Stanley Cup Playoffs 2014: Mikael Granlund’s OT Winner Lifts Minnesota Wild Past Colorado Avalanche In Game 3
By Andrew Dill
Apr 21, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund (64) celebrates with his teammates after his game-winning during overtime against the Colorado Avalanche in game three of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche fell to the Minnesota Wild in-game three at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota Monday night by the final score of 1-0. With the loss, Colorado still leads the series 2-1 entering game four which will take place Thursday night.
The play that everyone is talking about involving Wild forward Matt Cooke can be seen in the video below. Just two minutes into the second period, Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie would shoot the puck along the boards and Cookie would blatantly go knee-to-knee with Barrie. Barrie would not be seen for the rest of the game and was listed as doubtful for returning in game three. The NHL will definitely take a look at the play as Cooke could possibly see a suspension. What’s disappointing about it all is Cooke would get just a two-minute minor for the play, embarrassing.
Besides the dirty plays, Minnesota’s defense was top-notch Monday night, not letting players like Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog get good scoring chances. Seems like Colorado couldn’t get anything going. Semyon Varlamov would have been the number one star if the Avalanche came out on top, stopping 45-of-46 shots on net, making big save after big save. His counterpart Darcy Kuemper would have an easy job filling in for Ilya Bryzgalov, stopping just 22-of-22 shots on goal.
After a scoreless three periods, the Avalanche and Wild would go to overtime to settle game three. This time, the Wild would come out with the upper-hand. Mikael Granlund would skate towards the boards as Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda over-played it. Grandlund would skate all the way across the crease uncontested, taking a diving swing at his own rebound attempt to put it in the back of the net for the overtime victory.
Game four of the seven game series will take place Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Puck-drop is scheduled for 9:30 PM ET, 7:30 PM MT.