Game Twelve: Wild 3, Avalanche 1

The Minnesota Wild still seem to have struggles playing a complete game, especially once they get a lead. However, thanks to stellar play by goaltender Niklas Backstrom, and Andrew Brunette's first goal against his former team, the Wild was able to skate away with a 3-1 win, improving their record to 8-3-1, holding onto a share of first place in the Northwest Division.

The Wild opened the scoring with two rebound goals, one by Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and one by Benoit Pouliot, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. But, after the listless Avalanche were given 3 consecutive power plays by Wild miscues, the dynamic of the game changed. While Andrew Brunette scored in the second period to put the Wild up 3-0, Darcy Tucker answered in the same period for Colorado. In the third period, the Wild seemed content to once again sit on their heels, throwing pucks into the far end, but not getting any real sustained pressure. Meanwhile, Tucker may have found himself bumping up the list of hated Avs players, after taking a run at Nick Schultz and attacking his knees. Meanwhile, Enemy #1 (according to many Wild fans), Ian Laperierre picked a combatant bigger than Marian Gaborik, fighting with the Wild's Craig Weller.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. We're starting to sound like a broken record, but the other key Wild player who could become a UFA after this season is largely responsible for the Wild's strong start. The team needs to give him some better support, after giving up 80+ shots the last two games.
- Physical play. Cal Clutterbuck was joined by Eric Reitz in throwing bodies around. Craig Weller proved an impressive presence, and tussled with Laperierre. Plus, the physical play lead to blocked shots, which was key for both teams.
- Marek Zidlicky. True, he dropped the puck to Ryan Smyth while on a penalty kill. He also notched two assists, and, if it hadn't been for impressive saves by Peter Budaj, those assists might have been goals instead.

Game minuses:
- Penalties. The Wild are one of the least-penalized teams in the league. And yet, they kept Colorado in the game by marching to the penalty box.
- Shots allowed. We mentioned this above with our praise of Backstrom, but the Wild have given up over 80 shots in the last two games. If Backstrom hadn't been as sharp, this game would have had a much different outcome. The Wild defense needs to step up, not even allowing the other teams to get the shot off.
- Finish. The Wild put together a little more than 30 minutes of solid hockey. Luckily for them, they were facing a slumping Colorado team missing it's strongest player in Joe Sakic. If they want to have a chance of finishing this road trip 3-1, they have to play a strong 60 minutes against Vancouver.

Next up: Saturday night against the 8-6-0 Vancouver Canucks. Then the Wild have a few days off before returning home to the Xcel Energy Center and the Phoenix Coyotes.