Eriksson Ek's breakout season continues in a big way in Game 1

LAS VEGAS -- Some guys are just cut out for this time of year.
Whether it's their style of play or their penchant of doing something great at just the right moment, playoff hockey is a different animal when it comes to establishing legacies.
There's many years left in Joel Eriksson Ek's hockey career, but he plays a game that seems built for the playoffs. A shutdown defender tasked with controlling an opponent's top line. A size and speed combo that frustrates opponents to no end. An offensive game that has really developed this season.

And on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a potentially defining moment in a big-time spot.
Eriksson Ek's goal 3:20 into overtime was the only one scored by either team on this day as Minnesota won a 1-0 thriller at T-Mobile Arena, giving the Wild a matching 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 First Round series.

Just how clutch was that goal? Check out Eriksson Ek's reaction.
"Probably the most excitement you're going to see out of him," said Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We just watched it and it was like, 'oof, you don't see Eriksson Ek do that very often.' But obviously it was a big moment.
"He does everything for us. Absolutely everything. Obviously it was great [for him] to get rewarded."
Eriksson Ek was quick to credit Foligno and Greenway for their work retrieving the puck and forcing the turnover that set the whole play up.
"Just playing with each other for a long time, you get a sense of where the puck is gonna end up," Eriksson Ek said. "You just try to get to that spot and the puck bounced out there and just tried to get it off as quick as possible."
Even though Eriksson Ek found himself in the right spot, it did take a little bit of puck luck to get it there.
After Foligno used a long reach to force a turnover, the puck went down low to Greenway, who fed a pass towards the front of the cage. Foligno deflected it just enough to get it to Eriksson Ek in the slot, who could have tried an off-balanced one-timer.
Instead, he showed the patience of a confident goal-scorer, calmly moving it from his backhand to his forehand, then bouncing a shot off the skate of sliding defenseman Alec Martinez and through the five hole of Marc-Andre Fleury.

"That entire line is just your typical all-around, defensively-sound, size, strength, physical, and they have the ability to score," Evason said. "It's certainly nice for us to be able to throw them over the boards whenever we need anything, really, in the hockey game."
It's a goal in years past that Eriksson Ek might not have scored. But with a renewed belief in his offensive abilities and coming off a terrific 19-goal regular season, the 24-year-old centerman is riding as high as ever, and seems poised to become a potential headache for Wild opponents for years to come.
Especially come playoff time.
"He's been a horse all year," Foligno said. "I've think I've always seen the offensive side, like the shot and everything like that, but he's got a little bit more poise this year and he's confident.
"And he's still so young too. Just to see the responsibility that's been put on his shoulders this year and just to see how he's taken off with it ... he's got a nose for the net and causes a lot of turnovers with smart plays below the hashmarks in the o-zone that a lot of d-men just can't handle. He's got speed too, so when you put all that together, he's a pretty exciting player. I think outside of Kirill, he's been one of our MVPs this year."

The line of Eriksson Ek, Foligno and Greenway has been Minnesota's most consistent this season, but struggled early in the hockey game. Foligno acknowledged they were chasing the puck, but said despite their season-long run as a line, it was still the first time they had played together in the playoffs.
But perhaps the best part of that line is that even in games where it hasn't been an effective, they play a hard, simple game that can snap right into place on any shift.
That's exactly what happened in overtime, as the trio did to Vegas what it has done to opponents all season long: force a turnover, win a puck battle, grind in front of the net and find a way to capitalize.
"We talked about it, and I thought we got better in the second than in the first. Third period was back-and-forth. It wasn't really the kind of hockey we're used to, but that's playoff hockey, you've gotta be able to stay with it," Foligno said. "I'm really proud of Ekker and Greener because we communicated a lot during this game. We just stayed with it, got some good feedback and we understood that it just took one."
Eriksson Ek's goal made sure a number of outstanding Wild efforts would come in a victory.

Goaltender Cam Talbot made 42 saves to record the shutout. He was especially good in a 19-save first period where the Wild was treading water and just hoping to get to intermission deadlocked. Minnesota improved as the game went on, but Talbot's effort - especially early - were crucial in Eriksson Ek even having the opportunity to score the deciding goal.
The shutout was his fifth postseason goose egg, and the Wild is the third NHL team in which he has backstopped to a playoff shutout. He also did so with both Calgary and Edmonton. Per NHL Stats, only Curtis Joseph (four teams) has had shutouts for more clubs in the playoffs.
Ryan Hartman was also exceptional, playing arguably his most impactful game in a Wild uniform, yet not finding the scoresheet. Officially, Hartman was credited with five shots on goal, and all five of those might have been grade-A opportunities. He also drew the Wild power play in overtime that expired just a few seconds before Eriksson Ek tallied the winner.
In addition to their assists on the Ek winner, Greenway was credited with 11 hits (a franchise record) and Foligno with 10, a new career high.
"We stayed the course," Evason said, essentially echoing his mantra from the regular season. "The commitment in all areas, the physicality, the commitment to collapse, the blocks, the penalty kill and the commitment to get in lanes. Our group did a lot of real good things."
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