With less than two minutes to go in overtime, the Minnesota Wild could feel their chance at a playoff run slipping away. The promise of two points was almost dashed by the Nashville Predators Sunday afternoon when an ill-timed penalty closed the gap on the Wild’s 3-2 lead.
While Wild fans acknowledged that a loss in overtime could end their playoff hopes, Minnesota’s coach, John Hynes, had other plans.
What we witnessed next is something few hockey experts could predict.
Only 3:30 minutes into OT, spectators watched in horror as Marc-André Fleury burst toward the bench, leaving the goal crease empty for a 4-on-3 advantage.
Pulling a goalie for an extra attacker is all but unheard of in the sudden death period, mostly because the gamble is too risky. However, the Wild couldn’t afford to walk away from the standings with one point, so Hynes made the decision few coaches would to go all or nothing.
“It’s not something you do all the time, but I think in our position, we want to be aggressive,” Hynes explained in the post-game press conference. “We need two points. One point, no points, it’s not going to do us any good. Two points is what we need.”
Hynes discussed the strategy with the team after regulation, informing Fleury he “may” pull him for a fourth attacker. And in a stroke of luck, that gutsy move paid off big for a team that prides itself on grit. Seconds after Fleury skated to the bench, Zuccarello passed to Boldy for the winning goal against Predators goalie Saros.
Little did we know the stakes were much higher than one extra point. If the Wild had pulled their goalie in OT and the Predators scored shorthanded, the team would have forfeited the one point they had secured in regulation.
Most of the Wild players were unaware of this rule when they agreed to the bold gambit.
Fleury revealed to Michael Russo from The Athletic that he was one of those players. “Ah, that makes sense. Otherwise, since you have the point, you’d pull your goalie all the time.” Boldy, who scored the game-winning goal, also confirmed he was unaware of the rule. The last time a team successfully scored in OT with an extra attacker (not due to a delayed penalty) was the Los Angeles Kings in 2017 against the Boston Bruins.
Thankfully, the Minnesota Wild walked away from this insane play as legends that put their reputation and “Grit First” tagline on the line to show us how badly they want a shot at the Stanley Cup.
“I’ll remember this one,” Fleury told press after the game. Indeed, this is one OT win that will stay with us for a long time.
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