And, as in the previous two games, the Blues scored first on a Colton Parayko wrist shot from the top of the circle, leaving the Wild to chase the lead once again.
Mike Yeo has the Blues playing exactly as the defense-addicted coach desires. "A huge win for us".
Chicago was shut out in consecutive playoff games for the first time since it was blanked in three straight in April 2002 against St. Louis. "We just can't score right now".
The Wild know the pressure will be on them, but it is not an unusual position for coach Bruce Boudreau. "We've got to come to work tomorrow, try to get better and make sure we come out with same excitement we have in the first three games, and just try to sustain it for 60 minutes". Sixty-eight seconds later during a power play, Werenski's wrister from the top of the left circle clanged off the bar and into the top of the net to put Columbus up 3-1. "If we stick to that game, we're going to be tough to beat", said goalie Devan Dubnyk.
Screened by David Perron during Schwartz's deep shot from the slot, the 6-foot-6 Dubnyk didn't see the puck. I think you approach all these games literally the same. The Wild are 4-1 in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest, 3-8 in their last 11 vs. a team with a winning record and 4-0 in their last 4 Friday games.
The Wild, one of the tougher home teams in the National Hockey League, now have a 13-17 all-time record at Xcel Energy Center in the playoffs, including a 4-5 mark in overtime games.
Coyle's tally was the first 5-on-5 goal scored by Minnesota in the series.
Pence addresses troops on N. Korea 'provocation'
More directly on North Korea, the president returned to a theme of placing much onus on China for reining in the North. The American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its support vessels are now approaching the Korean peninsula.
Fired up by 1960s pop star Ginette Reno's national anthem, the Canadiens were all over NY in the opening period, but the Rangers struck first at 9:50. "If they want to keep shooting from there, like I said, we'll keep protecting the middle". Indeed the 26-year-old netminder played the "game of his life" Wednesday night, and this should be a wakeup call to his teammates.
With Yeo now directing strategy, using to his advantage almost five years of insight into the Wild's personalities, preferences and tendencies, the Blues kept up their stifling defense by packing those big bodies in tight. That's a bit of a risky play-what if the netminder had allowed a soft goal?-but the Blues are heading home with a 2-0 edge because of their composure and, yes, their grit.
Just because the Blues played conservatively and patiently didn't mean they were always disciplined, though. "Just worry about one game".
"It's a good start for us, but the job's not over yet", Schwartz said.
"We know the last two (victories) are going to be the hardest and it starts in Game 3", forward Jaden Schwartz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
NOTES: The announced attendance of 19,404 was the third-largest in Wild playoffs history. Going into the Flames/Ducks game last night, Edmundson was tied for the National Hockey League lead in playoff goals. Blues RW Zach Sanford made his career playoff debut, skating on the team's third line. Staal had a team-leading 28 goals but he has one assist in three games. Paryko put the Blues on the board first again, much to the delight of the home crowd before things were leveled soon after by Charlie Coyle.
The Blues played the ideal postseason road game for 59 minutes, 37 seconds until the levee finally broke when Zach Parise buried the tying goal with 22.7 ticks remaining in the third period off a deft set-up by Mikko Koivu.
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