Nick Seeler should avoid sharp objects and manhole covers for a while. Maybe have someone shut his vehicle door and walk him down stairs, anything to avoid the fate that doomed the young Wild defenseman Saturday night against the fortuitous Toronto Maple Leafs.
On two occasions Seeler dropped anchor in front of goaltender Devan Dubnyk and was in the right position to defend his net only to have not one but two pucks ricochet off him and into the net for Toronto goals, the latter with 3:20 remaining in a tie game.
Seeler’s albatross was Nazem Kadri’s golden horseshoe. With the third period ticking down and overtime looming in a furiously entertaining game, the Maple Leafs’ agitator threw the puck toward the net. The rising pass struck Seeler in the midsection and tumbled into the net behind a prone and exasperated Devan Dubnyk for the winning goal in Toronto’s 5-3 victory at Xcel Energy Center.
The timely marker was about all the Leafs could generate offensively in a period dominated by the Wild, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit and were poised to pot the go-ahead goal as they sent wave after forechecking wave at Frederik Andersen.
The puck luck, however, was all Toronto’s as one of the NHL’s most dynamic teams skated off with a win that was Minnesota’s for the taking.
“I feel bad for Dubs,” a sweat-soaked and crestfallen Seeler lamented at his locker. “A couple bad breaks there, and inopportune times. That’s disappointing. Not much you can do there, it gets hit off you and goes in and I did everything I can to try to stop it going in.”
It was lather, rinse repeat after Seeler spoon fed Toronto’s second goal to Tyler Ennis, the former Wild left wing whose centering pass bounced off Seeler when he knelt in front of Dubnyk to try to block the feed.
“I think everyone in this room’s had things like that happen before so we can all support him,” said fellow defenseman Jared Spurgeon. “He’s a great young kid and he’s going to bounce back.”
Rather than mope the Wild patted themselves on the back for taking it to the Leafs.
“I think it was as good of a game we could play,” gushed coach Bruce Boudreau. “We didn’t get the puck luck. I think Toronto got it; a great team. But I think the wrong team deserved to win today.”
The Wild pumped 40 shots at Andersen but only cashed in two of their myriad opportunities, an all-too familiar refrain for a team adept at creating scoring chances but hard-pressed to finish them.
Jason Zucker’s tying goal with 10:22 remaining in the third period offered some redemption after he fired wide of an open net during a particularly potent power play.
“That’s about as wide open of an empty net as I’ve missed in my whole career,” Zucker said. “That’s a goal that needs to go in, especially that point in the period. It changes things. It was good to get one back and tie the game at least. Overall, that can’t happen.”
The loss marked the first time Minnesota has lost three straight games this season. Their effort and execution were remarkably better than Tuesday’s ugly home collapse to Arizona and Thursday’s pratfall in Columbus.
The arena was electric with Minnesota fans chanting “Let’s Go Wild” only to be shouted down by boisterous Toronto fans with their “Go Leafs Go!” rejoinder.
Auston Matthews’ top-shelf snipe and Ennis’ good-luck bounce gave Toronto a 2-0 lead in the first period
Eric Staal got one back for Minnesota with 30.3 seconds remaining the period. His short-side shot went post to post behind Andersen.
Storming back in the second, Jordan Greenway finished a nifty two-on-one rush with Jonathan Eriksson Ek. However, Toronto answered with Zach Hyman’s redirection at 14:38, setting up a wildly entertaining third period.
An unlucky one for the Wild.