Just got back from the game in St. Paul. I had fun seats, row 6 from the ice but near the goal where the Devils shot at during periods one and three. As such, a lot of the action was on the other end of the rink all three periods so I'm pretty sure everyone who saw the game on TV has a better overall analysis than what I have. From my vantage point, however, I did notice a couple of things: For starters, Henrique seemed ready to rumble at any moment from the middle of the second period on. Not really sure what got under his skin (demotion to fourth line?) but he was a hockey player clearly on a mission. Nico looked like a rookie for a good portion of the night; seemed more tentative than I've seen him look in the past. There were at least four good brawls and I honestly can't remember an early regular season game against a non divisional opponent where the Devils seemed so motivated to throw down on a continual basis - especially since the Wild really aren't a goon type of team - so that really surprised me. Butcher played smartly and is a calm, intelligent hockey player but really can get knocked off the puck when he's pressed. Nice goal though by the Butcher, arguably the most important goal of the game. Didn't notice Zacha, Stafford, Palms making too many memorable plays. Severson and Santini were fun to watch, played with a bit of an edge. As for the game flow itself, when the Devils took that crucial penalty in the third (Devs up 3-1 at the time) I turned to my 12-year-old daughter and said, "The Wild are going to score, tie it up in the final minutes and send this game will go into overtime." My daughter looks at me and says, "Dad, you need to stay positive." So, during the break before overtime starts, my daughter turns to me and says, "Dad, how did you know?" You guys all know the answer I gave her.