The chirping started during warm-ups as the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild talked trash during their pregame rituals and set the stage for a raucous first period at Xcel Energy Center that was right out of the brawling 1970s.
There were three fights as referees doled out 36 minutes in penalties. Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter got into his first fracas in nine years and ended up with a bloody nose during a game in which he also played a season-high 29 minutes, 49 seconds.
The Wild were supposed to be seeking vengeance for captain Mikko Koivu, who suffered a left leg injury Dec. 6 on a knee-to-knee check by Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano in the teams’ previous match. But it was the Flames who were the aggressors Saturday afternoon, targeting Matt Dumba for his wicked open-ice check on Mikael Backlund later in that Dec. 6 game at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Neither Koivu nor Backlund played. Koivu missed his fourth straight game, while Backlund remains sidelined with a concussion.
It took only 40 seconds for Matt Tkachuk to pick a fight with Dumba, who disappeared after the first period with an undisclosed injury. Wild winger Matt Hendricks answered by dropping the gloves with Giordano. And Suter intervened with 1:30 left as Sam Bennett tried to goad Dumba into more fisticuffs.
Calgary needed only a pair of goals to chortle out of town with a hard-earned 2-1 victory that left the Wild feeling good about how they engaged the enemy despite surrendering two points in the standings.
“I think they didn’t like Dumba’s hit; that was known right from the get-go,” said Hendricks. “But I don’t think we were happy with our game in Calgary, either. It was a dirty hit in my opinion on Mikko. Gio knows how to play the game, for sure. He’s old school. I don’t think he was happy with that play either.”
There was no history of bad blood between the teams before their encounter earlier this month. The Flames sit atop the Pacific Division with 44 points, while the Wild are trying to crawl back into contention in the Central. They meet one more time March 2 in Calgary.
“Our guys were excited about the opportunity to come in here and play,” said Flames coach Bill Peters. “I thought everything that had to get looked after early got looked after, and then we settled into more of a normal game after that.”
Tkachuk had the last laugh. First he stuck up for Backlund, his injured linemate, then he daggered the Wild with the winning goal with a seeing-eye shot that beat Devan Dubnyk 8:45 into the third period.
“(Dumba’s) a tough guy over there, a great defenseman. He’s had a great year, but I didn’t like the hit,” Tkachuk said “I don’t think anybody did. That’s my center. (I’m) not going to let anybody do that to him.”
Koivu said Friday that Giordano texted him an apology after the Dec. 6 game, which he called “classy,” while Wild coach Bruce Boudreau downplayed the whole episode in the run-up to the rematch.
So much for civility.
“I didn’t know how it was going to play out,” said Boudreau. “I mean, I didn’t say anything. You know, the players (were) talking. I guess they had some ideas of what was going to happen. And, you know, it happened.”
Besides Koivu, the Wild were without first-line left winger Jason Zucker, who called in sick. Losing Dumba after the first period forced Minnesota to play with only five defensemen, which required Suter and Jared Spurgeon to each log more than 29 minutes.
Still, the Wild outshot Calgary 35-26 and by far had the better scoring opportunities. They poured on the pressure during the last two minutes, which included almost two minutes of a 6-on-4 advantage after Dubnyk was pulled for the extra attacker.
But Flames backup David Rittich was unflappable. He yielded Jordan Greenway’s short-side goal early in the second period and then barred the door, flashing his blocker in the final two minutes to deny Charlie Coyle as the Wild center cut to the net.
“I thought we played pretty well,” said Boudreau. “It was a good hockey game. It was just who was going to get the better opportunity in the third period and once they did, they played pretty well defensively.”
He was not as thrilled watching his superstar defenseman get into a fight for the first time since Suter and Marian Hossa went at it in 2009.
“That doesn’t happen very often, and I don’t like it when he fights because it takes him five minutes out of the game,” said Boudreau. “He shouldn’t have to fight eight with what he’s done in this league.”