Bobby Brink was furious with himself Thursday night, and the Minnesota Wild winger let his stick pay for it in Toronto.
The Wild went on to beat the Maple Leafs 5-2, so nobody in the visitors' room was losing sleep. Brink, apparently, was still stewing over one play.
He got a 3-on-1 rush, the kind of chance a winger is supposed to bury, and the puck went wide of the net. Gino Hard shared the sequence on X, and the reaction that followed is what turned a missed shot into a talking point.
Brink skated back to the bench and smashed his stick against the boards. Minnesota was holding the lead at the time, which makes the outburst even more telling.
Fans noticed right away. The clip has been making the rounds since, because players rarely let it show that much when their team is winning.
Brink finished the night without a point, with one shot on goal in 15:03 of ice time. The offense came from elsewhere: Matthew Boldy scored three times and Kirill Kaprizov picked up three assists.
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Is Bobby Brink pressing for goals?
Probably a little, and nobody should hold it against him. Brink has 2 goals through 21 games this season, and a 3-on-1 is exactly the sort of chance that should change that number.
He has 8 assists, so the playmaking is there. The finish isn't, at least not yet. A winger who cares that much about one missed shot is not a player who has stopped caring about scoring.
His teammates seem to be fine without his goals right now. The Wild sit second in the NHL at 14-3-4 and have won eight of their last ten, with Jesper Wallstedt stopping 26 shots in the win.
Toronto's night went the other way. The Maple Leafs have now lost five straight, and a chance like Brink's is the kind of gift a struggling team can't count on getting twice.
Brink will likely get another look soon. The Wild visit Boston on Saturday, and the next rush is waiting.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
How do you see Brink's stick smash after the missed 3-on-1?
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