from John Shipley of the Pioneer Press,
Sportswriters like to get players and coaches to qualify their wins. Does it mean more to battle back late? Was it special to beat your former team? Did it feel good to finally jump out of the gate fast?
The Wild took turns responding to those questions after Sunday’s victory over the Montreal Canadiens, and of course there were specific reasons they came out on top. But, really, the how and the why were unimportant in the immediate wake of a 4-3 win at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild won for the second time in eight tries; that’s all that mattered.
“Thank God, eh?” said winger Marcus Foligno.
For at least another few days, the drama inside and outside Minnesota’s NHL team will be gone. Mikko Koivu won’t yell at everyone in a closed-door meeting, and coach Bruce Boudreau won’t make the players sit through a horror movie recounting their bad passes and turnovers during a 1-6-0 start.
The pins and needles inside the dressing room were so dense that Jason Zucker apologized to Boudreau on Saturday after invoking his name in a self-flagellating quote following last Thursday’s 4-0 loss at Montreal. Zucker’s quote was taken at the team bus, minutes after a players-only airing of the grievances called by longtime captain Koivu.
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