1. Did the Canes Shut Down the Wild’s Top Scorers?
Short answer? Technically, yes. Eric Staal, Jason Zucker, and Brad Hunt were all kept off the scoresheet. Long answer? The Minnesota Wild still managed to overcome being down all game to tie it at 3 apiece in the 2nd period.
The Minnesota Wild came right out of the gate with Brad Hunt managing to pull away for a breakaway chance that was easily stopped by James Reimer. Eric Staal and Co. had many solid shifts, but couldn’t manage to get one past Reimer.
The Minnesota Wild players who did manage to score were mostly unexpected barring one, at least on my end. Luke Kunin scored first for the Wild, followed by Zach Parise, then Carson Soucy to tie it up.
The Canes did a solid job of shutting down Eric Staal, Brad Hunt, and Jason Zucker, but not so great at shutting down the rest of the Wild’s offensive threats. Now to take a look at James Reimer’s absolutely tremendous effort today.