ST. PAUL, Minn. — Wednesday’s final score was no surprise. At this point in the series, the Wild isn’t nearly desperate enough to be effective.
Joe Sakic scored at 11:11 in overtime to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory in Game 1. And anyone who thought it wouldn’t be like this isn’t familiar with the local hockey team, which never does anything the easy way.
Seriously, this team always takes the long route to everything. It has guys who like to walk to practice, in the snow, barefoot, while being chased by a bear. Anything else is too easy. These guys eat dirt for their pregame meal because regular food would be too easy to digest. Where’s the challenge in pasta and chicken?
These guys must have their fuel tank filled with anxiety. A playoff spot had to be slipping away before they grabbed hold of it. The conference title had to look like a pipe dream until they lunged for it during the last two weeks of the season.
“We would like to have taken the lead,” coach Jacques Lemaire said. “When you get chances and you don’t score . . .”
Lemaire looked very sad. But remember that everyone has to be miserable before the Wild gets it going. It thrives on doubt and anxiety.
If it is going to do anything in this series, it will be the hard way. I’m not even sure that a one-game hole is deep enough. The Wild might have to do a little more digging before bringing out its “A” game.
“It’s a tough loss,” Lemaire said. “We look at how we played and I thought we played really well.”
But the time was not right. For a while, though, it looked as if it might be. Trailing 2-0 in the third period, well, that’s more like it.
From there, the Wild appeared ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Down 2-0? Everyone concerned about the outcome? Game on!
Then Mikko Koivu clanged a puck in off the skate of defenseman Jeff Finger. The puck went in off Finger’s foot, get it?
Soon Todd Fedoruk, “The Fridge,” continued his amazing morph into a finesse player by taking a pass in tight and slipping it past goalie Jose Theodore. Fedoruk, whose hands are battle-scarred from countless fights, apparently still has enough feeling in them to score the occasional goal.
Suddenly it’s 2-2 and pandemonium is in order at the Xcel Energy Center. So of course the Wild completely relax. All of a sudden, the Avs are clanging shots off the post, driving relentlessly toward the Minnesota goal and controlling the puck for long stretches. The Avs dominated the final 10 minutes and the OT, and the Wild appeared tired.
Now the Wild is battered even more than it was 24 hours ago. Winger Mark Parrish is out with a head injury, the result of being shoved into the boards in front of the bench by Ruslan Salei. Already missing Nick Schultz and Kurtis Foster, the Wild is in tough shape.
Whether the situation is dire enough for the Wild to get going, we’ll find out Friday.
Tom Powers is a columnist at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
