By Jamie MacDonald
FOXSportsNorth.com
January 18, 2011
Tuesday's game, which looked just fine on the scoreboard for visiting Minnesota, was far from a coach's dream. Neither team could walk away particularly pleased with the effort in Edmonton.
For instance, the hosts failed on six power play opportunities through 40 minutes. The guests took those six penalties through 40 minutes.
On a macro scale, the game itself was often sloppy, owing to juicy rebounds given up by both goaltenders, poor execution, Edmonton's unsuccessful power plays, Minnesota's good sticks and blocked shots to force them, and a young Oilers team creating chances for both teams. The game went on to include two fights, three roughing penalties and four misconducts in the third period before settling as a 4-1 win for the Wild.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 3:25 mark of the first, while Edmonton, despite a number of individual efforts to climb back, couldn't close the gap.
Truth is, the Wild won't often get away with the kind of game it played Tuesday, especially through two periods. There was too much time in their own end, which helped lead to the penalties, and not enough in the Edmonton end (Minnesota was held without a shot for nearly 10 minutes in the second).
