Hartford Whalers Finally Lose, Minnesota Wild Get Their First Win

[HartfordWhalers]

Alright, folks, let's talk about the Hartford Whalers. These guys were on a tear, undefeated all season. But guess what? They finally lost. And who did they lose to? The Minnesota Wild, who hadn't won a single game until now. It's like watching a heavyweight champ get knocked out by a guy who just learned how to throw a punch.

The game started off with a bang. Dylan Cozens scored for the Wild just 21 seconds into the first period. I mean, come on, Hartford, were you even awake yet? Then, of course, we had some penalties because what's a hockey game without a little chaos? Tage Thompson got a minor for hooking, Mark Stone for boarding, and Robert Thomas for high-sticking. Thomas even got a major penalty. It's like these guys were playing "How many penalties can we rack up?"

Second period, Matthew Tkachuk decided to show up and scored for the Whalers at 05:15, assisted by Weegar and Heiskanen. But then Robert Thomas, fresh out of the penalty box, scored for the Wild at 11:46, assisted by Zary and Cozens. Garnet Hathaway got a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct because apparently, he couldn't keep his cool.

Third period, the Wild went nuts. Thomas scored again, unassisted, at 04:53. Cozens scored his second of the night at 08:20, assisted by Thrun and Krug. And just to rub salt in the wound, Juuso Parssinen scored at 18:37, assisted by Thomas and Krug. Meanwhile, the Whalers were just skating around, wondering what the heck happened.

Goalie stats? Karel Vejmelka for the Wild stopped 20 out of 21 shots. Solid performance. Simeon Varlamov didn't even face a shot before he was pulled. Jacob Markstrom, who came in for Varlamov, stopped 19 out of 24 shots. Not great, buddy.

Power plays? Wild went 0 for 3, Whalers went 0 for 1. Special teams were basically a non-factor. Not special.

Game stars? Robert Thomas, Dylan Cozens, and Karel Vejmelka. Congrats, you earned it.

And let's not forget Nikolai Knyzhov, who made his season debut and finished minus 3. Welcome back, pal.

Attendance was 16,569, and the net profit was over a million bucks. So at least someone's happy.

And that's the game. Whalers finally lose, Wild finally win. Hockey, man. You never know what's gonna happen.