Bobby Orr scored his iconic flying Stanley Cup goal in 1970. Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund was born in 1992.
Granlund apparently has been taking hockey history lessons, though, as he did his best to impersonate Orr’s classic play with an unforgettable goal in overtime Monday night.
The score gave the Wild a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche to narrow the gap to 2-1 in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The goal capped off an amazing individual effort from the young Finn, who carried the puck up the right boards in the offensive zone and spun off a defender. Granlund then weaved his way through several Avalanche defenders, deked goaltender Semyon Varlamov out of his skates and slid the puck in while diving on the ice.
Check out Granlund’s highlight-reel goal below.
What made the goal even more impressive were the circumstances. Granlund ended an huge 45-save effort by Varlamov and, more importantly, kept his team from a 3-0 series deficit.
The Wild have a chance to even the series Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@NHL
