subject: Minnesota Wild Tickets - Wild Beat Avalanche 5-3 [print this page] Chuck Kobasew had a hat trick, Andrew Brunette scored the winning goal on a power play midway through the third period, Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-3. Get Minnesota Wild tickets and see Kobasew score a goal.
Owen Nolan also scored and Mikko Koivu had three assists for the Wild. Kobasew told the press, "Tt was nice to contribute, especially offensively." The forward missed the previous four games due to an upper-body injury. Known as a grinder with a scoring touch, Kobasew was allowed to play on a line with Koivu and Brunette since Antti Miettinen has missed two consecutive games due to swine flu. Brunette said Kobasew has "done a real good job trying to talk to us, try and feel us out, try to get into those positions where we can take advantage of his shot. If he can get himself into those positions he's going to get a lot of chances."
Minnesota coach Todd Richards acknowledged that Kobasew had a couple of other scoring opportunities from in front of the net, but the forward was unable to get the shots off. Kyle Quincey, Paul Stastny and Chris Stewart scored for the Avalanche, who had lost four of their last five games in Minnesota. Colorado's Matt Duchene stated that if his team came out playing as hard as the Wild in the third period, the Aves would have "come out on top." Minnesota was far more aggressive in the final period, especially on the forecheck, which led to numerous quality chances.
Brunette scored after he received a pass across the crease from Koivu. The forward flicked the puck over a sprawled Craig Anderson for his team-leading ninth goal of the season. It was his sixth goal on the power play. Minnesota, which had struggled on the power play in its last five games (2 for 20), registered two goals on the man-advantage. In the second period, Kobasew hit Quincey in the right circle, which created a turnover.
Minnesota's Derek Boogaard took the loose puck and skated to the goal line before he backhanded a pass to a wide open Kobasew, who scored on Anderson on the stick side.
After Stastny scored on a rebound to tie the game at two-all, Kobasew took a feed from Brunette and again beat Anderson from the slot, which gave the Wild a 3-2 lead at the six-minute mark. Stewart answered when he scored off a 2-on-1 with Wojtek Wolsji late in the period to tie the game at three.
Colorado had an opportunity to take the lead when Cody McLeod fired a shot that rolled on edge along the goal line. Aves' forward T.J. Galiardi took a swipe at the puck, but accidently knocked the puck back to Backstrom. Colorado coach Joe Sacco summed up the game in two sentences when he said, "You've got to really want to put that puck in, and we didn't. Couple of turning points in the game right there." Quincy scored on a one-timer and Nolan on a rebound in first period.
