Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 4, Bruins 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Wednesday night:

1. Good GREEF
The line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno has a well-earned reputation of being giant pains in the rump to play against. That was the case again on Wednesday night, as that trio was a constant threat when on the ice before cashing in with a huge goal in the third period.
"That's the way they play. And that's the way we need them to play every night. And they bring it in games like that," said Wild goaltender Cam Talbot "I mean, it started, I don't know if it was the first or second shift, they're just running over guys in the offensive zone and it really set the tone for the game for us tonight. And, that's just what that line does so well for us."
The goal they scored culminated about as hard working a shift as you'll see.

"Probably the best shift I think I've ever seen," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "I think we just willed the game for sure, even if they didn't score on that shift I think the momentum they created for us that shift would have carried us at least, to a point. But to score, clearly was a bonus."
For about 60 seconds, that line lived by the old hockey cliches of getting pucks deep and getting shots to the net. Nothing fancy, in fact, look up "greasy goal" in the dictionary and you'll find a GIF of Greenway's third-period tally right next to it (probably).
Foligno, Eriksson Ek and Greenway jammed away at about a half dozen pucks laying in or around the blue paint, as bodies were flying everywhere to try and either keep the puck near the net, or keep it out.
After a quick reset back to the point, the Wild got the puck down by the crease once again. This time, it squirted free at just the right moment, with Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman out of position and Greenway between the hash marks and on his forehand, rifling a quick shot into an open cage.
With every poke at the puck and near miss, the buzz inside the building continued to build.

"I think our group felt it, like you could almost see them getting up out of their seats every time there was a check finished or something positive was happening down there," Evason said. So I think the next line that would go probably would have been jacked to get out there."
Greenway said he could sense the snowball building on the ice too.
"Honestly, I was getting frustrated because I think I had a couple chances to put one in. They were laying down, blocking shots," Greenway said. "I don't know who kept it in on the blue line and got a shot off. But yeah you can sense it. If you keep hemming them in for that long, they get tired. We've been on the other side of it so we know if we keep going at them like that you're bound to get a bounce. That's what ended up unfolding for us."

We mentioned last game that Greenway has scored his goals in bunches this season, and that his goal last time out -- which snapped a three-month dry spell in that department -- could be just what the doctor ordered to get the Big Rig heading in the right direction.
Well, lo and behold, that's back-to-back games with a marker for Greenway, who also had one called back in Columbus to wrap up the Wild's recent road trip. That would have been (and should have been) three-straight games with a goal for him.
Regardless, Greenway has been trending the right way with his overall play. Now he's getting rewarded for it on the scoresheet as well.
"He's really taken a step," Evason said. "His confidence, his maturity, his willingness to compete in all areas of the game, physically, verbally. He's got a lot of confidence and he's a very effective player, obviously, and he's a big part of that line."
2. That's how you finish
Tied after 40 minutes, the Wild did something it has struggled to do of late: close out a game like it did for so much of the first half of the season.
Minnesota played a strong first 20 minutes, then was a bit sleepy in the second, according to defenseman Alex Goligoski.
But it woke up in the third in a big way, adhering to the strategy of "any shot is a good shot." The Wild won the shots category 19-9 in the final 20 and scored twice, once on a Jordan Greenway goal eight minutes in and another on Ryan Hartman's empty-net goal with five seconds remaining to close out the regulation victory.

"I thought we did a lot of really good things in the third period as far as getting pucks to the net," Evason said. "I think [assistant coach Brett McLean] mentioned on the bench, I think it was the 10-minute mark or something like that and we had 15 shots. Our thought process was to get as many as we possibly could. The other night, we had so many blocked in that hockey game and we wanted to get pucks through.
"When we get pucks behind people, or past people, it's hard for teams to defend, certainly that line. We do real good work down there. But if you're throwing it into shin pads or you're one and done and you're out of the offensive zone, you don't get the momentum that that line created for us at the end there."
In between the two goals, it did a whole lot really, really well.
Most importantly, it defended well. The vast majority of Boston's nine shots were perimeter shots that Talbot was able to calmly steer aside in earning his fourth consecutive victory.
Talbot also stopped a couple of testers during a 30-second stretch early in the period, two or three of which hit sticks or shin pads and bounced right in on him.

"Any time there was a secondary opportunity, we were there to clear them out. And on the other side, we're getting pucks through, we weren't getting blocked tonight, we had traffic at their net, and we're able to pounce on some of those rebounds," Talbot said. "And obviously, we got a big goal there in the third by doing just that. Just kind of got back to our recipe for success and it worked for us."
The Wild was never shorthanded in the third either, going to the penalty box just once in what was a late 4-on-4 situation.
Defending a one-goal lead late in the game, the Wild's forecheck was aggressive and effective, keeping Swayman on the ice until there were just 66 seconds left. Even after they got him to the bench for the extra attacker, the Wild defended everything until Hartman's shot into a yawning cage sealed the deal.

Wednesday's victory was, well, vintage Wild.
"It was a good 60-minute effort by us," Goligoski said. "I think we made an effort to get on them and make it a hard game for them. The work that we put in the first two periods set up that third for us. A complete effort."
3. Bring on the rough stuff
You just had the feeling that this game would be a physical, hard-nosed, chippy game after what transpired in Boston in the meeting back in January, when Bruins forward Trent Frederic was called for boarding Kirill Kaprizov on a play that injured the Wild star forward.
And sure enough, Frederic was called on to answer the bell nine minutes into the game when he fought Brandon Duhaime in a heavyweight tilt with plenty of haymakers tossed both ways.
Duhaime connected on more, much to the delight of the home crowd inside Xcel Energy Center.

"I think it was important. You don't want to endorse fighting obviously but it's still part of the game and it's not really illegal. So why not, right?" Evason said. "If the players want it and they want to do it, that's great. We're not sending anybody out or talking about it. That was never mentioned but it was nice for our group to stick together like that and it was a big moment for us for sure. The guys were jacked for sure."
While the fight may have cooled some of the tensions between these clubs, it certainly didn't last long. There were a number of skirmishes, dust-ups, kerfuffles and scrums along the way. There were some heavy hits too ... the one Foligno put on defenseman Connor Clifton in the first period rattled the glass windows lining the exterior of the arena.

"I think our last games have been hard. We know what situation we are in and know we have to win this game to join this [playoff] race for these last 20 games. It's important," Eriksson Ek said. "There's not a lot of space, and it's the same for other teams, too. So for us, it's [about taking] it game by game, and trying to get better, and just come to work ready to work."
Kaprizov, for what it's worth, exacted his own bit of revenge by scoring a pair of first-period goals. But the physical nature of the game seemed to bring out the best in the GREEF line, but also of the entire team.

"It was intense, a very intense hockey game. Lots of chirping. But lots of physicality," Evason said. "There were some big, big hits in that hockey game and we talk all the time about playoff hockey. That was playoff hockey."

Loose pucks

• Greenway's goal was his third game-winning marker of the season. He had just one in his first four NHL seasons combined
• It was Kaprizov's sixth multi-goal game of the season and 21st multi-point game
• Kaprizov's 56 even-strength points is second-most in the NHL
• Goligoski's 26 assists and 28 points lead all Wild defensemen
• Spurgeon finished with a pair of assists and now has seven points over his past seven games
• Hartman had a two-point night
• Talbot ended the night with 24 saves on 26 shots
• Craig Smith and Brad Marchand tallied goals for Boston
• Swayman finished with 30 saves on 33 shots faced
• Boston saw its six-game point streak snapped with the regulation loss (5-0-1)

Dan's three stars

1. Jordan Greenway
   2. Jared Spurgeon
   3. Kirill Kaprizov

Highlights