Game Eight: Wild 2, Stars 4

When the home team scores 13 seconds into the game, you know it's going to be a rough one for the visitors. That was how it went in Dallas, as the Minnesota Wild became the last team to lose in regulation, getting throttled by the Stars 4-2.

In all honesty, the Wild had no chance in the game. Maybe the early goal shook them too badly, but Minnesota had no puck possession, no control, and couldn't get the puck out of their own end far too often. Meanwhile, most of the time that the Stars had the puck, they were able to get quality shots on goal. Admittedly, some of the goals against Backstrom were the result of bad bounces, but, after such a strong start to the season, fans knew something had to give. Against the Stars, what gave was defense.

Not only did the Wild spend the game chasing, resulting in their first regulation loss of the season, but they gave up their first power play goal of the year, just as time was expiring on the penalty. Truth be told, it was one of the few pretty goals of the night, too, as Matt Niskanen floated a shot high over Josh Harding. Meanwhile, Tobias Stephan, the rookie goaltender for Dallas, wasn't ever really challenged, which was a shame for the Wild, as the kid was giving up rebounds left and right.

Game pluses:
- Power play. True, the goal scored by Andrew Brunette wasn't pretty, but the Wild were able to keep their power play running at a good clip. If only the team had been able to put together something even strength.
- Josh Harding. Coming into a game in relief is never easy for a goaltender. Josh Harding proved why he's got the potential to be a starter, as he was solid in relief. Who knows how the game would have ended if he'd been in net at the start.
- Physicality. Something that's been missing from a number of the Wild this season has been a willingness to take the body. Possibly because they were losing, the Wild finally started finishing their checks, showing a grit that's been missing for much of the first month.

Game minuses:
- Puck possession. The Wild couldn't get anything going. Certainly, it was partly due to the Stars smothering defense. It was also due to the fact that the Wild couldn't connect most passes, and seemed to be tossing the puck forward, hoping that a white sweater would catch up to it.
- Defense. Part of why Niklas Backstrom was pulled after the first period was that Dallas was able to line up too many scoring chances against a suddenly porous Minnesota defense. When Harding came in, the defense tightened up slightly, but still not enough to help turn the tide of the game.
- Fighting for the rebound. Stephans was giving up rebounds on hard shots, and on soft shots. The Wild seemed to never be in position to dig the puck out and attempt a follow-up shot. More than a few times, the puck trickled towards a Wild player, but they didn't seem to have an offensive push.

Next up: The Wild have to put the game against the Stars behind them. They had a flight from Dallas back to Minnesota to do so, as tonight they take on the 6-1-1 Montreal Canadiens. The similarities between the teams don't end with the identical records. Each time has a Koivu as captain; Mikko in Minnesota, and older brother Saku in Montreal.