Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING TAKEOUT NEWS: 3-22-23.
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Wild Beats Devils 2-1 in Frantic Final Seconds of OT
With 10 minutes left in last night’s Wild/Devils game, I said to myself “oh, quick Takeout tomorrow.” That was until the final 30 seconds.
A contender for the most mundane game in Wild history quickly became a contender for the most dramatic. Here’s the video, then we’ll break it down.
Boldy was originally denied on a 2-on-1. New Jersey’s Luke Hughes then hit the post with eight seconds left, seemingly sending the game into a shootout. But the rebound caromed by Matt Boldy, he of the Sunday hat trick. Boldly, at the end of a Parise-Suter era long overtime shift, took the puck at his own blueline with five seconds left and somehow raced up ice to score on the breakaway, barely beating the buzzer.
It’s a signature win for the Wild, who will wake up this morning in first place in the Central Division. Remember, six weeks ago they were 10th in the conference and out of the playoffs. Boldly now has six goals in the team’s six games without Kirill Kaprizov. Filip Gustavsson, who struggled mightily in two consecutive defeats, fought the puck but made a career-high 47 saves against a darn good Devils team.
The Wild is 13-1-3 in the last 17 games. They’re a shoe in for the playoffs but still have work to do to avoid Colorado and get home ice in the first round. They’ll get cellar dwellar Philadelphia on the road Thursday. There are some issues with the Wild’s game, no doubt, but they’re winning without Kaprizov, and that’s all that matters.
Japan Beats U.S. in WBC Title Game
I probably didn’t give the World Baseball Classic enough love. I spent a lot of the last 48 hours watching, thanks mostly to Mexico’s Randy Arozarena. These guys do care so much about their country. It’s just the timing of this tournament is awful, especially with pitchers having pitch counts.
Japan earned a 3-2 win over the Americans last night in Miami to claim the championship. Shohei Ohtani struck out his Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out.
Wolves Offense Leads Way at MSG
The Wolves outlasted the Knicks 140-134 Monday at MSG in one of their more entertaining games of the season. It wouldn’t have been as fun had their 17-point first half lead evaporated. It actually did, as New York held a fourth quarter lead but couldn’t close the deal.
Minnesota was awful defensively - Julius Randle went for 57 in a losing effort. But Taurean Prince, who’s as inconsistent as the Minnesota winter is long, erupted for 35 points. Mike Conley had his best games as a Wolf, with 24 points and 11 assists. His chemistry with Rudy Gobert (16 points) is so, so good.
The Wolves host the Hawks tonight. There had been talk of both Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns returning to the lineup tonight, but Chris Finch put a lid on that talk yesterday.
Nine teams are separated by four games in the West - none of those teams has either won or lost more than two in a row at the current time. The Wolves are going to have to win a few more games to avoid the play-in tournament.
Buxton Sees First Action of 2023
I couldn’t tell you the score of the game (or who they played), but Byron Buxton made his first spring training appearance for the Twins. It’s a belated start, but everything seems to be on schedule for Buxton. If I set the over/under on his games played in 2023 at 120, would you go over or under?
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