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For any of Bobby Brink’s many friends and family that had to buy their own tickets to his home debut with the Minnesota Wild, it was surely worth the investment.
Brink, the former Minnetonka prep star, capped off his first game back in his home state with the clinching goal as the Wild blew past nemesis Utah on Tuesday, starting off a lengthy homestand with a 5-0 win over the Mammoth.
Acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Friday, Brink was warned by general manager Bill Guerin that his return to Minnesota was for work only — not a family reunion — and he was instructed to give out the phone number to the team’s ticket office to any old acquaintances that wanted to see him play in person.
Presumably, none of them went home disappointed.
The Wild got a 25-save shutout from Filip Gustavsson and built a two-goal lead after two periods with usual suspects Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy continuing their friendly battle for the team-scoring lead. Danila Yurov and Ryan Hartman added third-period insurance goals after Brink brought the crowd it its feet for the first time inside Grand Casino Arena since he spurred Minnetonka to the 2018 Class 2A high school state championship.
The Wild got the game’s first power play but paid a tough price for the man advantage. Brink was tripped up by former Gophers star Logan Cooley and went hard into the side boards face first. He was helped from the ice by a team trainer and went right down the tunnel but returned later in the first period.
Halfway through the first penalty, the Mammoth were whistled for a neutral-zone tripping infraction, but Minnesota failed to score on the full minute of 5-on-3 advantage.
Back to playing 5-on-5, Kaprizov scored a highlight-reel goal after a Utah turnover below the goal line. After a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko, Kaprizov’s initial shot went wide right of the net, but caromed hard off the end boards and emerged at the left side of the net. Knocked down by a Mammoth defender, Kaprizov was down on one knee when he swatted the puck off the goalie and in for the Wild star’s team-leading 37th goal of the season.
Minnesota executed a perfect 2-on-1 rush midway through the game, taking a 2-0 lead when Marcus Johansson’s cross-ice pass was slammed home by Boldy.
Brock Faber had a second-period breakaway after emerging from the penalty box but was foiled by a pad save.
Brink’s goal was his 14th of the season, which includes one he scored against the Wild in October when they played in Philadelphia.
Utah, which had lost in overtime on Monday night in Chicago, got 25 saves from goalie Karel Vejmelka in falling to the Wild for just the second time in franchise history. The Mammoth had won their two previous meetings with Minnesota this season.
It was the fourth shutout of the season for Gustavsson, who improved to 24-10-6.
The return of Johansson to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury, along with the addition of five players at the trade deadline, caused some line juggling among the bottom six. The all-Russian third line was broken up for the first time in months, with Brink on the wing with Yurov and Tarasenko. Winger Yakov Trenin played on the fourth line along with newcomers Michael McCarron and Nick Foligno. Nico Sturm was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.
By the second period, a new all-Russian line had been assembled, with Kaprizov, Yurov and Tarasenko skating together for a few shifts.
Minnesota’s four-game homestand continues Thursday with the Philadelphia Flyers making their only St. Paul appearance of the season.
Continue reading...
Brink, the former Minnetonka prep star, capped off his first game back in his home state with the clinching goal as the Wild blew past nemesis Utah on Tuesday, starting off a lengthy homestand with a 5-0 win over the Mammoth.
Acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Friday, Brink was warned by general manager Bill Guerin that his return to Minnesota was for work only — not a family reunion — and he was instructed to give out the phone number to the team’s ticket office to any old acquaintances that wanted to see him play in person.
Presumably, none of them went home disappointed.
The Wild got a 25-save shutout from Filip Gustavsson and built a two-goal lead after two periods with usual suspects Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy continuing their friendly battle for the team-scoring lead. Danila Yurov and Ryan Hartman added third-period insurance goals after Brink brought the crowd it its feet for the first time inside Grand Casino Arena since he spurred Minnetonka to the 2018 Class 2A high school state championship.
The Wild got the game’s first power play but paid a tough price for the man advantage. Brink was tripped up by former Gophers star Logan Cooley and went hard into the side boards face first. He was helped from the ice by a team trainer and went right down the tunnel but returned later in the first period.
Halfway through the first penalty, the Mammoth were whistled for a neutral-zone tripping infraction, but Minnesota failed to score on the full minute of 5-on-3 advantage.
Back to playing 5-on-5, Kaprizov scored a highlight-reel goal after a Utah turnover below the goal line. After a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko, Kaprizov’s initial shot went wide right of the net, but caromed hard off the end boards and emerged at the left side of the net. Knocked down by a Mammoth defender, Kaprizov was down on one knee when he swatted the puck off the goalie and in for the Wild star’s team-leading 37th goal of the season.
Minnesota executed a perfect 2-on-1 rush midway through the game, taking a 2-0 lead when Marcus Johansson’s cross-ice pass was slammed home by Boldy.
Brock Faber had a second-period breakaway after emerging from the penalty box but was foiled by a pad save.
Brink’s goal was his 14th of the season, which includes one he scored against the Wild in October when they played in Philadelphia.
Utah, which had lost in overtime on Monday night in Chicago, got 25 saves from goalie Karel Vejmelka in falling to the Wild for just the second time in franchise history. The Mammoth had won their two previous meetings with Minnesota this season.
It was the fourth shutout of the season for Gustavsson, who improved to 24-10-6.
The return of Johansson to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury, along with the addition of five players at the trade deadline, caused some line juggling among the bottom six. The all-Russian third line was broken up for the first time in months, with Brink on the wing with Yurov and Tarasenko. Winger Yakov Trenin played on the fourth line along with newcomers Michael McCarron and Nick Foligno. Nico Sturm was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.
By the second period, a new all-Russian line had been assembled, with Kaprizov, Yurov and Tarasenko skating together for a few shifts.
Minnesota’s four-game homestand continues Thursday with the Philadelphia Flyers making their only St. Paul appearance of the season.
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