2009-10 Game Fifty-Three: Wild 5, Red Wings 2

The Minnesota Wild are definitely starting to enjoy their time at home, compiling an impressive record inside the Xcel Energy Center as of late. If they can find a way to keep that roll going while on the road, they could find themselves in playoff positioning. They certainly helped their cause, beating one of the teams ahead of them in the standings with a very sound victory.

Of course, the way that the Wild and the Red Wings started the game, the potential victor wasn't obvious. The teams put together a 5-goal first period, with the Wild taking the advantage 3-2 before entering the second, where neither team amassed much in the way of offense. In the third period, the Wild took control, scoring on each of their first two shots of the period, and then they staved off a Detroit team that got some late opportunities, and also took some liberties with some chippy, and potentially dirty, hockey.

Meanwhile, there must have been something about Detroit coming to town that helped the Wild make their minds up regarding Petr Sykora. Just before last week's game, the Wild placed Sykora on waivers, setting the stage for his eventual exit. Before last night's game, the Wild made the move to cut ties completely, assigning Sykora to Houston, knowing full well that he wasn't going to report, and now, pending approval from the NHL, Sykora and the Wild will part ways. He will become an unrestricted free agent, and the Wild will be free of his salary for the remainder of the season.

Game pluses:
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu may not have scored any goals himself, but he was a force in the offensive zone, feeding players and punishing the Red Wings with a strong forecheck.
- Antti Miettinen. Miettinen was the recipient of some great passes, and he delivered with two goals. He also had a few chances at completing the hat trick after the Wild took control.
- Josh Harding. Harding gave up two goals in the first period, but one was off of an incredible deflection.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. Sheppard looks completely out of sync with his linemates, and he almost negated a Wild power play by retaliating. Much like Benoit Pouliot earlier in the season, it is looking more and more like Sheppard needs new scenery to find out if he truly is the player that he was hyped as being.
- Brent Burns. The Wild defenseman is still getting his skating legs under him, but he also seems to be trying too hard to make plays when there's nothing there. Burns has always been a risk/reward type of player, but he needs to simplify his game right now.
- Size. A lot of NHL teams seem to have difficulty matching Detroit in the size department, but the Wild, with both Derek Boogaard and John Scott scratched, looked even smaller than usual. The Wild have never been short on grit, but if they make the playoffs, they might need to rely on size more. It was even more surprising to see the Wild heavyweights out of the line-up with some of the players skating for Detroit.

Next up: The Wild head to Colorado to begin a three-game road trip against the Avalanche.