There are few teams that stand up against the goons that the Minnesota Wild have stacked their team with. Ultimately the likes of Fedoruk, Boogaard, and Simon may contribute to the demise of the team (with only three playable lines), but in the meantime the Calgary Flames stood toe-to-toe against the divisional rivals. All the goons fought in this format: Godard v Boogaard (draw), Vandermeer v Simon (Simon edge, p.s. Jim, tie your helmet on tighter), and Sarich v Fedoruk (draw). Two in the first five minutes and Sarich in the third. The goons did their thing and the Wild tried to build but Calgary answered. What the Wild couldn’t do was respond in kind to answer the likes of a dude named Jarome Iginla.
A low scoring game between the two teams was expected, it’s not what was received. All signs pointed to a defensive bore until Dion Phaneuf scored his first short-handed goal going coast-to-coast in the first. As for Iginla, 1-2-3; Second, second, third. That was one goal for Jarome in the last minute of the second, another in the first minute of the third and another in the third.
Give the Wild credit for making it interesting in the end. They scored 2 goals in the last three minutes and made it a one goal game with 50 seconds left. Miikka Kiprusoff shut the door a number of times making huge saves covering for some defensive breakdowns. But the story of the game remains Jarome–natural hattrick, and get this, people actually threw their hats to the ice.
Notes: Smith left the game after taking a Boogaard elbow to the head. Huselius continues his stay on the pp and nowhere else.
