This time, third period not worth wait

The history of this series and their good play early had the Wild players convinced they were ready to win. They were wrong.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: April 18, 2008 - 12:38 AM

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Until now, the third period had been the charm.

The Wild had been scoreboard-challenged in periods one and two of its Western Conference quarterfinal series against Colorado. But if Minnesota could keep it close until the third? A good sign.

The Wild had outscored the Avs 7-2 in the third. So, in the dressing room between periods two and three Thursday, with the score tied 1-1 thanks to Colorado goaltender Jose Theodore's stellar play, the feeling was positive. The players were confident.

"We had played such a good game," center Pavol Demitra said. "We had so many shots. We just needed one goal, and it just wasn't there."

Maybe the Wild expended too much energy in the first 40 minutes, dominating the play and outshooting Colorado 32-14. For whatever reason, the Wild blinked first. Early in the third period, Mikko Koivu turned over the puck, which turned into a Colorado cycle, which resulted in a penalty on Sean Hill at 3:10. With mere seconds remaining in the Colorado power play the puck went from John-Michael Liles across to Wojtek Wolski.

Shot. Goal.

The theme heading into the game had been whether Colorado was willing to fight rather than just agitate. Well, Wolski's goal was a body blow. Clean, hard, devastating.

"We had energy, I would say, up until the point where they scored," center Eric Belanger said.

The Wild, so good in the third period in the first four games, was outscored 2-1 in the third Thursday. Colorado got two goals on three shots. But it was clear the Wild was wobbly after the Wolski goal. Less than a minute and a half later, after defenseman Brent Burns failed to clear the puck, Paul Stastny ended up with the puck in front of Niklas Backstrom. His high backhand at 6:25 all but ended the game. It was the first goal scored by the Avalanche's regular-season scoring leader.

"That happens," Belanger said. "You dominate a game like that, and then that happens."

The Wild needs to get two victories now. But the players can't afford to think so big-picture. Saturday's game in Colorado is all they can focus on. In order to win that, a few more goals will have to be scored. Playing with a lead would be a novel experience as well.

"We've been coming from behind this whole series," Brian Rolston said. "It would be nice to get up, it would be nice to play with a lead.

"Our effort was awesome tonight. We feel very proud of our effort tonight. Nobody will be hanging their head here. We'll be ready in Colorado."

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