Totally Pucked

2009-10 Playoff Previews: Conference Finals

2010-05-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

The two series about to get underway in the Stanley Cup playoffs couldn't look more different from the outside. In the West, the two teams that were supposed to make it this far did. Meanwhile, out East, the term "supposed to" didn't really come into play, as the two remaining teams defied the odds every opportunity to find themselves both one series away from the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

Eastern Conference Finals
The Eastern Conference is really a toss-up at this point. The two remaining teams split their season series against each other, and both have plenty of reasons why they weren't expected to still be around.

#7 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
This marks the first time under the current playoff format that the #7 and #8 teams have faced each other for the conference championships, and history has popped up for both Montreal and Philadelphia. The Flyers come to this series becoming only the third team in NHL history to win a game 7 after finding themselves down 3-0 in the series. They also overcame a 3-0 deficit within that game seven to pull off the 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins. The Flyers have had some injured players return at the right moments, and the biggest question mark entering the post season, goaltending, suddenly is looking like one of their biggest strengths. Brian Boucher is out, but Michael Leighton has stepped up huge in net for the Flyers, and the return of Simon Gagne helped spur Philly on to their surprise series win.

Meanwhile, all the Montreal Canadiens have done is knock off the NHL's best regular-season record, followed by sending the current reigning Stanley Cup champions home. After surprising the Washington Capitals, Montreal took care of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the same fashion.; opportunistic goal scoring and a strong defense shut down the Penguins stars. Meanwhile, the hottest player on the ice in these playoffs has worn a Montreal jersey, as Mike Cammalleri just keeps scoring. Will the Flyers have an answer for Jaroslav Halak, one that neither Pittsburgh or Washington could find? Either way, Cinderella's slipper will be moving on to the Stanley Cup Finals, and expect to see it remain on Montreal, as the Canadiens will advance in 7 games.

Western Conference Finals
If the Eastern Conference is about teams that surprised everyone by still being around in the playoffs, then the West is about the two teams that were expected to be fighting it out for the chance to take on the Eastern champion.

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #2 Chicago Blackhawks
The San Jose Sharks have spent previous postseasons haunted by their own ineffectiveness. This time around, unheralded players stepped up in their first round victory, and, when faced with the Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks found one of their stars stepping to the front. San Jose is being powered by two players named Joe, with a little help from Evgeni Nabokov on the back end. The Sharks are trying to prove that their are more than a regular season powerhouse, and, if they can keep putting the same product on the ice that they did against Detroit, they should make an interesting series.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks have been getting plenty of help from their stars all postseason, and in their series against the Vancouver Canucks, some of their supporting cast stepped up in a huge way. Back-to-back road hat tricks helped power Chicago past their nemesis from last season's playoffs, in a similar fashion. The Blackhawks are a team that was built to fight for the Cup this year, and anything short of the championship will be a huge disappointment. That's largely because salary problems will rip apart this Chicago team for next season, and some of the important role players will find themselves on different teams. At the end of the series, though, Marian Hossa will miss the chance to play in his third Finals series in a row, after San Jose defeats the Blackhawks in 6.

2009-10 Playoff Previews: Conference Semifinals

2010-04-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Part of what makes playoff hockey so exciting is the stories that end up coming out of the games. For proof, just watch a game and see one of the cycle of "history will happen" commercials being aired. They've served as a nice reminder of the unexpected taking place, or the expected being put on a grander stage. This year's playoffs will definitely have their own fair share of history, along with some unexpected results as the remaining eight teams move ahead to the second round.

Eastern Conference
Who would have expected that, after the first round, none of the division winners would still be playing? And yet, in the Eastern Conference, that's exactly what happened, with only Pittsburgh avoiding an upset, dispatching the #5 seeded Ottawa Senators. The shake-up in the East means that the early favorite to win it all is now out of the way, and it could make things more interesting.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
The Penguins did exactly what everyone expected they would do. True, Ottawa took a couple games away from them on their home ice, but the Penguins showed why they're the defending champs, and their star power shined brightly in the first round. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were huge on the ice for the Penguins, and Marc-Andre Fleury held his team in when he needed to. Ultimately, it was Pittsburgh's offense that drove them on to the second round, where they remain the highest seed remaining in the East.

Their reward? They get to face the Montreal Canadiens. That may not be much of a reward overall, though, as the Canadiens became the first #8 seed to win a series after being down 3-1 after four games. Montreal may not have done much in their 100th season, but they're looking to get the next hundred years off to a good start. They may have gotten the benefit of a couple calls, including a no-goal call in Game 7, but they simply shut down the top team in the NHL, starting with game five. Looking for a reason why Montreal moved on, look no further than Jaroslav Halak. Unremarkable in the beginning of the series, he was pulled in favor of Carey Price, returned in Game 5, and just closed the door on Washington the rest of the way. Halak was absolutely brilliant in net, including a 53-save performance in Game 6 before turning aside 40+ shots in Game 7. The Canadiens will be looking to their defense to stop the high-powered Penguins offense, but Pittsburgh comes in a little more rested. Cinderella's shoe might fit right now, but it will need a new home after Pittsburgh wins in 6 games.

#6 Boston Bruins vs #7 Philadelphia Flyers
Boston may have had some scary moments while facing the Buffalo Sabres, but, in the end, they did to Buffalo exactly what they did all season, and that's make the bigger plays when it counts. None may have been bigger than the plays made by Miroslav Satan, a former Sabre and a winner of the Stanley Cup last season with Pittsburgh. Satan was left floating as a free agent until January, when the Bruins snapped him up to fill in for some injured players. He's only turned around to be a consistent scoring threat. Boston is also about to get a boost when Marc Savard returns to play, having recovered from the concussion that kept him off the ice for the first round. Meanwhile, Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara should be getting ready for a physical series, because the Bruins drew a classic battle for the second round.

That classic battle will be against the Philadelphia Flyers. The last team to make it into the playoffs, and only because of a last minute win, the Flyers became the first team to advance to the second round when they stunned Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers are a rough-and-tumble team, but they have offensive prowess. They also showed a sturdy penalty kill, which is good for Philadelphia, as they have a tendency to march to the penalty box. Brian Boucher needs to continue playing the great hockey he has, and the Flyers need Scott Hartnell to find his game. At the end of this rough series, though, the Bruins will be advancing, winning in 7 games.

Western Conference
Over in the West, it could be argued that there wasn't a single upset. True, the number four team didn't advance, but it's hard to call the Detroit Red Wings an underdog, especially with their success over the years and the way they played in the tail part of the season. Still, the West made its own history, and that should continue with an exciting second round.

#1 San Jose Sharks vs #5 Detroit Red Wings
In the beginning of their series against the Colorado Avalanche, it looked like the San Jose Sharks were on their way to another postseason collapse. After three games, they were staring down a 2-1 deficit, and had actually scored an own goal to dig themselves into that hole. All they did after that was rattle off three impressive wins, led by Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, and Ryan Clowe. Evgeni Nabokov also stood tall, putting together an amazing GAA despite a huge Colorado Game 2. The Sharks look to be serious contenders this year, but they desperately need their "Big Three" of Heatley, Thornton, and Marleau to step up their level of play.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings were taken to a seventh game by the upstart Phoenix Coyotes, but all Detroit did was allow their stars to take over. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg stepped up at the exact right times, and the Detroit defense was able to keep Phoenix from playing too much of their own style. In the final game of the series, the Red Wings punched their ticket to the second round with an exclamation point, decimating the Coyotes to the tune of 6-1. That should continue for the Red Wings, as Detroit will knock off San Jose in 7.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs #3 Vancouver Canucks
The Chicago Blackhawks survived a bit of a scare from the Nashville Predators, falling behind 2-1 after three games. Then Nashville gave away Game 5, and it was history. The Blackhawks survived a 5-minute major penalty in that game, and it was the player who spent time in the box, and who has come in second the last two years, who scored the game winner that ultimately put the series out of Nashville's reach. Will this be the year that Marian Hossa finally gets to lift the Cup himself? With help from Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Antti Niemi, he's certainly hoping so.

Standing in Chicago's way is the team that they faced last year at this same time, and a team that they ushered out the door in six games. The Vancouver Canucks aren't much different from the team that lost to Chicago last season, but they are an improved team. The Sedin twins are playing big-time hockey now, shaking off criticisms that they couldn't bring their talent into the playoffs with them. Meanwhile, Mikael Samuelsson helped add offense to a Vancouver team that already had plenty. The big concerns for the Canucks will have to be on the penalty kill, as they were awful at slowing down the Los Angeles Kings power play, and whether or not Roberto Luongo can shake the demons of past performances. If Luongo can be the stud goaltender that the Canucks are hoping he can be, they can look to playing in the conference finals. Ultimately, though, this year's result won't be any different from last year, as the Blackhawks advance in 6 games.

2009-10 Wild Season Recap

2010-04-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

The playoffs are barely a week old. The old season has been put behind everyone, and the "second season" has provided exactly what people love to see out of the NHL, as physical play has been offset by impressive offense, and the different series have all provided different sorts of thrills. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild have been sitting at home, evaluating what happened this past year, and looking ahead to what can be better next season. What better time to take a look back at what went right and what went wrong for Minnesota during the 2009-10 campaign.

What Went Right?
- Benoit Pouliot for Guillaume Latendresse trade. Pouliot had spent his career for the Wild being something of an underachieving player. Unquestionably, he has talent, but he wasn't showing it consistently for Minnesota. The same was true for Guillaume Latendresse in relation to his time in Montreal. A mid-season trade reinvigorated both players, and Latendresse ended up leading the Wild in goals. His appearance also gave a jump start to Martin Havlat, who had previously looked like a huge bust.

- Martin Havlat comes to Minnesota. At the beginning of the season, it didn't look good for Minnesota, with regards to their acquisition of Martin Havlat. The Wild made it seem as though Havlat was being brought in to replace Marian Gaborik, but the two players are very different in what they can provide. Gaborik is a goal scorer, who will gather assists, but is mainly going to be a sniper. Havlat, on the other hand, is a playmaker, and his ability to create opportunities is huge. However, without a finisher, Havlat looked lost. Enter Guillaume Latendresse, and suddenly, Havlat found his game. Once the Wild's second line was secured, the only player who looked more comfortable in the system was Mikko Koivu.

- Mikko Koivu named first permanent Wild captain. The Wild have needed a permanent captain for a long time, and what better player to pick for the team than a player who is often underrated, but is able to play both ends of the ice, and does it all with his heart on his sleeve? In his first season as the full-time captain, Koivu shouldered the pressure well, setting a new career high in points, and he was willing to place the team on his back and pull them through some of their more troublesome moments.

- Young call-ups given chances. The Wild's cupboard is one of the more empty in the National Hockey League, but they are working on fixing that. More importantly, some of the players that were called up this season should have a good chance to break into the roster for next season, providing some more speed and scoring to a line-up that desperately needed it. Robbie Earl, Nate Prosser, and Casey Wellman all have some seasoning and conditioning to go through before proving that they're ready, but they're definitely close and should be able to contribute. Don't forget about Colton Gillies, who spent his second season in Houston to improve his game and get him ready for the big show.

What Went Wrong?
- James Sheppard falls off the radar. Sheppard may be the biggest casualty of the previous management staff. He was brought up to the Wild right away, without getting some needed conditioning in the AHL. He spent too many games on the ice, which would force him to be placed on waivers before being dropped to the minors. During the pre-season, it looked like Sheppard might have a breakout year, but then he just dropped off the map, and turned in his lowest point total since entering the league. Sheppard is a player who desperately needs a change of scenery, much like Benoit Pouliot. Hopefully, the Wild will be able to find another diamond like Latendresse.

- The injury bug strikes... over and over again. The Wild just couldn't stay healthy. The number of man-games lost to injury this season set a new record by a long shot. Key players, from both starting goaltenders to Brent Burns, from Chuck Kobasew to Pierre-Marc Bouchard, weren't able to play the full season, and, in Bouchard's case, only touched the ice once. The Wild is looking at their off-season conditioning to try and fix some of the problems that popped up this season. The Wild definitely has to find out how to be healthy, but it's been a problem that's plagued them, admittedly not this deeply, from day one of their existence.

- Petr Sykora comes to Minnesota. When Sykora was brought to the Wild, it made people believe that the Wild were honestly not in a rebuilding season, but were instead looking to remain competitive. Pairing Sykora with Havlat seemed to give Minnesota a strong second line of scoring, and the veteran's presence would help bring the rookies along. Instead, Sykora never meshed with his teammates or his coaches, and he spent almost as many games scratched instead of playing, although a concussion certainly didn't help. Sykora was eventually released by the Wild, after never finding his game, and is still looking for a new team to pick him up.

What is the Verdict Still Out On?
- Kim Johnsson traded for Cam Barker. In many ways, this trade should have drastically improved the Wild's blue line. Barker plays a similar style of hockey to Johnsson, but has a bigger shot, better mobility, and is younger. Unfortunately, Barker has run hot and cold for the Wild. If he can prove to be the young stud that he was in season's past, the Wild made a great choice. If he can't find his game, then Minnesota may want to be thankful that they have as many defensemen chomping at the bit to make the move from Houston.

- Niklas Backstrom making Josh Harding expendable. In the 2008-09 season, it seemed like a no-brainer. Backstrom was amazing in net, and, while Harding was solid, he didn't look like a starting goaltender. The change of regimes in Minnesota shook that up a bit, as neither goaltender looked quite like themselves. However, both goaltenders showed a lot of heart and made amazing stops to keep their team in games. Expectations are that Harding will be with a different team by the time the 2010-11 season starts. If Backstrom can return to the brilliant form he showed, or if the Wild has the next great goaltender waiting in the wings, then they should leverage Harding for as much offense as they can get. If Backstrom falls off, and Anton Khudobin isn't able to be consistent at the NHL level, and Harding turns into a Vezina winner, the Wild might be kicking themselves for holding on to the wrong mask.

Ultimately, the Wild had a better season than anyone had any right to expect, and they should be able to build on that for next season. Having the 9th pick in the draft won't hurt, but it won't help as much as they might have hoped. However, Chuck Fletcher and his staff are working to replenish a stripped down system, adding draft picks and bringing in college free agents, and if they can keep the team moving in this new direction, then the dream of Lord Stanley's Cup getting raised in Minnesota might only be a couple of seasons away.

2009-10 Playoff Previews: Western Quarterfinals

2010-04-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

With half of the hockey world looked at yesterday, it's time to turn the attention to the West. Teams in the Western Conference may not have quite the star power of their Eastern counterparts, but that doesn't make them lesser teams. Quite the opposite, in fact, as many of the teams in the West are often viewed as being stronger, more physical, and better rounded. Of course, the West also currently houses the team that has become known more for its playoff collapses than for their in-season success.

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche
The San Jose Sharks spent the early part of the season looking like they were going to do exactly what Washington did in the East. However, instead of running away with the conference, the Sharks had to fend off some late pressure in the form of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sharks are a team that has some fantastic forwards (Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley), solid goaltender (Evgeni Nabokov), and consistent defense. Because the Sharks had a challenge to keep the top spot, they should be a little better prepared than in year's past.

The Colorado Avalanche, on the other hand, didn't know if they would be in the playoffs until an impressive shoot-out win capped an unbelievable season for them. Matt Duchesne, a rookie who is getting serious Calder Trophy consideration, has helped to power the Avalance to an over-achieving season. Too bad for Colorado that they won't be able to survive against the San Jose onslaught, as the Sharks will dispatch the Avalanche in 5.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators
Chicago has to hope that this year is the year they take home the heavy hardware, because, with the salary cap, a number of players are going to be wearing different jerseys next season. The Blackhawks spent, and it allowed them to put together a very strong team. Obviously, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are expected to shoulder a lot of Chicago's offense, and Marian Hossa is hungry for his first championship, after coming in second two years in a row. The question for Chicago remains how their goaltending will hold up, as it's been the most suspect position for them on the ice.

The Nashville Predators, on the other hand, have just quietly gone about their business, and put together a nice season. In the East, they might even be looking at home-ice advantage, but the West is the tougher conference, and the Predators know it. However, Nashville has yet to win a playoff game on the road. They should pull one out this season, but don't be surprised to see the Blackhawks send the Predators home in 6.

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings
The Vancouver Canucks have the NHL's top scorer, his twin brother, and solid defense and goaltending. They also have a player who might be on the NHL's own hitlist, especially given the way that Alex Burrows called out NHL officiating earlier this season (admittedly, with more than a fair reason). The Canucks will have to avoid getting into penalty trouble, which could be tough for them. Meanwhile, Roberto Luongo needs to be stellar in net, and he has a tendency to become merely human in high-pressure games.

The Los Angeles Kings, much like the Chicago Blackhawks, are one of those teams full of youth, size, and speed. They play a style of hockey that fits more closely with that played in the Eastern Conference, and they can pepper the net with shots. The Kings will need to take advantage of the Canucks early, and give themselves chances right away, otherwise Vancouver will lock the game down with their defensive play. All told, though, the Kings should prove triumphant, defeating Vancouver in 7.

#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs #5 Detroit Red Wings
The Phoenix Coyotes come into the playoffs the NHL's most-improved team. After dismal showings in past seasons, Dave Tippett and his coaching staff turned the team around, and molded them into a strong playoff contender. Unfortunately, everything good that has come to the Coyotes has been tinged by wonderings about how much the league has affected the outcome of games for the team that they own. If Phoenix wasn't owned by the NHL, their achievements wouldn't even be suspect. As it is, the Coyotes are definitely coming into the playoffs much better than anyone gave them reason to expect.

Too bad that their running into the Detroit Red Wings. Earlier this season, the Red Wings looked like a team that wasn't going to even make the playoffs, or might sneak in with the #8 spot. Then injured players returned, the team allowed Jimmy Howard to become a star goaltender, and Detroit rattled off a fantastic close to the season. They enter the playoffs the NHL's hottest team, and they aren't looking to go home in the first round after coming in second last year, and winning it all the year before. Expect that Detroit will handle Phoenix in 5 games.

2009-10 Playoff Previews: Eastern Quarterfinals

2010-04-13T09:53:00.001-07:00

For hockey fans, the most wonderful time of the year is just a day away. The NHL's "second season" is about to kick off, and the 16 remaining teams have a pile of hockey ahead of them on their way to Lord Stanley's hardware. Today will feature a quick spin through predictions for the first round in the East. Tomorrow, the West will get it's chance to shine.

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
Top seeds can lose in the first round. Just ask last year's San Jose Sharks team. However, when the top seed features one of the best players the league has right now, and a stellar supporting cast, the odds of them getting bumped out right away are pretty slim. Especially when you factor in an opponent who can be less-than-consistent night after night.

The Capitals are a high-flying team. They have far from the best goaltending and defense in the playoffs, but they'll survive the same way they did all season; the scoring that they put on the ice is just sick at times. Even once you move beyond Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the Caps are a deep offensive team, and their moves at the trade deadline helped shore up some of the role positions that could have lead to question marks.

Meanwhile, Montreal is a team that almost didn't find itself in the post-season, and they have a lot of ground to make up. Jaroslav Halak will be relied on to make incredible saves, and Michael Cammalleri is the biggest offensive threat for the Canadiens. However, they'll be playing back on their heels all series long, as the Caps will come gunning, looking to enter the second round with momentum. Washington should send Montreal home in 5.

#2 New Jersey Devils vs #7 Philadelphia Flyers
The New Jersey Devils have the best goaltender ever to play the game in Martin Brodeur, and they've got skilled players in every corner of the ice. Whether it's Zach Parise on the offense, Jamie Langenbrunner on defense, or a wicked slap shot from Brian Rolston, the Devils have assembled a tough team to play against. Add Stanley Cup winning coach Jacques Lemaire back into the mix, and New Jersey could be a viable contender for the Eastern Conference crown.

The Flyers, on the other hand, are a team that's been scrambling for the last month or so, hoping to solidify a playoff spot, which they did (barely), by beating the New York Rangers in their final game of the season. The Flyers are a team that's willing to get dirty and play the physical side of the sport, while still seeing contributions from Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. The biggest problem for Philadelphia? They don't have a legitimate goaltender. The Devils will slap the Flyers around, taking the series in 5 games.

#3 Buffalo Sabres vs #6 Boston Bruins
Buffalo should be concerned. While they've got a fantastic goaltender in Ryan Miller, the rest of the team has stayed pretty much under the radar. Not many people outside of Buffalo may know who plays for the team, aside from Miller, but they've still gone about their business, taking their division with relative ease.

Their first-round opponent, the Boston Bruins, on the other hand, have some players you can't miss, but their goaltending isn't where they're most noted. Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara provide a physical side to the game, and Marc Savard, David Kreci, and Patrice Bergeron should provide an offensive kick. The question remains, however, if the Bruins have enough left in the tank to advance to the second round. They overcame the distractions of Phil Kessel's situation to start the season, and will overcome the Buffalo Sabres in 6 games.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Ottawa Senators
The Stanley Cup champions, with Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of their cast, are looking ahead to their third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Their first obstacle is the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins have a ton of offensive firepower, and it's no secret that the league itself wants to push them to the elite status, even despite potential burn-out from people getting tired of hearing about Crosby.

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators had their own problems to deal with this season, but the loss of Dany Heatley may actually prove to be a gain. The Senators have a solid four lines of hockey, and they may have found their goaltender for the future. Unfortunately for Ottawa fans, it won't be quite enough, and the Senators will get bounced by the Penguins in 6 games.

2009-10 Game Eighty-Two: Wild 3, Stars 4 (SO)

2010-04-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild season ended on Saturday night, not with a bang, and not with a whimper. Instead, it ended with a tough, hard-fought game, as two teams playing for nothing but pride met and battled all over the ice. It also ended with a heartfelt tribute to a player who may have pulled on the skates for the last time. Mike Modano may not have had much impact on the ice against Minnesota in what may very well have been his final game as a player, but his legacy will definitely live on, and he has set a number of marks that will make it tough for American-born players to break.

Meanwhile, thanks to the continued onslaught of injuries, the Wild's youth movement continued, and with it comes the glimpse of what might be the future of Minnesota hockey. The Wild's young recruits have skated hard, and they have proven to be wily acquisitions by a team that has a pretty bare cupboard for future talent.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain notched two goals, with some nicely placed shots, to give him a new career high in goals. He also showed a lot of why he became the Wild's first permanent captain.
- Casey Wellman. The Wild have needed centers for years, and, even though Wellman has played on the wing, he may be showing that the center position is getting an upgrade. Wellman has good speed and vision, but needs to bulk up a bit. Still, he has a nose for the puck, as he proved with his first NHL goal.
- Team toughness. The Wild laid out a lot of good strong hits, and they didn't back down from challenges. Often, with nothing to play for, teams tend to retreat. That didn't happen against the Stars.

Game minuses:
- Injuries. They plagued the Wild all season, and a slew of players missed the finale because of them. The big question remains as to how many of those players missed their final chance to skate in a Wild sweater.
- Steve Ott. He answered Koivu's two goals with two of his own. He was also stirring up trouble all game long, and was a general nuisance for the Wild. Minnesota doesn't have much luck eliminating other teams pests, and Minnesota's own doesn't play as dirty of a game.
- Letting up. The Wild had a two goal lead, and looked like they were going to dominate the rest of the way. Then the second period started, and Minnesota lost all the momentum. They definitely have to find that second gear when leading in a game if they want a better result next season.

Next up: The Wild are done, but the blog will still be going. A look ahead at the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, as well as a look back at the Wild's season, are both on tap for this week.

2009-10 Game Eighty-One: Wild 2, Flames 1 (SO)

2010-04-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

At the start of the season, it would have been hard to anticipate the outcome of the Minnesota Wild's penultimate game for the 2009-10 season. The way that the Calgary Flames lit up the competition in their first ten games, very few people expected that they would skate into game 81 having been eliminated from playoff contention. After seasons of futility against their division rivals, nobody could have anticipated that the Minnesota Wild would be looking for their fifth win in the season series, having only dropped one game at home. Even looking at recent history, with the seemingly crippling number of injuries and the amount of untested players being asked to contribute, it seemed unreal to believe that the Wild could topple the Flames.

Topple them they did, though. In a hard-fought, physical game, filled with penalties for both sides, the Wild and their young guns came out the victors. A scary moment came in the third period, with the score tied at 1 and the Wild on the penalty kill, as Niklas Backstrom took a puck to his throat and had to leave the game, but Minnesota responded by continuing to shut down the Flames fizzling offense, and, in the shootout, the only player who didn't use Mikko Koivu's signature move was Koivu himself, as both Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen tallied goals to give the Wild the win.

Game pluses:
- Youth movement. A lot of credit has to go to the way that Cody Almond, Casey Wellman, Robbie Earl, and Nate Prosser played. None of these players were with the Wild to start the season. With the exception of Earl, none were with them at the trade deadline. And yet those four are showing a lot of potential, and they could all make big splashes on the NHL stage next season.
- Penalty killers. The Wild found themselves shorthanded often enough that they may have thought a new rule was inserted that only gave them four skaters on the ice. And yet the penalty kill came up huge, especially with players like Greg Zanon sacrificing themselves to stop the puck.
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom has had a shaky season, and had to struggle through injuries. Against Calgary, though, he was brilliant, with the only Flames goal coming thanks to one bad rebound.

Game minuses:
- Power play. The Wild got their regulation goal on the only power play that looked like it had an idea of what to do. The rest of the time, Minnesota couldn't get set up in the offensive zone, and couldn't move the puck well.
- Communication. Passes went to the wrong places, and more than once, it looked like Wild players didn't know where their teammates were.
- Injuries. The Wild came into the game having lost 333 man-games to injury, and were missing another six players before the puck dropped. Over the course of the game, another two players went down, and at least one is guaranteed to not play in the season finale. The Wild definitely have to look at how their guys are training, to help keep them from injury. By the same token, the NHL needs to look more seriously at how some players are getting injured, and how some penalties are doled out. This is a league-wide problem, and, while the first step has been taken, at least with regards to head-shots, sometimes it's the boarding and other assorted penalties that carry larger impacts.

Next up: The Wild finish the season against the team that used to call Minnesota home, and they get to do it in front of their hometown fans. The Dallas Stars come calling on Saturday as the 2009-10 season wraps up.

2009-10 Game Eight: Wild 1, Oilers 4

2010-04-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild skated into Edmonton banged up, and still reeling a bit from their recent losses. Neither of those may be bad things, overall. With the number of injured players, and the fact that the team is just playing to finish out the season, some of the newer faces are getting an opportunity to play with the big club. While the Wild doesn't want to finish the season looking like a team holding try-outs, the experience being given to their rookies could prove to be very valuable down the road.

However, while the rookies are showing a lot of compete, and some flashes of brilliance that could make for a memorable season down the road, the team as a whole just isn't playing together as a unit. When the forecheck is there, players can't get into the lane to take shots. When the shots are there, passes may be completely off the mark. Defensive breakdowns hang their goaltender out to dry, and the player between the pipes hasn't been able to keep soft shots from fooling them. This season has definitely worn the Wild down, but, thanks to injuries, fans might be getting an early preview for next season.

Game pluses:
- Nate Prosser. Prosser wasn't expected to do anything more than practice with the Wild since he was signed as a free agent. The injury bug changed all that, and Prosser put up some big minutes against Edmonton, also netting his first NHL point with an assist.
- Casey Wellman. Wellman has game-breaking speed and ability. All he needs is focus, and a better handle on when to shoot. Those will come, hopefully sooner, rather than later.
- Cody Almond. Another of the Wild's young guns played well, providing a spark when he was on the ice. Almond has struggled with injuries this season in Houston, but getting the chance to play with the Wild should bring big results for next year.

Game minuses:
- Power play. Not to sound like a broken record, but again, the power play was less than futile, and it coughed up yet another shorthanded goal.
- Cam Barker. Barker is just coming back from a couple of games away due to injury, but he hasn't shown the mobility and physical nature that made him an intriguing acquisition this season.
- Niklas Backstrom. Yes, Backstrom was hung out to dry on a few shots, and he made some of the impossible saves look easy. But Backstrom was also victimized by weak shots, and definitely doesn't look like the same goaltender as last season.

Next up: The Wild skate to Calgary for the penultimate game of their 2009-10 season.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Nine: Wild 3, Canucks 4 (OT)

2010-04-05T11:37:00.001-07:00

In their first game officially out of the playoff race, the Minnesota Wild looked like a team that was on the brink of depression. At least, they did for the first forty minutes, where they just couldn't muster much in the way of offense, team spirit, or even a willingness to take to the ice. This was most notable in the lackluster response given when members of the Vancouver Canucks bowled over goaltender Niklas Backstrom. The Wild just didn't have a response, and, even though the power play was given chance after chance, nothing was happening.

That is, until the final period of the game. In those last twenty minutes, the Wild played some tough hockey, and capped it with a thrilling final minute of play, to push the Canucks into overtime. In the end, it wasn't enough, as the Wild fell yet again, but the last minute heroics may have set the stage for some things Wild fans might want to get used to next season.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. It takes a tough goaltender to get run over all night long, and still keep his team in the game. Backstrom was the only reason that the Wild were within reach of Vancouver all night long, and he almost helped his team steal the game, even when being knocked flat onto the ice.
- Cody Almond. The Wild rookie notched his first NHL goal, scoring off of a pretty pass from fellow rookie, Casey Wellman. It helped create the last-minute heroics.
- No quit. The Wild haven't played the entire season like they had nothing to lose, but they managed to put together a thrilling twenty minutes based on pride and hard work. If it hadn't been for a questionable call in the overtime, Minnesota might have been the team skating away with two points.

Game minuses:
- Power play. No doubt about it, the Wild power play has struggled all season, and again came up empty with an extended 5-on-3. They also coughed up their NHL-leading 12th shorthanded goal, looking foolish while doing so.
- Penalties. Both teams got thrown into the box numerous times all night long, and that might mean a short postseason for Vancouver. However, some of the penalties (namely, the high sticking against Greg Zanon in the overtime, and the hooking against James Sheppard to give Vancouver a 5-on-3 advantage) really seemed like calls that shouldn't have been made, and dramatically changed the tone of the game.
- Playing for team. The Wild didn't have much of a team mentality through the beginning of the game. They allowed their goaltender to get pushed around, and, while interference penalties were called, Minnesota didn't do anything on their own to deter Vancouver from continuing to play that style.

Next up: The Wild skate into Edmonton, to finish their season series against the Oilers.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Eight: Wild 2, Sharks 3

2010-04-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

After the way the Wild played against the Chicago Blackhawks, they had to find something within themselves to get ready and return to the ice. It might have been even more important during their game against the San Jose Sharks, thanks to needing a win to stay mathematically in the playoff chase, and because it was their Fan Appreciation Night. The Wild have always had a strong connection to their fans, and that made Friday night's game something special for the team of 18,000.

It's just too bad that all of this happened against a Sharks team looking ready to steamroll through the early part of the playoffs. The Wild fought hard, and played with good intensity, but ended up coming up just short against the Western Conference leaders. The loss also confirmed what many have known for weeks; the Minnesota Wild will be watching this season's playoffs on television, instead of participating in them. Still, for a team that wasn't expected to make much noise in the conference, to last this far into the season before being officially out of the chase is an impressive feat.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck tied his own personal record with ten hits. He also got things rolling for Minnesota, thanks to being in the right place at the right time, as his goal bounced off of his chest.
- Antti Miettinen. Yes, Miettinen can score goals, and he did so on the power play to bring the game back to even.
- James Sheppard. Much maligned, Sheppard has started to find his game, and almost put Minnesota in front, thanks to a penalty shot opportunity. He still has a lot of growing to do, however, and it may not be done in Minnesota.

Game minuses:
- Short bench. The Wild played a very physical game, and did so with only 11 forwards. With a team as offensively talented as San Jose, missing even one forward can definitely turn the game.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild's goaltender has been somewhat exposed by the system, but a couple of fluky goals snuck past him, allowing San Jose to sweep the season series.
- Season. The season hasn't come to a complete close for the Wild, but there has to be a sense of sadness over officially ending their playoff chances. Not that there should have been much expectation for Minnesota to perform well in the playoffs, but knowing that it's time to look ahead to next season is always sobering.

Next up: The Wild finished up their season series against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Seven: Wild 0, Blackhawks 4

2010-04-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

No late game heroics were on the table this time for the Minnesota Wild. The last time the Chicago Blackhawks were in town, the Wild pulled off their most impressive, and most unlikely, come-from-behind victory. This time around, they could barely pull off a standard pass, as Chicago just took it to the Wild all night long.

At this point in the season, the Wild talk about playing for pride, and looking towards next season. However, that shouldn't mean coming out completely flat, especially against a team currently riding a three-game losing streak. The Wild have made a habit this season out of breaking other team's losing streaks, and they've also made a bit of a habit out of playing well and hard for one game, and then coming back the next with a lackluster effort. That was incredibly apparent against Chicago, as the Wild couldn't keep the Blackhawk's fourth line from scoring. Meanwhile, Minnesota barely sniffed the net all night long, and came up empty on an extended 5-on-3 opportunity. At this point, even if the Wild were looking at playoff hockey, they couldn't be looking deep, as the team's glaring inconsistencies keep being showcased.

Game pluses:
- Brent Burns. Arguably the most talented defenseman that Minnesota hockey has seen in a long time, Burns was one of the more solid areas of the ice. His four shots also lead a team that could barely think about getting the puck on net.
- Fourth line. They may not have created a goal, but the line of Cody Almond/Casey Wellman/Derek Boogaard actually looked like they had a bit of a jump in their step, and they applied some early pressure to the Blackhawks.
- Discipline. The Wild returned to their disciplined hockey, at least with regards to the penalty box. One lone penalty was charged against Minnesota.

Game minuses:
- Antti Miettinen. Give Miettinen an open net, and he'll miss it completely. A miscue by him at the end of the first also created the first Chicago goal. Miettinen needs to find his game if he wants to continue to receive top line time, especially looking ahead at next season.
- Andrew Brunette. A minus-3 for the night, Brunette looks like a tired and banged up hockey player. When he and Mikko Koivu are both on, they can elevate the team as a whole. When they aren't, the team tends to get bogged down with them.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain is not free from blame for this game either, and he had a mistake that created the third Chicago goal. While he is obviously more comfortable in a playmaker role, Koivu needs to realize that he's on a line without certified goal scorers, and therefore he needs to be more willing to fire the puck on net.

Next up: The Wild continue to play out the remainder of the season, and they face another of the West's best, as the San Jose Sharks return to town.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Six: Wild 3, Kings 2

2010-03-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

With their post-season fate decided, the Minnesota Wild are in a position to play spoiler to other teams in the league. They did just that against a Los Angeles Kings team that is still in playoff positioning, but falling quickly. Even with the odds stacked heavily in the favor of the visiting team, the Wild just kept bearing down and they ended up pulling out something of a nail-biter.

It didn't have to be as close as it was. The Wild had a 2-0 lead, but they coughed it up to Los Angeles, who just kept driving. Minnesota also didn't help their case as the spent too much time marching to the penalty box, thereby shortening their bench and making it tougher than it needed to be. However, the defining moment of the game had to be the full two-minute 5-on-3 power play that the Kings had, as the Wild were bottled up in their own zone, unable to even get a line change, but they still stifled every chance that Los Angeles had. Shortly after that turn of events, the Wild got a power play of their own, and they converted it into the game winner.

Game pluses:
- Greg Zanon. Already playing on a broken ankle, Greg Zanon just continues to work, and he blocked another 6 shots against the Kings, including one to a tender area. He was one of the big reasons why the Wild didn't give up a goal during either of their extended 3-on-5 stints.
- Brent Burns. Sometimes, Burns tries too hard to make things happen. Other times, he just lets the game develop around him, and his goal to put the Wild up by two is a prime example of the second. When Burns is feeling the game, amazing things seem to come naturally.
- Niklas Backstrom. It would be tough to find too much at fault with Backstrom's game. He also stepped up at the exact right moment, being the team's best penalty killer.

Game minuses:
- Discipline. The Wild should be used to the fact that calls aren't going to go their way by now. That also means that they should take extra effort to not get themselves into positions where a questionable penalty could be called. Both 5-on-3 power plays could have been avoided if the Wild had been more conscious of their own play.
- Casey Wellman. Eventually, the kid had to have a rough outing, and that game came against the Kings. Wellman is also the type of player who should do better with more ice time, and the dynamic of the game lead him to sitting on the bench quite a bit.
- Marek Zidlicky. Yes, he was questionable before the game. Yes, he gritted it out and played anyways, showing some skill. But he was also one of the more undisciplined Wild players, and he was in the penalty box during both of the 2-man power plays that the Kings secured.

Next up: The Wild will face a team that is fast, powerful, and looking to take home-ice advantage. It's also a team that let Minnesota crawl back and steal a victory after leading them by four goals, as the Wild look to take down the Chicago Blackhawks.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Five: Wild 2, Red Wings 6

2010-03-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

If this hockey season were a Hollywood movie, the Minnesota Wild would have knocked off the Detroit Red Wings, along the way to an improbable spot in the playoffs. They would have skated hard and at least matched their 2003 appearance with a series for the right to play for the Cup. No matter the injuries, they would have just kept pushing, and would have found a way to win against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Hollywood is busy looking at Phoenix right now.

Meanwhile, the Wild found themselves up against a team trying to keep themselves in the playoff picture, but also a team that doesn't look like your typical #8 seed. The Detroit Red Wings are firing on most, if not all, of their cylinders right now, and it was a bad time for Minnesota to come to town, especially with both of their goaltenders banged up, and their captain sidelined. The Wild struggled to keep themselves in the game, but four goals in the second period put an end to their hopes, as they slunk off to a lopsided defeat.

Game pluses:
- Justin Falk. The Wild rookie barely played in his first game, and took a brutal hit to the head. He returned against Detroit, and played well in limited ice-time. With the Wild's deep defense, getting Falk some playing time now will only help him in the future.
- Owen Nolan. For a guy who might be in the twilight of his career, Nolan comes to play night-in and night-out, and he notched another goal for the Wild.
- Grit. A number of players were in the game, despite injuries that should have kept them on the bench or in the press box. When the season's on the line, sometimes that level of grit can go a long way.

Game minuses:
- Injuries. The flip side to playing with grit, is that sometimes players will insert themselves even though they can't perform. That describes fairly well the game Josh Harding played, and he may have put himself out for the remainder of the season because of it.
- Discipline. The Wild marched to the penalty box all night long. While not all of the penalties were as clear and obvious, they were the types of calls that have gone against Minnesota all season, and the team should be aware of how the officials are going to work their games.
- Antti Miettinen. How many times can one player have a beautiful scoring chance, and completely miss the net? Miettinen did it again against Detroit, and it almost directly created Detroit's short-handed goal.

Next up: The banged-up Wild are now just playing out the remainder of the season, and may get to play spoilers for playoff teams. They return home to play the Los Angeles Kings.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Four: Wild 4, Flyers 3 (OT)

2010-03-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Which was going to happen? Was Minnesota going to continue their good play against the Eastern Conference, or were they going to fall apart on the road? Would the Wild halt yet another opponent's losing streak, or would they battle hard and play the role of spoiler for a team desperate for playoff positioning? The way things looked at the start of the game, it certainly seemed like Philadelphia had the Wild's number. But, once the final horn sounded, the Wild were the ones skating away with two points.

The first five minutes were awful for Minnesota, as they squandered the few good chances that they had, and gave up two quick goals. But after that, the team seemed to calm down and remember what they had come to the rink to do. Even after Philadelphia made it 3-1, the Wild kept crawling back, and the final period and overtime showed exactly why the Flyers are desperate for good goaltending. The game-winning goal wasn't a great shot by any means, but it was knocked into the net by the Flyers themselves, after it was mishandled badly.

Game pluses:
- Casey Wellman. When the Wild looked down and out, one of the players who seemed guaranteed to push into the offensive zone and create chances was Wellman. If he can keep skating like this, his first NHL goal shouldn't be too far away.
- Kyle Brodziak. Brodziak was almost taken out of the game thanks to a high blind-side hit. Instead, he finished strongly, and showed why throwing the puck at the net will result in good things, as he scored the game winner.
- John Scott. The big defenseman had his goal taken away from him, because Andrew Brunette may have tipped the puck out front. Still, Scott was a strong defensive presence, and he definitely created the tying goal. He also was quick to jump to the defense of his team, even if Casey Wellman got there quicker.

Game minuses:
- Andrew Ebbett. The Wild center was skating with the top line, and he was victimized on the two first-period Flyer goals. While he also had a great breakaway chance while shorthanded, he couldn't pull the trigger, with the puck sliding harmlessly to the back wall instead. That goal would have made it 1-0 Minnesota, and instead, a short time later, it was 2-0 Philadelphia.
- Brent Burns. The Wild defenseman is definitely feeling more of his game, but, unfortunately, that game has recently looked unfocused and undisciplined. Burns seems like he's trying to do everything on his own, and he isn't using his vision as well as he could. Forcing the puck up-ice leads to turnovers, and Burns has given up more than his share of pucks recently.
- Niklas Backstrom. Not to take anything away from the way he buckled down and kept the Wild in the game, but the goals given up were not great goals by any means. Backstrom has not shown himself as a lights-out goaltender this season, unlike last season. It may be the difference in the system, but, all told, he still has to find ways to stop the puck, and he hasn't been as strong at that this year.

Next up: The Wild will try and keep their meager playoff hopes alive tonight when they head to Detroit to take on the current 8th place team in the conference, the Red Wings.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Three: Wild 1, Sharks 4

2010-03-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

One area where the Minnesota Wild have shown remarkable consistency this up-and-down season is the ability to break other team's losing streaks. Unfortunately, the San Jose Sharks came into town having fallen not only out of the top spot in the conference, but the top spot in their division, and had given up 27 goals in the previous 6 games. The Wild were also facing possible despondency over struggling hard to make up for an awful start to the season, and were still seeing themselves losing ground in the playoff race.

Those elements combined for a big Sharks win, in a game where the Wild just couldn't get things clicking. Minnesota got banged around the ice, and after a few questionable penalties, they seemed to back off somewhat on their own physical play. Meanwhile, the Sharks also broke up their top line, spreading those players out and presenting a defensive challenge to the Wild. Quick, well-placed shots for San Jose were countered with sloppy passes and poor scoring chances, and the end result was determined seemingly from the first face-off.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. The only Wild player to score, and he did it on the power play. Latendresse made some good plays through the night, and created trouble in the San Jose zone.
- Casey Wellman. Wellman looked good playing against the team he grew up cheering for. He used his speed well, and looks to be calming down somewhat on the ice.
- Greg Zanon. Broken ankle or no, Zanon still comes to play, and he showed why he's leading the team in blocked shots, sacrificing his body more than a few times.

Game minuses:
- Brent Burns. Yes, Burns was one of the players who had energy, and seemed to be around the puck a lot. That's part of the problem. Burns was unfocused, and definitely tried to do too much himself. It showed, as he was on the ice for all four San Jose goals.
- Niklas Backstrom. San Jose's first shot ends up in the back of the net. They also got the benefit of a fairly weak goal to keep the game out of reach. Backstrom is the Wild's starting goaltender, but he needs to rediscover the play of the last few seasons.
- Drive. The Wild just didn't look like they had much of a desire to even be at the Xcel, let alone playing against one of the top teams in the league. Everything was out of sync, and now they've got to go on the road. Maybe it's time to shift things around a bit, and see what happens. After all, what's the harm in bumping Latendresse to the first power play line, and giving Wellman a shot?

Next up: The Wild skate to Philadelphia to take on a banged-up Flyers team.

2009-10 Game Seventy-Two: Wild 4, Flames 3

2010-03-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild aren't eliminated from the playoff race, but they might want to consider themselves as such. Especially if it leads to gritty performances like the one they turned in against the Calgary Flames. This is a time where the Wild can spoil other team's playoff chances, and Minnesota did just that by sending Calgary away with a regulation loss.

It's been said before. If the Wild can play a gritty, tough game and compete from start to finish, it will be entertaining to watch even a loss. If the Wild don't press, don't forecheck, and don't skate, the rest of the season could be painful. Against Calgary, both Wild teams showed up, but more of the former was there, as they cling to the slimmest of playoff hopes. They're also doing it with players who, by all rights and means, should be sitting in a recovery room to heal their injuries, but are instead gutting it out every night on the ice. Meanwhile, the game also featured two extended play-stoppages. On one, a ferocious check from Guillaume Latendresse broke the penalty box door. On the other, a fluky play lead to Calgary's Daymond Langkow taking a scary injury, with a puck striking him just below the back of his neck while his head hit the ice. It was a frightening moment, with Langkow being carted off the ice on a stretcher. Thankfully, reports are saying that Langkow hasn't lost any mobility, so hopefully he'll be able to return to the ice soon.

Game pluses:
- Chuck Kobasew. One of the Wild's "walking wounded", Kobasew scored twice, and almost got to complete his second hat-trick of the season.
- Guillaume Latendresse. Even without the monster hit, Latendresse had an impact on the game, scoring a beautiful backhander on the power play. This is a skater who has come to Minneosta and done all of the things he supposedly didn't do in Montreal; showing speed, hands, and a physicality that's hard to compete with.
- Casey Wellman. The Wild's freshest face has talent, and his forecheck helped create Kobasew's first goal. He's sometimes out of position, but that can be handled by calming his nerves and getting him more familiar with the system. Wellman has shown he can play with the big boys, so he could make a very interesting camp next season for the Wild centers.

Game minuses:
- Daymond Langkow. Obviously, no matter which team you support, you hate to see any kind of injury on the ice. That goes double when it's something as strange and as dangerous as Langkow's injury. Hopefully he won't be away from the game for too long.
- Josh Harding. While Harding wasn't awful, he wasn't stellar, either. He's obviously another of the "walking wounded", playing through his reaggravated hip injury. Still, he allowed Calgary to climb back into the game and make things interesting.
- Defense. While Harding wasn't as strong in net as he could have been, the guys right in front of him had a rough game, too. True, they tightened up at the end of the contest, but there were more than a few defensive lapses that created some of the great Flames chances.

Next up: The Wild next face the San Jose Sharks, who are fighting to secure the top spot in the conference. Given the Wild's tendency to play to their opponents ability levels, it could be a very tough game for San Jose.

2009-10 Game Seventy-One: Wild 2, Blue Jackets 4

2010-03-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Maybe now the Wild can just go about the business of playing hockey without anything to clutter their minds. After losing to Columbus, and to Nashville the night before, the Wild are truly in a position where they need to win out the rest of the way through the season, and they need help. True, they are still mathematically in the race, but with today's NHL and the frequency of 3-point games, it's unrealistic for anyone to plan more hockey in St. Paul than was originally scheduled.

The thing is, the Wild actually had chances to win this game, and, if it hadn't been for some mind-boggling officiating, they probably would have taken it. Of course, it doesn't help when the team has to play with only five defensemen as long as they did, but Minnesota still had their chances. However, the Blue Jackets tied the game on what seemed to be a clear case of goaltender interference, and that was all she wrote for Minnesota. With a shortened bench, and having to beat the Blue Jackets and the league's representatives, the Wild just couldn't turn the momentum back their way.

Game pluses:
- Casey Wellman. Welcome to the NHL, kid. Wellman, playing in his first NHL game, got his first assist on a nice feed to Chuck Kobasew. Wellman also came oh-so-close to scoring his first goal, showing some of the reason why 22 NHL teams were hungry to have him join their club.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain is quickly closing in on his point totals from last season, which were a career best. He notched a goal in the game.
- Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew isn't expected to be a huge scorer for the Wild, but, over the last few games, he's been one of the more consistent. He knocked home Wellman's sweet centering pass for his sixth goal of his abbreviated season.

Game minuses:
- Justin Falk. Not that any of this was Falk's fault. In his NHL debut, Falk took a questionable hit to the head. That hit did not receive a penalty, but it did unfortunately shorten Falk's debut as he left the ice with a concussion.
- Mental lapses. How else can the Rick Nash goal be explained? Thanks to a broken stick and some confusion as to whether or not a player was coming off of the ice, the Wild only had four skaters as Nash took the puck up-ice for a clear shot at the net.
- Officiating. It's been bad all season, all across the NHL. Certain teams can do no wrong, but other teams get penalized for the mildest of offenses. In this game, the officials completely missed the shot to Falk's head (this coming shortly after the NHL had meetings to eliminate head shots), and they also ignored a clear-cut goaltender interference call that lead to the tying goal for Columbus. It should be noted that one of the officials for the game, is Stephane Auger, the very same official that was accused of showing bias by Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks.

Next up: The Wild need to win out for a glimpse of a hope. That opportunity started against the Calgary Flames.

2009-10 Game Seventy: Wild 0, Predators 5

2010-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was for the best that most Minnesota Wild fans were only able to listen to their game against the Nashville Predators. Riding high on a three-game win streak, and in a position where they practically need to win every game for the remainder of the season if they want to see a glimpse of the playoffs, the Wild got outplayed in every aspect of the game, as the Predators handed them their worst loss of the season.

This game featured two teams fighting hard for the playoffs, but from two different perspectives. The Wild need to string together points badly, and they need help, if they want to crack the top eight. Meanwhile, Nashville also need to keep collecting points in the standings, but that's to stay where they are, and the Predators are hoping to avoid a first-round match-up with the San Jose Sharks. Obviously, Nashville wanted the game more, as they came out swinging, and delivered multiple knock-out punches to a Wild team that couldn't find its rhythm, and barely found the puck.

Game pluses:
- Greg Zanon. While the Wild have been banged up, and have experienced defensive lapses, Zanon has been one of the more steady players. Here's hoping that the shot he blocked late in the game doesn't leave him off of the ice against Columbus tonight.
- Fast opening. It doesn't look that way, but the Wild actually did come out of the gate with energy, and some ability to move the puck. Unfortunately, two quick goals just before the midpoint of the period took all the wind out of Minnesota's sails.
- Casey Wellman. No, the kid didn't play. But after the way the Wild got trounced in Nashville, it wouldn't be surprising if he makes his NHL debut against Columbus. All the reports say that he's got a great shot, and has a very good chance of cracking the Wild roster next season. If he lives up to his potential, the Wild may have a verified second-line center, behind Mikko Koivu.

Game minuses:
- Josh Harding. The Wild netminder seemed bewildered at times, most notably on the third Nashville goal. In his defense, the shot just before had broken his chest protector, but Harding himself admitted to a mental lapse leading to the wide open net.
- Shots. Even with the game seemingly out of reach after a three-goal Nashville start, the Wild had a chance to scramble back into it. After all, this team has won games from similar deficits all season. However, you aren't going to crawl back into a hockey game when you only manage eight shots in the final two periods.
- Compete. The Wild started strong, and had a couple of early chances. Then Nashville scored twice in under two minutes, and the game was over. Minnesota never recovered, and for a team that needs to fight if they want to see postseason play, they just didn't have it. Ultimately, this might be a blessing in disguise, as the Wild would almost invariably fall in the first round this season, and they can definitely use a higher draft position to their advantage.

Next up: The Wild see if they can get back on track, taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Nine: Wild 4, Oilers 2

2010-03-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild had an opportunity to match the mark for the longest current home win streak against any opponent. Coming into the game, the Wild had beaten the Edmonton Oilers twelve times in a row at St. Paul. After the game was over, the Wild had tied the mark, thanks to a strong all-around game, especially with some great play by the team's centers.

Those centers might have been feeling a little pressure, given that the Wild signed a college free agent who could be looking to take a job away from one of them. Minnesota brought Casey Wellman from the University of Massachusetts, and almost played him in his first chance. Wellman's debut was put on hold, but he did get some time to skate with the team during warm-ups, and might see time in the upcoming game against the Nashville Predators. Meanwhile, the rest of the Wild stepped up, and responded in a huge way after Edmonton twice tied the game. This was especially notable given how the on-ice officials almost seemed to be trying to hand the Oilers the win. Don't believe it? Watch the play that lead to the eventual 5-on-3 Edmonton power play, and try and find two clear penalties in that scrum.

Game pluses:
- Centers. On a day where the Wild added a coveted player (beating out 21 other teams) to their center ranks, the team's current line-up of centers stepped up in a big way. Strong play is expected out of Mikko Koivu, but Andrew Ebbett notched a multi-point game, Kyle Brodziak was forechecking, and James Sheppard showed a compete level that he hasn't shown often this season.
- Martin Havlat. The Wild winger keeps finding ways to get himself into the quiet areas on the ice, and he was rewarded with a big insurance goal.
- Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew hadn't scored since his hat trick the day after Thanksgiving. A nice way to break that streak is to put home the game winning goal, especially after Edmonton kept clawing back in.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. It was yet another lousy game called by the officials, with plenty of bad or missed calls going both ways. Still, the penalties that put Edmonton on a 5-on-3 jump out as some of the worst ones. Yes, there was a penalty on that call. But the second?
- Late defense. The Wild held on at the end of the game, but they certainly didn't help themselves by giving up 20 shots to the Oilers in the third period. This was the first time gave up that many shots in one period all season.
- Antti Miettinen. Yes, Miettinen scored. However, he also missed on some great chances, by putting the puck too far or too high. He may not be a sniper, but for a team that could use more scoring, being that badly off target has to change.

Next up: The Wild try to roll off their fourth win in a row, and keep moving themselves up the standings, when they face the Nashville Predators next.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Eight: Wild 4, Blues 2

2010-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

If the Minnesota Wild finish out the remaining games on their schedule playing the way they have for the last two, it's going to be an entertaining finish. Backed into a wall for their playoff lives, the Wild are playing like they have nothing to lose, and, as a result, put together two of the more impressive wins they've had this season.

Take nothing away from the come-from-behind victories, but watching the Wild dominate the play from the opening puck drop has been few and far between. Seeing them weather an offensive flurry with some smart defense and better goaltending has been more common, but it's often been to keep the team down by only a goal, as opposed to up by a couple. Given the number of injuries that the team has been dealing with (yet another player went down before the game against St. Louis), if the Wild can somehow keep this current surge going, it's going to be quite the ride for the boys from St. Paul.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's heart and soul played like it. Koivu was everywhere on the ice, and he notched another multi-point game to lead the Wild to victory.
- Martin Havlat. Yes, sometimes Havlat fools even himself with his puck handling. Still, the two assists he added to his season total both came thanks to stellar plays by the winger.
- Josh Harding. No, he wasn't as scintillating as he was the previous game against Buffalo, but Harding didn't need to be. What he was this time around was just a solid presence in the net, keeping St. Louis out when it really counted.

Game minuses:
- Injuries. No doubt, the Wild need to find a way to get players healthy. Three defensemen are out, and they almost lost a fourth. Wingers are banged up, shortening the Wild bench. The goaltenders haven't both been healthy for a long stretch in quite some time. To maintain this pace, the Wild need players back, and they need them back badly.
- Discipline. Once again, the Wild marched to the penalty box. They only coughed up one power play goal, but good teams limit those chances by taking better care of their sticks and moving their legs more.
- Final push. The Wild found themselves up 3-0 after the first period, and they chased the St. Louis goaltender. What did they follow up with? Not taking shots, and not driving to the net. Instead, they sat back and held onto the lead. In today's NHL, the best defense is continuing to apply offensive pressure, but part of the Wild's old system keeps creeping back in once they've got a couple goal lead.

Next up: The Wild have a day off, but return to the ice against the Edmonton Oilers.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Seven: Wild 3, Sabres 2

2010-03-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Friday, the Minnesota Wild skated into Buffalo. For the team to have any real hope of making it into the post season, they need to just about win every remaining game, and get a lot of help with the teams ahead of them losing. After losing to the Detroit Red Wings the night before to the tune of 5-1, things certainly didn't look good. Things got more dicey for Minnesota when it became clear that Niklas Backstrom will be out for more than just one game.

No worries, Wild fans. Josh Harding answered the call with some amazing goaltending, and the Wild tapped into some grumpiness, complete with the Wild's grizzled veteran, Owen Nolan, sparking the team with physical play and a tough fight. Minnesota also put the puck on the net, beating Buffalo at their own game. Things got interesting at the end of the game, thanks to a late Buffalo goal, but the Wild ended up helping themselves the only way they could, finishing off a very tough Sabres team.

Game pluses:

- Guillaume Latendresse. One game earlier, and Latendresse was being sent off the ice to visit the hospital, thanks to a stick to the back of the head. In this game, he was a strong presence for Minnesota on the ice, scoring a nice goal to put his team up by two.

- Andrew Ebbett. The Wild were looking to get a good start to the game, and Ebbett helped out with that effort, knocking the puck into the net for a rare Minnesota power play goal. Even better, he did it against one of the best penalty kills in the league.

- Josh Harding. Harding did not play well against Detroit, and he admitted to it afterward. Against Buffalo, he played amazingly well, knocking aside 43 shots to keep the Wild in it, and keep them from experiencing another collapse similar to the one they faced against Florida.

Game minuses:

- Killer instinct. The Wild almost gave up another late lead, and it was only the play of Josh Harding that kept them on top of the final score. There were shots that were passed on that might have helped lock things down for the Wild, but they didn't seem insistent after getting a three-goal lead.

- Discipline. The Buffalo Sabres have a lot of weapons, and the Wild kept putting them on the power play. While a few of the penalties were questionable, Minnesota needed to do better to keep themselves out the box.

- James Sheppard. Anyone who thinks that Sheppard is the Wild center of the future is fooling themselves. Sheppard once again was one of the more ineffective players on the ice, either through poor puck handling, or horrible positioning.

Next up: The Wild look to keep playing like they've got nothing to lose when they face another team in a must-win situation, with a game against the St. Louis Blues

2009-10 Game Sixty-Six: Wild 1, Red Wings 5

2010-03-12T12:49:00.001-08:00

One team is looking to break into playoff positioning, and is playing like they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. The other team is starting to look like they're trying to break into the NHL's bottom five, and playing like the only thing they have to gain is a top draft pick. Unfortunately for Wild fans, their Minnesota team is the one that's struggling, and having a tough time putting together a complete game.

Admittedly, injuries haven't helped this team, and they may have suffered one of the biggest ones yet, with top-scoring Guillaume Latendresse going to the hospital after taking a stick to the back of the head. It wasn't intentional by a long shot, but it was still a scary moment. Of course, on the ensuing power play, the Wild did what they've done more than anyone else this season, as they coughed up a back-breaking shorthanded goal. One power play goal for Minnesota, and the Detroit lead would have closed to one. Instead, the Wild found themselves staring down a three-goal deficit, and no real flow to their offense.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. It was good to see the Wild's spark plug on the ice, hitting and playing his game.
- Rookies. If the season is really over, and it's starting to look that way, then the Wild would be smart to give some of their younger AHL players a chance at cracking the roster and getting a little NHL experience. Robbie Earl and Jamie Sifers got that opportunity against the Red Wings, and while neither looked amazing, they both showed flashes of brilliance.
- Greg Zanon. Just about the only Wild defenseman who played a consistent game, Zanon just calmly did what he did all season.

Game minuses:
- Josh Harding. True, he was rusty. True, he wasn't expecting to start. True, some of the goals he surrendered were fluky. No excuses for a team trying to make up lost ground, and a player desperate for a chance to start.
- Power play. The Wild power play reverted to its momentum-killing self, with no time more apparent than with the short-handed Detroit goal.
- Puck possession. The Wild want to be the kind of team that holds the puck, and wears down opposing players. When they did this briefly against the Red Wings, they generated chances. Unfortunately, the Wings play a similar style, and they are much better at it.

Next up: It certainly isn't about to get any easier, as the Wild play against the Buffalo Sabres tonight.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Five: Wild 2, Panthers 3 (SO)

2010-03-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

This is the same team that pulled off some thrilling come-from-behind victories earlier this season? A team that overcame a terrible start filled with learning a new system and spending almost the entire first month away from home by firing off one of the hottest Decembers in the league? A team that claims to still have a shot at the playoffs, despite the logjam of teams ahead of them in the standings?

You couldn't tell it from watching the way they played against the Florida Panthers. Even though the Wild jumped out to a 2-goal first period lead, they couldn't hold onto it, and eventually fell in the shoot-out. Part of that is surely due to the mini-march to the penalty box, continuing a disturbing trend for Minnesota as of late. The bigger cause, however? The team just didn't have any desire or drive, as they couldn't even get to ten shots without using the overtime period. While mathematically still in playoff contention, the Wild may have knocked themselves out of any realistic hope with the lackluster play, and it only gets tougher this weekend, with games in Detroit and Buffalo.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. During the Wild's four-shot first period, Koivu showed good patience to fire a shot in for a pretty power play goal.
- Robbie Earl. Filling in for suspended Derek Boogaard, Earl took his chance, and on the Wild's third shot of the period, put the puck into the net.
- Niklas Backstrom. With the Wild putting together a mere 11 shots through overtime, the only reason that they found themselves in the game was because Backstrom held them in it. The Wild goalie was solid in net, until defensive lapses backed him into a corner.

Game minuses:
- Desperation. This is a team that is allegedly trying to prove that they can make the playoffs, and, instead, they put on one of their worst displays of the season, and did it in front of the home fans. When four shots in the first period is your high for the game, something is wrong. The shots that Minnesota took during the shoot-out? Not indicative of a team trying to win, as the shots were ultimately harmless, and many of them were off the mark.
- Penalties. Say what you will about the officiating, but the Wild certainly didn't help themselves, as they put themselves into penalty trouble. True, the Panthers didn't score on the power play, but the Wild couldn't establish any flow, partially because of spending so much time short-handed.
- Physicality. This type of game is exactly why the Wild need to have Cal Clutterbuck, or someone like him, healthy and throwing their body around. The Wild had no energy, and the most physical player ended up being Martin Havlat, who got into a couple of shoving matches as the game wore on.

Next up: The Wild need to find something within themselves to reverse their current direction, or they can start planning for a vacation at the end of April by the end of this weekend. Unfortunately, to do that, they'll have to get back on track against the reigning Western Conference champions, the Detroit Red Wings.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Four: Wild 2, Flames 5

2010-03-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

How do you mark your 400th consecutive sell-out? If you're a fan of the Minnesota Wild, you had to be hoping that they'd mark it with a win, continuing their season of dominance over the Calgary Flames, and keeping themselves in the running to surprise everyone with a playoff berth.

Reality can be a tough pill to swallow, as none of those things happened.

The Wild found itself chasing almost from the start of the game, and leave it to Wild-killer Jerome Iginla to step up after not scoring in ten games against Minnesota. While the Wild might still have an outside shot at the playoffs, they certainly aren't making it any easier on themselves, and time is definitely running short. Coming out of the Olympics, Minnesota looked poised to make a push, and possibly even put a scare into some of the top teams. However, after easily handling Calgary while visiting Canada, the Wild fell to a lackluster performance against Edmonton, and just couldn't overcome an early hole from the Flames.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. How good does Latendresse look? He was one of the Wild players buzzing the net all game long, and he was rewarded with scoring the only two goals the Wild saw.
- Martin Havlat. If it hadn't been for Havlat's pass on Latendresse's first goal, the Wild might not have scored all game.
- Brent Burns. Ignore the delay of game penalty. Burns ultimately played a strong game, and had a beautiful feed to Latendresse for the Wild's second goal.

Game minuses:
- Coming to play. Yes, the Wild found themselves down a mere 20 seconds into the game, thanks to a puck deflecting off a skate (and it may have been kicked in), but they didn't really recover until the second period. For a team that needs to string together wins, they haven't come ready to play the last two games.
- Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild's hit leader and energy guy went down in the first period to injury and didn't return. The Wild need him healthy if they're going to put together much of anything in the final eighteen games.
- Officiating. Not to harp on this one again, but the officiating in Wild games has been awful this season, and, since the Olympic break, it almost seems as though it's gotten worse. This time, the whistles were used, but for some questionable calls that made earlier non-calls stand out even more. The most glaring example? The goaltender interference call against Mikko Koivu, when a similar play had happened earlier at the other end of the ice.

Next up: The Wild need to get moving if they want to hold hope of playing in the NHL's second season. Maybe playing against the Florida Panthers will be the balm the team needs.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Three: Wild 1, Oilers 2 (SO)

2010-03-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

If this game had happened earlier in the season, or if the Minnesota Wild were higher in the standings, they might have been able to take some consolation from pulling a point out of a game they were outplayed. Unfortunately, the final stretch of the season is underway, the Wild find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture, and they couldn't gather any momentum when playing against the NHL's worst team.

The Edmonton Oilers came out looking to play a physical style of hockey, and they seemed to shock the Wild into making foolish plays. Two nights after Minnesota had all of the momentum against the Calgary Flames, they couldn't connect on plays against Edmonton. The Oilers took the game to the Wild all night long, and Minnesota had their work cut out for them. Even some highlight reel plays by Wild players couldn't swing the game in their favor, and now the Wild find themselves further back, thanks to the Detroit Red Wings winning in convincing fashion.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. How pretty was Latendresse's 21st goal of the season? On one of the few plays where the Wild skated like they could, Latendresse was able to beat Edmonton players on the way to a beautiful goal, and he had other opportunities throughout the night.
- Owen Nolan. He may be the oldest player the Wild have, but he's also one that exemplifies a lack of quit. Nolan was a player who had great chances all night, and he created a lot of them himself, not getting a lot of help from teammates.
- Derek Boogaard. True, he was involved in a hit that might lead to a suspension, but, aside from that, Boogaard was actually creating havoc in the offensive zone, through good puck play. Boogaard provided a forecheck, and had some great steals, trying to spark his team.

Game minuses:
- 60 minute game. If the Wild had played a full sixty minutes, they wouldn't have had to worry about the additional five, or the shootout. The Wild just didn't have it, and they didn't deserve to win.
- Passing. When the Wild connected on a pass, it created a play. Unfortunately, most of the night they couldn't make the tape-to-tape pass. Even more unfortunately, too often shots were passed up in favor of trying to pass. Given how the Wild was moving the puck, they should have resorted to shooting more, and digging for rebounds.
- Officiating. No questions about it, the officials still seem to be on their Olympic break. This game started getting out of hand, especially given that Edmonton has nothing to lose, and very little (aside from team identity) to gain. And yet, penalties for both sides were ignored, including situations that were almost carbon copies for situations that have led to suspensions earlier this season.

Next up: The Wild look to rebound, as they find themselves facing the Calgary Flames again, with a game coming up on Sunday afternoon.

2009-10 Game Sixty-Two: Wild 4, Flames 0

2010-03-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Now that the Olympics are a memory, the NHL was able to return to its business this week. The Minnesota Wild, with three freshly-minted bronze medal winners, had a little extra rest before they headed to Calgary, to take on a Flames team that has historically knocked the Wild around. There were definitely questions as to how the Wild would play. Would this be the same time that soundly defeated the Vancouver Canucks on Valentine's Day? Or would this be the team that struggled through so many points of this season? Only one thing was crystal clear, and was made so during the team's morning skate. This would not be a team including Eric Belanger any more.

Mere hours after trading the player who has been their best face-off man this season, the Wild dominated that stat against the Flames almost 2-to-1, and used that, along with some very well-placed shots, to derail the Flames, and climb to within four points of the final playoff spot. The Wild know that the road ahead of them is a tough one, but the team is obviously not willing to give up, and, for the first time in franchise history, the Wild have beaten the Flames four times in a row. They have a chance to make it five this weekend, but first, they'll be travelling to Edmonton.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain didn't even meet the team until they arrived in Calgary, but that didn't stop him from being all over the ice. Koivu was a dominant force, and he contributed offensively (two points) and defensively (bailing out his goaltender on a couple of rebound chances).
-Owen Nolan. A player that many felt may have been set up to move at the trade deadline instead chose to stay with Minnesota, and his career has given him the respect to do that. He responded with a big game, helping create the Wild's first goal, and providing the veteran grit that the Wild will need down the road.
- Niklas Backstrom. Sure, the start of the game looked a little shaky, and the Wild had to bail out their goaltender, but then Backstrom settled down and made some huge saves on the way to his second shutout of the season.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. Maybe the officials were still on an Olympic break. Absolutely no penalties called until Greg Zanon played the puck with a broken stick? The only other penalty coming on a retaliatory crosscheck? True, the game was fairly clean, but for only two penalties to be called all game long means that the officials weren't quite watching the same contest.
- Shots. The Wild won the game 4-0 with some good offense, so why complain about the shots? Because they didn't take enough of them as the game wore on. In fact, for parts of the second period, they looked like they were Team USA skating against Team Finland. The difference was that Team USA had amassed a six-goal lead, and Team Wild was clinging to a one-goal edge.
- Shane Hnidy. With so much of the Wild defense playing so incredibly well against Calgary, any one making more than a few puck-handling miscues got notice. That one against the Flames was Hnidy, who just couldn't seem to get a handle on the puck through much of the game.

Next up: The Wild look to see if they can keep their roll going against their divisional opponents Friday night, as they take on the Edmonton Oilers.

Olympic break and looking ahead

2010-02-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

All but five Minnesota Wild players have been resting and taking things easy for awhile, and, after last night, all but three are able to return to regular practices. The NHL's schedule freeze has come and gone, and while there's still a roster freeze in effect, teams can at least start skating together again, and try and shake off the rust that ten days away can grow.

Not only did the Wild return to practice, but they got to return to the business of taking care of some of the free agents on their roster. While teams can't trade players until after the Olympics are over (and need to get it done by March 3), they can hammer out contract extensions, and that's exactly what the Wild did with regards to Cal Clutterbuck, signing him for another three years. Looking down the pipe, and new contracts concerning Marek Zidlicky and Guillaume Latendresse should be coming, as well. But don't forget that Mikko Koivu will be entering a contract season, and he has helped put Finland on the cusp of the gold medal game.

Once the Olympics wrap up, the Wild will have a couple of days to make some decisions on players. The team is currently five points out of a playoff spot, but they feel confident that they can close that gap over the next 21 games. At least, the players feel that way. The question is whether or not the front office feels the same, and how they treat the trade deadline. The Wild haven't been shy about making moves that should help the team both short- and long-term, with the recent trade for Cam Barker proves, but they still have some questions to answer. Here's a few players that might see themselves on the block:

James Sheppard - Much like Benoit Pouliot before him, Sheppard is graced with talent, but that has never manifested with the Wild. His development was stunted thanks to some mind-boggling decisions made by the prior front office, and it might be time to let Sheppard go. He has the potential to be a decent power forward in the league, but needs a change of scenery, and needs it soon. If the Wild can pull off another Latendresse-like deal, more power to them, but it might be best to let Sheppard go for a draft pick or two.

Eric Belanger - The Wild need good quality centers, and Belanger often fits the bill. While he is dominant in the face-off, Belanger doesn't have a lot of the grit and drive that is starting to characterize this Wild team. The Wild need a center that fits their style a bit better, and Belanger might be the easiest piece to use to lure another team into making that trade.

Antti Miettinen - Miettinen is a streaky player, and the one piece that still doesn't quite mesh on the Wild's top line. If Chuck Kobasew can play soon, that makes Miettinen even more vulnerable. Still, don't expect to see him moved before Draft Day, if even then.

Owen Nolan - It would be a shame to see Owen Nolan wearing any other jersey, especially in what might be the last month or two of his career, but if the Wild decide that they are playoff pretenders, and not in a position to make a viable run, they might let Nolan go. He's exactly the type of player a playoff team would look to add at the deadline, and, given that his contract is up after this year, there's always a chance he would come back as a free agent.

Josh Harding - The Wild's back-up goaltender seemed set to be traded earlier this season, and then he ran into some difficulties with his game. Once he started getting back on track, he suffered his hip injury, which may have made it harder to move him. Harding deserves a starting job somewhere in the league, but, with Niklas Backstrom, the odds aren't good that he'll find one with Minnesota.

The Wild have a ton of decisions to make, and, honestly, signing Cal Clutterbuck to an extension doesn't even confirm that he'll be wearing a Wild sweater when the team lines up against Calgary on the night of Deadline Day. There's also no indication that anything will move between then and now, and the roster for the Wild's first post-Olympic break could be exactly what was seen in their final pre-break game against Vancouver.

2009-10 Game Sixty-One: Wild 6, Canucks 2

2010-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

It felt like it took a long time to reach the Olympic break, but that's just because NHL teams were playing at such a rapid clip. And, while the next two weeks are all about international play, after the Olympics are over, the league will return to its frantic pace. Of course, the Minnesota Wild had to feel like it took them even longer to reach the break, after the stoppage-filled debacle against Atlanta to start the weekend. The Wild desperately needed something to get them going again, and all it took was a home game against their most-hated rival to spur the team to playing as a unit.

How fitting that they would play so well just before having to play against their regular teammates for a couple of weeks? And how fitting was it that the Wild would end up going into a long break with possibly the biggest swing in momentum they've experienced yet this season? Minnesota still has an outside chance of making the playoffs, but, for the next two weeks, no questions will be answered. With twenty-one games left to play, the Wild sit five points back, and there's a pile of teams ahead of them in the standings. Still, beating Vancouver, and beating them soundly, had to feel good for a team that suffered through a couple of games that they should have won earlier in the week.

Game pluses:
- Kyle Brodziak. It must be something about playing the Canucks. Brodziak has put together very impressive games against Vancouver, notching three points this time around.
- Greg Zanon. While the score was huge in Minnesota's favor, a lot of the defensive play was looked over. Zanon acted as a secondary goaltender a few times, helping keep the puck out of the net when Niklas Backstrom found himself out of position.
- Cam Barker. The newest member of the Minnesota Wild played a strong game, keeping it simple in his first appearance. He stood tall defensively, and blasted his first Wild goal into the net. The goal may have been meaningless for the score, but it spoke volumes for Barker.

Game minuses:
- Niklas Backstrom. He wasn't stellar in net, but, thankfully, didn't have to be, thanks to some help from Zanon, Barker, and a huge outpouring of goals from his teammates.
- Eric Belanger. Not that he played a bad game, per se, but Belanger is one of the players who should feel a little pressure after the Kim Johnsson trade, and he looked fairly lackluster on the ice.
- Darcy Hordichuk. As the season wears on, it's easier to find opposing players that get under a team's skin. Hordichuk has definitely succeeded in doing that. The last time Vancouver and Minnesota played, Hordichuk claimed that he was sent by his coach to fight, and then backed off of the comment. This time, he was a textbook example of a third man in a fight, and he did so by tossing Derek Boogaard to the ice from behind, with something resembling a horse collar tackle. Given that it would have been a penalty in the NFL, it wasn't surprising to see Hordichuk get hit with a 2-5-10 (instigation/fighting/misconduct) penalty.

Next up: The Wild don't return to the ice until March 3, when they face the Calgary Flames. The catch? March 3 is also the trade deadline. How different might the Wild look at that point? In the meantime, Olympic hockey should help keep you sated.

2009-10 Game Sixty: Wild 2, Thrashers 3

2010-02-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

That sound you hear may just be the Wild's post-season hopes slipping away completely. In a game that the team felt they needed to win, against a team that they'd never lost to in regulation, the Wild did everything in their power to keep themselves out of the game. They just kept marching to the penalty box all night long, giving Atlanta a couple of different 5-on-3 situations, and at least one 4-on-3 situation.

Needless to say, the game was a whistle-fest, as neither team could really get anything moving. There was an average of one stoppage in play for every minute (probably more, actually), and that took any sort of momentum away for the most part. The few glimpses of sustained pressure came from an Atlanta team that has been cleaning house, obviously looking to set themselves up for next season, considering this one to be long gone.

And now the Wild have that decision looming ahead of them. The Minnesota front office felt that they needed to pull at least eight points out of this homestand to seriously fight for a playoff spot. Well, they now need to beat Vancouver on Sunday to do so, and that might be a big challenge, the way that they've played the last 5 periods. While the Wild didn't shy away from taking shots, like they did the previous game, they've got to relearn discipline.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain set up both Wild goals, and was competitive and buzzing all night long. He just needs someone else who can finish.
- Cal Clutterbuck. Consider him something of a battery. Not only did he work hard to help the Wild's second goal, but he kept trying to spark his team to do something.
- Greg Zanon. With the Wild trading their minutes leader, members of the defense needed to step up, and Zanon performed admirably, clocking in with 25 minutes of ice time.

Game minuses:
- Discipline. Admittedly, some of the penalties called, and some that weren't, were truly mind-boggling, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the Wild couldn't stay out of the penalty box. The most glaring example was after being handed a 4-minute power play, the Wild took two quick penalties to give Atlanta the man advantage.
- Derek Boogaard. Boogaard only had a minute of ice time. He was in the penalty box for longer than that. Boogaard has done well this season to not make himself a liability on the ice, but that wasn't the case against Atlanta.
- Pace. The pace to the game was awful. Earlier this season, the Wild played a game where they actually eliminated one of the television time-outs, due to a lack of whistles and play stoppages. In this game, they could have included another two or three to make up for the one missed.

Next up: The Wild desperately need a win, and they'll get to stay at home, with the same officiating crew, to find it. Newly acquired defenseman Cam Barker might be on the ice as Minnesota welcomes the Vancouver Canucks in the final game before the Olympic break.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Nine: Wild 2, Coyotes 3

2010-02-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, the bounces just don't go the way you want them to. That seems to be the case relatively often for the Minnesota Wild, and that was certainly the case against the Phoenix Coyotes, as the winning goal was scored on such a bizarre shot that Niklas Backstrom never even saw the puck. But that's the way it's been against Phoenix this season, as the Wild failed to secure even one point from a team that they had previously dominated year after year.

Of course, the loss makes things even trickier for the Wild when it comes to post-season play. Minnesota firmly believed before this homestand started that they would need to come away with at least eight points in the five games. After getting blanked in the standings by the Coyotes, the Wild need to string together two wins against tough teams to have a ghost of a chance. They currently sit five points back from the current #8 team, and the closest they can get before the Olympic break is one point out. Odds are not good, and odds are even worse that, should the Wild sneak into the playoffs, they'd be able to win a series. True, they are a better team than their record shows, thanks to a very difficult opening month to the season, but they aren't a team that should be expecting to lift the Cup this season. One more loss on this homestand, or an ability to figure out how to win away from St. Paul, will solidify the Wild's position regarding the trade deadline.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. For a guy who had been injured with a bad back, he played pretty well. Backstrom bounced back, and held the Wild in the game, even after they let off the gas. The game-winning fluke goal might just haunt him for awhile, though.
- Marek Zidlicky. The Wild defenseman was more reward than risk against Phoenix, and helped start the play that created the Wild's first goal.
- Fast start. The Wild jumped out to a fast start, and they looked set to make things a blow-out right away. Good energy and pressure from the very first shift of the game was rewarded under five minutes in, when the Wild took the lead. Too bad they couldn't hold it.

Game minuses:
- Pressure. The Wild started the game strong, but didn't keep applying the pressure after taking their early lead. They allowed Phoenix to get their legs under them, and then the Coyotes took control.
- Passing. The Wild simply passed the puck far too much. Instead of taking shots when they were open, the Wild kept looking for the highlight reel play. Ugly goals are worth just as much as pretty ones, and the Wild need to start looking at more ugly goals if they want to play in the NHL's "second season".
- Phoenix. Face it, for the first year ever, the Wild just didn't know how to handle the Coyotes, so playing against them again had to fill fans with a sense of dread. The Coyotes swept the season series, and won each game in regulation, keeping the Wild from getting a single point out of the series. Thankfully, Minnesota won't have to worry about Phoenix again until next season.

Next up: The Wild will try to correct the ship once again, and do so against an Eastern Conference opponent. The Wild have fared well against the East this year, and they look to continue that trend against the Atlanta Thrashers, who seem to be engaging in some spring cleaning of their own.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Eight: Wild 2, Flyers 1

2010-02-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

During the recent game against the Edmonton Oilers, a little known Minnesota Wild player got his name etched into the record books. Anton Khudobin, in his first NHL experience, was able to secure his first win with under ten minutes played, becoming the fastest goalie to reach that mark. He got to follow up that appearance with his first NHL start, against a tough Philadelphia Flyers team, and he couldn't have done much more to impress his teammates.

While Khudobin was solid all game long, the rest of the Wild seemed like they were having difficulty getting things going. The first period, the Wild were lucky to have escaped with a tie game, and while things balanced out in the second, the third period showed a surprising lack of drive, as the Wild didn't really apply the pressure to extend their lead, and give their unorthodox netminder a bit of a cushion. At the end of the game, though, the Wild were the ones celebrating, adding another one-goal win to their record, and keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Game pluses:
- Anton Khudobin. Khudobin played solidly against Edmonton, but he only had to face 9 shots. He faced twice as many as that in the first period of the game against the Flyers, and was solid. True, he coughed up a lot of rebounds, but he tended to direct them to safe areas of the ice.
- Owen Nolan. The stats keepers for the game must have thought that Nolan scared the puck to Cal Clutterbuck for the Wild's first goal, since he somehow missed getting an assist. However, his goal and his second period take-down definitely helped lead the Wild to victory.
- Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck showed good awareness, crashing the net at the right time, to tie his goal total from last season.

Game minuses:
- Slow start. When you've got an untested goaltender and you desperately need points in the standings, you can't generally turn in a period like the Wild did for the first twenty minutes of the game. They survived, and Khudobin bailed them out, but it could have gotten scary.
- Physicality. The Wild almost seemed to shy away from the Flyers, even when bowling ball Cal Clutterbuck, or wrecking ball Derek Boogaard were on the ice. Nolan's tackle of Scott Hartnell aside, the Wild almost looked content to take the hits, rather than deliver them.
- Defensive decisions. The Wild defense was sharp most of the game. However, misplayed pucks or baffling passes popped up intermittently throughout the game, with one of the most noticable being a pass from Marek Zidlicky back to Khudobin. The biggest problem? Zidlicky was in the offensive zone at the time.

Next up: The Wild can rest for a couple of days before they welcome the Phoenix Coyotes to town on Wednesday night.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Seven; Wild 4, Oilers 2

2010-02-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

The first period of the Minnesota Wild/Edmonton Oilers game looked very similar to the game played earlier in the week by the Wild against the Dallas Stars. For the first twenty minutes, the Wild dominated the play, keeping their opponent back on their heels and peppering the net with shots. For the first twenty minutes, the Wild couldn't solve the opposing goaltender, setting up a potential collapse. Of course, at the end of the day, the Wild had a very different presence in their own net, and they weren't forced to play from behind.

In a game where it often seemed as though the officials were trying to hand Edmonton the win, Minnesota just kept fighting, and they needed to. After getting shut out in the first period, they were able to take a 1-0 lead, but the Oilers tied the game on an extended power play, thanks to some questionable penalties. That was where things stood until the second period, where Minnesota again took a one goal lead, only to have it erased yet again by a baffling on-ice call. Then came the moment that, if the Wild make the playoffs, could be looked back at as the catalyst for saving the entire season.

It's been no secret that Josh Harding has been playing with an injured hip as of late, and he took more abuse to that joint during the scrum and beating the created Edmonton's second goal. Shortly after that, completely out of position, Harding dove across the net mouth, just trying to stifle an Edmonton shot and hold the game at 2. It was a brilliant save, and should get plenty of replay, but it was immediately followed by the image of the Wild's goaltender laying flat on the ice, unable to get back up. He was eventually helped off of the ice, and Minnesota needed to rely on another unproven goaltender in Anton Khudobin. The Wild fired off two goals to take the lead, and Khudobin performed admirably in relief, securing his first NHL victory with under ten minutes of work. Expect him to get more work than that upcoming, as the odds are good that the Wild will be without their top two goaltenders for some time.

Game pluses:
- Goaltending. Josh Harding was huge, and obviously playing through pain, but still managed to keep his team in the game. As soon as he went down, there was a sense that the season was slipping away, but Anton Khudobin, who has suffered his own streak of bad luck, was able to keep Edmonton from scoring again. The fans responded in a big way, and gave Khudobin a large boost.
- Martin Havlat. The Wild's top player was absolutely brilliant against Edmonton, and, with the Wild dressing 7 defensemen, Havlat ended up being double-shifted. He took every opportunity handed to him, and played possibly his best game in a Wild jersey.
- Guillaume Latendresse. The guy that helped spark Havlat's play earlier in the season continues to play his game, and play it well. While his game-winning goal was nice, his feed to set up Havlat's second goal of the game showed his overall hockey awareness.

Game minuses:
- Injury. Nothing can take away Harding's brilliant save. However, the Wild really need to sweep their home stand if they want to have playoff aspirations, and that task just got a lot harder with Harding reaggravating his hip injury.
- Andrew Brunette. For someone who's normally so good just a couple of feet away from the net, Brunette had a very off game. He had at least three opportunities to convert from the goal mouth, and just pushed the puck wide each time.
- Kim Johnsson. Johnsson again looked soft in the defensive zone, and had some mind-boggling plays with the puck, creating chances for the Oilers.

Next up: The Wild come back on Saturday with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Minnesota has done well against the Eastern Conference this season, and really needs to continue that trend right now.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Six: Wild 2, Stars 4

2010-02-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild have to be happy that, unless some weird twist of fate happens, they don't have to return to Dallas until the 2010-2011 season. They continued their futility in Texas, falling yet again to the Dallas Stars. The difference in this game is that, unlike most times Minnesota has visited there, the Wild actually outplayed the Stars, and they did so all game. However, as has been habit when playing against Dallas, the Wild just couldn't finish their chances, and ended up turning an average goaltender into an All Star.

The Wild dominated in every way but two. The Stars were the more physical team, thanks largely to Steve Ott continuing to be able to run around and cause whatever havoc he wants on the ice, and the Wild peppered 40+ shots on net, but most of them were completely harmless. To make matters worse, when the Wild tried to crawl back into the game, they didn't do so until they were already down by two, and immediately after pulling to within one goal, they surrendered a huge goal each time, taking whatever wind they might have assembled completely out of their sails.

Time is starting to run short for Minnesota with regards to the playoff chase, as well. They're only a few points back, but there is a huge jam of teams in the Western Conference, and, while the Wild need the teams ahead of them to lose, that will often result in a different team ahead of them winning. The conservative estimate to make it into the playoffs in the West is with 94 points, which the Wild could achieve, but they need to find a way to string together wins, and to string them together on the road. With the sudden question as to the status of their goaltending, thanks to injuries and illnesses, the obstacles in front of Minnesota loom even larger, and they might find themselves selling at the trade deadline, whether they want to or not.

Game pluses:
- Brent Burns. Burns is starting to look more and more like himself, and that can only bode well for the Wild in the future. However, as he's been stepping up, other defensemen have been falling apart.
- Guillaume Latendresse. Latendresse was buzzing the net and creating chances. His tip of the Brent Burns shot on the power play gave the Wild some much-needed life... too bad it only lasted for thirty seconds.
- Andrew Brunette. The Wild winger kept his positioning well much of the game, and was rewarded with a big goal.

Game minuses:
- Wade Dubielewicz. It may not have been kind for Dubielewicz to play his first game in a Wild sweater in an arena where the Wild haven't won in seven years, but he certainly didn't help himself, surrendering four goals on 18 shots.
- Kim Johnsson. Johnsson made some very bad decisions with the puck, and didn't pursue the physical side of the game at all. For someone getting paid as much as he is, he needs to show more life on the ice if he wants to get anything approaching a similar contract.
- Letting up. The Wild outplayed Dallas, but couldn't seem to figure out how to score. They got a power play late in the second period, notched a goal, and had the momentum. Then the Stars roared back, scored a quick goal, and set up a two-goal lead again. The same thing happened late in the third, and the Wild need to figure out how to keep applying the pressure after scoring, instead of coasting on that first shift, as they so often have.

Next up: The Wild return home, which should help stop their slide, but they do so with some question marks in the net. They face the Edmonton Oilers next.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Five: Wild 2, Sharks 5

2010-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night, the Minnesota Wild skated into San Jose. As long as the play stayed even strength, the Wild had enough to play with the Sharks, and possibly even beat them. Unfortunately, Minnesota gave up too many power plays, and San Jose took advantage, proving why they are one of the best teams in the league yet again.

For awhile, at least, it looked like Minnesota was going to get the better of San Jose. The Wild were working hard, limiting Sharks chances, and getting some opportunities of their own. Even with a banged-up goaltender, the Wild were doing a fairly good job of keeping San Jose out of the net. That is, they were doing a good job even strength. The first six goals scored in the game were scored with the man advantage, and, while Minnesota may have been called for some questionable penalties, they didn't do enough while on the penalty kill to shut down the Sharks, or the league's goal-scoring leader.

Game pluses:
- Power play. In a weird game, the Wild scored twice on the power play, and got good opportunities on other chances. However, when you give up four power play goals, even clicking twice just isn't enough.
- Kyle Brodziak. Brodziak had a great feed to set up Cal Clutterbuck's tenth goal of the season, and his work on both sides of the ice helped hold the Wild in as long as they lasted.
- Owen Nolan. The veteran consistently brings everything he can to the ice. A game after taking a shot off of the wrist, Nolan got set up and fired a pretty wrist shot for the first goal of the game.

Game minuses:
- Penalty kill. This goes without saying, but giving up a franchise-record 4 power play goals? The Wild were just disjointed while a man down, and spent too much time chasing the puck.
- Shots. The Wild took plenty of shots during the game. They just didn't get enough really high-quality shots on the net.
- Luck. Sometimes, you have to make your own luck, and the good teams in the league tend to do that. This is an area where Minnesota has often struggled, as either a fluky bounce ends up in their own net, a puck just can't get shoveled into the opponent's open net, questionable penalties, or posts hit. Still, the Wild had chances until the fourth Sharks goal took the wind out of their sails, and, if they had been able to create a little of their own luck, the outcome might have been very different.

Next up: The Wild head to Dallas for a Groundhog's Day game against the Stars.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Four: Wild 1, Avalanche 0

2010-01-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

Suffice it to say, but this most recent victory was anything but by the book. For most of the game, it was easy to see which team was playing in the second night of a back-to-back situation, and which team had been resting for a couple of days. But somehow, the Minnesota Wild pulled out a victory, snatching it from the jaws of defeat with under five minutes to play. They finished their season series against the Colorado Avalanche with an impressive 5-1 mark, and the way the contests have gone this season, Colorado is probably hoping that they won't see this same Minnesota team again come playoff time.

The Wild were outplayed for much of the game, and they couldn't mount much of an offense. However, in many ways, the Avalanche had just as many problems, and they weren't able to get the puck into the Wild net, despite a goaltender suffering through hip problems who was playing for the second night in a row. Still, with the way that this season has gone for Minnesota, they had to feel in good shape entering the third period tied. They took control of the final frame again, creating the game's only goal with some hard-nosed hockey. It wasn't pretty, but this Wild team needs road wins more than they need pretty wins.

Game pluses:
- Martin Havlat. He started the play that created the game-winning goal, so it was only fitting that he get to finish it. Still, nobody could have expected that Havlat would be able to score while smothered by three Colorado defenders. This is the player that the Wild made the big off-season move for, and he's definitely feeling his game now.
- Kyle Brodziak. Brodziak played the puck well, and his positioning and awareness showed when he fed the puck back to Havlat for the winner.
- Josh Harding. Harding needs to get some more goal support, but completing a shut-out while banged up and exhausted had to feel good. Interesting to note that the last time Harding played two nights in a row, he won both of those, as well.

Game minuses:
- Power play. The Wild just couldn't get anything done with the man advantage, and that ineptness almost burned them in the end. While winning the game takes away the sting, it should never have been close.
- Passing. Part of the reason why the Wild couldn't do anything on the power play is because they simply didn't have a passing touch all night long. They couldn't get the puck from tape to tape, with a few exceptions. Even when the passes were crisp, too often they were a little too late to turn into a scoring chance.
- Injuries. Niklas Backstrom is out with back problems. Josh Harding aggravated his sore hip, which casts doubt on his ability to play Saturday. Owen Nolan took a slap shot to the hand. The Wild was just starting to get healthy again, so the last thing they need is more players to miss time, especially when both goaltenders are questionable.

Next up: The Wild look to keep their roll going when they take on the San Jose Sharks.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Three: Wild 5, Red Wings 2

2010-01-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild are definitely starting to enjoy their time at home, compiling an impressive record inside the Xcel Energy Center as of late. If they can find a way to keep that roll going while on the road, they could find themselves in playoff positioning. They certainly helped their cause, beating one of the teams ahead of them in the standings with a very sound victory.

Of course, the way that the Wild and the Red Wings started the game, the potential victor wasn't obvious. The teams put together a 5-goal first period, with the Wild taking the advantage 3-2 before entering the second, where neither team amassed much in the way of offense. In the third period, the Wild took control, scoring on each of their first two shots of the period, and then they staved off a Detroit team that got some late opportunities, and also took some liberties with some chippy, and potentially dirty, hockey.

Meanwhile, there must have been something about Detroit coming to town that helped the Wild make their minds up regarding Petr Sykora. Just before last week's game, the Wild placed Sykora on waivers, setting the stage for his eventual exit. Before last night's game, the Wild made the move to cut ties completely, assigning Sykora to Houston, knowing full well that he wasn't going to report, and now, pending approval from the NHL, Sykora and the Wild will part ways. He will become an unrestricted free agent, and the Wild will be free of his salary for the remainder of the season.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu may not have scored any goals himself, but he was a force in the offensive zone, feeding players and punishing the Red Wings with a strong forecheck.
- Antti Miettinen. Miettinen was the recipient of some great passes, and he delivered with two goals. He also had a few chances at completing the hat trick after the Wild took control.
- Josh Harding. Harding gave up two goals in the first period, but one was off of an incredible deflection.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. Sheppard looks completely out of sync with his linemates, and he almost negated a Wild power play by retaliating. Much like Benoit Pouliot earlier in the season, it is looking more and more like Sheppard needs new scenery to find out if he truly is the player that he was hyped as being.
- Brent Burns. The Wild defenseman is still getting his skating legs under him, but he also seems to be trying too hard to make plays when there's nothing there. Burns has always been a risk/reward type of player, but he needs to simplify his game right now.
- Size. A lot of NHL teams seem to have difficulty matching Detroit in the size department, but the Wild, with both Derek Boogaard and John Scott scratched, looked even smaller than usual. The Wild have never been short on grit, but if they make the playoffs, they might need to rely on size more. It was even more surprising to see the Wild heavyweights out of the line-up with some of the players skating for Detroit.

Next up: The Wild head to Colorado to begin a three-game road trip against the Avalanche.

2009-10 Game Fifty-Two: Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2

2010-01-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hockey Day Minnesota hasn't always treated the Minnesota Wild well, aside from giving them and their fans a ton of hockey to digest before the main course even gets set. Still, there's something special about the way that the state recognizes how important the sport is on so many levels, and there's definitely something special for the programs that got to share a network's day of programming with the NHL team.

Even better, the Minnesota Wild found a way to get things going early in the game, instead of waiting until they were down by a couple of goals and time was running out. The Wild played a solid game from the first drop of the puck, and challenged the Columbus Blue Jackets all night long. True, things sort of fell apart in the final minute of play, but, by that point, the Wild had already assembled a four goal lead, and were looking comfortable. The win also helped pull the Wild back within four points of eighth in the conference.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's top line was shaken up recently, in an attempt to revitalize the players. It seems to have worked, at least for Koivu, who had the first two goals of the game.
- Robbie Earl. The kid got thrown onto waivers before the Detroit game, and has scored in each game since. Nothing like feeling the pressure to help spark a talent.
- Niklas Backstrom. It was obvious Backstrom was deflated by the first Columbus goal, and that lead to the second goal. But it's easy to see why. Backstrom had played a solid game, and was twenty seconds away from a shutout before the puck bounced off his teammate into the net.

Game minuses:
- Power play. To think, this Wild team couldn't score even strength to start the season. Now they can't buy a power play goal, and, far too often, a Wild power play looks like a chance for the opposing team to get some shots on net.
- Kim Johnsson. Johnsson may be able to skate, but he doesn't play a physical game, and he has had more than his share of pucks bounce off of him and behind his own goaltender. It happened again against Columbus, and, whether it's positioning, puck awareness, or something else, something definitely has to change within Johnsson if he wants to be considered an elite defenseman.
- Odd-man rushes. The Wild seem to keep giving up great chances to their opponents, and they did it again to Columbus, most notably on an opportunity for R.J. Umberger to tie the game. Thankfully, Marek Zidlicky made a great play to break up the attack, but the Wild need to do more to keep those types of plays from happening.

Next up: The Wild get to relish their victory for a bit before taking to the ice on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings. Given that the Wild are still trying to catch the Wings in the standings, and how the last game between these teams went, Wednesday night should be interesting.

2009-10 Game Fifty-One: Wild 3, Red Wings 4 (SO)

2010-01-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

For it being the first game against the Detroit Red Wings this season, everything looked a little too familiar for the Minnesota Wild. They started out with a completely lackluster first period, followed by slowly turning on their game in the second. They waited to really start playing the game until the third, when they were down by a couple of goals. They closed the gap, but ultimately couldn't secure the two points. This time they took it to a shootout, but the Wild just couldn't stop a Red Wings team that has had it's own struggles this season.

And how about how the Wild goals were scored. Two of their goals were reviewed, due to the strange way that the puck entered the net. The goals ultimately counted, but only one of the Wild's goals was a skilled play. The other two were the benefit of hard work and crashing the net, something that the Wild need to do more frequently if they want to have much hope of trying to sneak into playoff positioning this season.

Game pluses:
- Josh Harding. He got his first start at home in over a year, but it was unfortunately short-lived, as an injury forced him out early. Still, when the Wild couldn't get things going, Harding did everything in his power to keep them in, and made some brilliant stops along the way.
- Andrew Brunette. The goal that tied the game was a beauty of a shot, and a fantastic play. Watching Brunette snag the puck out of the air, drop it to himself, and fire it into the net was magic.
- Brent Burns. While Detroit's second goal may rest squarely on the shoulders of Brent Burns, he was just coming back from a long-term injury, and ultimately played fairly well. He definitely provided a bit of a spark for a suffering Wild team.

Game minuses:
- Passing. The Wild couldn't make passes all night long. It seemed like half of the time that they had the puck, they moved it right off of their own stick, and straight to a Detroit stick. The number of Detroit breakaways was simply ridiculous.
- Slow start. Again, the Wild managed fewer than five shots in the first period. Coaches talk about playing 60 minutes of hockey, but that's often to keep teams from letting up at the end of the game. Minnesota is having struggles figuring out how to get their heads in the hockey mindset right from the initial face-off.
- Dump and chase. The Wild of previous seasons were a team that dumped the puck into the offensive zone, and then hoped to get it away from the defensive team. This year's Wild is supposed to be a team that controls the puck and attacks the zone with speed. Against the Red Wings, everything reverted to the dump and chase, and the Wild had to play catch-up all night long.

Next up: Maybe the atmosphere of Hockey Day in Minnesota will help the Wild out, as they cap the day's festivities with a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Sykora Experiment cancelled

2010-01-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild pulled a trigger yesterday that may have surprised quite a few hockey fans, but shouldn't have come as quite as much of a shock as it did. To help clear up some space for returning defenseman Brent Burns, the Wild had to put a player on waivers. They placed two there, electing to put Robbie Earl up for grabs, along with Petr Sykora. Both players cleared, which force the Wild to make some decisions.

With Earl, it's very little shock, as he's played well, but still hasn't made a huge impact on the team. He was probably the safest player to throw onto waivers at this point, with the expectation that he would most likely clear, and then be available to be returned to Houston to continue developing. He'll probably stay up for another few days, but, if the Wild keeps getting healthy, there's a good chance he'll be Texas-bound before too long.

The Sykora issue is more interesting, and, in many ways, the Wild had a large hand in how little he ended up meshing with the team. At the start of the season, his play was mismanaged, and while the entire club was trying to figure out what they were supposed to do on the ice, Sykora and Martin Havlat were sometimes looked at the most intensely, and both players found themselves on limited ice time during that initial start. The biggest difference between where Havlat and Sykora are now? The Wild made a move to bring in Guillaume Latendresse, which gave Havlat someone to play catch with. Sykora, on the other hand, suffered a concussion, and was limited in his ice time returning, never really developing a groove and never truly gaining the confidence of his coach.

Here's the thing. To be effective, Sykora needs to be a top six forward. When he didn't click with Havlat at the start of the season, he should have been rotated with the remaining top forwards at that time. Odds are, he would have fit well with one of them, and the suspicion is that a line featuring Sykora, Mikko Koivu, and Andrew Brunette could have been deadly if given the chance to mesh. The concussion came at the worst possible time for the Wild to determine if he would fit anywhere, and, when he finally did return, he was buried on a line with Andrew Ebbett and Derek Boogaard, which is honestly no place for a goal scorer of his caliber to be.

Now the Wild has to make a decision. When Sykora first signed with the Wild, there was a stipulation in place that would allow him to head to a Russian-league team, but there are currently no teams there looking to bring him on board. He could be assigned to Houston, but the odds are that he wouldn't report, which certainly wouldn't help anyone. The Wild could try and throw him on re-entry waivers, and see if a team wants to bite at half of his salary cap hit, instead of his full hit. Or Minnesota could feverishly work the phones, find an amicable trade, and wish Sykora well on his way to a new NHL team. For all involved, that would seem to be the best option, and with the trade deadline fast approaching, and the Olympic freeze coming even sooner, the Wild have less time than they might like to make something happen.

Depending on what the Wild does try and work for a trade might also be an indication of which way the team feels that they're heading, with regards to the playoffs. By the same token, Sykora is the type of player who can make an impact on almost any team in the league. It's just too bad that he was never able to do so with the Minnesota Wild.

2009-10 Game Fifty: Wild 3, Stars 4

2010-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

The road hasn't been kind to the Minnesota Wild this season. After starting the season with an 0-8 mark away from home, things started to turn around, but they haven't turned far enough. The differences between home and away really played out recently, as the Wild put together an impressive home stand, beating some of the top teams in the league, but then dropped all three recent games away from St. Paul, including two to teams that sit behind the Wild in the standings.

It also doesn't help matters that the Wild haven't been able to get their skates under them until the third period, when they're already down by a goal. Over the nine periods of the recent road trip, the Wild really only had effort as a team for two of them. And for the second game in a row, Minnesota didn't even try to mount any sort of a comeback until the opposing team was up by four goals. Even though the Wild have pulled off stunning victories this season, they've got to stop playing from behind all of the time. It's thrilling to see a team mount a comeback, but it would be nice if Minnesota would grab a lead and hold it every once in awhile.

Game pluses:
- Antti Miettinen. Splitting up the Wild's "top" line may have done some wonders for a couple of players, and Miettinen had two deflections that ended up in the back of the net. Fans have to wonder why Miettinen wasn't driving to the net like that before.
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu also seemed to have woken up thank to the reshuffled lines, scoring a goal and putting on a more typical defensive display.
- Josh Harding. When the Wild have inserted Harding part way through a game, he's come up huge, not allowing a single goal and giving his teammates a chance to make things interesting in the late periods. If only he could get that kind of offensive support in games where he starts.

Game minuses:
- John Scott. The big man wasn't solid on the blue line against the Stars. His roster spot gets even shakier with the news that Brent Burns has been cleared to start skating with the team again.
- Petr Sykora. Sykora was given a huge vote of confidence when he was promoted from the bench to the first line. However, the rust was evident, and not surprising, given how little he's skated since his concussion. Sykora needs to be played more frequently to be the type of player that he can be, but who knows how many chances he'll get.
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom hasn't been good in recent games, and he gave up at least four goals yet again, facing only fifteen shots. He joined the ranks of starting goaltenders who didn't complete their games, on a bad night for goaltenders in the NHL.

Next up: The Wild get a couple of days of rest before they face off against the Detroit Red Wings.

2009-10 Game Forty-Nine: Wild 4, Coyotes 6

2010-01-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Too little, too late. That might be the mantra for the Wild season, but it was certainly in play against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Wild had a golden opportunity to do what they've done so many times this season, entering the third period down by a goal. Cue the circus music and the defensive lapses, and the Wild suddenly found themselves in a 5-1 hole. That was followed by Minnesota firing off three goals, including two power play markers, to bring themselves back to within one, but that ended up being all she wrote, as Phoenix took advantage of another opportunity to seal the deal.

Part of the Wild's current woes certainly deal with only one line really being active and playing well throughout the game, and it certainly isn't the "top" line of Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, and Antti Miettinen. The Wild will be shuffling those players around before the Dallas game, and it could lead to some interesting new combinations. It could also see a player return to the ice after a long hiatus, in the form of Petr Sykora.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Hard to argue with a guy who gets a hat trick, and had a couple of opportunities for more. He now leads the Wild in goals scored.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat had three assists to help drive what offense the Wild showed, and his chemistry with Latendresse is amazing.
- Kyle Brodziak. Rounding out Minnesota's best line, Brodziak was solid at center, and he engineered a couple of the tic-tac-toe plays the ended up in the net.

Game minuses:
- Top line. A combined -13. Almost no shots. No goals whatsoever. Is it any wonder that they're being split up?
- James Sheppard. Sheppard was something of a ghost on the ice, not really making himself visible. When he did appear, it seemed like it was to make a bad play. Not good for a kid trying to prove that he belongs in the league.
- Niklas Backstrom. True, more than a couple of the six goals he gave up were on plays that he had no chance of stopping. But Backstrom needed to do more to find a way to keep Phoenix out of the net on the other plays, and he simply didn't have the stuff in the desert.

Next up: The Wild face the Dallas Stars in Dallas, looking for a positive end to this road trip.

2009-10 Game Forty-Eight: Wild 0, Blues 1

2010-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

For many, this most recent game for the Minnesota Wild was bound to happen eventually. Not playing against St. Louis, but totally collapsing, not having any energy, and not looking like they had any business playing hockey. In fact, this sort of game was expected after the Wild used a ton of energy and hockey smarts beating Chicago in that thrilling come-from-behind affair. The two games that followed, against Pittsburgh and Vancouver, certainly carried their fair share of physicality, to go with the grueling shortened schedule. But, after four high octane games, it was seemingly inevitable that the Wild would collapse.

The funny thing is, even with the collapse, the Wild had plenty of chances to win the game, going up against a St. Louis Blues team that's still trying to find its game after their head coach was replaced. Minnesota just didn't assemble enough effort to take any real good chances, and they came up short on a night where neither team really deserved to win.

Game pluses:
- Josh Harding. The Wild's back-up goaltender did everything he could to keep the Wild in the game, but they need to give him some help on a more regular basis. Far too often during his career, Harding has gotten the start and played well, but the skaters in front of him can't put together simple passes.
- Guillaume Latendresse. The only Wild player to look like he wanted to play offensive hockey for the night was Latendresse, and he directly created the only real scoring threats that the Wild had.
- Greg Zanon. Zanon was solid in the defensive zone, blocking shots and holding good positioning. If Zanon hadn't been playing as well as he did, Harding might have been staring at 50+ shots on goal, instead of the 37 that he did face.

Game minuses:
- Power play. It's been said before, and it needs to be said again. When the game is on the line, if you're given a power play, you need to take advantage of it. Instead, the Wild could barely move the puck, even when they had the man advantage. In fact, the power play displayed some of the worst puck handling of the night.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat's turned his game on recently, but he wasn't clicking against the Blues. More than one turnover came directly off of his stick, and the Wild's best chance of the game was shot just wide, instead of buried by Havlat in the wide open net.
- Fire. When your team has fewer than ten shots through two periods, and it isn't because the other team is playing stellar defense, you know the players aren't into the game. The Wild weren't shooting, weren't passing, and weren't hitting.

Next up: The Wild take a day to regroup and recover, and then they face the Phoenix Coyotes.

2009-10 Game Forty-Seven: Wild 5, Canucks 2

2010-01-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

What a tumultuous couple of days for both the Minnesota Wild and the Vancouver Canucks. Both teams found themselves embroiled in controversies that could seriously damage the reputation of the league, or at least Colin Campbell, who's regularly shown a glaring lack of consistency with regards to discipline. For Vancouver, there was the whole Alex Burrows/Stephane Auger issue, with Burrows accusing referee Auger of showing a definite bias, and costing Vancouver a game. The league responded by fining Burrows, but the fine was ridiculously small, especially for a professional athlete, so it lends some credence to the notion that maybe, just maybe, Burrows had a legitimate gripe. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild's Cal Clutterbuck was waiting to see what the NHL would do to Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar after Gonchar's illegal hit. This was a hit where Gonchar left his feet, specifically went for the head, and admitted to it being a payback hit, in a league that's supposedly trying to crack down on those exact types of plays. And yet, apparently Gonchar sitting in the penalty box was punishment enough for trying to take another player completely out of the game.

But none of that mattered Wednesday night, as the Wild and the Canucks squared off against each other. Minnesota jumped out to a fast start, scoring on their first two shots of the game, but then they faltered, allowing Vancouver to get back into the game. With the game tied at 2 entering the third period, Minnesota once again took control, and completed an improbable sweep over the Canucks. To add insult to injury, Vancouver tried to get something going on their end after the Wild had jumped out to a 5-2 lead, and they did it by starting fights. The problem? Nobody on Vancouver really matches up with the Wild heavyweights, and Minnesota won those battles handily, as well.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. During a spotty second period for the Wild defense, Backstrom stood tall, holding the Wild in the game. He set a new mark for wins by a Wild goaltender by defeating the Canucks.
- Antti Miettinen. A game ago, it looked like Miettinen might need to find new linemates. Apparently, he felt the pressure, because he turned around and put two pucks in the net, including the game winner, and a late insurance marker.
- Owen Nolan. The grizzled veteran scored on a weird shot, but, more importantly, he had very good puck awareness, throwing his stick and body in the way of Vancouver shots, in one of his more impressive defensive showings.

Game minuses:
- Eric Belanger. Belanger didn't look like he had any speed in his skates against Vancouver, with the exception of one rush. To make matters worse, especially during the poor second period, Belanger didn't use much physical play, either, instead skating around without much energy.
- Robbie Earl. The kid has a lot of energy, so, in many ways, he played the exact opposite of Eric Belanger. The trouble with Earl right now is that he seems like he's trying to think too much on the ice, instead of just doing. He needs to start using his shot more, to be more than just a speedy skater on the ice.
- Fights. Yes, the Wild won all three fights pretty handily. But the reason that this ends up as a minus is this simple question, "Why was Vancouver fighting in the first place?". They didn't match up well, especially against Derek Boogaard and John Scott, and they ultimately paid the price. If Boogaard's assertion that the Canucks were "ordered" to fight by their coach is true, then it casts even more of a pall on the situation.

Next up: The Wild pulled themselves within two points of a playoff position with an improbable four-game winning streak, throttling some of the best teams in the league by a 19-11 score during that time. Can they keep their foot on the gas when they take on the St. Louis Blues, or will they suffer from a letdown that many feel has been coming since the come-from-behind victory over Chicago?

2009-10 Game Forty-Six: Wild 4, Penguins 3

2010-01-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild and the Pittsburgh Penguins played dueling forwards in Saint Paul. Lining up in that role for Pittsburgh was Sidney Crosby, the type of player that the league doesn't see that often. His counterpart for the Minnesota Wild was someone who wasn't even part of the team at the beginning of the season, but is quickly becoming proof that the Wild front office have an eye for talent that will fit. And who could have guessed that Guillaume Latendresse would end up coming up on the better side of things than "Sid the Kid"?

In all honesty, the Wild just outplayed the Penguins, and they kept their composure better. It seemed like all of the extracurriculars were started by guys in white jerseys, obviously frustrated that, even though they dumped almost forty shots on net, they were getting beat by a team that had barely put together twenty shots themselves. That, and Pittsburgh had to be feeling pressure, not wanting to fall to the Wild like Chicago did. At the end of the day, they took their own route to defeat, as the Wild pulled off another come-from-behind victory, and won their NHL-leading 17th one-goal game this season.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Latendresse had the biggest night of his career, and he electrified the Xcel Energy Center crowd. One game after capping the Wild's huge comeback with the tying goal against the Blackhawks, Latendresse played a part in all four Minnesota goals, scoring the game winner.
- Martin Havlat. Latendresse may have found his home, but he apparently brought Marty Havlat's game with him. Havlat scored a goal of his own, and now has an eight-game point streak. His give-and-go with Latendresse was fantastic to watch.
- Niklas Backstrom. Sure, he gave up three goals. But he stopped far more chances than he had any right to, including a brilliant glove save that may have sealed the game for the Wild. Not a surprise, as Backstrom has a habit of bouncing back strong after getting pulled from a game.

Game minuses:
- Antti Miettinen. Right now, he's something of a non-presence on the ice, unless you're looking for someone to shoot the puck wide. Something needs to be shaken up on the Wild's top line, and Miettinen might be the odd man out.
- Power play. As it turns out, the Wild didn't need to score with the extra man, but they had a beautiful opportunity to do so during a five-minute major. However, as so many Wild power plays have gone this season, the puck was cycled without any real threat in the offensive zone. Something has to click.
- Sergei Gonchar. Normally, events for the Wild are focused on here. But it's hard to ignore what Sergei Gonchar did to Cal Clutterbuck in retaliation for a clean hit. Gonchar may face suspension for his hit, since it certainly looked like there was an intent to cause injury. He also got lucky to not get tossed out of the game for misconduct. Clutterbuck may antagonize other players, but it's largely because he's physical and plays a clean game. There was no excuse for what Gonchar did, and he deserves to sit for a while because of it.

Next up: The Wild started this current winning streak by beating a divisional opponent. Can they keep it going by taking their first victory of the season from the Vancouver Canucks?

2009-10 Game Forty-Five: Wild 6, Blackhawks 5 (SO)

2010-01-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

There's stealing a point out of a game, and then there's what the Minnesota Wild did to the Chicago Blackhawks over the weekend. After practically giving the game away, and making sure that Niklas Backstrom had no hope to hold them into it, the Wild switched goalies, and started playing hockey. The third period was dominated by Minnesota, who mounted the biggest comeback victory in the history of the franchise.

With the way that this Wild team has played this season, there was reason for the 19,000+ fans to stay in their seats. From the home opener, where Minnesota beat the Anaheim Ducks after falling behind 3-0 all through the season, the Wild have mounted comeback after comeback. They've trailed in over half of their victories. But nothing comes close to the way they fought back against the Blackhawks. Minnesota had no business coming back onto the ice for the final twenty minutes after the way that they played the first forty, and it almost became a question of how much the team cared. Suddenly, the defense that had been suspect all night stifled Chicago, and the offense that couldn't put the puck in the net fired off three goals in four shots, pulling Minnesota back within one. After the score reached 5-4, it was a question of whether enough time lasted for Minnesota to ride the momentum into a tie, and at least sneak one point out of the game. That question was answered with under two minutes remaining, thanks to a smart forecheck and an opportunistic goal, and all that remained was an eventless overtime, and an eight-round shootout, capped by Owen Nolan's top shelf goal.

Game pluses:
- Josh Harding. Harding may have saved the game for the Wild. He definitely helped them steal their two points. After Niklas Backstrom was hung out to dry all night long, Harding came in and didn't allow a single puck past him until the shootout. With Chicago's firepower, that's no easy task.
- Guillaume Latendresse. Nobody saw Latendresse coming off of the bench to score the tying goal. It even looked like he fooled his teammates with how quickly he got to the loose puck, but there's no questioning his finish in the game. With two goals, Latendresse has now scored nine times since coming to Minnesota. Looks like the fresh start was exactly what he needed.
- Mikko Koivu. His line may not be clicking, but he certainly is. Koivu deserved to be rewarded, and rewarded he was, with a goal in both regulation and during the shootout. Koivu is one of those players who always plays with his heart, and his fire helped the Wild sneak back into the game.

Game minuses:
- Marek Zidlicky. If he hadn't notched the power play goal that put the Wild within one, Zidlicky may have been forced to look for a new home. His pass to Marian Hossa gave the Blackhawks an amazing shorthanded breakaway, and it's hard to stop a player of Hossa's skill when it's just him and the goaltender.
- Andrew Brunette. Brunette did not have a very good game, coughing up the puck, taking a bad penalty, and overall playing out of position.
- Defense. At least for the first two periods, the Wild defense was non-existent. On the first three Chicago goals, there was no chance for Backstrom to stop the puck, because the Wild simply watched it get passed around the ice. On the fourth, Cal Clutterbuck crashed the wrong net, and prevented Backstrom from getting a look. And, well, the fifth goal was the aforementioned breakaway for Marian Hossa. The team came together again for the third period, but they definitely didn't deserve the win for the way they played the first two periods.

Next up: The Wild hope to ride the momentum even further than their stunning victory over Chicago, as they face off against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Wild did beat the Penguins earlier this season, so they will be hoping for history to repeat itself.

2009-10 Game Forty-Four: Wild 4, Flames 1

2010-01-07T10:22:00.001-08:00

The Minnesota Wild weren't looking to lose five games in a row. They certainly didn't want to hand the hated Calgary Flames a sixth consecutive victory. So, from the initial puck drop all the way through the final buzzer, the Wild played like they had nothing to lose, and everything to prove.

It worked, as the Wild also didn't look like a team playing in the second night of back-to-backs. They attacked the Flames all night long, using a strong forecheck, effective reads, and good defensive positioning to keep Calgary from assembling much of an attack. It also marked the first time in seven games that the Wild held their opponent to fewer than three goals, as they easily coasted to the victory.

One of the interesting things that did come out of the game is the Robbie Earl situation, and that's something that may get repeated again soon with Clayton Stoner, who's nearing his own 10th game. Earl now requires waivers to be sent back to Houston, but it seems like he might be with Minnesota to stay. Earl seems to play the style of hockey that the Wild want to see more of, and he's definitely made an impact on the team, scoring three goals in his ten games. The question now is how the Wild will shed some of the extra players on the team, hopefully to get something in return. After all, with the way he's played, nobody should expect that Earl would clear waivers at this point.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. How do you set a tone against a division rival? Well, for the Wild, it worked to have Clutterbuck get a big hit right away. He was rewarded later in the game with a nice goal, but all game long, Clutterbuck was getting under the skin of the Calgary defense.
- Eric Belanger. Welcome to game 600. Belanger eclipsed that mark, and did so in fine fashion, notching two goals, one on a great deflection, and the other with a wicked backhand.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild goalies haven't been very solid as of late, so it was nice to see Backstrom put together a very solid effort. The one goal that got past him was due to a huge rebound that he could have controlled better, but the rest of the game was just solid.

Game minuses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Truthfully, Latendresse had a pretty good game from start to finish. But players have been dinged in this space for getting chances and not finishing before, and that's where Latendresse falls after the Calgary game. It's a matter of finishing, although Latendresse did have a sure goal stolen away from him, thanks to a brilliant save.
- Line changes. The Wild still hasn't learned. After getting exposed by both New Jersey and Chicago, one would think that Minnesota would start being more careful about when they make a line change, so as to not create an odd-man chance.
- Slow start. The Wild almost gave this game away right from the beginning, coughing up the opening goal in the first two minutes. Oddly enough, though, this team tends to play better if they don't get the first goal.

Next up: The Wild can fly high after beating Calgary, but they can't get too unfocused. After all, next up is a return engagement with the conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks.

2009-10 Game Forty-Three: Wild 1, Blackhawks 4

2010-01-06T10:04:00.001-08:00

Will the real Minnesota Wild please report to the Xcel Energy Center? Is the Wild the team that rattled off ten wins through December, thanks to some opportunistic goal scoring and impressive defense? Or are they the team that's currently in a tailspin, finding themselves further and further from a playoff spot thanks to a four-game losing streak, while surrendering at least three goals for the past six games?

More troubling, are both teams the current representation of the Wild? The last four losses, with the exception of the game against the Ducks, the Wild were playing against teams that have propelled themselves towards the NHL's elite, and the last two games specifically have been against conference leaders. The Wild simply don't have the finishers to make themselves competitive against some of the better teams in the league. Maybe today's call-up of Robbie Earl will help pull this team off of their recent skid, but even Earl's call-up makes for some interesting managerial moves.

Plain and simply, Robbie Earl playing tonight, unless it gets deemed an emergency call-up due to players being injured, means that he'll have to be thrown on waivers before returning to Houston, so he could end up being here for the long haul. This is due to Earl not being on an entry-level contract, so his free call-up time was limited. With the Wild's playoff hopes dimming rapidly, it might also be the best time of year for GM Chuck Fletcher to start seriously evaluating who he would like to see wearing a Minnesota Wild jersey next season, and start trying to work his magic through trades to improve the team in the long run. Remember, it wasn't too long ago that the Chicago Blackhawks were one of the worst teams in the league, and through good drafting and smart trades, they assembled themselves into a powerhouse. It's time for Fletcher to start making moves to help the Wild do that in the next couple of years.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Proof that Fletcher can spot talent that fits his team, Latendresse has been a huge acquisition for the Wild, and he notched another goal against the Blackhawks. He had another couple of chances later in the game, but was stifled on each.
- Martin Havlat. Wild fans are starting to see the type of player that Havlat can be on any given night, as he continues to direct the play around him. He helped set up the Latendresse goal, and created chances for plenty of other players.
- Clayton Stoner. Stoner may not have had the strongest game of the season, but his poise while playing against some of the bigger and tougher NHL teams has been impressive, and he hasn't made any glaring mistakes.

Game pluses:
- Kyle Brodziak. Yes, the line of Brodziak/Havlat/Latendresse was buzzing the net all night, but Brodziak was one of a few Wild players to show a problem that the team has. When the puck ended up on his stick, he just couldn't finish and take the goal.
- Andrew Brunette. Brunette suffered the same problems as Brodziak, not being able to finish. Brunette had opportunities at wide open nets, but delayed too long, allowing Chicago to get back into position, turning a golden opportunity into a momentum breaker.
- Greg Zanon. The third minus almost went to the Wild for allowing so many odd-man rushes, or to the officials for some glaring no-calls, especially when Josh Harding was knocked down shortly before Chicago's second goal. However, Zanon was plagued all night by bad passes and out-of-position play. His clearing attempt in the third period that gave Chicago the 5-on-3 power play was just the capper to a rough night.

Next up: The schedule just doesn't look good for the Wild, as they come fresh off of playing the New Jersey Devils and the Chicago Blackhawks, only to return home and face the Calgary Flames, a team that has regularly had the Wild's number.

2009-10 Game Forty-Two: Wild 3, Devils 5

2010-01-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

Don't look now, but the Minnesota Wild are in a pile of trouble. With one of the toughest parts of their schedule just getting under way, everything is starting to turn the wrong direction. A strong December moved the Wild up in the standings, but, with so many hockey games being worth three points now, it wasn't enough to get them to crack the top eight in the Western Conference. And now they are in the middle of a three-game losing streak, having given up at least four goals in each of those contests.

The Wild were shown just how far they still have to go to compete with the elite teams in the league Saturday night, when the New Jersey Devils got outplayed in most areas of the ice except for where it counted. Minnesota had energy and a lot of jump, but couldn't do enough to beat Martin Brodeur, and the Devils took advantage of every single Minnesota mistake, turning them into goals. The lack of pure goal scorers was shown, as the Wild had many chances at mostly open nets, but too often the puck was turned harmlessly aside.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Watching Koivu's shorthanded goal, and the way he continues to scrap for every inch of ice, and it's easy to see why the Wild are being built around him.
- Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild's bowling ball was showing a more offensive side to his game, and his shots were buzzing the net well. He simply was up against the NHL's premier goaltender.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat's awareness was most evident during Eric Belanger's goal, but he was directing the play when he was on the ice all night, and it kept allowing the Wild to get good chances. Now to work on the finish.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. Sheppard played a stronger game than he has recently, but he still doesn't have the ability to finish. Sheppard was robbed at least twice by Brodeur on what should have been easy empty-net goals.
- Line changes. The Devils took advantage of Wild mistakes, and a couple of times, Minnesota got caught in the middle of a line change, giving New Jersey an almost unhindered look at the net.
- Letting down. Mikko Koivu had just tied the hockey game, and the Wild had all of the momentum, especially with the period about to end in less than a minute. The very next shift, the Wild gave up a goal with under five seconds to play, and they never recovered. The Wild have been prone to big let downs after scoring in the past, and they need to find a way to keep themselves from taking a mental break.

Next up: As stated above, the Wild schedule doesn't get any easier, as they play against the Chicago Blackhawks next.

2009-10 Game Forty-One: Wild 2, Kings 5

2010-01-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

With a chance to make December 2009 the winningest month in their ten year history, the Minnesota Wild came out flat twice in a row. First, taking on an Anaheim Duck team that has been ripe for the pickings all season long. Then, after failing to get the win in Anaheim, the Wild returned home, had a day of rest, and prepared to face a Los Angeles Kings team that was in the middle of a four-game losing streak, and had to play a brutal game the night before in Calgary.

Maybe someone should have told the Wild that, because they came out with no jump, no skating ability, and they continued to have serious problems passing the puck. For a team that had started to put things together and was moving in the right direction, their last two games, with flat efforts, showed just how far the team really has to go before they can consider themselves among the NHL's elite.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. One of the few Wild players to get some offensive chances, Nolan was able to convert one.
- Petr Sykora. It was good to see Sykora back on the ice, and he had some chances at the net. It's obvious that his hands aren't back yet, but he should be able to soon give the Wild a bit of help on the scoring end.
- Derek Boogaard. Oddly enough, the Wild's enforcer had some of the best looks at the net, and was one of the strongest defensive forwards all game long. Boogaard may not have his goal yet, but he's getting much closer.

Game minuses:
- Niklas Backstrom. Three goals allowed in the first period. Another very early on in the second. It was surprising that Backstrom didn't get replaced.
- Kim Johnsson. Johnsson was one of a few players on the ice for most of the Kings goals, but his positioning and the defensive choices he made certainly didn't help an already shaky goaltender keep the team in the game.
- Opportunity. The Wild didn't have a lot of chances, and it seemed like the refs went out of their way to keep more from piling up, but, all told, the Wild just didn't take care of the chances that they did get. From missing the net to just not taking a shot at all, Minnesota needs to find ways to make ugly hockey work for them.

Next up: The Wild have no time to rest, as former coach Jacques Lemaire brings his new squad to town. The Wild take on the New Jersey Devils Saturday night.

2009-10 Game Forty: Wild 2, Ducks 4

2009-12-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Coming off of a thrilling victory the night before, and facing a team that has been struggling as of late, it would seem as though the Minnesota Wild had all of the momentum going their way. Unfortunately for Minnesota, their momentum met up with some desperation from the Anaheim Ducks, and the Wild just couldn't keep pace with their opponents as they fell 4-2.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Wild/Ducks game without extra curriculars, and both of the Wild's big men found themselves in the penalty box for 10 minute stretches. Derek Boogaard got his misconduct for an extra couple of punches after the officials tried to break up his fight, and John Scott followed almost immediately, for dropping the gloves in spite of the officials stepping in right away. It also didn't help that the Wild just didn't have their legs for most of the game, and couldn't do much to slow down Bobby Ryan or the Anaheim attack. The Wild had some chances to tie the game late in the third period, but they couldn't finish with strength, and ended yet another road trip 1-1. At least this time, nothing caught on fire.

Game pluses:
- Kim Johnsson. He's up, he's down, he's praised, he's maligned. Johnsson has had a less-than-impressive season, but he may have found his game, and how he fits in the new system. For the first time in his career, Johnsson has a three-game goal scoring streak, thanks to a booming shot to bring the Wild within one.
- Josh Harding. Aside from one questionable goal, Harding was actually fairly solid in net, especially so for a guy who hadn't played in almost a month. Both of Bobby Ryan's goals were off of shots that any goalie would have problems stopping.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain often got the better of his older brother, and he worked hard to create some of the few chances that Minnesota had. He notched assists in both Wild goals.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. Not to sound like a broken record, but the officials gave this game to the Ducks. Possibly as retaliation of sorts for what happened during the fights during the second period, the Ducks were handed a 5-on-3 power play for almost two minutes thanks to some very weak penalties. The same types of plays had been going on all game, and often for the Ducks, and they were left uncalled. Mere moments after the first penalty expired, Bobby Ryan scored the game winning goal.
- John Scott. With the recent play of Clayton Stoner, Scott needs to prove that he belongs in the line-up. One good way not to do so is to get involved in a fight and get assessed a ten-minute misconduct penalty moments after your team was already saddled with that exact situation.
- Passing. The Ducks looked like they had magnetized their sticks, because, no matter where they stuck them, the puck was drawn to them. Not so for the Wild, who had trouble making passes all game long. It certainly didn't help that the Wild played like they hadn't slept at all since beating Los Angeles the night before.

Next up: The Wild reach the mid-point of the season before they reach the new decade, as they return home for a Thursday night match-up against the Los Angeles Kings.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Nine: Wild 4, Kings 3

2009-12-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

The way the first two periods were going, it certainly looked like the Wild were going to coast to their first victory over Los Angeles in six tries. Then the third period started, the entire game shifted, and it started to look like Minnesota was going to come down on the wrong side of a one-goal game.

It's amazing what twelve seconds can do.

That's how long it took the Wild to turn around from tying the game to taking back the lead, and, this time, not giving it up. The Wild have played more one-goal games than anyone else in the league, and they seem to keep finding ways to win them. Even when the game started slipping away, the Wild were able to keep enough composure to put the puck back into the net, and they head into the second half of the back-to-back tonight with an impressive victory.

Game pluses:
- Eric Belanger. Just a game ago, Belanger looked like nothing more than a face-off specialist. Against the Kings, Belanger lit the lamp twice, and assisted on Martin Havlat's opening goal. Belanger scored the game winner just seconds after being on the ice for the Kings tying goal.
- Martin Havlat. Taking a great poke check from Belanger, Havlat turned up the ice and fired a quick wrist shot that blew through to the Kings net. The opening goal put a little more jump into the Wild, and helped them carry the first two periods.
- Andrew Brunette. Just watching his pass on the power play goal is mesmerizing. Brunette is starting to find the open spots, and appears to be the third Wild player to get a really good grasp of the team's offensive system.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. Once again, the officiating fell short in the game. Not only did they count a goal that should have been wiped out because of goaltender interference, but they didn't keep control, which almost certainly created a much chippier atmosphere in the final period.
- Kim Johnsson. Yes, he scored a power play goal, giving himself a two-game goal streak. He also deflected a harmless shot past his own goaltender. Again, Johnsson showed a lack of awareness for spacing on the ice, and his own positioning again came into question.
- Antti Miettinen. Maybe the guy's just snakebit, but how can one player hit so many posts and not get a shot into the net? True, he's beating the opposing goalies, but he hasn't been able to do anything more than ring the iron. Looks like he needs to work some target shooting in practice.

Next up: If the Wild played in the East, they'd be firmly entrenched in the playoff positioning, as opposed to still trying to crack the top 8, in spite of their recent success. Tonight, they try to keep things moving in the right direction when they take on the Anaheim Ducks.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Eight: Wild 4, Blues 3

2009-12-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

The stockings may have been hung by the chimney, and sugar plums may have danced in people's heads, but, in the NHL, Christmas means some time away from the ice. However, barely a week removed from the bizarre equipment fire, the Minnesota Wild had one more gift left to give to their fans, and was delivered by one of the newest faces in the building, as the Wild skated to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues.

The game itself was fast, hard-hitting, and featured some things that wouldn't have been predicted before the puck hit the ice. With recent history as a guide, who would have guessed that the Wild would score first? Who could have predicted that the defensemen would be so active? And yet, the Wild did just that, and they kept the pressure on a St. Louis team that had recently been trouncing Northwest Division opponents.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. A change of scenery has done "The Tenderness" wonders, as he has put up 6 goals since coming to the Wild, including two goals against the Blues.
- Kim Johnsson. The much-maligned Wild defenseman (especially here, admittedly) turned in a terrific performance against St. Louis, even without his stellar play to create his own goal.
- Marek Zidlicky. Zidlicky was active all night, moving the puck well, stick handling when needed, and finding the open man. Latendresse may have scored the game winner, but Zidlicky set him up with great plays.

Game minuses:
- Nick Schultz. Schultz got victimized on Blues goals, getting turned inside out. He was out of position more than a few times, and St. Louis capitalized on it.
- Cal Clutterbuck. Sometimes, Clutterbuck's willingness to hit anything he gets in his sights works against him, as it did when the Blues scored during a 4-on-4 stretch of hockey. Clutterbuck connected with a Blues player, but it completely removed him from the play, and set up St. Louis for a quick rush.
- Eric Belanger. Belanger is a face-off specialist, but, after the puck was dropped, he became a detriment. He seems to be trying to accomplish some of the same things that Mikko Koivu is doing, but he seems to be trying to do them without Koivu's awareness or skill.

Next up: The Wild take a quick trip to California, starting tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Seven: Wild 3, Oilers 1

2009-12-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

What a way to enter the two-day holiday break. After suffering through a fire and some rough losses, the Minnesota Wild needed something to get them back on track. It couldn't have worked out better for Minnesota to draw a game against the Edmonton Oilers, in the arena that they've dominated Edmonton in ever since Niklas Backstrom first wore a Wild jersey.

Things didn't go as planned, but, over the last week, how much really has. Backstrom, wearing some new gear thanks to the Ottawa fire, finally looked like the player he was before the accident, and the Wild gave him enough support on the front end to take the game. Edmonton kept the contest close, but they couldn't get any more shots into the net, and the Wild took advantage of the narrow openings that they could. Meanwhile, a recent call-up, Clayton Stoner, set the tone early with a convincing fight, and may be on the way to edging out some of the Wild's other defensemen.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. The Wild's resident Irishman was not going to be denied a goal. Chance after chance came to Nolan's stick, and he kept getting thwarted. That is, until he showed a little extra patience and roofed a backhander.
- Guillaume Latendresse. For a guy who was just recovering from the flu, Latendresse played a very strong game. He was creating chances, and was eventually rewarded with an empty-net goal.
- Clayton Stoner. This spot almost went to Mikko Koivu, but it was Stoner who really turned in a fantastic game, and, as mentioned above, set the tone early with a fight. If Stoner keeps playing the way he has, a roster spot might just be his for the taking.

Game minuses:
- Kim Johnsson. A few too many times, Johnsson passed the puck either straight to an Oilers player, or to an open spot where nobody was nearby. For an offensive defenseman, he isn't showcasing the playmaking ability that he was heralded for.
- Eric Belanger. Maybe he's coming down with the flu again, but Belanger looks like he's skating through molasses. He doesn't have the same speed he did in previous seasons, and his puck handling has suffered because of it.
- Power play. True, the Wild got a power play goal. But it was also on the only power play where the team decided to shoot at the net from everywhere on the ice. Most of the time, too many passes lead to a lack of shots, and the Wild need to stop looking for the perfect play. Sometimes, ugly hockey is enough.

Next up: The Wild, and the NHL as a whole, have the next two days off for the Christmas holiday, but they return to action against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Six: Wild 3, Avalanche 4

2009-12-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

There's no place like home, and, after the way the most recent road trip ended up, the Minnesota Wild had to be happy to return to their arena. They also got the benefit of playing against an opponent that they've had the number of over the last few years, including a 4-0 mark against this season. It was bound to help shake some of the problems lingering from Ottawa.

Well, maybe the Wild took Colorado for granted. Maybe the players still don't have their heads fully in the game. One thing that is certain is that the Wild didn't put together much of an effort as a team until the third period, and that they actively worked to cripple themselves. Of course, it also didn't help that the officials didn't do a lot to control the game at the start, and, by the time that the game became a physical contest (one which took the Wild out of their own heads), it was too late for the refs to do anything more than call a few weak penalties. Unfortunately, a fair number of those went against Minnesota, including one simply because #24 was the one doing the hitting.

Game pluses:
- Clayton Stoner. The kid can definitely play with the big boys, and got to prove that for the first time in front of the home fans. Aside from his physical play, Stoner also delivered the beautiful pass creating Martin Havlat's goal, and almost put a shot in for the tying marker.
- Owen Nolan. Give the veteran a lot of credit for a patient goal, and for playing well in his return from injury. The biggest thing that Nolan brought, though, was his old self, as he flew to the defense of teammates all game, even being willing to take penalties to make sure the Avalanche knew who was on the ice.
- Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck is the type of guy to get under your skin, and he drew a couple of penalties to give the Wild chances to climb back into the game. He also got the scoring started for Minnesota, thanks to a beautiful shorthanded goal.

Game minuses:
- Greg Zanon. Zanon wasn't his usual imposing, defensive self against the Avalanche, and he had problems staying on his feet. A less-than-effective Zanon was a strange experience for this year's Wild team.
- Niklas Backstrom. Equipment struggles or not, Backstrom just isn't on top of his game, and he hasn't been as stellar this year from start to finish as he has been in year's past. Many of the shots that have beaten him this season have been pucks that he would normally have stopped, and he got victimized yet again, giving up four goals for the second game in a row.
- Power play. Something has to give. The Wild power play has been awful recently, and a misplayed puck coupled with a bad line change handed the Avalanche their fourth goal on a silver platter. Fixing what's wrong won't be easy, but something has to be done to help this team out, or the man advantage will continue to be a detriment.

Next up: The Wild get to stay at home, as they welcome the Edmonton Oilers to their rink.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Five: Wild 1, Senators 4

2009-12-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

How do you spell "adversity"? If you're an NHL fan, you just might spell it "Minnesota Wild". The Wild had more than their fair share of adversity heading into their game against the Ottawa Senators. If Minnesota had found a way to win the game, it might have ranked as one of the biggest surprises the NHL had ever seen. As it was, the Wild played hard, with a lot of energy, but it was easy to tell that the team was not on the same page as each other mentally.

Facing a goaltender in his NHL debut, the Wild had chances, but couldn't seem to get the puck into the net. Pucks left untouched in open areas, posts hit, and shots just misdirected right into the Ottawa goaltender left the Wild exposed to chances, and the Senators made the most of theirs. On a night where most of the Wild was playing with unfamiliar equipment, they put forth a strong effort, but couldn't find a way to capitalize on any of the mistakes made by Ottawa, and left the short road trip with a 1-1 record.

Game pluses:
- Wild staff. The fact that the Wild was able to take the ice at all against Ottawa, let alone play a relatively physical game, is thanks to the Wild staff, who put in extra time making sure that the team had the materials to play.
- Martin Havlat. True, the goal that extended Havlat's points streak was an accidental deflection off of his angle, but Havlat was playing well, in spite of having lost much of his gear. His shot after getting tripped almost went in, and shows that he is finding his game.
- Clayton Stoner. Playing in only his second NHL game, Stoner clocked a lot of ice time, scored his first NHL point by assisting on Havlat's goal, and was a strong defensive presence all game.

Game minuses:
- Adversity. Not only were the Wild playing their 21st game (out of 35) on the road, and not only did they have to deal with randomized gear for the most part, but they also got hit with a flu bug, shortening the bench even further. For all intents and purposes, the Wild only had 10 forwards for the game, and it showed by the end.
- Niklas Backstrom. It was easy to see that Backstrom was not himself, and he didn't really look like himself all game. Chalk it up to the difficulties of the past 24 hours, and not having gear he was familiar with. Still, why not give Anton Khudobin a shot in a game against a non-conference opponent, when it's more important to get on the ice and play than it is to put together a perfect contest?
- Power plays. The best way to overcome adversity is to embrace every advantage given. The Wild were given plenty, thanks to Ottawa marching to the penalty box. Unfortunately, the Wild power play was completely disjointed, and couldn't often connect on a pass, let alone get a shot towards the goal.

Next up: The Wild return home, and hopefully return to a better sense of self, as they face the Colorado Avalanche.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Four: Wild 3, Canadiens 1

2009-12-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

The last two games for the Minnesota Wild have looked eerily similar. A strong first period. A fast pace. Very few penalties. A complete collapse once the second period starts, only to have the goaltender make the big saves needed. And, at the end of it all, a Minnesota Wild win. It's pretty obvious watching the team that their recent schedule is starting to get to them. After all, they've been all over the continent recently, barely having time to rest before jetting off to the next location. They'll get to return home for the holidays, and it might be the best gift that they could ever receive.

Still, even though they're obviously fatigued, and even though they obviously haven't been playing their best hockey of the season, the Wild keep finding ways to win, and they did it again by knocking around the Montreal Canadiens. The boos that filled the arena at the start of the game were directed at Guillaume Latendresse, playing in his first game since being traded from Montreal to Minnesota. By the end of the game, the boos were directed at the Canadiens themselves, for trailing 3-1. Not that Montreal should be faulted for effort. They just couldn't put the puck into the net, even though they spent the majority of the final forty minutes in the Wild's zone. Thankfully for Minnesota, physical play and some timely saves helped propel the team to yet another win, keeping them as the hottest team in the west (10-1-2 in their last thirteen games).

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck played exactly the kind of game you expect, and he appears to be one of the few Wild players with a lot of energy left in their legs. Not only did he notch ten hits against the Canadiens, but he also put in the back-breaking third goal for Minnesota.
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom practically had to stand on his head to make some of the saves that he did, but he just went about his business shutting Montreal down. The one goal that snuck past him was from such a sharp angle that it certainly seemed like there was no chance for the puck to even get in front of the net, let alone into it.
- Robbie Earl. All Earl does is score goals. Well, that's not entirely true, but he came through with a huge goal in the first period. Not only did he score by threading the puck through an incredibly small opening, but he created the chance with some strong play at the Montreal blue line.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. Sheppard was once again a liability in the face-off circle, and he put extra life into Montreal with a foolish delay of game penalty, after the Canadiens had already pulled their goaltender.
- Fatigue. It's clear that the Wild are worn down, but the recent schedule can do that. Still, they need to find a way to keep themselves going once the second period starts, instead of retreating into a shell and just trying to hang on.
- Clearing the zone. In the first period, the Wild didn't have a lot of problems in their own end. Once the second period started, it became a different story, as they couldn't get a handle on the puck, and ended up icing it more than is comfortable just to give themselves a breather. If it hadn't been for Backstrom's amazing performance, the Wild would have easily been toppled.

Next up: One more game on the road before a little stretch of time at home, which should help put some energy back into a team that's criss-crossed the continent while maintaining an amazing streak. The Wild stays in the Eastern Conference, and in Canada, as they take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Three: Wild 2, Blue Jackets 1

2009-12-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild made a brief stop at home Tuesday night, and faced their sister team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both teams are sitting around the same place in the standings right now, thanks to Columbus treading water while losing, and the Wild finding ways to put together points from most of their recent games. That trend continued, as both teams seemed ready to head into overtime until the Wild found their offense again, with under a minute remaining in the period.

In fact, the Wild offense started the game strong, but then started to fade as the periods wore on. The first period was played in a mere twenty-seven minutes from start to finish, but neither team could keep up that pace. This was troubling, as Minnesota also had jumped out to an early lead in shots on goal, but couldn't get things moving until Columbus had given themselves the one-goal advantage. Still, the Wild were able to do what they've done so many times this season, and they came from behind to get two points in the standings, putting them a mere four out of the top eight.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Latendresse came to Minnesota in a trade with Montreal, and the Wild couldn't be happier, definitely getting the immediate advantage in effectiveness. Latendresse played a strong game, and took a Martin Havlat feed for the tying goal.
- Martin Havlat. Speaking of Martin Havlat, the guy may not be proclaiming himself as being "back" yet, but it's hard to argue with six points on the last seven Wild goals.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain did what he does best, and he had an assist both on Latendresse's goal, but also on Marek Zidlicky's game winner with under a minute remaining.

Game minuses:
- Playing from behind. Conventional wisdom says that giving up the first goal is a horrible thing, and yet this season's Wild team just seems to defy that, winning 11 of their 16 after trailing. Still, it would be nice to see the team play with a lead a little more frequently.
- Energy. Sure, the Wild has been on the road a lot so far this season, and that takes a toll. However, the way that Minnesota started the game should have lead to a huge lead that they could carry. Instead, they couldn't get clean shots on net, and couldn't keep the energy up once the second period started.
- Jason Chimera. Obviously still upset over a preseason hit from Eric Belanger, Chimera spent the third period taking runs at the Wild center, and jabbing him with his stick. Something needs to be done in the league when this kind of activity is allowed to occur unchecked (and no, the Wild aren't the only team it happens to).

Next up: Latendresse and the rest of the Wild head to Montreal to play the Canadiens Thursday night.

2009-10 Game Thirty-Two: Wild 3, Canucks 4

2009-12-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

The end of an extended road trip. The sixth game in eight days. Fresh off of an unlikely, but energetic win. It wouldn't surprise anyone if the Minnesota Wild had come out flat against the Vancouver Canucks, and skated quietly into the night. Instead, the Wild showed life, and, if it hadn't been for some very questionable officiating, the Wild might have finished their time away from Saint Paul with a 4-1 road mark.

However, regardless of the penalty status, the Wild did start off a bit slow, and that allowed the Canucks to get a quick jump. When given that opportunity, few take it as quickly or as efficiently as the Sedin twins, who put up huge nights against Minnesota. It certainly didn't help that the Wild penalty kill was as strong as wet paper, and that Josh Harding played one of his worst games in awhile. Still, the Wild didn't shut down, and made a game of it, continually fighting to get back into it. This is drastically different from the team that began this season.

Game pluses:
- Martin Havlat. Havlat definitely looks like he's found his game. After playing a part in both Wild goals against Calgary, he followed up by notching a goal and two assists. The last two games, Havlat has been the catalyst for the offense, and this can only help the team.
- Faceoffs. The Wild won over 70% of the faceoffs against the Canucks, and that number helped create an exciting end to the game. Unfortunately, Minnesota didn't do enough to capitalize on that puck possession advantage.
- Surprising contributions. Who would have guessed that, before Havlat, the Wild goal scorers would be Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy? Both defensemen scooped up fantastic feeds from Martin Havlat, and put terrific shots into the net.

Game minuses:
- Game ownership. The Wild had the advantage in faceoffs, in shots, and, in many ways, in control of the game when playing it five-on-five. And yet they stopped moving the puck, instead relying on the method of shooting pucks straight into the goaltender's body. The Wild need to get better about getting the opposing goalie moving, or getting shots on net that are likely to create rebounds.
- Josh Harding. True, Harding played the game while battling an illness, and that may have contributed to his poor showing. He also didn't secure the posts, and dropped into his butterfly far too quickly. Vancouver knew it, and they showed it by putting shots up and towards the corners.
- Special teams. The Wild got victimized by questionable penalties, but didn't do enough to kill off Vancouver power plays. When they got their chance with the man advantage, including a full four minutes, they retreated to the old system of making too many passes, and not getting enough shots on net. Now that the rest of the game seems to be clicking, it might be time for the Wild to look seriously at their special teams, and figure out what needs to be done to make them work again.

Next up: The Wild return home for one game, facing off against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

2009-10 Game Thirty-One: Wild 2, Flames 1 (OT)

2009-12-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

A sign that a team really is different from year-to-year is the way that they approach an opponent, and an arena, that has often thwarted even their best efforts. While the Minnesota Wild may not be ready to completely shake off the demons of playing in Calgary, for one night, at least, they were able to do something they hadn't done in almost three years; they won inside of the Saddledome.

In previous years, the Wild were a team that didn't spend a ton of time in the attacking zone. They would get their chances, but then they would retreat into a defensive style of play, and just try to hang on. This time, the Wild utilized a strong forecheck to keep the Flames from assembling much of an offense, and, if it hadn't been for the Wild trying to shoot through Miikka Kiprusoff instead of around him, the Flames wouldn't have even gotten a point out of the game. For one night, at least, the Calgary demons that have haunted the Wild in the past were put to rest.

Game pluses:
- Martin Havlat. Havlat played great against the Flames while in Chicago, and leave it to Calgary to find a way to reignite his game. Great feeds lead to scoring chances, and his puck awareness put the winner into the yawning net. Wild fans are starting to see what kind of player Havlat can really be.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild netminder didn't have to duel with Kiprusoff in total shots faced, but he performed just as admirably when the game was on the line. One of these two goaltenders will probably be starting for Finland in the Olympics.
- Derek Boogaard. Take away Boogaard's fight early on, and you still have a pretty good game. Boogaard was a presence on the ice, almost getting the puck into the net once, and he was right there, just in case James Sheppard couldn't make his goal count.

Game minuses:
- Power play. The Wild had an extended 5-on-3, and couldn't get the puck into the net. Antti Miettinen had the best opportunity, but the Wild just couldn't get the man advantage to click.
- Shot selection. Kiprusoff is a big goalie, but that doesn't explain why the Wild decided the best place to put the puck was right into the center of his chest on far too many shots. The Wild heavily outshot the Flames, but just couldn't move the puck enough to fool Kiprusoff most of the night.
- Kim Johnsson. For a defenseman who's supposed to be an offensive asset, and someone who's supposed to have good overall awareness, Johnsson needs to show that he knows where things are on the ice. Too often, he makes mistakes at the blue line that could cost the Wild the game.

Next up: The Wild left Calgary, but stayed within the Northwest Division, wrapping up their road trip with a visit to Vancouver.

2009-10 Game Thirty: Wild 1, Avalanche 0

2009-12-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

After putting together an offensive showcase while knocking off five wins in a row, the Minnesota Wild returned to earth over the last couple of games, and looked more like the team they were last season, as opposed to the team that they're trying to become. Still, sometimes a sloppy road win is exactly what a team needs, and it's very possible that the Wild needed a bounce-back after the way they played against the Phoenix Coyotes.

One thing that hasn't changed, especially since Niklas Backstrom came to town, is that the Colorado Avalanche are often just what the doctor ordered to help right the ship. While the games tend to be fairly close, the Wild also tend to come out the victors, and have already won the season series against Colorado thanks to last night's win. While neither team played overly well, the Wild did just enough to secure the game, in spite of marching to the penalty box, and a Colorado goal that was disallowed.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. With the exception of the disallowed goal, and one shot where the puck ended up between his skates, Backstrom was sparkling in net, turning aside Avalanche shots with ease. He didn't have any truly difficult saves to make, and looked cool and composed on the way to his first shut-out this season.
- Antti Miettinen. The only goal scorer, Miettinen showed why you crash the net, scooping up a rebound to give the Wild the lead early in the first period.
- Penalty kill. The Wild's penalty kill was tremendous, which is good, given the number of chances Colorado had on the power play. Overall, Minnesota allowed less than one shot per power play, getting bodies in front of the shooter and disrupting the play all night long.

Game minuses:
- John Scott. The Wild's big man may have spent more time in the penalty box than on the ice, serving time for three minor penalties. When he was on the ice, it was an even bet that any time he moved the puck, it would end up being an icing call.
- James Sheppard. The kid's still trying, but, when he moved towards the offensive zone, he got dumped far too easily. Sheppard isn't a small player by any means, but he looked like he had no balance and little skill against Colorado.
- Shots. The Wild took too few shots, once again. True, they weren't having a lot of luck getting the puck into the net, but they didn't try hard enough. Positioning comes into play with this, as well, when some passes or rebounds slipped past players just standing in the wrong place.

Next up: The Wild are 7-1-1 in their last nine games, and they look to continue that positive trend when they head to Calgary to face the Flames for the first time this season.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Nine: Wild 0, Coyotes 2

2009-12-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

All good things must come to an end. When Minnesota and Phoenix clashed, they were representing teams that hadn't lost since Thanksgiving. The Wild did it through offense, putting up big scores on the way to their five game winning streak. The Coyotes did it through defense, shutting down opponents to win four in a row themselves.

Well, they say defense wins championships. The way both teams played in the desert, neither one should be looking at the Stanley Cup all too expectantly, but the Coyotes were able to stifle a Wild team that couldn't get itself moving in the right direction. More often than not, Minnesota shut themselves down, coughing up the puck instead of moving it with any efficiency. They couldn't pass, couldn't shoot, and, with Cal Clutterbuck and Derek Boogaard out of the line-up, they couldn't hit. To make matters worse, the game only got more physical as it wore on, and the Wild didn't have an answer for a Coyotes team that was allowed to skate pretty freely, doing whatever they felt without worry of repercussions from the refs. Even when the Wild did get a power play, it was almost a guarantee that they would shut themselves down with an errant pass.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom was victimized by two quick goals in the second period, but he also bailed the Wild out more often. If he hadn't played as well as he did, the game would have gotten out of hand much sooner.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat was one of the few Wild players who seemed to show any sort of spark in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, the guy's just snakebit, as his coast-to-coast play showed.
- Mikko Koivu. Another skater that was pushing through the game, Koivu almost dropped the puck into the net a few times. Unfortunately for Minnesota, nothing was working.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. He may be feeling the pressure since recent trades, but Sheppard just looks like he's trying too hard, without actually having an idea of where his teammates are, or how to effectively play.
- Kim Johnsson. Maybe he hasn't shaken the flu bug quite yet. Johnsson seemingly had an aversion to the puck, coughing it up all game long, and often doing so in dangerous spots on the ice.
- Officiating. Not to say that the Wild deserved to win but got crippled by the officials, which isn't the case. The Wild played a horrible game, but they certainly weren't helped by penalty calls off of weak incidents (any of the Wild's slashing penalties, but most notably the first), or non-calls that fly in the face of the NHL's desire to protect players (the forearm hit against Andrew Ebbett by Ed Jovanovski, and the pummeling of James Sheppard by Vernon Fiddler). The league should definitely take a closer look at the game, but there is a question how much their ownership of the Coyotes is affecting things, as well.

Next up: The Wild look to recover from a very down performance Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. The Wild have fared well against Colorado so far this season, having defeated the Avalanche all three times the teams have faced each other thus far.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Eight: Wild 5, Predators 3

2009-12-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

There's something strange that happens when the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators get together. Teams known for defensive stands put together offensive flurries, and no goal is safe from the onslaught. In two games, the Wild and Predators had put 16 goals up. After three games, that total was 24.

The Wild had to survive a rough start, when they spent almost half of the first period on the penalty kill. However, Nashville only burned them once, and, surprisingly, at the end of the period, the Wild held a one-goal lead. That confidence carried them into the second period, and they had enough of a lead going into the third that their late-game mistakes didn't hurt as badly as they could have. The Wild now have a five-game winning streak, a seven-game points streak, and are surprisingly only five points back from the #8 team in the conference.

Game pluses:
- Josh Harding. True, Harding didn't keep things together in the third period, but he was strong throughout the rest of the game, shutting down Nashville's scorers with some brilliant saves.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat has been much maligned this season, but he may be finding his groove. After his second assist, he looked like a different player on the ice, making moves more reminiscent of his play last year with Chicago.
- Transition hockey. The Wild was able to apply a forecheck, and they were pouncing on Nashville turnovers, playing very opportunistic hockey.

Game minuses:
- Quick deficit. Yet again, the Wild gave up the first goal of the game, and yet again, they had to come from behind. Give them credit for composure, though, for not folding.
- Penalty march. The first period could, and probably should, have been much worse for Minnesota, as four defensemen made foolish mistakes for four quick Nashville powerplays.
- Late let down. Maybe it was the four-goal lead. Maybe it was playing back-to-back games. Either way, the Wild didn't turn in a very strong third period. The four-goal differential was almost the only thing that kept the Wild from giving the game away.

Next up: The Wild road trip continues, as they head to Phoenix to play the Coyotes. Will the Wild have better success in Arizona than the Vikings did?

2009-10 Game Twenty-Seven: Wild 5, Ducks 4 (SO)

2009-12-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Anaheim Ducks should be glad that they won't have to come back to Minnesota any more times this season. The first time that the Ducks came to St. Paul, the Wild pulled off an improbable overtime victory, bouncing back from a three-goal deficit. This time, the Wild gave up two different two-goal leads, only to win the game in the shootout.

To think, this Wild team faced it's share of struggles earlier in the season. While they probably aren't out of the water completely, they seem to have turned a corner, understanding the new system, and they're playing with confidence. Not many NHL teams could find themselves down 2-0, and then 4-2, and still bounce back. A lot of that credit can go to the veteran players, who are stepping up at the right time, but there also has to be credit given to GM Chuck Fletcher, who has shown a willingness to make roster moves to help the team, and, thus far, his in-season acquisitions have shown great promise.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain outplayed his older brother, and helped bring the Wild back from both deficits.
- Antti Miettinen. Before he went down with the flu, Miettinen was starting to really hit his stride. He hasn't lost a step since coming back, and his shootout goal made things a little easier on Niklas Backstrom.
- Andrew Brunette. Without great passing, the Wild would have missed out on a couple of their goals, and few move the puck better than Brunette.

Game minuses:
- Giving up the lead. The Wild have been struggling much of this season, playing from behind in so many games. While it's a huge plus that the Wild came back from two two-goal deficits, the big minus is that they allowed the Ducks to score like that.
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom once again had another subpar game, allowing too many pucks through. Maybe the new system is exposing the goaltenders more, but Backstrom hasn't looked as focused.
- Defensive positioning. Part of the reason Backstrom has been having his problems is because, with the exception of Greg Zanon, the Wild defense seems to run around in their own end, without rhyme or reason. For a team that used to be know for it's defensive identity, this is more than troubling, only being glossed over because they finally have firepower to cover it.

Next up: The Wild left the comforts of home, and headed to Nashville for the second of back-to-back games.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Six: Wild 5, Predators 4 (OT)

2009-12-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

The recent string of points gained by the Minnesota Wild can largely be attributed to a couple of things. First, the players that have been with the team all season long are starting to understand the new system, and few show that as well as Mikko Koivu. Second, the new acquisitions brought in by Chuck Fletcher are coming in with fire, something to prove, and some good puck awareness.

In a game where the Wild got their first three-goal first period of the season, and then turned in such an awful second period that they started giving the game away, the pieces all fell together in the end, with long-time Wild players and guys that have only been with Minnesota for a few weeks keying off of each other for a big win in a tightly played game. Of course, this recent surge is going to make things harder on some players once the team recovers from it's injuries, as some of the new guys might be making some other players previously considered "safe" into tradeable commodities.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. Since being traded, Latendresse has barely even been able to practice with his new team. He's still been putting together some great hockey, with a strong forecheck, a decent shot, and physical play. His goal against the Predators was the result of great patience, and, if it hadn't been for hitting three posts in the game, he would have been able to score more, including a great chance at the end of the third period.
- Andrew Ebbett. Another player that felt he had something to prove, Ebbett has been big recently, scoring the Wild's only goal against Boston, getting the shootout clincher against Colorado, and scooping up Latendresse's rebound in overtime for the winning goal against Nashville. Imagine what might have been if the Wild had claimed him the first time he was on waivers.
- Mikko Koivu. Heck, the dance after his power play goal alone would have landed him here. Koivu is playing some of his best hockey right now, and he's leading a Wild team that suddenly looks like they're surging in the standings.

Game minuses:
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild's netminder had a very atypical game against the Predators, giving up goals that normally would be easy saves. The most glaring example came on Jason Arnott's second goal of the game.
- Returning players. Antti Miettinen aside, and the players who found themselves back in the line-up for Minnesota did not have great games. Neither Marek Zidlicky nor Kim Johnsson had good puck movement in the defensive end, and Martin Havlat looked like he was still struggling with his hamstring issues, limiting his mobility.
- Second period. After playing a strong first period, the Wild shut down in the second, only putting three shots on goal. Not good, considering they had found weaknesses in the Nashville defense during the first twenty minutes, and simply needed to continue exploiting them.

Next up: The Wild look to continue their points streak on Friday night, taking on the Anaheim Ducks.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Five: Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (SO)

2009-11-30T10:14:00.000-08:00

While it wasn't a standard back-to-back situation for the second game of the home-and-home series between Minnesota and Colorado, the game did carry some of the main symptoms. Both teams jumped out trying to get a fast start. There was a bit of a drag in the middle, and then the end came with some flurries and some lucky bounces. At stake were big divisional points, and the Avalanche were trying to solve the Wild, as Minnesota had beaten Colorado in both previous games.

Well, the answer still isn't there for Colorado, as Minnesota overcame a 2-goal deficit, some weird bounces, and, for one player at least, a lack of practice to defeat the Avalanche for the third time this season. The injuries and illnesses that the Wild have faced have led to the team already having a different look than the one presented at the beginning of the season, but that look, high energy, physical, and offensively-minded, is starting to show positive results.

Game pluses:
- Guillaume Latendresse. For a guy who wasn't getting a lot of looks in Montreal, and didn't get the chance to practice with his new teammates, he played well. Not only did he get the game-tying goal, but he played a basic yet physical brand of hockey, which should net him some quick fans.
- Andrew Ebbett. True, his goal in the shootout was a lot of luck, but Ebbett also had a goal waved off in the third period after it bounced of his glove. Ebbett is able to create opportunites by showing an awareness for getting to the front of the net.
- Josh Harding. Harding came up big, keeping the Wild in the game when mistakes created Colorado chances.

Game minuses:
- Opportunity. The Wild had a number of chances at wide-open nets, but they couldn't seem to put the puck where it counted until late. If the Wild had converted, they would have easily taken the game in regulation.
- Power play. True, a lot of the Wild's main power play guys were out of the line-up, but the team just looked like they were floundering. It certainly didn't make things any better that, if it hadn't been for a huge save by Harding, the Wild would have given up their sixth shorthanded goal of the season.
- Kim Johnsson. One thing that has plagued Wild defensemen this season is stick awareness. It hurt Nick Schultz when he redirected the puck into his own net earlier this season. It hurt Johnsson when he tripped Harding in this game, practically giving Colorado the two goal lead. Johnsson also misplayed the puck more than a few times, including on the cough-up that almost gave Colorado the shortie.

Next up: The Wild may not want to leave Colorado or the Avalanche behind, but they return to St. Paul to face the Nashville Predators on Wednesday evening.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Four: Wild 5, Avalanche 3

2009-11-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche got an early start. Maybe it was all of the food from the day before, and maybe it was the afternoon start time, but it took a little bit for either team to get moving quickly. That did change as the game progressed, and the Wild ended up stepping forward in a big way, continuing a recent trend of taking points from games.

The Wild also got to see hats rain down on the ice for the first time since Marian Gaborik lit up his current team for 5 goals, thanks to an impressive performance by Chuck Kobasew. If it hadn't been for an illness to Antti Miettinen, Kobasew wouldn't have found himself with his linemates, and might not have been able to make as much of an impact. It was a good thing, too, as the Wild had to overcome a sloppy performance by Niklas Backstrom, and an energetic performance from the Avalanche.

Game pluses:
- Chuck Kobasew. Sure, his third goal was an emtpy-netter. But his first two goals were opportunistic and well-placed.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain continues to make plays that seem impossible, and dishes the puck better than anyone else on the team.
- Derek Boogaard. The big man is playing better, and looks to be getting some offensive confidence. His assist came thanks to a great pass, and he could find himself getting his first goal in 2+ seasons before too long.

Game minuses:
- Slow start. The Wild once again started the game by giving up the first goal, but they were able to respond. They need to get a better start to the games, whether the puck drops at 8:00pm, or 1:00pm.
- Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom did enough to keep the Wild from losing the game, but he gave up uncharacteristic rebounds, and got lucky thanks to a puck that danced along the goal line, but never across it.
- Transition hockey. The Avalanche came out the better team when it came to odd-man rushes. The Wild defense needs to be stingier.

Next up: The Wild finished the home-and-home series the next night, looking to keep their record against the Avalanche perfect on the season.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Three: Wild 1, Bruins 2 (SO)

2009-11-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild ran into another perfect storm at home against the Boston Bruins, something that has happened more times than they should be comfortable with. Not only were the Wild coming off of an extended break, but they were facing a Bruins team that was in the middle of a perfect road trip. Add to that the fact that the Wild had to play short-handed all game thanks to injuries and illnesses, and it amounted to a huge mountain to climb.

Well, the Wild may not have climbed all the way up the mountain, but, in many ways, they made it out of the foothills. Even with all of the reasons that Minnesota shouldn't have been a presence in the game, they were able to sneak a point away, pushing the Bruins into the shootout. Minnesota even had numerous opportunities to win the game, especially late, but missed on chances at open nets and loose pucks, or in the shootout. Meanwhile, Boston looks to be regaining some of their form from last season, when they lead the Eastern Conference in points.

Game pluses:
- Andrew Ebbett. Ebbett became the newest person to play a game in a Wild sweater, joining the team off of waivers, and he made an immediate impact. His size could hurt him, but right now the Wild need goal scorers.
- Defense. The Wild were able to keep the Bruins from putting 20 shots on goal. Too bad they couldn't do more with the chances they had.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild's captain entered the shootout, and dropped the puck into the net. While he isn't a shootout guarantee, the Wild would still be pretty happy if they could just have him take all three shots, since the rest of their options are having problems finishing.

Game minuses:
- Undressed. The total salaries of players who missed the game for Minnesota is close to $18M, and that number doesn't look to be going down drastically anytime in the near future. The Wild have already faced adversity, but they need some luck on their side, and some players need to return from injury as soon as possible.
- Kyle Brodziak. The Wild forward has been playing hard as of late, but a foolish penalty late in the game almost cost Minnesota the one point they did get in the standings.
- Slow start. The Wild got off to a rough start, getting pinned back into their zone early in the game. However, they were able to weather the storm, and get their own chances. The game could have been off to a much worse start.

Next up: The Wild didn't play on Thanksgiving Day, but they'll return to work the day after, in the first part of a home-and-home series with the Colorado Avalanche.

2009-10 Game Twenty-Two: Wild 3, Islanders 2

2009-11-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't have come as much of a shock to anyone if the Minnesota Wild had come out as fiercely as they did against the New York Islanders, and still ended up losing the game. After all, this Minnesota team is still getting itself together, and learning a brand new system (which, contrary to how it looks, does not rely on the team forgetting how to play hockey at least three times per game). Add to that the number of players out injured, including a couple that found out they'd be missing the game in the 24 hours running up to it, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the New York Islanders skate away with the win.

But that wasn't in the cards for either team. The Wild came out playing a very physical game, and, in the end, got some gritty goals from their oldest player, outdueling New York and skating away with the one goal win. Again, Niklas Backstrom did a lot to keep the Wild in the game, but that's become somewhat standard. Thankfully for Minnesota, Backstrom was back to being on top of his game, and he stopped some beautiful scoring chances, including a couple off of the stick of the most recent number one draft pick, John Tavares.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. He's been playing NHL hockey as long as Tavares has been alive, and he came up big. His second goal, set up by a great Eric Belanger play, showed that he still has a shooter's touch.
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu still relies too much on passing first, but it's hard to fault the guy who finally broke the Wild's power play drought, and did so with a great redirection.
- Playing with fire. The Wild came out of the locker room energized, gritty, and a little mean. Fights and big hits in the first period set the tone, and gave Minnesota the energy to play hard.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. There was no consistency from the officials. Calling an instigator penalty when it was clear that both guys were ready to fight? Missing high sticks and cross checks all game long? True, both teams had their fair share of power plays, but the officials still almost let this game get out of hand with their stunning lack of consistency.
- Defensive puck handling. Far too often, the Wild would get the puck onto the stick of one of their defensemen, and they'd make a miscue, letting it slip away from them. It was no more glaring than during the Wild's long 5-on-3 power play.
- Power plays. True, the Wild is missing a lot of key power play guys. True, they finally found a way to score one. But there's no excuse for coming up short during the 5-on-3, and for missing on so many others. Passing is all well and good, but you can't score if you don't get the puck on the net.

Next up: The Wild have a little time to recover, but hopefully that will just bring injured players back, as opposed to a system shutdown. The Wild play host to the Boston Bruins the night before Thanksgiving, and bring out their newly acquired center, Andrew Ebbett, who was claimed off waivers.

2009-10 Game Twenty-One: Wild 2, Coyotes 3

2009-11-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

Don't feel bad if you didn't realize that the Minnesota Wild played a game against the Phoenix Coyotes last night. The Wild didn't seem to remember, either, for most of the game.

The slow starts to games are absolutely killing the team. When Minnesota is able to fire on all cylinders, they can be a deadly team, scoring seemingly at will, and with a fierce forecheck to keep opponents bottled up in their own zone. When they don't start skating until the second period (or later, as was the case against Phoenix), it doesn't matter how powerful of a team they can be, because they've already crippled themselves. The Wild didn't get started until they were already down by a goal, and all Phoenix had to do was answer when the Wild scored, and answer they did, including getting the game winner 19 seconds after a tying goal. The Wild need some more accountability, and they need to put forward a better effort. The new system was meant to bring a more upbeat style of hockey to the state, but all it's done thus far is removed the knowledge of the basics from a team that's completely floundering.

Game pluses:
- Antti Miettinen. Miettinen played a strong game, even during an overall lackluster first period. When he scored the tying goal, it was reward for hard work.
- Andrew Brunette. There are few players as good working against the back wall as Brunette, and he showed it again last night. Notching his own goal gave the Wild a spark of life.
- Mikko Koivu. Rounding out the only Wild line that put an effort into things, Koivu had some chances of his own, but had to satisfy himself with assisting on both goals.

Game minuses:
- Lapses. The Wild score, and suddenly the other team gets a beautiful chance. It's been happening all season, but last night featured one of the worst examples on the game-winning goal. After Miettinen's goal, the Wild slept on their feet as the Coyotes entered the zone, took a soft shot that created a big rebound, and then easily scooped up the rebound for another soft shot, sliding the puck past a dazed goaltender. It was a complete collapse on the Wild's part, and is inexcusable.
- Battles. Aside from Andrew Brunette, the Wild couldn't seem to win a single puck battle. To be fair, though, throughout the first 30 minutes or so, they weren't even trying.
- Officiating. It wasn't just the phantom slashing call made just because a stick broke. The officiating was awful all game long, and, if the Wild had played with more passion, it could have easily lead to the game getting out of control as the players policed themselves.

Next up: The Wild started out their homestand on an awful note, but hope to recover when they play host to the New York Islanders.

2009-10 Game Twenty: Wild 4, Hurricanes 5 (SO)

2009-11-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Maybe the Carolina Hurricanes remembered too well what the Wild did to them in St. Paul. Maybe they really wanted to avoid setting a new record for consecutive games without a win. Then again, maybe they just took advantage of the Wild team that showed up for the first half of the game, and then hung on just hard enough for the second half of the game to give themselves their first win in the past fifteen games.

The Wild, however, brought two different looks. Needless to say, the first look the team presented can be left behind any time, as they never really got their skates under them, and they looked lost on the ice. Unable to win battles, or, for the most part, play like they cared, the Wild dug themselves a deep hole, and it certainly looked like it was going to be a long game. Unexpected offense coming from some last-minute replacements turned the game around, and almost allowed Minnesota to complete the comeback and gain the win. As it was, being down by three goals and still escaping with a point in the standings could be huge in the long run for this team.

Game pluses:
- Robbie Earl. The former UW player was called up by the Wild to fill in for an injured Chuck Kobasew. If Earl can keep playing the way he did against the 'Canes, he may find himself filling in for a hapless James Sheppard, or an inconsistent Benoit Pouliot. Earl's first two NHL goals sparked the Wild.
- John Scott. Twenty seconds after Earl scored his first NHL goal, John Scott did the same, scooping up the garbage from in front of the net. Scott's goal demonstrated exactly why a player in front of the net can be such a benefit.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain seemed like the only member of the team that showed up to play in the early going of the game. He had some chances, including one shot off of the post, that could have changed the outcome of the game.

Game minuses:
- Special teams. The Wild's power play looks like two minutes where they completely relax and forget how to play the game. The penalty kill has been lapsing as of late, and gave up three of Carolina's goals.
- Clearing the crease. Even after the Wild found their legs, they couldn't get the Hurricanes away from Niklas Backstrom. The Wild spent too much time chasing the puck, and not enough time clearing the area in front of their goal.
- Fire. The Wild may have been facing the worst team in the league, but they're also a basement team right now, and they were finishing a road trip. If Minnesota had made an effort in the first period, the game would have most likely gone easily to the visitors.

Next up: The Wild have a couple of days off, and then return to action Wednesday night at home, taking on the surprising Phoenix Coyotes.

2009-10 Game Nineteen: Wild 1, Capitals 3

2009-11-15T09:51:00.001-08:00

There are many reasons why the Wild are currently in the Western Conference basement. There are just as many reasons why the Washington Capitals are on top of the Eastern Conference. When a team can continue to win, and win with strength, while missing one of the best players in the league, they know they've got something special. Without Alex Ovechkin, the Caps have continued cruising, and they took out the Wild in strong fashion.

Not to say that Minnesota didn't challenge the Caps. In fact, for a while, it looked like the Wild were going to do to Washington what they did to Pittsburgh. The difference between the games? In Pittsburgh, the Wild didn't have as many chances, but they converted better. In Washington, Minnesota either didn't take good quality shots, or just missed with the shots that they did take. To win in the NHL, you need to be able to convert odd-man rushes, and the Wild didn't have any luck doing that against that Capitals.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck has been picked by many across the league to eventually be a 20-goal scorer. If he keeps playing like he has recently, people may want to amend that to 30 goals. He's still playing his physical game, too, making the goals that much more impressive.
- Robbie Earl. A call-up to play for an injured Chuck Kobasew, Earl played a strong game for his first one in a Wild sweater.
- Josh Harding. This is the Josh Harding that people have wanted to see all season. No, he didn't win the game, but he singlehandedly kept the Wild in it. Both goals that he let past him were off of terrific shots, and Washington couldn't get a third goal until the Wild's net was empty.

Game minuses:
- Power play. The Wild just can't get things moving on their power play with any regularity. They're still focusing on trying to set up the perfect play, which means that they're not taking shots that they should be.
- Defensive puck handling. The entire defensive corps had problems keeping the puck on their stick. Whether it was failing to hold the puck in the offensive zone, or simply miscuing a pass, the defense need to get better with the black rubber.
- Finishing the rush. The Wild got a number of odd-man rushes throughout the game. They just couldn't connect the dots on what should have been a brilliant scoring attempt.

Next up: The Wild play a rare afternoon game, as they travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes. Last time the two teams played, Cal Clutterbuck scored an impossible goal for the overtime winner.

2009-10 Game Eighteen: Wild 3, Lightning 4 (SO)

2009-11-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

Two plays that dramatically changed the course of the game. One huge mistake that handed the win away. One point left behind on the ice in Tampa Bay, as the Minnesota Wild dominated the Lightning for 60 minutes, and still lost the game.

The two plays that were mentioned above? One was on the short-handed goal that put Tampa Bay on the board. Shane Hnidy was banged up in the play, thanks to a tripping non-call. Instead of an immediate whistle when Tampa touched the puck, play was allowed to continue, and the Lightning scored. Given that Brent Burns was called for a trip after getting his stick caught in a player's skates earlier in the game, and a whistle was blown right away when a Tampa player went down with an injury later in the game, this play stood out. The second play was Chuck Kobasew's goal that was waved off by the officials, because it bounced off of his glove. Because it touched the glove, it was waved off, no matter that there was no forward motion. If it had been a skate, at least the goal would have stood. If he'd bounced it off of his stomach, the Wild take their fourth goal of the game. But because it hit his glove (and barely hit his glove), the goal was disallowed.

Still the Wild should have had this game. To go from leading 3-1 to losing 4-3 in the shootout is a tough pill to swallow, but hopefully it will lead to Minnesota learning to take care of their business on the ice. Late mistakes gave Tampa enough life to claw back into the game that they had no right to be in.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. How pretty was Nolan's goal, giving the Wild the 3-1 lead? The grizzled Irishman may be trying to show the kids how it's done.
- James Sheppard. Sheppard has been having a rough season, and things probably aren't turning around yet, but he made some great plays against Tampa, including the play that set up Benoit Pouliot's goal.
- Greg Zanon. Zanon is a shot-blocking machine, and he's giving the Wild something they may not have realized they were missing.

Game minuses:
- Kyle Brodziak. The biggest mistake of the game for the Wild came off of Brodziak's stick, as he somehow completely lost the puck while on a 3-on-1, leaving it behind instead of making a pass. It was a glaring example of a lack of awareness.
- Marek Zidlicky. Zidlicky has a lot of offensive upside, and he's been a more consistent defenseman this season. However, against Tampa he stopped moving his legs, and took some foolish penalties after the Lightning pulled to within 1.
- Killer instinct. The Wild just didn't have the drive to finish off the Lightning, and they paid for it in the end. They had multiple opportunities to put the game out of reach, but resorted to a "pass first" mentality, instead of peppering the net with shots.

Next up: The Wild don't have time to dwell on the loss, as they face the Washington Capitals this evening. Luckily for Minnesota, it appears as though they won't have to face Alex Ovechkin.

2009-10 Game Seventeen: Wild 5, Maple Leafs 2

2009-11-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

The way the season started, who could have expected that the Minnesota Wild would finish their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs by having won their fourth game in the last five? The Wild seems to be responding to the system coach Todd Richards has been trying to instill, and the positives are starting to roll their way. The team still has a long road ahead of it, but the positives are starting to show.

Of course, the Wild didn't make it as easy as the score showed, almost collapsing at the end of the game. With the score sitting at 4-2, the Wild took two quick penalties, and the Maple Leafs had an empty net, giving them, for all intents and purposes, a 6-on-3 power play. But leave it to a goaltender looking for his 100th win to keep the puck out of the net, and leave it to the oldest member of the team to get the puck to travel into the empty net to help secure the victory.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Yes, Koivu had one of the late penalties (the always irritating delay of game call), but he also put together a three-point night behind a goal and two assists.
- Marek Zidlicky. Zidlicky has been quietly stepping up and improving his game all season, and he had another good one against the Leafs. He also notched a two-point game of his own.
- Niklas Backstrom. The tail end of the game, facing a 6-on-3, Backstrom did what he's done for his previous 99 wins, and he shut the door in cool, calm fashion. Any other goalie, and the Wild might have been looking at overtime.

Game minuses:
- Brent Burns. Burns keeps trying to do too much with the puck, even though he's acknowledged that simplifying his game makes him a better player. His puck mishandling almost lead to a Toronto short-handed goal.
- Third period. The Wild had a 4-1 lead, and they settled back into a bit of a trapping defense. Minnesota had trouble getting the puck out of their end of the ice, and even more trouble sustaining it.
- Late penalties. After being pinned in their zone most of the final 20 minutes, the Wild's penalties at the end of the game made things more interesting than they should have been. Backstrom kept the game firmly in Minnesota's grasp, but they shouldn't have been forced to kill off a 6-on-3 power play.

Next up: The Wild are undefeated this season against the Eastern Conference, and they hope to keep that going Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

2009-10 Game Sixteen: Wild 3, Stars 2

2009-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

After one of the worst performances of the young season against Vancouver, the Minnesota Wild responded with one of their strongest performances against Dallas. The result? The Wild notched another win, putting Niklas Backstrom one away from 100 in his career.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, even winning came with a price, as Dallas took some liberties with high hits. Mikko Koivu got lucky after he got slammed into the boards, but the same can't be said for Petr Sykora, who is questionable for now, thanks to an elbow to the head, delivered by Steve Ott of the Stars. The league talks about wanting to cut down on head injuries, which is all for the best. However, Ott skated away without so much as a penalty, and it doesn't look like he'll be disciplined in any way for the hit. This game also showed what can happen when the officiating isn't consistent, as, by the end of the third period, things were starting to get seriously out of control.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. Was there any doubt? The Wild winger scored his third goal of the season on a beautiful shorthanded play. Clutterbuck seems well on his way to a 20-goal season, and almost inched closer, ringing a shot off of the pipe late in the game.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain got a goal of his own, thanks to some very hard work and perseverence from the side of the net.
- Martin Havlat. The goals still aren't coming, but Havlat looked more relaxed than he's seemed all season. If he can keep skating just as smoothly as he did against Dallas, he'll soon return to form.

Game minuses:
- Consistency. The Wild fell apart a bit in the second period, but it would have been hard to keep up the first period pressure. Still, they allowed Dallas to tie the game before a fluke goal gave them the lead.
- Nick Schultz. There's something to be said for positioning. There's also something to be said for having better stick control. Schultz put the first Stars goal into the net himself, and almost did it again in the third. Even worse, the second time he almost took out Backstrom.
- Penalty kill. Take away the Clutterbuck goal, and the Wild didn't handle responsibility well short-handed. Defense were often out of position, and the Stars moved the puck too easily. This should have been an area where the Wild dominated, and it gave the Stars life.

Next up: The Wild hope to string two wins together as they head off onto the road again. They face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, in a battle between two of the worst teams in the league.

2009-10 Game Fifteen: Wild 2, Canucks 5

2009-11-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

Let the excuses roll in. The Wild didn't take an injury-riddled Canucks team seriously. Too much time between games caused them to lose their skating legs. The team still hasn't adjusted to the time change.

Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that the basement-dwelling Minnesota Wild played one of their least-inspired games of the season, and, after stealing games from the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, collapsed hard, letting Vancouver take the game from them with ease. The Wild couldn't skate, couldn't pass, and couldn't shoot. Just as soon as they looked like they were able to start turning the tide, Vancouver would give the Wild a power play, and any sense of momentum was destroyed. To make matters worse, the Wild lost leading scorer Eric Belanger in the second period with an unspecified upper body injury, which explained the mixing and matching being done with his linemates.

Game pluses:
- Kyle Brodziak. Brodziak became the first Wild player to score two goals in one game this season, and scored both by picking up the trash and gathering in rebounds.
- Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild's hit leader assisted on Brodziak's first goal, and generated some chances on his own.
- Chuck Kobasew. Rounding out the only Wild line that looked like it wanted to win, Kobasew helped Brodziak and Clutterbuck create opportunities, and applied some good hits to shake Canucks loose from the puck.

Game minuses:
- Niklas Backstrom. After being the biggest reason the Wild defeated New York and Pittsburgh, Backstrom became their biggest liability. He wasn't sharp, and none of the four goals he gave up were highlight reel shots.
- James Sheppard. Sheppard has looked lost all season, and still hasn't put together even an assist, now through fifteen games. Sheppard also coughed up the puck early, leading directly to Darcy Hordichuk's goal that set a slow-moving Wild team into reverse.
- Derek Boogaard. Not that there weren't other players who made serious mistakes, but taking an undisciplined penalty at the end of a period, and then making it worse by turning it into a double-minor, all while your team is down by a goal? Not smart, and the Canucks converted the power play for a 2-0 lead that they never looked back from.

Next up: The Wild will get better than this, and they'll develop consistency, but the question remains as to when that will all happen. Perhaps the game Saturday against the visiting Dallas Stars will give the team some life.

2009-10 Game Fourteen: Wild 2, Penguins 1

2009-11-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Less than twenty-four hours after the Minnesota Wild earned their first regulation home win for the season, they faced a daunting task. That task? Head to the home of the Stanley Cup champions, and try to avoid extending their winless streak on the road. Who would have predicted that they would do just that, handing the Penguins one of very few losses?

Even more interesting, the Wild were actually outplayed in a lot of areas of the game. In a lot of ways, it was very similar to the way that the Wild played against the Edmonton Oilers a few weeks back, where the team that was better throughout the game ran into a hot goaltender and some stellar defense.

Game pluses:
- Eric Belanger. He paid a price late in the game, taking a stick across his nose. But his goal with 0.6 seconds remaining in the first stood up as the game winner, and it helped ease the pain.
- Niklas Backstrom. One again, Backstrom stood tall in net, keeping the Wild in the game. The difference this time is that he got a lot of help when he coughed up the few rebounds he did. Most of the time, however, it was one shot and an immediate whistle.
- Marek Zidlicky. Arguably, the best play made by the Wild all game was when Zidlicky goaded Sidney Crosby into a fight to end the second period.

Game minuses:
- Defensive zone possession. The Wild couldn't get the puck on their sticks in their own zone. Even worse, they couldn't seem to get the puck out without giving up a scoring chance.
- Opportunism. Aside from Kyle Brodziak's goal from the side of the net, and Belanger's quick release, the Wild just didn't seem like they could put themselves in the right place much of the game.
- Officiating. Both teams committed penalties that didn't get called, but Pittsburgh seemed to get a bit more benefit. While not every penalty can, or should, be called, sometimes games can get out of hand if the players are allowed to skate too freely.

Next up: The Wild have some time off, which might be the last thing they want with their current momentum. They'll face the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

2009-10 Game Thirteen: Wild 3, Rangers 2

2009-11-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Wild continued their homecoming week, hoping to reverse the trend of the previous two games, by playing host to the New York Rangers. The homecoming in question this game? The return of Marian Gaborik, who left Minnesota this summer. Of course, given that Gaborik was meant to be playing against the Wild for the first time, it was of little shock that the star winger had to miss the game thanks to a lower body injury. It certainly didn't help that the Rangers have been in a bit of a spiral all their own, but, far too often, the cure for a losing streak is playing the Minnesota Wild.

Instead, the Wild decided to end a losing streak of their own, and they secured their first regulation victory of the season. Niklas Backstrom was strong in net, and Petr Sykora responded to his benching against Nashville by putting together a strong game against the Rangers. Even Derek Boogaard got involved in the offense, as the Wild skated to the 3-2 victory.

Game pluses:
- Petr Sykora. Sykora had been benched for not playing to his ability the previous game, and he stepped up big against the Rangers, tallying a goal and an assist.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain kept generating offense, and ended the night with two assists.
- Niklas Backstrom. It's been said plenty this season already, but Backstrom held the Wild in the game with some great saves. It was nice to see Backstrom get some help from his defense, as well.

Game minuses:
- Nick Schultz. Schultz had an uncharacteristically weak defensive game for Minnesota, even becoming the screen for New York's second goal.
- Power play. The Wild could have extended their lead, and given themselves a cushion, but they just couldn't get things clicking on the power play. Thankfully, they are starting to skate well 5-on-5.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat actually played a fairly strong game, but the guy's just snakebit right now. He needs to put a puck in the net, and maybe he'll be able to relax a bit on the stick.

Next up: The Wild looked to take the momentum gained against the Rangers, and put it to use against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

2009-10 Game Twelve: Wild 3, Predators 4

2009-10-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

This Minnesota Wild team will get better. They will play hard for 60 minutes, and apply a strong offense. They will have a forecheck to be reckoned with, and the goaltending will be stellar. The defense will help out, and the stars on the team will be allowed to shine.

But right now, and until that happens, watching the games could be difficult for more fair-weather fans. Part of what the previous regime did to the Wild through consistent competitiveness is to strip the cupboard bare, and the Wild aren't keeping pace with other teams when it comes to young talent. Add to that an extremely road-heavy schedule to start the season, and it isn't much of a shock that the Wild had barely any fire, even after a goal-scoring flurry in the second period. The team needs a win badly, and they need some confidence, but they're skating on tired legs after having lived on a plane for the first month of the season. The tide will turn, but how long will Wild fans give the team before the sell-out streak ends?

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. The oldest member of the team is still showing that he wants to get the Wild going in the right direction, and his skate-to-stick play leading to his goal was an example of what kind of puck handling skills he can possess.
- John Scott. The big defenseman almost put the puck in the net, most notably during a scrum in front. The fact that Scott was heading to the goal mouth is a great sign. Hopefully, the rest of the Wild pay attention to this.
- Opening of the second period. For three minutes, the Wild showed just what kind of team they can be. However, after firing off three quick shots, getting three goals, and chasing the Nashville netminder, the Wild sat back on their heels, waiting to give the lead back.

Game minuses:
- Niklas Backstrom. Plenty of times this young season, Backstrom has kept the Wild in games. Against Nashville, he was one of the big reasons that they were out of it, giving up three relatively soft goals, which is something he doesn't do often.
- James Sheppard. While the officials certainly didn't help, Sheppard once again showed a lack of awareness of his surroundings, or what he was doing with his stick.
- Possession. The Wild couldn't keep the puck on their sticks. One of the more glaring times came when Marek Zidlicky got his pocket picked on the way to Nashville's game-winning shorthanded goal, but none of the Wild seemed to have a good handle on the puck.

Next up: The Wild have their work cut out for them, but they get to stay home through Friday, when they take on the New York Rangers. Former Wild star Marian Gaborik is currently sitting with an injury, so he may be out of the line-up, which would be a bit of a blessing for the Wild, given that Gaborik is leading the Rangers in scoring thus far.

2009-10 Game Eleven: Wild 1, Blackhawks 3

2009-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's the fact that the team finally gets to play two consecutive home games for the first time this season. Maybe it's a lack of talent, something that was hidden by the previous system. Maybe they just don't have the drive on the road to get things done. Whatever the cause, the Minnesota Wild found themselves in a similar position against the Chicago Blackhawks. After playing hard for the first ten minutes, a defensive lapse gave Chicago a lead, and the Wild just couldn't put things together after that. Even when handed power play after power play, the Wild offense was completely ineffective, as the Blackhawks powered straight through the Wild on the way to the victory.

The Wild look lost, as they became the first team in over a decade to go without a point in their first eight road games. The scorers are either not making shots, or taking bad angle shots, hitters aren't hitting with their usual force, and the defense keeps trying to pinch in for an extra attacker, but leaving themselves open for an opposing breakaway. If it wasn't for the goaltending the Wild have gotten the last few games, they wouldn't have even had a chance to pull even. The team needs to find the fire within themselves to get it done, or they may be letting go of any thoughts towards a post-season before Thanksgiving.

Game pluses:
- Andrew Brunette. The Wild are offensively futile for the most part, but Andrew Brunette continues to display a veteran's patience, and is one of the few players for the Wild that can be counted on to put a point onto the score sheet.
- Greg Zanon. A game after he almost scored the OT winner, Zanon was again a force for blocked shots.
- Faceoffs. An area of trouble for last year's Wild team, this year, the Wild are winning the puck battle right away. Unfortunately, they aren't keeping it for long, or aren't doing anything with it when they do have it.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. True, Sheppard didn't get into the game much thanks to all the special teams play. By the same token, what better way to display your desire than taking those few minutes and working hard? Sheppard spent too much of the game looking, and not enough playing physically.
- Marek Zidlicky. Zidlicky didn't have the worst game of his Wild career, but he's quickly becoming a bit of a liability for puck possession. He also had more trouble clearing the defensive zone last night than he's had in awhile.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat started the game strong, and almost put together a beautiful play for an early Minnesota lead. However, he was stifled, and proceeded to frustrate himself into ineffectivenesss for the remainder of the game.

Next up: The Wild return home, to the site of their only victories this season. Their opponents? The Nashville Predators, giving Zanon and Zidlicky a chance to skate against their old team.

2009-10 Game Ten: Wild 3, Hurricanes 2 (OT)

2009-10-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Eventually, both trends will have to turn. The Wild will eventually win a game on the road, and, alternately, they will eventually lose a game at home. Here's hoping that they win a home game in regulation first, as Minnesota keeps proving that leaving before the end of the third period means missing the outcome. Take a couple of returning players, some home ice, and a Carolina team that's been struggling as well, and you've got the recipe for another Minnesota Wild home-ice overtime victory.

It didn't necessarily start out looking like the boys in green were going to pull this one off, giving up a goal in the first period while shorthanded, largely due to an inability to clear the puck. However, the Wild didn't give up, and they tied the game before the first intermission. In the second, they took a lead, but gave it back thanks to another puck handling miscue. Then the stage was set for overtime, as both teams played tight defensively through the third period. Cal Clutterbuck, who was supposed to be out until December due to his ankle injury, ended up being in perfect position to put the puck into the net in overtime, keeping the Wild perfect at home.

Game pluses:
- Cal Clutterbuck. How about this? Clutterbuck returns two weeks after sustaining an ankle injury that was supposed to keep him out of the line-up for months, plays his physical game, and gets a fantastic goal while being tackled in overtime.
- Niklas Backstrom. Once again, the Wild's star goalie stood tall in the net, making some unbelievable saves, including stifling a fantastic Carolina breakaway.
- Greg Zanon. When Backstrom couldn't make the save, Zanon seemed to find a way to block the shot. Zanon keeps placing himself in front of the puck, and saved a goal himself.

Game minuses:
- Antti Miettinen. Miettinen looks like he's trying to do too much with the puck, and his giveaway at the Carolina blue-line in the second period lead to the game-tying goal. It was a poor decision at that moment, and it had the potential to send the Wild into a nosedive.
- 5-on-5. At one point in the game, the Wild only had shots while on the power play. While they did start turning the tide, they need to get offense at all times, not just with the man advantage.
- Mikko Koivu. Overall, Koivu played a standard game, creating chances and working some magic with the puck. But how many times did he find himself thrown out of the faceoff circle? While the officials may have been a little sensitive, Koivu needs to keep himself involved in the draws.

Next up: The Wild are flying high again, but, unfortunately for them, they have to go back on the road. Can Martin Havlat find his game in his first game against the Chicago Blackhawks? Or will the Wild be distracted by the return of Marian Gaborik later this week?

2009-10 Game Nine: Wild 1, Blues 3

2009-10-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

If the Wild want to find a way to win on the road, they need to get a quick start to the game. The St. Louis Blues showed just how to do that, taking a 1-0 lead before the first minute had ticked off of the clock. Once again playing from behind, the Wild fought and scrapped for every inch of ice, but they just couldn't pull even, let alone ahead.

Once again, Niklas Backstrom did what he could to hold the team in the game, but defensive lapses and a lack of being able to put things together offensively lead to the defeat. While the Wild are trying to employ a forechecking system, the Blues showed what an effective forecheck can be, and what one with good size and speed for all players can show. The way Minnesota got banged around the ice, it's a surprise that the score wasn't more lopsided.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild netminder did everything he could to keep the team in the game. He's putting up solid numbers, but he hasn't had the goal support needed to secure more wins.
- Chuck Kobasew. The newest member of the team scored his first goal in a Wild sweater, and continues to play with fire.
- Perseverance. The Wild have played from behind almost every game this season. Perhaps as a surprise, they haven't turtled yet, but instead keep playing hard, trying to get themselves back into the game. However, playing from behind gets to be tough every night.

Game minuses:
- Martin Havlat. Havlat is still obviously struggling, and can't develop a touch. Hopefully an upcoming game against his former team will help him rediscover his game.
- Kim Johnsson. He's been much bemoaned here, but the last thing the Wild needed was another injured player.
- Power play. Chris Mason is a big goaltender, but the Wild just didn't generate enough against him with the man advantage. With the Wild's 5-on-5 woes, the power play needs to spark the offense.

Next up: The Wild played another back-to-back, heading home from St. Louis to take on the Carolina Hurricanes.

2009-10 Game Eight: Wild 3, Avalance 2 (SO)

2009-10-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild returned home Wednesday for a short stay, given that they leave right away again for a game on Friday in St. Louis. Their opponents? The Colorado Avalanche, who were riding an incredible streak on the road, setting themselves up as one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Meanwhile, the Wild were looking to patch themselves up after being handed loss after loss away from the Xcel Energy Center.

Apparently, all it took for the Wild to complete another comeback victory was new jerseys, a "C" on the chest of Mikko Koivu, and the home crowd. Not that the game was easy, by any means. The Wild took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but they had to know that they should have been leading by a larger margin. Consequently, the second period was one of the worst periods of hockey the Wild have played in awhile, and the third featured the team struggling, up until the point that Captain Koivu stepped up, and hammered home the tying goal. After some shattered glass and a scoreless overtime, it was once again Koivu that notched the lone shootout goal, giving the Wild a perfect 2-0 record at the Xcel this season.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. No surprises here. Koivu got the "C" on his sweater, and played even better than he has through earlier games. His hockey smarts were on display, and his shootout goal past Craig Anderson was a thing of beauty.
- Niklas Backstrom. During the second period, Backstrom needed to be stellar, and he was. The two goals that beat him were either fluky or impossible to stop, but he held his team in the game until Koivu could complete the comeback.
- Chuck Kobasew. The Wild's newest player showed some speed, some skill, and a determination to scrap for every inch of ice. Kobasew drew penalty after penalty because of his effort.

Game minuses:
- Even strength. The Wild are having tons of problems getting their offense going when they're skating even-strength with other teams. They need to find a way to fix this problem if they have a hope of turning the season around.
- Defensive zone. The Wild once again had problems clearing their own zone, and it was particularly awful during the second period. Both goals against Backstrom came from horrible clearing attempts.
- Martin Havlat. In his first game back from injury, Havlat showed some of the skills that made him such a desirable off-season acquisition. However, he's missing shots that he should be making, possibly due to putting too much pressure on himself. Havlat needs to score soon, and the pressure should ease up.

Next up: The Wild get on a plane again, and head off to St. Louis, to take on the Blues Friday night, before returning home for a Saturday game.

2009-10 Game Seven: Wild 1, Canucks 2

2009-10-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

After playing well and still getting beaten badly, nobody would have been surprised if the Wild completely collapsed, just hoping for a long trip back to St. Paul to tend to their wounds for a bit before their next game. That wasn't in the cards for Minnesota, as they played another tough game, this time against the Vancouver Canucks.

Part of the reason that the Wild didn't collapse completely is that the Canucks are in the middle of a slow start to their season, as well. It didn't help Vancouver that they had to play the game without one of the Sedin twins, and they had to face a Minnesota team scrapping for every inch they could get. When the Wild ended the first period with the lead, there was a hint of something positive happening to a team that desperately needs some good news. Unfortunately, the long road trip and too much time playing from behind took the wind out of Minnesota's sails, and the Canucks ended up overtaking an exhausted Wild team, sending them packing with a miserable 0-5 road record to start the season.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu's goal may not have been intended to be a shot, but it ended up in the back of the net either way. Koivu's intensity and fire have been bright spots for the Wild this season, and he needs to keep making the steps he has.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild wouldn't have even been in the game if it hadn't been for Backstrom. He survived almost 40 shots, and kept giving the Wild chances to get back moving forward.
- Benoit Pouliot. Pouliot may have finally found the fire that was missing in previous stints in the NHL. He continued playing in front of the net, and even helped clear some of the Canucks out of Backstrom's way.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. Sheppard, like Pouliot, tried clearing Canucks out of the crease. Sheppard, like Pouliot, took a penalty for it. Sheppard, unlike Pouliot, chose an awful time and a foolish penalty to take. The ensuing power play gave Vancouver the game winner.
- Power play. Maybe it was exhaustion from too much time losing, but the Wild power play just couldn't get things moving.
- Energy. The Wild just didn't have any, and it caused them to forget what they were doing. By the end of the game, the Wild just didn't have enough gas to put together a legitimate threat to tie the game.

Next up: Things may get better for the Wild as they return home, and, hopefully, see the returns of Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora. The Wild are also met in St. Paul by new acquisition Chuck Kobasew, as they prepare to wear their third jerseys for the first time Wednesday night in a game against the Colorado Avalanche.

2009-10 Game Six: Wild 2, Oilers 5

2009-10-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

On the first night of back-to-back games, the Minnesota Wild skated hard, fought for the puck, and, even though they were missing some of their top players, they ultimately outplayed the Edmonton Oilers in most areas of the ice. Unfortunately for the Wild, even a great effort can fall apart, as the Wild's mistakes almost invariably created scoring chances for the Oilers, and Edmonton made their chances count.

The Wild fought hard through the game, and looked like they might have been able to take their first road win of the season during portions of the game. By the time the third period started, however, Minnesota had obviously spent too much of their time on the road trailing their opponents, and they came out relatively flat-footed. It didn't help matters that the Wild power play continues to showcase stunning displays of ineptitude, interpersed with a few sparkling plays. The effort put forth by Minnesota should have landed the team a win, but, without finishers like Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora, the Wild just couldn't get the puck into the net.

Game pluses:
- Benoit Pouliot. When Havlat and Sykora went down, the Wild challenged a few players to step up. One who has done so is Pouliot, who is starting to show a physical side, as he gets to the front of the net.
- Andrew Brunette. The veteran continued his points streak, scoring at least once per game for the Wild since the first puck drop. That quiet leadership is needed for a team in danger of falling apart.
- Kyle Brodziak. The former Oiler put together an impressive game against his old team, fighting for the puck all game long and shaking it free from more than a few Oiler sticks.

Game minuses:
- Josh Harding. Harding has designs on being a starting goaltender in the league. His last two starts showed a goaltender who might have a place in the league, but that league might be the AHL. His delay of game penalty early in the game was completely inexcusable, as was the way he dropped the puck, practically handing Edmonton their third goal.
- Second chances. The Wild took a ton of shots. They just couldn't get there for the rebound most of the time. They need to get better in front of the opposing net if they want to make something of the perimeter shots they're being given.
- James Sheppard. While one of the players asked to step up did so, another stood in the same place, if not taking a step backward. Sheppard is showing why development in the AHL can be so important, as he still hasn't developed into the player he was expected to be.

Next up: The Wild traveled from Edmonton to Vancouver, hoping to finish the road trip on an up note against the Canucks.

2009-10 Game Five: Wild 2, Ducks 3

2009-10-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Wild is in deep trouble. And, to make matters worse, the trouble is largely the team's own doing. It's going to take a lot to get the ship righted, and, with so much of their talent sitting due to injury, the long first month could easily turn into a long season.

The Wild showed a distinct lack of hockey knowledge right away against Anaheim, giving up the puck during a line change, which allowed Corey Perry to net his first easy goal of the game. His second wasn't much more difficult, as again, as they have all season thus far, the Wild defense hung their goaltender out without help. Backstrom made some impressive saves to try to keep the Wild in the game, but there's only so much one player can do. That's why this is a team game, and the Wild haven't yet put together the pieces to really look like a team. With injuries to Cal Clutterbuck, Petr Sykora, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and now Martin Havlat, the Wild are down in skill, and desperately need to figure out some way to scrap and chip their way through games.

Plain and simple, with all of the injuries, if the Wild hopes to start reversing course, they need to stop trying to play pretty hockey. Instead of looking for the perfect pass to create a beautiful one-timer, the Wild just need to shoot the puck. When they've been able to apply offensive pressure, good things have happened. Unfortunately, too easily, they fall back on their heels, and fall into the type of play that was on showcase in previous seasons. Thanks to the way the front office ran during those previous seasons, there isn't a lot of help in Houston to be called up, either. The Wild are in trouble, and they need to find a way to fix it.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Letting Koivu loose on the forecheck can be a beautiful thing to watch. His physical play caused the puck to squirt free and into high-percentage zones more than a few times. Unfortunately, the Wild couldn't capitalize.
- Eric Belanger. Belanger's heads-up play at the end of the second period to steal the puck and complete the breakaway is an example of what could happen if the entire team starts playing with more determination.
- Andy Hilbert. The Wild call-up played with more determination and grit than his size should have allowed. If only the rest of the team could pick up on his fire.

Game minuses:
- Defense. Not only did the Wild defense leave Backstrom hanging for all three goals, but they also made dumbfounding plays to try to clear their own zone. Far too many giveaways kept the Wild pinned deep without momentum.
- Power plays. The power play should be a chance to gain momentum, and a chance to move the puck around with relative ease, looking for the clear shot. For the Wild over the last two games, the power play has been a knife in the heart. If things don't reverse course quickly, the Wild may want to see if the NHL would allow them to decline penalties against their opponents.
- Kim Johnsson. It may not seem fair to single out any of the defensemen after another bad defensive showing, but Kim Johnsson is carrying a big contract, and doesn't seem like he has any idea if he's ever seen a hockey game before, let alone play in one.

Next up: A few lucky breaks at home have kept the Wild from being winless, but they haven't put together a complete game on the road. Now they have to head into their own division for back-to-back games, as they travel to face the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.