The Minnesota Wild were set to play on Saturday night, but this was no ordinary game. The Nashville Predators haven’t faced off against the Wild on the ice since Zach L’Heureux’s controversial hit that injured Jared Spurgeon, an incident that left a sour taste in many mouths.
A day of reckoning was expected, and L’Heureux has had plenty of time to worry about it. What that was going to look like remained to be seen, but John Hynes’ squad didn’t make fans wait too long.
Minnesota Wild come out ready to level Zach L’Heureux
Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron came out in defense of his teammate prior to tonight’s game. He suggested that the young winger “is not a dirty player.” Of course his track record suggests that L’Heureux is absolutely a dirty player, and the Wild stood up for their captain after he was taken out in their last meeting.
He was going to feel the pain again on Saturday and it didn’t take long. Former Predators center Yakov Trenin dropped the gloves for his first fight with Minnesota.
After Trenin destroyed L’Heureux, putting a couple of strong licks to his head, Marcus Foligno went to work. The Wild’s winger is no stranger to dropping the gloves. He may not have got the best of Schenn but he certainly made his presence felt.
Not only did the Wild decide they were going to pummel the Predators physically, but they scored early as well. While Minnesota’s injuries mount, recently acquired defenseman David Jiricek scored his first goal in new digs.
It wasn’t the last punch to be thrown in the first period either. Veteran Ryan Hartman decided to get into the action as well. Following the faceoff after Jiricek’s goal, he went after Mark Jankowski.
Unfortunately the Wild ended the first period trailing by a goal. However, if there was a question as to what they were going to bring from an intensity standpoint, there was no doubt after the first twenty minutes.
Spurgeon remains out for the Wild, and L’Heureux remains a dirty player for Nashville. Minnesota needs to get things together at the Xcel Energy Center, but they remain the best road team in the NHL.
