Wild Blog: Stepping Up Without Parise
With Zach Parise out for at least two weeks, the Minnesota Wild needs players to start stepping up and it looks like they are.
Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets may have been the most fun game I've seen all year. The Jets are a tough team to play, even at Xcel Energy Center. They've got big guys like Dustin Byfuglien, who aren't afraid to push players around. Their fans travel well and often you'll hear plenty of "Go Jets Go" chants, but Tuesday's game was different. The Wild got the first goal on a great feed from Captain Koivu to Nino Niederreiter in the first period. The Jets came back to tie it and that's how the first period would end a 1-1 tie, but that was just the beginning.
Fast forward to the second period and the Wild took over the game. Head Coach Mike Yeo made a slight adjustment to the lines by switching Thomas Vanek and Charlie Coyle. That meant Vanek would be skating with Mikeal Granlund and Jason Pominville. It ended up being just the spark the team needed. Four and half minutes in, defenseman Christian Folin sprung Vanek on a breakaway and Vanek made it count. He hit a slap shot to top left corner and Jets Goalie Ondrej Pavelec didn't have a chance. That goal would spark a second period run and eventually a big win by the Wild.
Two and half minutes after that Vanek breakaway, Erik Haula would have his turn. He too buried the puck behind Pavelec and the Wild were up 3-1. Four minutes later another run by Vanek. This time he would make a move that should land him in all the highlight reels Wednesday. Vanek got the puck and used a sweet between his legs move to stop Jets defenseman Paul Postma in his tracks. Vanek then goes top shelf and its 4-1 Wild, but the second period scoring wasn't over. About three minutes later, Chris Porter got his first goal in a Wild sweater off a great deflection from a shot by Jared Spurgeon. It was 5-1 Wild and the crowd of 18,000-plus at the X were excited!
Winnipeg would add a couple goals in the third period, but the Wild held them off and won the game 5-3 without Zach Parise. It was exactly the kind of game the team needed. Without Parise in the lineup, other players have to step up. Last night it was Vanek. He finally did what he was brought here to do and that was to score goals. We (Wild Fans) have seen too many breakaways over the years, where the player isn't able to finish. It was refreshing Tuesday night to see both Vanek and Haula bury those pucks into the back of the net on breakaways and give the Wild the chance to win. If the Wild are going to make a run this season, Tuesday's game is the perfect example of what we need to see. Players like Vanek and Haula have to step up and start making things happen. I'm looking for Pominville, Granlund and Coyle to make a difference on the upcoming road trip which starts Thursday in Carolina. If the Wild can keep this momentum going it will give Parise time to heal without the feeling that he has to rush back to help his team. Go Wild!!
