Wild stuns Colorado 3-2 on Brunette's OT goal

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | 4/23/2003 | Chip Scoggins

[Minn]

DENVER -- The Wild began its journey into the playoff unknown nearly two weeks ago with modest goals and a wide-eyed eagerness to soak up every drop of the experience.

Players and coaches talked about playing hard and sticking to their system. Maybe, as an added bonus, the team would even win a game or two -- you know, just to see what it felt like.

[Minn]

Peter Forsberg For Best Actress

[KansasCanadian]

The Chris Drury for Derek Morris trade comes home to roost--what an upset

[KeyWest]

I once was an avid hockey fan, but they have degenerated into a hollow shell of what the sport once was. Didn't even know there was a team called the Wild.

Bad when a major sport is not even televised on the major networks during prime time for fear of losing too much audience. Even arena football has better coverage than hockey.

[Alberta's Child]

First Detroit, now Colorado. What's with all these over-hyped Western Conference teams this year?

Maybe my Devils are going to win their third Cup in the last 8 years after all.

[Night Hides Not]

As a Stars fan, I was looking forward to a Marty Turco-Patrick Roy matchup. I am not looking forward to a match with the Wild...they've played the Stars tough from Day 1.

Western Conference is tough, baby. Just goes to show what happens when you let your guard down, and the other team's goalie gets on a roll.

Gee, I guess the Stars weren't so stupid after all, letting Belfour go.

[doosee]

What is the wild, where is the wild, never heard of it?

[Tom_Busch]

I have the blues about what happened to the Blues. Some things never change.

[Night Hides Not]

Minnesota...they replaced the Stars after Norm Green (former Stars owner) moved the team to Dallas. There is still a great deal of bitterness when the Stars play Minnesota.

Consequently, whenever the Stars play the Wild, each game is close. If these two teams make it to the Western Conference Finals, it will be a compelling series to watch.

[doosee]

Thanks, I like to see the underdogs win. That is what makes watching sports so great, you never know the outcome. I will root for the Wild and hope they get to Dallas.

[Tom_Busch]

Yes it will!

[Tom_Busch]

Hey how about that Keith Tkachuk getting paid $11,000,000 to sleep through the playoffs?

Sorry, it's not often you see a hockey thread on FR and I have to express my frustation somewhere.

[Night Hides Not]

LOL!!! I know where you're coming from, but from the baseball side of the coin. Hard to believe that the Stars and the Texas Rangers are owned by the same guy, Tom Hicks. The Stars have been so good over the past several years, notwithstanding last year's performance, while the Rangers have been awful, albeit in the toughest division in baseball.

Although the Rangers are better this year, I still cringe whenever I see Chan Ho Park take the mound, knowing that he's making $13 million per year along with his 7+ ERA.

[Tom_Busch]

Yeah the poor Rangers!

I have been waiting for about 28 years now for a Stanley Cup. You were probably watching the Wild game last night, but I'm telling you the Blues were a joke. If I was Doug Weight, I would be seriously pissed at some of my teammates for their "effort". Demitra realized he was at a hockey game in the last ten minutes of the third when they were already down three goals. He pretty much took the rest of the series off though. Still, that's better than Tkachuk who just plain took the whole series off. Hey don't get me wrong, Weight is a great player, but he is no match for the Canucks. He did manage to get three games from them though.

[aardvark1]

Being a Detroit fan (since the first day I saw a 19-year-old Steve Yzerman play), I was disappointed when they lost, but what a wierd playoff season this will be. Hockey needed something like this to get the focus off Detroit and Colorado.

[k2afe]

The First round is over. Now comes the Second round. Keep your
eye on Ottawa. They have their money problems but the spirit of the team will move this team to the top like cream. k2afe

[Alberta's Child]

The playoffs have been a little strange for both conferences this year. So many "superstars" have been invisible so far, even when their teams win.

[Alberta's Child]

At least there are still two Canadian teams left among the eight teams. It would have been nice to see both Toronto and Edmonton win, though.

[aardvark1]

Agreed. I live within 10 miles of the Canadian border and rub elbows with a lot of Canadians. I think there's a restlessness about the future of the NHL in Canada. I'd like to see a Canadian team take it to perhaps reinvigorate the sport in Canada.

[Alberta's Child]

There is no future for the NHL in Canada as long as the NHL persists in this idiotic farce that ice hockey can generate national interest and TV audiences all across the U.S.

[ThinkingMan]

As an Avalanche fan, I could see this one coming a mile away. The Drury trade really hurt the team. However- I think it is important to give credit where it is due- Fernandez stole the series from the Avs. He made some huge saves. Roy gave up some really soft goals that didn't help the cause much as well. Overall, I think the last 2 games were won by the Wild because they showed more heart. Good luck to them in the remainder of the playoffs.


I am going to be real curious to see what happens to the Avs roster in the off-season. There may be some big changes.