The Wild pulled off an overtime play you may have never seen before.
The Wild pulled off an overtime play you may have never seen before.
The Nashville Predators are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now, running their point streak to 12 games (10-0-2). The Minnesota Wild, their opponents recognized this and that they are nearing the point where the team can't make a late season push into the playoffs.
The Predators are one of the wildcard teams that the Wild would have to catch if they are going to get into the playoffs, so it felt like an all-or-nothing night for them. This is exactly what it came down to and head coach of the Wild, John Hynes, made a move in overtime that shocked the hockey world. He pulled the goalie to make it a 4-on-3.
As per the rules, if a team pulls their goalie in overtime and gets scored on, they don't get any points from the loss, so it was a huge gamble. The Predators played well and were a victim of what seemed like a power play in overtime.
It is a very rare occurrence that any team would be desperate enough late in a season to pull a move like this, and it would usually happen in regulation when tied to try and keep the other team from even getting a point. Ryan O'Reilly figured he had the reason for that when asked if he's seen that before, saying "I don't think I have. Maybe way back in the last couple of games here, not obviously this early but it was a gutsy play by them. Nice play by them. Frustrating because we're good in the shootout so we wanted to get into that area and have a chance to get 2, but yeah, good play by them."
Hynes must have thought that the Wild's chances at two points were better in overtime, risking getting no points, than it was in the shootout. At that point it was about getting two points as the Predators got at least one no matter what happened.
Andrew Brunette was also asked if he's ever seen that before, to which he responded, "Yeah, no, I think they were at the moment where they had to do it. It was a great call. They made a great play." He also included that it was a fun game and the Predators deserved a little bit better in his opinion.
Pulling the goalie in overtime and going for the all-or-nothing play may not happen again for a long long time. But then again, trendsetters give others ideas and it's a copycat league. Don't be surprised if we see it sooner than expected as the season winds down and games get very important for some.
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