ST. PAUL -- When the Minnesota Wild weren’t too busy looking for the perfect play on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center, Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom proved to be a conundrum they couldn’t solve. When the Wild appeared to score the game-winner in the extra session, it promptly got wiped off the board as Jared Spurgeon was ruled offside.
It was that type of night for the Wild. Frustrating.
In the end, while the Wild managed to stretch their point streak to 10 games, they ultimately suffered a 1-0 shootout loss to the Flames.
Sometimes when the Wild can’t score, they try to make the perfect play, which, in turn, inhibits their ability to score. It’s been a common theme this season that reared its ugly head once again on this particular night.
Luckily for the Wild as much as the offense has struggled, the defense has been incredible as of late, and they helped them get at least a point against the Flames.
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Not much happened in the first period as the Wild picked up right where they left off after blanking the Flames over the weekend. The defense was stout once again in front of Filip Gustavsson, and when things broke down, he was there to make the save.
It was the same story in the second period as the Wild continued to frustrate the Flames whenever they entered the offensive zone. The only issue? As has been the case for most of the past month, the Wild couldn’t find the back of the net.
The scoreless tie held into the third period where the Wild threw everything — including the kitchen sink — at Markstrom to no avail. He stood on his head a handful of times despite seemingly constant pressure in front of him and managed to force overtime in the process.
As the seconds ticked away in overtime, Spurgeon appeared to net the game-winner, pounding home a rebound from Ryan Hartman. He face planted on the ice in the process and celebrated with his teammates in the immediate aftermath.
The celebration was short lived as the officials reviewed the play and ruled that Spurgeon preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
That set the stage for the shootout where the Wild fell to the Flames in sudden death.
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