Sports Circuit

Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators were in an all-out battle for two points at a crucial point in the season, but who would’ve expected something we may have never seen before in an NHL game.

With the Wild currently sitting outside the playoff picture, chasing the Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators, there was a sense of desperation in Minnesota’s play. After Ryan O’Reilly tied the game late in the third, it was clear the game would be heading to overtime. The Wild needed those two points and they were willing to risk it all for the win. John Hynes proved it.

With only a few minutes left in overtime after a few back and forth opportunities, the game looked poised to head to a shootout. Behind the Wild bench, John Hynes had other ideas.

All of a sudden, the Wild were bringing the puck up the ice and out of the corner of my eye, I see Fleury striding to the bench. Hynes had pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker. In doing this, Hynes risked losing the guaranteed point his team earned from making it to overtime. If the Preds were able to score on the empty net, the Wild would have lost that guaranteed point.

It didn’t take long after the goalie-pull for the Wild to capitalize as Mats Zuccarello fed a beautiful pass over to Matt Boldy for a one-timer into the net, sending Xcel Energy Center into a frenzy. The Wild took the 4-3 win over the Predators.

As of March 11, the Wild sit 6 points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, who’ve played one less game than the Wild at this point in the season. This could be a huge extra point earned for the Wild as they continue to fight for a playoff spot.