Morrissey’s game-changing cross check warrants NHL action

St. Paul — One of the amazing things about sports is how many ways one significant event in a game can be interpreted. No matter how many replays are shown from a multitude of camera angles, at least 20 people in a building of 20,000 can cast doubt upon what they reveal, no matter how unreasonable it may seem.

Exhibit A in Game 4 of Minnesota’s first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets came late in the first period of the Wild’s 2-0 loss on Tuesday night and, in the words of Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, “It cost us the game.”

With Minnesota in the midst of a power play, Wild center Eric Staal positioned himself between the circles in front of the Winnipeg net. That’s when Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey blatantly cross-checked Staal in the side of the neck, dropping Minnesota’s regular-season scoring leader to the ice.

Rather than goaltender Devan Dubnyk leaving the ice for an extra attacker in anticipation of a 5-on-3 man advantage, Staal struggled to his feet before slowly making his way to the bench as play went on.

Staal was rightfully upset after the game that Morrissey did not receive even a minor penalty on the play when a major and an ejection would have reasonably fit the crime.

“I’m the tallest guy in the ice, he cross-checked me right in the neck,” Staal said. “There’s not much more you can say, everyone saw it. I don’t know how no one with stripes saw it but that is what it is.”

Staal was also cross checked in the neck by Winnipeg’s Ben Chiarot in Sunday’s Game 3 win, but Chiarot at least took a seat for his infraction that night.

Asked for his take on the play, Boudreau didn’t pull any punches.

“My take is it’s the same take that everybody in the building saw it is the refs looked at it and decided not to call it because we were already on the power play,” Boudreau said.

To add insult to injury, Morrissey assisted on Mark Scheifele’s first goal of the game less than three minutes later in the waning moments of the first period.

“We go from what should be a 5-on-3 to a goal against eventually, and that’s the game winner,” Staal said. “I’m sure he’s going to say he didn’t mean to, but you still have to be aware of your stick.”

As Staal predicted, Morrissey insisted he hit Staal where he did purely by accident saying, “He’s a big guy and my stick ended up getting up a little bit on him.”

“I watched the video afterwards, and we’re battling in front of the net on the penalty kill,” Morrissey added. “I’m actually looking at the puck on the wall, trying to box him out.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice defended Morrissey saying he’s as clean a player Winnipeg has.

“He’s not even really looking where his stick is at the time he does it,” Maurice deadpanned.

It’s not clear which video Maurice and Morrissey watched, but it certainly wasn’t this one:

The evidence is clear that Morrissey was indeed looking right at his target area and, despite the fact that the on-ice officials failed miserably in this case, some form of punishment is required.

As Wild center Matt Cullen quite accurately said, “I thought that was pretty cut and dry, that was extremely dirty.”

The Wild responded with some solid scoring chances in the second, but Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, as he did all night, stymied Minnesota each time. But it was the chance that Hellebuyck didn’t get a chance to stop that had Boudreau fired up after the game.

“Nino has a breakaway, it’s Morrissey  that breaks it up,” Boudreau said. “He should be out of the game. I’m still a little heated about it but I’ve got to watch what I say. But they were looking right at it and they told us they didn’t see it so you make up your minds.”

Morrissey was asked if he expected to hear from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety regarding potential disciplinary action for the hit. He said it’s out of his control but he was happy to see Staal was OK and able to finish the game.

“I pride myself on playing the game really hard and competing. It’s the playoffs. Everyone’s really aggressive. It was a complete accident. My stick got up a little bit. That’s all I can really say at this time.”

The post A Pain in the Neck appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Offense sputters putting Minnesota on the brink of elimination 

St. Paul – Is it too soon to suggest that the undermanned Wild — they are missing $196 million worth of talent in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — are simply no match for the Winnipeg Jets?

Coach Bruce Boudreau says no.

Yes, the Wild dropped a 2-0 home ice decision to the Jets Tuesday night and trail 3-1 in the best-of-7 playoff series, but Boudreau insisted that the Wild are not finished.

“They’ll regroup,” he said.

He has to be optimistic; he’s the coach.

Game 5 is Friday in Winnipeg, where the Jets have won 34 of 43 games since the start of the 2017-18 season, and after they shut down Minnesota in Game 4 in front of 19,277 antsy Wild fans, the Wild will need to win three straight to advance.

It’s a tall order without Parise (broken sternum) and Suter (broken ankle), who signed twin $98 million contracts in 2012 as free agents.

The Wild outshot Winnipeg for the first time in the series Tuesday, but were unable to muster a goal againt Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled after two periods in Minnesota’s 6-2 win two nights earlier.

Hellebuyck made 30 saves.

“You knew five or 10 minutes into that game that he was ready and feeling good,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

In Parise’s absence, someone needed to pick up the slack. Well, Jason Zucker, Mikael Granlund, Jordan Greenway and Tyler Ennis each managed just one shot on goal while Marcus Foligno, Matt Cullen and Daniel Winnik each had zero.

Nevertheless, Boudreau pointed out, the Wild battled their tails off and might have taken the game into overtime if not for what Boudreau and everyone in Minnesota’s dressing room called a blatent missed call.

The Wild were controlling the puck on the power play late in the first period with the score 0-0 when Eric Staal, stationed between the circles, got flattened by a cross-check to the neck from Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey.

Staal lay on the ice for a moment, finally got up on one knee, then skated slowly off the ice as play continued.

“He cross-checked me,” Staal said. “Everyone saw it. I don’t know how no one with stripes saw it.”

“My take,” Boudreau said, “is the same take that everybody in the building saw. The refs looked at it and they decided not to call it because we were already on the power play.

“It cost us the game.”

A five-on-three manpower edge might have enabled the Wild to score first, but two additional factors stemmed from the non-call, Boudreau noted, because Morrissey very likely would have been ejected.

First, Morrissey got an assist on the only goal of the first 59 1/2 minutes late in the first period, and second, he made a sterling defensive play to knock the puck off the Nino Niederreiter’s stick to prevent a breakaway later in the game.

An empty-netter capped the scoring with 11 seconds remaining.

“It should have been a 0-0 game going into overtime,” Boudreau moaned.

The first goal — both Jets goals were scored by Mark Scheifele — was all the Jets needed on this evening as their defense yielded hardly an inch all night.

“We didn’t give them a whole lot of ice tonight to stretch out on,” Maurice said.

Especially in the third period, when the Wild tried to push the pace but managed just nine shots on goal.

“They really dug in,” Boudreau said. “They were really good in the third period.”

Staal, Dumba, Granlund and one or two others had Minnesota’s best chances, but Cullen said the team needed to play with a bit more desperation and “we didn’t have enough.”

Parise and Suter are still out. Game 5 is in Winnipeg, where the Jets practically toyed with the Wild in the first two games of the series. Is it over?

“We’ve just got to re-focus and try to get a win,” rookie defenseman Nick Seeler said. “It’s far from over.”

He has to say that, but actually, it’s very close to over … unless the Wild can spring an upset in Game 5 and force a Game 6 back at the X on Sunday night.

The post No Parise, no goals appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Four-goal second-period blitz shifts momentum Minnesota’s way

St. Paul – Suddenly, we have a series.

In the eyes of many disenchanted Minnesota hockey fans, the Wild looked like they would be unable to do anything in the Stanley Cup Playoffs but absorb four straight playoff losses to the muscular Winnipeg Jets.

Until Sunday night.

With heaps of snow bringing back memories of February — they went 9-4-3 that month — the Wild executed a quick 180 to snuff out the high-flying Jets 6-2 in front of 19,175 at the Xcel Energy Center.

“We got a life, now,” winger Zach Parise said.

After the Jets dominated the first two games in Winnipeg, they grabbed a 1-0 lead on a softy that squirted past goalie Devan Dubnyk 4:50 into the first period Sunday.

“It didn’t defelate us by any means,” Parise said.

Apparently not.

Wild forwards Eric Staal and Jason Zucker celebrate Staal’s first goal of the series on the second period of Minnesota’s 6-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 of there first round Stanley Cup Playoff series on Sunday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Mikael Granlund banged in the rebound of a Mikko Koivu shot on a Minnesota power play midway through the first period, and the Wild netted five of the ensuing six goals to pull within 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.

“We needed that — a little pushback on these guys that we knew we were more than capable of,” Dubnyk said. “And we needed to win the game, plain and simple.”

Three games down and things have changed.

“We were good in the first two, and they didn’t like their game,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “They were good tonight and we didn’t like our game.”

The win was a team effort for a Wild lineup that at times appeared unable to keep up with the Jets during the two games in Winnipeg.

“I thought we got really good games from our big players,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Go down the line: Eric Staal scored his first goal of these playoffs and added an assist, Parise scored his third, Koivu was a force and tallied two assists, Granlund had a goal and an assist, Nick Seeler picked up two assists and a few key blocked shots, Matt Dumba netted the game-winner and an assist, Marcus Foligno got his first goal of the playoffs plus three big hits, and Jordan Greenway bagged his first goal as a pro.

“That shows a lot of good things about our team.” Greenway said. “We got scoring from our top two lines and we got secondary scoring, too. Everyone’s pushing in the right direction.”

Factor in an air-tight defense that blocked 20 Winnipeg shots compared to eight blocks by the Jets and you have the recipe for a win.

Hits — such a factor in Winnipeg — were 26-19 in favor of the Jets but did not seem to faze the home team.

“It’s a physical series,” Granlund said. “It’s fun to be out there — there’s a lot of contact and a lot of emotion.”

Midway through the final period the result became so obvious that some in the big crowd took note of the four-goal lead and the wintry weather and chose to exit the premises a little early for what they expected to be a snow-slowed ride home.

Like the Wild, they could look forward to a rematch two nights later at the X.

One more Minnesota win and the series will come back to the X for Game 6 next Sunday.

The post Wild Push Back appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.