The Minnesota Wild can breathe a sigh of relief after beating the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Tuesday, but one would hesitate to use the phrase “back to normal.”
The reason is simple enough: it was kind of a disorienting game, or at least a game defined by a dizzying stretch of scoring ... and not a whole lot else.
Matt Dumba’s 10th goal of the season was a nice one, and it stood alone in the first period. The strange stretch began with David Schlemko making it 1-1 with about two minutes remaining in the second, Martin Hanzal scoring 30 seconds later, Charlie Coyle getting a goal 15 seconds after that ... and Patrick Marleau scoring the last goal of the game 15 seconds after Coyle.
Confused? So was just about everyone.
Four goals scored in 1:03.
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 22, 2017
That would have been a bad time for a bathroom break.
It might help to see it all in video form:
For a Wild team that couldn’t buy a win and a Sharks squad that had scored two goals in their previous three games (all regulation losses), that was a pretty weird sequence of events.
The Sharks turn around with two more road games on this road trip, including a second back-to-back set. They play five of their next six games away from home, so you have to wonder about their Pacific Division lead.
The Wild grab just their third win in March, and with six of their next eight at home (plus their final two games against the Avs and Coyotes), Minnesota has a great chance to finish the season on a high note.
