Game Seven: Wild 3, Blackhawks 2

Two key players for the Minnesota Wild are in their final contract years. One has been fighting off an injury as his team has improved to 6-0-1, becoming the last team without a regulation loss. The other has been instrumental in bringing the team to that mark. If this keeps going, people will definitely start asking, "Marian Who?", while clamoring for Niklas Backstrom to get a good contract.

Keep in mind, though, that the Wild are a team with two starting goaltenders. Backstrom's hot right now, as he proved once again against a young, energetic, and talented Chicago Blackhawks team last night, but Josh Harding also has the skills to be the number one guy between the pipes. As for the Gaborik situation, well, as long as Mikko Koivu keeps doing what he's doing, the Wild may have already replaced their superstar.

One game after we called out Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette here on this site, they stepped up, along with NHL assist-leader Koivu, and put together 7 points amongst the three of them. Both Brunette and Miettinen scored goals, and Koivu was dishing the puck everywhere, including on the power play goal of Brent Burns. This all came after the Wild fell down 1-0 relatively early in the first period, and had to scramble back.

The second period is where the Wild has dominated opponents this year, and, on the scoreboard, they were able to do it again. A few too many times, they got trapped back in their own end, watching Chicago cycle the puck and fire shot after shot at the net. But that's where you're glad to have a netminder like Backstrom, who stood strong. When the third period came, in a welcome change, the Wild continued throwing pressure at Chicago's Christobel Huet, instead of their recent scheme of playing defense and nothing else. True, Chicago scored to bring the game to within 1, but, by continuing to spend time in the attack zone, the Wild kept pressuring for another tally, which forced Chicago to play in both ends.

Game plusses:
-Niklas Backstrom. One of three goalies in the league to play every minute for his team thus far, Backstrom shined the brightest against the 'Hawks, shutting them down in spite of their heavy shot total.
- AMA. Again, we called them out after the Columbus game. They might be reading us, because Miettinen, Koivu, and Brunette put together one of their strongest games. Every time their line was on the ice, the Wild had chances.
- Penalty kill. Killing off over a minute of 5-on-3 hockey is no small feat. Another thing that's no small feat? Not giving up a power play goal of any kind through the first seven games.

Game minuses:
- Shots. The Wild were heavily out-shot, by about 2-1. While Minnesota got better quality from their shots, they need to help keep the pressure off of the goaltenders. While Backstrom's riding a hot streak, he probably would like to work a little less hard during the game.
- The kids. Again, Pouliot and Gillies seem to have a lot of skills that they need to work on. This could very well be Pouliot's last chance to make the NHL roster, and he hasn't shown what he needs to show. Gillies is a question from game to game. James Sheppard also seemed a lot out of place, which was odd given how many of the Blackhawks are just as young.
- Injuries. Owen Nolan left the ice at one point. So did Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen. While we don't know if any of the injuries are serious, having them all in the line-up for Wednesday will only help.

Next up: Wednesday against the 3-4-2 Dallas Stars. The Wild have allowed the fewest goals in the league, while the Stars have allowed the most. By the same token, the Wild haven't always performed well against the team that used to call Minnesota home.