How did the Minnesota Wild turn the tables on the St. Louis Blues in Game 2?

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
How did the Minnesota Wild turn the tables on the St. Louis Blues in Game 2?

After dropping Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on home ice to the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota Wild needed a strong response. And that’s exactly what happened Wednesday night when the Wild defeated the Blues 6-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

With the series tied 1-1 and the teams traveling to St. Louis, here’s a few observations from the second game of the series.

Once again Minnesota took too many penalties, but it won the special teams battle.

For me, the biggest storyline from Game 1 wasn’t the 37-save shutout by Blues goaltender Ville Husso. It was the abysmal special-teams performance by Minnesota. The Wild failed to convert on six power play opportunities, while the Blues scored twice with the man advantage.

Minnesota managed to flip the script on Wednesday night. In the first period, Frederick Gaudreau and Kirill Kaprizov both scored for the Wild on the power play. And Minnesota’s penalty killers were better: the Wild successfully nullified four of five St. Louis power-play opportunities.

It wasn’t a perfect special teams performance by the Wild, but it was a much needed step in the right direction from a systematic standpoint. Minnesota packed the middle, blocked shots and cleared any rebounds given by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

The next step for the Wild? Stay out of the box altogether. St. Louis has one of the best power plays in the NHL. Minnesota cannot continue to be shorthanded five or six times a game. The Wild have to be more disciplined.

Blues center Ryan O’Reilly was minus-3 for the first time since May 19, 2021.

Subplots are fun, and a big one for me heading into this series was the matchup between centers Ryan O’Reilly and the Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek. They’re both skilled offensively. But their full worth is displayed in all three zones. O’Reilly and Eriksson Ek are two of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.

O’Reilly posted a minus-3 in Wednesday’s game. That’s eye-catching. It didn’t happen during the 2021-22 regular season. Not once. But it did happen twice against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

I’m not suggesting O’Reilly struggles during the postseason by any stretch. He won the 2019 Conn Smythe as the Stanley Cup playoff MVP when the Blues won their first championship in franchise history. O’Reilly’s line gets the tough matchups. And it’s not easy in the playoffs. 

But on Wednesday night, Eriksson Ek scored twice, added an assist, and was plus-3. Keep an eye on this story. The success of the Blues and Wild tends to follow the defensive performance of these two players.

Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov didn’t just get the bounces – he earned them.

I thought Kaprizov was noticeable in Game 1. Blues goalie Ville Husso made several quality saves on the Wild’s star forward. But Kaprizov didn’t seem to be completely engaged, something I think stemmed from the amount of penalties in the game. There wasn’t much flow. It was disjointed and Kaprizov never seemed to find his aggressive, in-your-face rhythm.

That wasn’t the case in Game 2. Kaprizov was all over the ice. And especially the front of the net. He’s not a power forward in the bruising sense, but when Kaprizov is at his best, he’s a relentless puck hound that plays with speed.

Minnesota needed a big effort from its best player and got it: a hat trick for the Russian forward, with all three goals coming in different ways. He battled in front for his first power-play goal; Kaprizov connected with Mats Zuccarello on the rush for his second of the night; And added an empty netter to finish it off. Big night on the big stage for Kaprizov.

Game 2 had Wild forward Marcus Foligno’s fingerprints all over it.

Heaviness is a buzz word in hockey that we throw around – especially in the postseason. It’s an attribute that seems to be increasingly rare. And that’s why big, tough, versatile players like Foligno will always be in demand.

NHL coaches want their players to play right up to the aggression threshold without crossing over it. It’s a skill to be abrasive without spending large amounts of time in the penalty box.

Foligno crushed multiple Blues players with hits on Wednesday night. He was constantly in their face. But Foligno did it the right way. He was tough in scrums but stayed in control of his emotions.

I’m not in the Wild locker room, but I get the sense that Foligno is a huge part of it. He has the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. That’s leadership.

Defensive depth was a strength for St. Louis – now it’s a problem.

At the NHL trade deadline, the Blues bulked up by adding Nick Leddy in a deal with the Detroit Red Wings. The move added stability to the Blues back end. But Leddy didn’t dress for Game 2 with an upper-body injury, and he remains questionable for Game 3.

Losing one player wouldn’t be a big deal. Niko Mikkola played the majority of this season alongside Colton Parayko on the Blues’ top pairing. So that was an effortless adjustment for St. Louis head coach Craig Berube.

But the Blues were also missing defenseman Marco Scandella in Wednesday’s game. And then in the closing minutes of the first period, Robert Bortuzzo, a key penalty killer for the Blues, blocked a shot with his head.

Thankfully the puck appeared to hit the defender’s helmet, but it was scary. Bortuzzo didn’t return to the game. So now it appears that St. Louis is down to three of the six defensemen that it expected to have in the lineup for the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Calle Rosen played Game 2 with mixed results. He can skate and has a nice offensive skill set. And it remains to be seen who the Blues draw into the lineup for Game 3 if replacements are necessary.

But what this really means is that Parayko, Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Mikkola better be ready come Friday night. Because they’re going to play a lot of minutes.

Even strength play favored the Blues, but they need to be more direct.

How many passes can the Blues make below the top of the circles? Sometimes it seems like the Blues are trying to set a new record in that regard. I think they need to be more direct.

St. Louis had several chances in Game 2 where one pass would have been enough. Yet they continued to look for a better option.

When a team has as much skill as St. Louis does, I understand the desire to utilize it. But especially in transition, with the speed the Blues possess, they need to be smart about generating chances.

If I was on the Blues, I’d be encouraging my teammates to play fast and direct. One quick pass, then get the puck to the net. Just like Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal.

Wednesday night was the best version of Minnesota goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

After the loss in Game 1, there was plenty of discussion whether Wild head coach Dean Evason would go with goaltender Cam Talbot to start Game 2 of the series. But ultimately, the Minnesota bench boss chose to stick with 3-time Stanley Cup champion and reigning Vezina trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury.

The decision paid off, as Fleury turned in a strong 32-save performance. It wasn’t a particularly difficult night, especially during even strength play, but Fleury earned his keep on the penalty kill, stopping seven of eight Blues shots.

To me, evaluating Fleury’s performance in Game 2 was more about the eye test than the raw numbers. He looked more in control and was arriving early for shots. I think that helped Fleury do a better job of controlling his rebounds.

But more than anything, I saw glimpses of the fun-loving goaltender that hockey fans naturally gravitate towards. Fleury was smiling after saves and thanking his posts for their help.

A carefree ‘Flower’ is the best ‘Flower.’

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