TRH RECAP 23 : Conquering Minnesota
KINGS 4, WILD 0
While all you guys were trying to relive high school glory days by visiting some local bar and hanging out with high school friends you really didn’t want to see anyway, I was absolutely GLUED to my computer monitor, watching the Minnesota Wild LIVE from St. Paul.
I can’t say that I ever set foot in Minnesota, but I did go to college in Chicago, so I knew my fair share of Minnesotans. For the most part, they’re like regular ole’ Americans, but what I found peculiar was their rabid loyalty towards their home state. Guys, I’m from Southern California, everyone KNOWS why I have a California state flag in my dorm room (because they all want to move to the West Coast but are afraid to do so). No one cares about the Mall of America (which was created to make Minnesotans forget that they live in Minnesota), or the Minnesota high school hockey playoffs…
Okay, I lied. This high school hockey tournament seems pretty sweet…
ANYWAY! The Kings probably didn’t have a chance to check out he Mall of America, and a brief check of the Kings roster shows that only Jamie McBain is from Minnesota, but he left high school to play for the US Hockey National Development Team, which somehow plays in the USHL against regular dudes, which seems unfair, but they must know something I don’t. Fact is: McBain didn’t get to have his sick flow judged by the dude that makes those videos; nor did he ever get a chance to play for the Goophers (he went to Winskaaaahhhhnsin, which seems traitorous).
Yes you do
The Kings didn’t wait very long to get on the board, which is something that I think we all can agree that we would like to see more often. Just 4:21 into the first, Dwight King pulled up on the right wing and fired a shot towards the net. Mike Richards redirected it, and we were all reminded why we liked Mike Richards when he was first traded to the Kings (i.e. he does more than cause buyout or trade talk).
Just under nine minutes later, the captain tallied his 200th career goal, in a goal that really only proved that things weren’t going to go right for Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday night. It’s funny, because I watched a bit of the Minnesota-Florida game the other day, and the Wild defense was absolutely stifling. Poor Florida had absolutely NO chance to get set-up on two powerplays that I saw, and the Minnesota defense was quite impressive as a whole. I started to think, maybe this sticky defense would give the Kings trouble when LA visited Minnesota…
Those thoughts were erased when the King scored their third goal in the first 20 minutes, and the second 2-on-1 that the Wild had given up (that resulted in a goal).
Just when you thought that the Kings had had enough, Mr. Game Seven himself netted the puck with 10 seconds remaining…
When the first goal of the game is the game winner, you know that you have either an incredibly boring game on your hands, or a completely lopsided one. The Kings didn’t score after Williams’s tally, and neither did Minnesota, meaning that Martin Jones, who started back-to-back games (on back-to-back nights) had a relatively easy night.
Shutout? Shutout!
There was no official word on why exactly Jon Quick didn’t start, but I read something somewhere that it was a “Coach’s Decision,” which explains a lot.
Other Games That I Watched that Actually Turned Out to Be Interesting
The Flames traveled to San Jose to take on the Sharks in a game that had “TIME TO TURN ON THE NETFLIX AND WATCH PEAKY BLINDERS” written all over it. Maybe it was me thinking “well I’m paying for this NHL package, I might as well watch something,” but I flipped this thing on, and was quite happy that I did so.
For one, there was a contingent of Edmonton Oilers “fans” peppered throughout the arena, wearing Connor McDavid “jerseys.”
Really the Flames are just a fun team to watch. Johnny Gaudreau looks like Patrick Kane if Patrick Kane cared at all about the forecheck (or backcheck), and every other dude on the team is playing like the minor league player they are, desperately trying to stick to the big club’s roster.
And it was fun seeing the Sharks get shut out.
Adult Beverage of the Game/Night
I picked this up to impress my step-cousins with my beer knowledge. You see, I don’t just drink whatever’s around (although I am wont to do so…); I’m a cultured youth who has traveled the world. So I figured said cousins wouldn’t be disappointed with a holiday five-pack, and had one.
After that it was Wild Turkey, which seemed appropriate.
WTF GIF That You Will Eventually Love
It works in every situation
Go ahead and send this to your coworkers–unprompted–on Monday morning.
Happy Thanksgiving.
