2009-10 Game Forty-Seven: Wild 5, Canucks 2

What a tumultuous couple of days for both the Minnesota Wild and the Vancouver Canucks. Both teams found themselves embroiled in controversies that could seriously damage the reputation of the league, or at least Colin Campbell, who's regularly shown a glaring lack of consistency with regards to discipline. For Vancouver, there was the whole Alex Burrows/Stephane Auger issue, with Burrows accusing referee Auger of showing a definite bias, and costing Vancouver a game. The league responded by fining Burrows, but the fine was ridiculously small, especially for a professional athlete, so it lends some credence to the notion that maybe, just maybe, Burrows had a legitimate gripe. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild's Cal Clutterbuck was waiting to see what the NHL would do to Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar after Gonchar's illegal hit. This was a hit where Gonchar left his feet, specifically went for the head, and admitted to it being a payback hit, in a league that's supposedly trying to crack down on those exact types of plays. And yet, apparently Gonchar sitting in the penalty box was punishment enough for trying to take another player completely out of the game.

But none of that mattered Wednesday night, as the Wild and the Canucks squared off against each other. Minnesota jumped out to a fast start, scoring on their first two shots of the game, but then they faltered, allowing Vancouver to get back into the game. With the game tied at 2 entering the third period, Minnesota once again took control, and completed an improbable sweep over the Canucks. To add insult to injury, Vancouver tried to get something going on their end after the Wild had jumped out to a 5-2 lead, and they did it by starting fights. The problem? Nobody on Vancouver really matches up with the Wild heavyweights, and Minnesota won those battles handily, as well.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. During a spotty second period for the Wild defense, Backstrom stood tall, holding the Wild in the game. He set a new mark for wins by a Wild goaltender by defeating the Canucks.
- Antti Miettinen. A game ago, it looked like Miettinen might need to find new linemates. Apparently, he felt the pressure, because he turned around and put two pucks in the net, including the game winner, and a late insurance marker.
- Owen Nolan. The grizzled veteran scored on a weird shot, but, more importantly, he had very good puck awareness, throwing his stick and body in the way of Vancouver shots, in one of his more impressive defensive showings.

Game minuses:
- Eric Belanger. Belanger didn't look like he had any speed in his skates against Vancouver, with the exception of one rush. To make matters worse, especially during the poor second period, Belanger didn't use much physical play, either, instead skating around without much energy.
- Robbie Earl. The kid has a lot of energy, so, in many ways, he played the exact opposite of Eric Belanger. The trouble with Earl right now is that he seems like he's trying to think too much on the ice, instead of just doing. He needs to start using his shot more, to be more than just a speedy skater on the ice.
- Fights. Yes, the Wild won all three fights pretty handily. But the reason that this ends up as a minus is this simple question, "Why was Vancouver fighting in the first place?". They didn't match up well, especially against Derek Boogaard and John Scott, and they ultimately paid the price. If Boogaard's assertion that the Canucks were "ordered" to fight by their coach is true, then it casts even more of a pall on the situation.

Next up: The Wild pulled themselves within two points of a playoff position with an improbable four-game winning streak, throttling some of the best teams in the league by a 19-11 score during that time. Can they keep their foot on the gas when they take on the St. Louis Blues, or will they suffer from a letdown that many feel has been coming since the come-from-behind victory over Chicago?