Sometimes tough guys score too. Last night for the Minnesota Wild gritty forward Kurtis Gabriel contributed a big goal to open the scoring, which was the game tying goal that ultimately led to the win when Jason Zucker knocked in the game winner with 4.6 seconds to go. Not a bad performance from a guy who has collected 100+ penalty minutes in his two full AHL seasons in Iowa.
It’s been a funny thing to listen all summer as reporters like Michael Russo have hinted that Gabriel has a very good chance to make this squad, after all bruisers seem not to play into a high tempo offense too well.