Josh Anderson was not a happy man. Late in the second period, he sought to avenge Christian Dvorak by attempting to engage Jared Spurgeon in a fight, but ultimately threw down the gloves against a player who was over his weight in Ryan Hartman. After the match, the Ontarian was still bubbling, having really not liked this match.
“You throw it out the window, the video. All the players in this dressing room know that we can play better. It was a long trip. We had just played some good games. But even when you’re tired, you have to find ways to play better. We have abandoned our two goalkeepers. The Wild were circling in offensive territory, it looked like pick-up hockey for most of the game. »
–Josh Anderson
Dominique Ducharme explained it well. At 5-1 after 40 minutes, he did not want to prolong Cayden Primeau’s ordeal. And he had the opportunity to offer the first minutes in the NHL to Michael McNiven. In his fifth season with the organization, McNiven made his NHL debut in a difficult environment.
“It was a great experience, a good 20 minutes. I was not as nervous as I thought, it’s quite surprising when you know me. I wish I had known a different result. The Wild have a good team, which has quick and talented players. It opened my eyes to the game in this league. »
–Michael McNiven
Like Anderson, Cédric Paquette made a very lucid assessment of this thaw against the Wild.
“In our zone, the Wild were skating too easily with the puck. When we had the puck, we lost it. We couldn’t get to the other side of the ice. »
– Cedric Paquette