2009-10 Game One: Wild 1, Blue Jackets 2

The wait finally ended Saturday night. While it may have only been a few months ago that the Pittsburgh Penguins lifted the Stanley Cup over their heads, the wait has been a long one for Wild fans. Gone was the brain trust that turned the Wild into a very successful expansion club, but then couldn't seem to get out of first gear to make them into a perennial Cup contender. Gone was the most electrifying player to wear a Wild jersey, provided that his fragile body could hold up to the rigors of a season. Gone was the only coach the Wild had ever known.

In their place, Wild fans were treated to a new front office, new coaching, and some new stars on the ice. A troubled pre-season kept the team from skating as a full unit until the tail end, but Saturday everything started anew. What would Wild fans see?

They would see that the team still has some growing pains to go through.

The Wild are a talented hockey club. They should be better this year than they were last year, and they should be much more competitive. But for that to happen, they need to learn and embrace the new system being put into place, and, when the brain starts shutting down, they need to just play hockey. Going up against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Wild showed flashes of just what type of hockey Minnesota fans can expect later in the season. Wild fans need to be patient, but the team itself needs to keep pushing. After all, tonight is the home opener, where the Wild have never lost.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild's star goaltender once again did exactly what the team expected of him. While the two goals he gave up weren't terrific goals by a long shot, Backstrom would have had to have been beyond superhuman to make the stops.
- Martin Havlat. Havlat showed some of what he can do with the puck, turning Columbus players inside out. Unfortunately, he was also part of the miscue that led to the first Columbus goal.
- Andrew Brunette. Brunette played a solid game, and was able to put his 600th point of his career into the net. He worked well with Havlat and Mikko Koivu, but how long will it be before Petr Sykora and he switch lines?

Game minuses:
- Stick problems. The Wild couldn't seem to keep sticks. Cal Clutterbuck especially found himself without a stick more than once, either because he lost his own, or because he had to give his away to the defense.
- Defense. What had been the typical strong point for the Wild in years past looked confused and a shambles against Columbus. How much is due to still learning the new system remains to be seen.
- Learning curve. As mentioned above, the defense didn't look confident. The offense also wasn't completely with it. Once the new system is learned, the Wild should be a much more high-powered team. However, as long as the transition continues, fans may see more confusing plays than dazzling ones.

Next up: The Wild pit their 7-0-1 record in home openers against the Anaheim Ducks, who are coming off of a 4-1 loss. The game also marks the first time this season for Mikko Koivu to skate against his big brother, Saku, who turned down the Wild this summer.