How do you explain tonight?
For two periods, the Wild was getting pushed around, was uncharacteristically soft in its own zone and leaky on the penalty kill.
Devan Dubnyk was fighting the puck and offensively, the Wild had trouble getting pucks to the intended target of Semyon Varlamov because the Avalanche was so aggressive at challenging and getting in shooting lanes.
But the game turned incredibly in Minnesota's favor in the third period when the Wild didn't just mount a four-goal comeback from three goals down, it did so in a ridiculous, snap-your-fingers-like span of 5 minutes, 7 seconds. That's the fastest four goals the Wild has ever scored.
You could just feel momentum shift. When Zach Parise made it 4-2, I said to my colleague to buckle up. When Nino Niederreiter made it 4-3, I said to my colleague, "It's just a matter of time now. Rewrite."
It was just so obvious. The Avs were in full-swing panic mode and just pinned its own zone for the first 10 minutes of the period.
Crazy night at the Pepsi Center, where the Wild took a 5-4 victory in regulation despite being down 4-1 after two periods and having my Twitter feed erupt with anger and angst and anxiety from ticked-off Wild fans. It was the first time the Wild rallied from three goals down to win on the road since March 5, 2009 (I think Mikko Koivu overtime winner where Brent Burns almost killed him with a leap).
On this night, Parise hoisted the Wild onto his shoulders by scoring twice in the third period, including the winner, to notch his third career hat trick and first with the Wild. It was the 19th Wild hat trick done by 11 different players).