2009-10 Game Sixteen: Wild 3, Stars 2

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.