Whims drove the puck surrounded by four opponents! And entered the history of “Minnesota”
May 9, 2022, 02:30 UTC
Kirill took the lead in the playoff sniper race, but St. Louis still managed to level the score in the series.
Series “Minnesota” and “St. Louis” was expected to be equal and long, and it turns out. Today the “bluesmen” managed to respond to two chic games of the opponent with their almost perfect match. Craig Berube shuffled the links, changed Ville Husso на Jordan Binningtonthe “musicians” came out with a frantic mood, while the “Minnesota” could not find their rhythm for a very long time, and when they did it, it was already too late.
Louis flew ahead from the first shift, and their pressure soon materialized in a goal. Loss Kirill Kaprizova in a foreign zone led to a counterattack by the Bluesmen and a goal Jordan Kairuwho was assisted Buchnevich. On the first try, the striker did not score, but Cukkarello couldn’t get the puck off the spot, and Kairu was celebrating his success on rebounds.
The rights to the video belong to NHL Enterprises, LP You can watch the video on the NHL website.
However, despite the overwhelming advantage in throws, it was not possible to develop success immediately. Minnesota withstood four minutes under a hail of attacks in the minority – Tarasenko, O’Reilly and Perron loaded Fleury with throws, it was hot at his gate, but without goals.
Toward the end of the period, Caprice fully corrected for his early mistake. He took a good position in front of the gate, surrounded by four opponents at once, threw an irresistible touch and entered the history of Minnesota!
The rights to the video belong to NHL Enterprises, LP You can watch the video on the NHL website.
The Russian scored in the third match in a row, and has already shot five goals in total, which was a repeat of the club’s record for goals in one playoff series. Hell, only three Minnesota players scored more in an entire playoff—Gaborik (9), Brunett, and Walz (7 each) in 2003. Plus, Kaprizov caught up with Evander Kane and took the lead in the sniper race.
Even Kirill’s goal did not make Minnesota finally wake up – in the second period, the audience saw exactly the same picture as in the first. The only difference is that this time, St. Louis managed to achieve a comfortable two-goal lead. And they did it in just a minute and a half! First, Eriksson Ek lost the puck on someone else’s blue line, O’Reilly gave the puck to Perron, who flashed Fleury. Again, not immediately, the puck jumped in blue paint, Foligno tried to pull it off the ribbon, but on the contrary, brought it into the goal.
The rights to the video belong to NHL Enterprises, LP You can watch the video on the NHL website.
Before Minnesota had time to come to their senses, they made another blunder. O’Reilly robbed a hesitant Matt Dambu and gave it to Kairu, who was playing the match of his life. He missed the puck between his legs and scored a stunning goal.
The rights to the video belong to NHL Enterprises, LP You can watch the video on the NHL website.
Only at the end of the period, the “savages” finally woke up – another majority helped, in which Kaprizov was supposed to score, but Binnington managed to move and make a save. The last minutes were behind them, and at the beginning of the third period Matthew Boldi managed to shove the puck from the patch. There were other moments to score – only Kaprizov had a couple, but Minnesota was not enough for a bigger one. In the end, Perron hit an empty net, and then O’Reilly converted the majority, and the series returns to St. Paul with a score of 2-2.