Maple Leafs Upend Wild 4-1
Tyler Bozak and the Toronto Maple Leafs spent a lot of time chasing the puck.
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Tyler Bozak and the Toronto Maple Leafs spent a lot of time chasing the puck.
Jason Pominville received a warm welcome in his return to Buffalo and left his former team still searching for its first win of the season. Pominville, a former Sabres captain, scored the winning goal in the Minnesota Wild's 2-1 victory over the winless Sabres on Monday night. "It tops off a pretty emotional day in a great way," said Pominville, who played his first game in Buffalo since he was traded to Minnesota last April for center Johan Larsson, Rochester goalie Matt Hackett, a first-round pick that was used on defenseman Nikita Zadorov and a second-round selection. "So many good memories in this building. It's nice to get another one."
October 5, 1993 was the first time the franchise formerly known as the Minnesota North Stars would play a home game somewhere other than Bloomington, Minn. That night, the Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-4 in Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas – officially, and for the foreseeable future, to be known as the "Dallas Stars." Though Minnesota hockey fans would count on the promise of a future franchise from the NHL, they had to wait seven long years to get it.
Rookies Justin Fontaine and Mathew Dumba both scored their first NHL goals and Josh Harding made 18 saves for his second straight win as the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Saturday night. Minnesota came in giving up a league-low 22.0 shots per game, and kept the pressure off Harding, who was filling in for injured starter Niklas Backstrom. Two nights after stopping 14 of 15 shots in a 2-1 win over Winnipeg, Harding faced only 19 shots as the Wild controlled play from the opening faceoff. Dallas also was playing with its backup goalie as starter Kari Lehtonen was injured in a 4-1 win at Winnipeg on Friday. His replacement, Dan Ellis, struggled with Minnesota's offensive barrage, allowing five goals on 36 shots.
Matt Cooke's goal gave Minnesota the lead in the second period, and Josh Harding made 14 saves for the Wild in a 2-1 victory on Thursday night over the Winnipeg Jets, their newest rival in the recreated Central Division.
Filip Forsberg and Colin Wilson scored power-play goals 39 seconds apart in the first period, and the Nashville Predators earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in their home opener.
Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom has hurt his right leg in the first period against the Nashville Predators, knocking him out of the game.
Minnesota Wild center Charlie Coyle will miss three to four weeks with a sprained knee. The Wild announced the timetable for Coyle's recovery on Sunday night. The second-year player was hurt Saturday night in the team's overtime loss to Anaheim. Left wing Jason Zucker was recalled from Iowa of the AHL to take Coyle's place. Zucker played in 20 games last season. Both Coyle and Zucker are 21, part of the Wild's promising young core. Coyle was centering the second line, between Dany Heatley and Nino Niederreiter.
The Anaheim Ducks let the sting of their season-opening loss at Colorado carry into their second game at Minnesota. And their improved play led to their first win of the season.
One of the best things about sports is that each team has a rival or a villain who they just cannot stand to play against. Whether it's somebody who managed to always find a way to beat you or someone who just rubs you the wrong way there is always one team you want to beat just because you want to stick it to that player.
Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter scored shootout goals for the Los Angeles Kings, who rallied to beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Jason Pominville to a five-year contract extension. The Wild announced the signing on Thursday in advance of the team's season opener against the L.A. Kings. Terms were not disclosed.
The Minnesota Wild will try to build on last season's playoff berth when the team opens its 13th season. The Wild takes on the Los Angeles Kings in Thursday night's opener. Coach Mike Yeo says the Wild is looking to get better offensively. He says it's something he and the players talk about a lot.
Dany Heatley's days as a 50-goal scorer are probably gone. The lanky right wing still has a significant presence with the Minnesota Wild.
The Minnesota Wild trimmed their roster over the weekend, sending promising young forward Jason Zucker and two other players to Iowa of the AHL. Forwards Brett Bulmer and Jake Dowell also were assigned to Iowa. But Zucker was the only mild surprise in the group. The speedster Zucker had four goals and one assist in 20 games for the Wild last season. But he was unlikely to play on opening night against the Los Angeles Kings, so the Wild sent him down to get some work in with the Iowa Wild, the team's new AHL affiliate.
