Can Minnesota Wild's Even-Strength Goals Outshine Ottawa Senators' Powerplay?
The Minnesota Wild, with a 3-2 victory, improved their record to 4-1 while the Ottawa Senators fell to 2-3. The final score reflected a game where both teams showcased their strengths, but it was the Wild who emerged victorious at Xcel Energy Center.
The home team, Minnesota Wild, demonstrated remarkable efficiency at even strength by netting all three of their goals during five-on-five play. Their shooting percentage stood out at an impressive 16 percent as they capitalized on three of their nineteen shots. The winning goal proved pivotal in securing the triumph for the Wild over the Senators.
On special teams, the Senators excelled during powerplay opportunities converting two out of three chances into goals. Despite this advantage and dominating faceoffs with a 72 percent win rate, they were unable to overcome the deficit created by Minnesota's even-strength performance.
Defensively, both teams were active in blocking attempts from reaching their netminders. The Wild blocked a total of nineteen shots while maintaining ten hits throughout the game. Conversely, despite facing fewer shots (19), Ottawa's goaltender could only manage sixteen saves compared to his counterpart from Minnesota who made thirty saves against thirty-two shots.
The Senators' efforts were further hampered by giveaways and penalties that led to four powerplay opportunities for the Wild; however, they remained unfruitful in these situations due largely to Ottawa’s strong penalty kill unit which allowed no goals on shorthanded situations.
As fans look ahead after this hard-fought match-up between two competitive sides where every shot and save counted towards building toward future successes or reflecting on missed opportunities – attention now turns towards another challenge awaiting on home ice for Minnesota.
Minnesota Wild fans can mark their calendars for an upcoming encounter as they host Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on April 5th. This match is scheduled for broadcast across various networks including ESPN+ online and ALT TV along with BSN and BSWI television channels ensuring that supporters won’t miss any action from this anticipated clash.