Quints are wild....

In the five hundred fifty-fifth game of Season Five of CLUTCH... hey, anything can happen, right?

The Minnesota Wild welcomed the Boston Bruins last night to test that theory, and Bill Guerin and Zdenek Kutlak did their best to prove it.

Both men just apparently decided to take their frustrations out on the Wild, racking up multiple penalties, and extended visits to the penalty box.

To open the game, though, Jochan Hecht scored his team-leading seventeenth goal of the season off passes from Fran Kaberle and Andy McDonald at 10:29. Four minutes later, Kutlak went primal on a fan in the first row, earning himself an unsportsmanlike-conduct minor and misconduct.

Both sides settled down, and while the Wild outshot the Bruins twelve-to-six, they were unable to strike the back of the net.

The second period provided further proof that the Bruins can be handled by elite players. Much like Mario Lemieux did single-handedly nearly a week ago, Vinny LeCavalier netted two goals in the period - the only two goals of the period - thirteen minutes apart to take the lead the Wild would never relinquish.

However, Bill Guerin would endear himself to the doormaster of the penalty box during the period, earning minor stints for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct. Kutlak earned a double minor for a highsticking call, and two minutes later Tomas Kopecky was lost on a no-call grab, tug, and noogie from LeCavalier.

The third period was icing on the cake, as Tomas Plekanec scored his twelfth of the year with less than two minutes to play.

All in all, after being called only once for a penalty against Atlanta, the Bruins were sat six times Thursday. The Wild went oh-fer on the four power play opportunities, but the point was there to be had, and the Bruins missed out on it. Thankfully, the Toronto hockey club also came up short last night, so no ground was lost - just an opportunity.