Along with advising youth hockey players to never pass the puck in front of their own net, kids are taught from a young age that you never want to give up a goal in the first or last minute of a period.
Allow an early goal and it sets a bad tone for the remaining 19 minutes. Allow a late goal, and you have to head to the locker room with the idea that “we’re losing” in your heads.
So even though the Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers played 40 more minutes of hockey on Saturday afternoon, the goal scored by Ryan Hartman with 7.2 seconds left in the opening period ended up being the game-winner, and clearly put some bad thoughts in the Oilers’ heads in the moment.
“Anytime you get a late goal in a period, that’s always a big momentum shift, especially if they’re the ones who scored last,” Hartman said, after he carried the puck into the offensive zone, passed back to defenseman Jake Middleton, then got a pass back from Middleton to execute a picture-perfect give-and-go play.
“So (we) went from coming into the period tied, to coming out of the period ahead, so, yeah, it’s a lot easier playing ahead,” said Hartman, who came into Sunday’s showdown with Colorado having scored four times in the previous four games.
“Usually when we talk about him playing his best hockey is when he’s moving his feet and skating. His puck decisions have been strong,” Wild coach John Hynes said this week, calling Hartman a “willing skater.”
His two previous goals came in tight on the goalie, and with a solid frame that makes him hard to move away from the crease, Hynes said that Hartman is most valuable in the vicinity of the opposing goalie.
“I think he’s getting to the interior of the ice from an offensive standpoint, which is where he’s strong,” Hynes added. “And I think when he’s playing at the top of his game again, I think his puck decisions and his puck play set (him) and his linemates up for success.”
The win over Edmonton marked the 23rd time in 36 games in which the Wild scored first.
Briefly
Ben Jones’ stint with the Iowa Wild was akin to a cameo appearance. Sent down to the Wild’s AHL team on Friday after four players previously on injured reserve were, Jones was recalled to the NHL club on Sunday to add some forward depth. Jones, who has played 20 games at the NHL level this season, skated for Iowa on Saturday night in Illinois as they beat the Chicago Wolves 1-0 in a shootout. Jones was held scoreless on his shootout attempt.
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