Vikings' walk-off win creates surreal moment at Xcel Energy Center

ST. PAUL -- The sense of sadness was palpable inside Xcel Energy Center.
About 10 miles west, down Interstate 94, the Minnesota Vikings were in the process of losing a 17-point second half lead, seemingly en route to another soul-crushing playoff loss.
Fans slowly trickled into the arena bowl. As the starting lineup for the Wild was announced, about a quarter of the seats were occupied. Most of the 18,927 in attendance had chosen to remain in the concourses, watching the Vikings-New Orleans Saints NFC Divisional Round game on television.

The building was silent as anthem singer John deCausemeaker began his rendition of "O Canada" when something incredible happened.
Across town at U.S. Bank Stadium, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum connected with wide receiver Stefon Diggs along the right sideline, putting the purple into field goal range.
A dull roar was heard from the concourse.
But as a missed tackle allowed Diggs to break free all alone, sprinting to the end zone as time expired, the dull roar became deafening -- to the point where deCausemeaker's powerful tenor had been completely drowned out.
"You knew somehow the Vikings won," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau.

When the Wild left its dressing room to come onto the ice, the Saints had just drilled a field goal to take back the lead. Minnesota had the ball with 25 seconds left on the clock and committed a false start penalty.
Things looked bleak.
The Minnesotans on the Wild roster grudgingly slogged to the ice surface, their hearts perhaps a little bit broken.
"You're immediately thinking that it was over," said Wild forward Zach Parise.
Then the dull roar, followed by the deafening cheer gave hope.
"I mean, I knew it had to be something like a win because it was so loud. It was probably the loudest this building has gotten," said Wild forward Nate Prosser. "You could feel it. I mean, our trainers were coming running down the aisle like something big was happening. We all kind of knew."

On the other bench, Canucks forwards Brock Boeser, a Burnsville native, and Thomas Vanek, a Minnesota resident, shared a look.
"It was pretty cool during the national anthem," Vanek said. "I think he was six guys down from me, and we're like, no way, and then we saw the replay and wow, what a play."
As deCausemeaker switched gears and began the "Star Spangled Banner," the flummoxed and curious crowd inside the bowl began to figure out what happened.
Above his crease, goaltender Devan Dubnyk could barely contain his excitement. Like everyone else, he wasn't sure what happened -- knowing obviously, it had to be good.
"It certainly sounded loud enough to be a good thing," Dubnyk said. "You're kind of itching to go over to the bench and figure out what happened."
Fans -- and Dubnyk -- didn't have to wait long. After deCausemeaker finished and before the puck dropped, the winning play was flashed on the scoreboard above center ice, giving the fans and players who had settled near the ice surface the same view those on the concourse had just seen.
"It's a big part of the city so it's nice they were able to get it done," Dubnyk said.
"It's exciting for our state," Prosser said. "We are all pumped up for them."