St. Paul, Minn. – This is the most anticipated season in the Minnesota Wild’s brief history, and they showed a new spirit along with several acquisitions in their opener.
Todd White scored 1:03 into overtime, and Minnesota overcame two goals by Colorado’s Brad Richardson for a 3-2 victory over the Avalanche on Thursday night.
“It just seemed like that puck was going to go in, no matter what,” said Wild goalie Manny Fernandez, who made 29 saves. “It’s incredible. Last year, nothing really seemed to go our way. If it’s a sign, this year is going to be a good year.” Branko Radivojevic and Marian Gaborik, part of an all-Slovak line with Pavol Demitra, each had goals for the Wild, which are 5-0-1 all-time in home openers. After dealing for Demitra and signing six free agents to upgrade the roster, there’s a stronger sense of confidence in the dressing room from a team that went 14-28 in one-goal games last season.
“We had trouble finishing games off last year, so hopefully this is the start of beginning to win the close ones,” said White, who was set up by a pretty drop pass from Pierre-Marc Bouchard. He deposited it between Peter Budaj’s legs to end it.
The Avalanche – who lost at home Wednesday in overtime to Dallas after a strong start and fading down the stretch – had the momentum late after looking early like a team playing on back-to-back nights.
Richardson snagged a loose puck that got tangled in a linesman’s skate near the boards and skidded past Minnesota’s Kim Johnsson, another of the multimillionaires added in this summer’s spree.
Richardson had a clean breakaway, scoring off a swift move he made on Fernandez’s glove side to cut the lead in half in the latter stages of the second period.
Richardson tied the game with 6:06 remaining in regulation on a long wrist shot from behind the right circle, using Petteri Nummelin as a screen.
Though Colorado missed on many more prime scoring opportunities, much of that was due to the sharp Fernandez, who helped stave off a 5-on-3 late in the middle frame.
“I don’t think it’s all negative,” Richardson said. “We played pretty well both games. We had a couple letups here and there, but those are two good teams. We just need to focus and play a 60-minute game, and I think we’ll be fine.”
Coach Joel Quenneville was pleased by the energy he saw toward the end, though his skaters went 0-for-5 on the power play.
“Last year they were one of the best penalty-killing teams in the league, and they have a good way with their system – as far as what they give you and what they eliminate,” Quenneville said. “We had our chances.”
Defense is not a Colorado strength, and Rob Blake leaving for Los Angeles didn’t help. Neither does Jordan Leopold’s hernia, which likely has him on the injured list for another month. The Wild put plenty of early pressure on backup goalie Budaj, owning an 11-5 edge in shots in the first period.
Gaborik signed a three-year, $19 million contract shortly after his team traded a top prospect and a first-round draft pick to the Kings for his friend, Demitra.
It’s a combination that could be devastating for opponents, provided they stay healthy. During the pregame pomp, video of commissioner Gary Bettman’s draft-day announcement of the Demitra deal was shown on the scoreboard – prompting a roar from the sellout crowd announced at 18,568.
Wild 3, Avs 2, OT
Colorado 0 1 1 0 – 2
Minnesota 1 1 0 1 – 3
First period – 1, Minnesota, Radivojevic 1 (Gaborik, Demitra), 13:10. Penalties – Hejduk, Col (hooking), 5:14, Gaborik, Min (hooking), 8:26, Carney, Min (slashing), 16:41.
Second period – 2, Minnesota, Gaborik 1 (Radivojevic, Demitra), :26. 3, Colorado, Richardson 1, 6:06 (sh). Penalties – Colorado bench, served by Brunette (too many men), 4:14, Dupuis, Min (interference), 12:42, Demitra, Min (hooking), 14:17, McLean, Col (hooking), 17:40.
Third period – 4, Colorado, Richardson 2 (Laperriere), 13:54. Penalties – Weinhandl, Min (holding), 1:36.
Overtime – 5, Minnesota, White 1 (Bouchard, Foster), 1:03. Penalties – None.
Shots on Goal – Colorado 5-13-13-0 – 31. Minnesota 11-13-6-3 – 33. Power-play opportunities – Colorado 0 of 5; Minnesota 0 of 3.
Goalies – Colorado, Budaj 0-0-1 (33 shots-30 saves). Minnesota, Fernandez 1-0-0 (31 shots-29 saves).
Attendance – 19,000 (18,064). T – 2:25.
Referees – Rob Shick, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen – Lonnie Cameron, Darren Gibbs.
