You know what they say: “What a difference a game makes.”
Even in the 82-game marathon that an NHL regular season is, that can be true.
Ryan Suter admitted he went too far with comments during tough times, yet there he was on Tuesday night, grinning ear-to-ear after scoring the 2-1 goal that ended up being the game-winner.
The look of pure joy. #NHLonNBC pic.twitter.com/3EOI52oFoK
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) December 2, 2015
Heck, people were even joking about things. The healing powers of winning, right?
Parise asked the reporters interviewing Suter to hold our mics with our right hands 😀😀😀 #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 2, 2015
As of this writing, this win places Minnesota in the last wild card spot, and they’re close to elbowing in on the Chicago Blackhawks (who own a standings point advantage, but have played two more games so far in 2015-16).
Jeremy Roenick labels this 2-1 win as a “team win” for Minnesota, and it showed on that 2-1 goal, as the Wild showed off some picture-perfect passing and a willingness to crash the net for rebounds.
Let’s face it, though; Devan Dubnyk deserves plenty of credit, too.
It won’t be easy in the Central Division, and things may get heated again. Still, this is the sort of win that may just help Minnesota build up some confidence.