks responded with a goal from winger Tanner Person on the rush.
Less than a minute later, Staal put the Wild back in front with a goal from a wide angle. It was the first time this series that goaltender Jacob Markstrom looked a little shaky between the pipes, and the Wild tested him at every turn.
That trend continued into the second period, and Joel Eriksson Ek took advantage by collecting a rebound in front and firing the puck into the back of the net to help the Wild increase the lead.
While it looked like the Wild might run away with the win at that point, the Canucks quickly responded with a pair of goals. That scoring flurry started when center Brandon Sutter batted a puck out of midair past Stalock and continued when defenseman Quinn Hughes uncorked a blistering shot from the high slot.
All of a sudden the Wild looked like they were on the ropes. That was until Sturm gave them new life late in the second period with the first goal of his playoff career.
He rushed up the left side of the ice and fired a shot that had no business finding the back of the net. Not that Sturm minded. They don’t ask how, right?
That paved the way for the third period, and with the Wild trying to kill the clock, the Canucks tied the game when captain Bo Horvat hammered home a puck from alone in front.
“We didn’t think we gave them much,” Evason said. “Just a couple of glaring breakdowns ended up in our net. That’s the game of hockey. You make mistakes sometimes, and we made a couple mistakes that ended up in the back of our net.”
That forced overtime, where Tanev ultimately played hero for the Canucks and simultaneously sent the Wild packing.
It’s still unclear when next season will start with the coronavirus pandemic still very much a part of everyday life. That said, the Wild vow to be ready whenever it does.
“You don’t really know what’s ahead for this next season,” Spurgeon said. “I’m sure when it does start, we’ll have this in the back of our minds and want to get off to a good start so that we are in a better position going forward.”
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August 08, 2020 at 01:10PM
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Wild’s season ends abruptly as Canucks score 11 seconds into overtime - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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