Fly On The Wall: 2008

Wild Win 3-2 OT

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wild Win 3-2 OT
Scream and shout it at the top of your lungs because it's actually true, and it was against a San Jose team, a team who the Wild haven't been able to get in win against in their last nine meetings. Brent Burns gets the game winner in overtime after Milan Michalek scores late in the third period to tie the game.
Isn't it nice to say that the Wild never trailed in this game, they actually scored the first goal of the game, and it was in the first period to top it off. Burns finishes the game with a three point night, as Koivu notches another two assists, as Owen Nolan and Krys Kolanos scores the first two goals of the night for the Wild.

Thoughts and musings:
• Even when he's not 100 percent Owen Nolan was able to contribute, scoring the first goal of the night, and you see exactly why the Wild have missed him so much this year.
• Just like last year's New Year's Eve game, the Wild allow a late goal to the Sharks, at least this year it was only the game tying goal, and not the winner.
• The Wild actually converted on the powerplay, twice, after going something like 3 for 35.
• I know that Boogaard's going to be scoring soon, I can just feel it. He's been so close the last couple of games, it's only a matter of time.
• And just like that the optimism comes back with a win against the Sharks, the number one team in the west. Now let's see how the Wild fair against the number two team on Saturday.

UP NEXT: Saturday vs. Detroit Red Wings

Sharks vs. Wild

If you guys haven't read Mike Russo's article in the Star Tribune yet, you should, it's a good read and he totally hit it in the nose.
Kim Johnsson will be back tonight against the Sharks after missing the Flames game for personal reasons. Also, a surprise to see that Owen Nolan will be playing tonight. Apparently, he ASKED to play tonight against the Sharks, and that just ups my respect for him, because you know he's still not 100 percent.
What's not a surprise is that Gaborik won't be playing tonight and will be missing his third game since his "return". Oh well, I'm so tired of him and his endless groin injuries I'm just hoping that this is management holding him out because they got a trade somewhere in the near future...like today.

Wild Lose 2-1 to Flames

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Wild came into the Saddledome with only 3 wins in 22 game at the Saddledome, and they leave there with another loss added to that marker.
The Wild had a strong start to the game with 7 shots in the first six minutes but eventually died off that period with only 1 shot in the next 14 minutes. Of course some trends continued, as the Star Tribune wrote in an article today, as the Wild have been consistent in one department, and that is allowing the first goal of the game...and not scoring in the first period. Stephane Veilleux scored a huge goal with 14.5 left in the second to tie the game at one, and the Wild started the third with a powerplay, but weren't able to capitalize. Like I said in a game earlier this season against the Coyotes, you know you're powerplay isn't clicking when the opponents scores shorthanded, and that goal eventually became the winner. And in another game that the Wild were able to keep Jarome Iginla off of the score sheet, which is a huge accomplishment given his record and points total against the Wild, the Wild end up with another game in the loss column.

Some random musings and thoughts:
• In 7 games against their division, the Wild have only been able to attain 3 points with a record of 1-5-1.
• Not many good passes coming from behind the blueline.
• Not that great of game coming from Burns tonight, and the same for Pouliot (looks like he'll still be in the doghouse after this game).
• Maybe the Wild should start aiming a couple of feet wide of the net, maybe then the pucks'll start hitting the net.
• The Wild need to start driving to the net, and start parking their asses in front of the goalie, it's not all dump and chase.

Up Next: The Wild spends another New Year's Eve night with the San Jose Sharks at the X, game time: 5:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week

Monday, Dec 21
New York Islanders vs. New Rangers, 6:00pm CT

Tuesday, Dec 30
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:30pm CT

Wednesday, Dec 31
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames, 9:00pm CT

Thursday, Dec 1
Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 12:00pm CT, NBC
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins, 6:00pm CT

And the skid continues...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

After coming off of a four game road trip the Wild come home to lose to the Calgary Flames in overtime after Todd Bertuzzi, of all people, scores at the 3:58 mark. This brings the Wild's franchise losing streak to six, but at least this one was in OT, so the Wild got a point. I hate to say it, but having Gaborik in the lineup did make a difference. If it wasn't for Gaborik, the game would have ended 2-1 Calgary, instead, he ties the game up, and it ends in overtime. The X last night was probably the loudest when Gaborik scored the tying goal. Surprising that there was a lot more cheers then boos or silence for Gaborik, but hey, you never know what to expect from fans. Too bad for the Wild that they keep Jarome Iginla off the score sheet, but couldn't stick some pucks in behind Mikka Kippursoff, who, along with the post, made some timely saves against the Wild throughout the game. At least the Wild made it interesting and were still in the game, makes me optimistic that next game they'll get it done, especially since it'll be against a team that they should win against, but you never know when it comes to the Wild.

Things I'm thinking about: How many loses have the Wild had against teams that are coming off of back-to-back games? How many times did Mikko Koivu get thrown out of the faceoff circle? How many games does Gaborik play until he's shipped off to another team? Why can't the Wild get anything past the POST?

UP NEXT: Friday vs. New York Islanders, 7:00pm CT

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Dec 14-20

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Honestly, I'd really rather not recap last week, a week where the Wild have been winless, and basically goal-less in their games. On a four game road trip, where you would have expected the Wild to at least go .500, the Wild have lost their first three games against the Predators last Saturday, and the Coyotes and Kings this week. The Wild's search for goals continues, as in the last four games they have scored a whopping 3 goals. No stud for the the team last week, just a lot of duds.

The Wild will have 4 games this week, the first of which will be tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, where they will be finishing the backend of their back-to-back games and their 4-game road trip. The Wild will then return home for their first game against division rival Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, with the probablity that Marian Gaborik might actually be sighted in game. They will then have back-to-back games against the New York Islanders at home on Friday, then head out to St. Louis for a game against the Blues on Saturday.

Sunday – @ Anaheim Ducks, 7:00pm CT
Wednesday – vs. Calgary Flames, 7:00pm CT
Friday – vs. New York Islanders, 7:00pm CT
Saturday – @ St. Louis Blues, 7:30pm CT

Games to Watch this Week:
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6:00pm CT

Thursday, December 18, 2008
San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:30pm CT

Saturday, December 20, 2008
New York Rangers vs. San Jose Sharks, 9:30pm CT

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Dec 7 – 13

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Wild went 1-3-0 this past week losing to Colorado, Vancouver and being shutout in Nashville. The Wild are 5-5-0 in their last ten home games, and are 8-6-1 overall at home; and after losing to both Colorado and Vancouver, they now have a record of 1-4-0 when facing division opponents (just wanted to throw those numbers out there for you to ponder). The stud from last week is Mikko Koivu who in the four games last week had 2 goals and 3 assists (in his last 10 games he has 7 goals and 6 assists) and he had a 7 game point streak stopped when the Wild were shutout against the Predators on Saturday.

After having four games the last two weeks the Wild will have only two games this week after four days off since their last game on Saturday in Nashville. The Wild are in the middle of a four game road trip as this week they will visit the Phoenix Coyotes for their third of four meetings against the Coyotes. They will then head toward Los Angeles to visit the Kings for their first game against the them this season in an afternoon matinée.

Thursday - @ Phoenix Coyotes, 8:00pm CT
Saturday - @ Los Angeles Kings, 3:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week:
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, 6:00pm CT
Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:30pm CT

Thursday, December 11, 2008
Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks, 9:30pm CT

Saturday, December 13, 2008
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 12:00pm CT

Wild lose 1-0

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Kind of a let down after last Saturday in the rematch against the Predators, on so many aspects. Unlike last Saturday where it was a fast pace, physical game, this game had no flow to it. You know, I never fall asleep during a hockey game, but this may have been the first time in a while that I've wanted to fall asleep, and wasn't able to. This is the third time that the Wild have been shutout, and now the concerns of where the offense is going to come from if the pp isn't scoring starts popping up again. What I'm concerned about is the Wild's consistency; the Wild have been doing well on the road, but are just around .500 at home, as evidence of the previous homestand.

Wild 4-0 win over Blues

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

After Monday night's debacle of a game against Colorado, the Wild rebound nicely in a great solid effort against the Blues. The Wild scored 4 goals, held the opposition to none, and two of those four goals were power play goals, so it was obviously a better game than Monday's. Eric Belanger provided the game winner with his 100th career NHL goal, his 7th of the season, and Andrew Brunette scored on the powerplay for his 200th career NHL goal, his 9th on the season tying him for the team lead with Mikko Koivu. Also scoring on the powerplay was Zidlicky for his 4th of the season, all of which have come on the powerplay, and Antti Miettinen got his first goal in 16 games when he was tripped going in on a breakaway with the empty net. The Wild had a full 60 minute effort, and I applaud them for that, but let's get back to reality...this is the St. Louis Blues that the Wild beat not the Detroit Red Wings or San Jose Sharks, so I'm not going to be too overly thrilled about this game. I guess I'm a glass half empty kind of gal today.

Up Next: Friday vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00pm CT

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Nov 30 – Dec 6

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Wild went 3-1-0 this week with wins against the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Nashville Predators, and a disappointing loss against Dallas Stars. After scoring 6 goals the previous four games, last week the Wild scored 17 goals in four games, nearly tripling the previous four game total. Unlike the week before, Mikko Koivu wasn't trying to hull the entire offense on his back, with the Wild getting offensive contribution from every line.The stud from last week is Mikko Koivu, who had 3 goals and 3 assists last week, and could have had more (hemm...Dallas).

The Wild will have the same schedule that they had last week, but with different opponents this week, as they have 4 games, the first three at home, then finishing the back-to-back on the road. The Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks will be in the building for a 3-game homestand for the Wild, as they will then travel to Nashville after the Friday game against the Canucks to finish the week in the place that they finished it off last week. With a four-game road trip starting on Saturday and going into next week, it's essential this week that the Wild get points and wins at home, especially since two of the four games this week are against divisional opponents. Johnsson with the C for December.

Monday – vs. Colorado Avalanche, 7:00pm CT
Wednesday – vs. St. Louis Blues, 7:00pm CT
Friday – vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00pm CT
Saturday – @ Nashville Predators, 7:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week:
Monday, December 1, 2008
Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:00pm CT

Thursday, December 4, 2008
New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:00pm CT
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6:00pm CT

Saturday, December 6, 2008
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:00pm CT

Washington, 3 vs. Minnesota, 4

Monday, November 24, 2008

It's a win, but it should've been a shutout for our Backstrom, but with the Caps scoring 3 goals with over 6 minutes left in the game, it ends up 4-3 Wild. I missed Clutterbuck's first goal, because my sister wanted something to eat, but there was a very loud ovation for him getting his first goal, and after his second goal there was even a louder ovation for him for after scoring on the powerplay. A very deserved first star of the game for Cal Clutterbuck. Zidlicky scored on a five-on-three powerplay, when Washington took back to back hand-closing-on-the-puck penalties, and James Sheppard gets his first goal of the season on a great pass from Pierre-Marc Bouchard. It's great for Clutterbuck and Sheppard to get on the score sheet, and let's hope that this will give them confidence to score more. Believe it or not, the Wild kept Ovechkin and Nickolas Backstrom in check for most of the game, give or take the last five minutes. The Wild had a good overall game, but it's like what I said at the beginning of the season, they can't allow their opponents to believe that they're still in the game, and after score four goals, and taking the lead 4-0, Washington scores three unanswered goals to make this game closer than what it should've been. Maybe the Wild should bring a player's family member to a game every night, seeing as Zidlicky scored his first goal of the season when he had his wife and kid at a game a week ago, and Sheppard had his dad in the house tonight when he scored his first goal of the season; it's a trend I'm telling you.

UP NEXT: Wednesday vs. Dallas Stars, 7:00pm CT

Gameday vs. Washington

Washington will be without the service of Alex Semin, Mike Green, and Sergei Federov, which is kind of too bad for the fans, but great for the Wild. It'll be the first time in his career that Ovechkin's visited the Wild, and he'll be looking for his first goal against the Wild. Jose Theodore'll be in net for the Caps, and it will be his first time against the Wild since almost single-handly dismantling the Wild in the first round of the playoffs last season. And of course, it'll be Backstrom against Backstrom, and let's hope our Backstrom wins all the battles.

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Nov 23-29

The Wild went 1-2-0 this week with a shootout win on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins and dropping back to back games at home against the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues, their first back to back regulation losses since last November. Obviously the concern with the Wild is the lack of offense, even strength or otherwise. Last week, the Wild were hot on the powerplay and now, it's nonexistent, as is any type of offense. Let's hope that Jacques Lemaire can get some of the key guys who NEED to score in gear because they'll be needing all the offense they can get this week. The stud from last week has got to be Nik Backstrom, who has been solid this entire season, and has really kept the Wild in games.

The Wild will have 4 games this week, finishing their five game homestand with games against the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning, and then finishing off the week in Nashville to face the Predators. I'm really excited for this week. You see, at the end of last season, I promised all my siblings, all 5 of them, that I'd take them all to see a hockey game this season, and so on Monday, when the Wild face the Capitals, I'm taking my little sister to her first hockey game. How exciting is that, that the first hockey game you're going to you're going be able to watch Alex Ovechkin and the other Backstrom. Then on Friday, I'm taking my two youngest brothers to the matinée against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they don't have a bad lineup either with Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Steven Stamkos.

Just a note to all you Wild fans that will be at the X for Wes Walz day on Friday that the Hmong New Year will be next door at the RiverCentre that weekend, so traffic and parking downtown is going to be hectic, and hey, if you have some free time before or after the game, I encourage everyone to go check out the festivities at the RiverCentre (don't just stand up there and stare, it makes us feel weird).

Monday – vs. Washington Capitals, 7:00pm CT
Wednesday – vs. Dallas Stars, 7:00pm CT
Friday – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 1:00pm CT
Saturday – @ Nashville Predators, 7:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week:
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:30pm CT
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, 7:00pm CT

Thursday, November 27, 2008
Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks, 9:00pm CT

Saturday, November 29, 2008
Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames, 9:00pm CT

Vancouver, 3 vs. Wild, 2

Friday, November 21, 2008

Disappointing loss last night, there's nothing else you can really say, especially when it's against a division rival and they got two points and we got nothing, and they were finishing back to back road games, ugh...we should've had this one. Mikko Koivu literally placed the team on his back last night when it came down to offense, ripping a slapper past Sanford to take a 1-0 lead, and the getting a shorthanded goal to take a 2-1 lead. What I, and a lot of fans, are concern about is the lack of goals. I understand that we're going to get a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 games, but to be able to get those scores so that they're favorable to the Wild, they have to be able to hold on to the lead, unlike last night. The other thing is getting shots to the net, where the puck won't miss the mark. Pavol Demitra came to bite us in the butt, with a goal and the assist on the game winner in his first game againt the Wild.

UP NEXT: SATURDAY VS. ST. LOUIS, 7:00PM CT

Gameday vs. Penguins, 2-1 SO Win

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Nolan Schaefer recalled after Josh Harding has a "lower body" strain. Mojzis was placed on waivers to make room for Schaefer. No Marc-Andre Fleury for the Pens, so Dany Sabourin will be in net, and Pascal Dupuis will play against the Wild for the first time since being traded for Adam Hall two seasons ago.

Happy birthday to Cal Clutterbuck, and happy belated-birthday to Stephane Veilleux!

More notes after the game.

Offense vs. Defense, and defense prevails! Who says 2-1 games aren't interesting? All the Wild blueliners had stellar games containing both Malkin and Crosby and keeping them from getting good chances at Nik Backstrom. And what can I say about Backstrom? Just another great game from him, and you expect nothing less. I guess that training he did during the off season for shootouts is really paying dividens. Another game winner for Zidlicky, as he scores in the shootout; that's the last three games now that Zidlicky has gotten the game winner. Mikko Koivu scored the only goal for the Wild off of a draw, which really should be credited to the Pens center, and Matt Cooke, the long-time thorn in the Wild's back side, scored tens seconds later to tie the game up in the first period. The Wild ended Pittsburgh's six game wining streak, and five game winning streak at home, and kept Malkin off the score sheet to end his 13-game point streak.

Well, that was a long road trip :)

UP NEXT: Thursday vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00pm CT

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Nov 16-22

Monday, November 17, 2008

After almost two weeks without blogging, I'm back.

The Wild went 2-0-0 last week, winning both their games at home against the Coyotes and the Blue Jackets. They dominated against the Coyotes with four powerplay goals and got a lackadaisical 3-2 shootout win over the Blue Jackets. The stud for the week has to be Marek Zidlicky, who at the beginning of the season was injured, had 2 powerplay goals and 2 assists, scored the shootout deciding goal against Columbus, and played very well defensively. Now fans who didn't know who Zidlicky is know him now and why the Wild traded for him. The best thing that came out of last week would be the return of Brent Burns and Owen Nolan to the lineup. The Wild will have three games this week, starting off in Pittsburgh facing the Penguins on Tuesday, and then returning back home for games against the hated Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues.

Tuesday – @ Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:00pm CT
Thursday – vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00pm CT
Saturday – vs. St. Louis Blues, 7:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week:
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Phoenix Coyotes, 8:30pm CT

Thursday, November 20, 2008
Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators, 6:30pm CT
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, 7:00pm CT

Saturday, November 22, 2008
Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars, 7:00pm CT

I hope no one's forgotten that NHL All-Star voting began on Thursday, so don't forget to vote for Koivu, Burns, Backstrom, and even Gaborik.

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead: Nov 2-8

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Wild went 2-2-0 last week losing for the first time in regulation against the Dallas Stars last Wednesday 4-2. They started with out the week with a win at home against the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2, followed that game with the lost in Dallas, and in back to back games, lost to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. The Wild rebounded after their first two losses in regulation with a hard fought 3-2 win in Phoenix. With the injury bug continuing to hit the Wild with Marian Gaborik still out, and Owen Nolan out before the Montreal game with a “lower body” injury, Burns being scratched just before the Coyotes game, and Mojzis, who was replacing him, injured after his second shift that game, the Wild look to continue winning without key players and getting production from everyone in the lineup. (Nolan on IR; Krys Kolanos recalled.)

This week no doubt will be a difficult week with the Sharks, who have not been beaten at home, and two divisional opponents in Colorado and Vancouver.

Coming Up This Week...
Tuesday at San Jose Sharks, 9:30pm CT
Thursday at Colorado Avalanche, 8:00pm CT
Saturday at Vancouver Canucks, 9:00pm CT

Key matchup this week: at Colorado, the first divisional opponent this season and the first game against the team that ousted the Wild in last season's playoffs.

Games To Watch This Week:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers, 6:00pm CT
Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings, 9:30pm CT

Thursday, November 6, 2008
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals, 6:00pm CT
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators, 6:30pm CT

Friday, November 7, 2008
Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks, 9:00pm CT

Saturday, November 8, 2008
Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 6:00pm CT

Wild Win 3-2; Burns Injured in Warmups

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Wild beat the Coyotes 3-2 having a good start to the road trip, but the big story coming out of this game are the injuries. The Wild report that Burns left after warmups with a "upper body" injury, and Mojzis came in for Burns, and then he later left after the first with an injury after taking a slap shot, according to Lemaire. Nothing you can really say about the play of the team when you only hear the game, since this game was not televised by either teams (what kind of bs is that?). Well, at least it was a win, and it snapped that two game losing streak.

Up Next: Tuesday @ San Jose Sharks, 9:30pm CT

Notes:

Very interesting game in Boston tonight with Dallas in town, check out the box score
When you're struggling on the powerplay, you're struggling on the powerplay. The Wild went 0-2 on the powerplay tonight, and allowed a shorthanded goal, their first of the season.
How long can the Wild keep playing with this many significant injuries coming every other game?

"Canada may have won this one, but it's still the US's hat"

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The only time that I cracked a smile after the first period was when I heard that line from Falness coming home from a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. There were a good number of Habs fan in the house tonight, where usually you would only see a handful of opposing jersey in the stands, there were a handful of opposing jerseys to my right. I guess that's what kind of fan base you have when you've been around for 100 years.

Special Teams
It was Pouliot's holding penalty that Markov scores the go ahead goal, but it was ultimately the suspect slashing call on Mikko that allowed the 5-on-3 opportunity and the Habs opportunity to score the goal. Where was the powerplay in the second? With four 5-on-4 chances and three 5-on-3 chances in the second, the Wild weren't able to get any offense created. Now I understand that you want to pass the puck and get the perfect pass back to create more chance and wider shooting lanes, but what ever happened to sticking a body at the front of the net and throwing the puck at the net? If the Habs are going to march into the penalty box and leave their team shorthanded, why not take advantage of it?

Bench confusion?
I'm sitting in my seat, watching the second period of the game and I see that it's 4-on-4; well, why would this be a big deal? Because the Wild were on a powerplay. I never really notice how many players are on the ice when I'm at the game, or watching on TV (because you can't see the entire ice sheet), but after the third time of it being 4-on-4 when it should have been 5-on-4, I started to notice it more. Does this occur a lot in games, or is it just me?

Notes...
~ Funny, they do the "Let's Play Hockey" after they dropped the puck...refs must've been really anxious tonight.
~ I was hoping to go the whole season without seeing Nordy at the arena, but as I look to my right during the second intermission there he was on FSN ledge.
~ Owen Nolan was a scratched for tonight's game with a "lower body" injury...oh, and this new injury policy is getting on my nerves.
~I'll post more thoughts on the game after I digest the lost more.

Up Next: Saturday @ Phoenix, 9:00pm CT

Gameday vs. Chicago

Monday, October 27, 2008

Game day for the Wild as they prepare for the Chicago Blackhawks at the Xcel. Let's hope that the Wild have learned from their mistakes the last two games about letting a team get back into the game and put this game out of reach. No real news out of the club today;Onto the Blackhawks...

The Blackhawks were hyped throughout the offseason as being one of the teams to watch because of the developing talents in Toews, Kane, and Byfuglien among many others, but with a rough start to the season, the Blackhawks fired tenure coach Denis Savard and replaced him with former Avalanche head coach Joel Quenneville. The Blackhawks look to notch another one in the win column as they head into St. Paul after a tough loss in Detroit on Saturday. The main story developing out of Chicago, that's been around since the acquisition of Cristobel Huet via free agency, is the goaltending situation between him and Nikolai Khabibulin. With players like Toews and Kane, along with Patrick Sharp and a healthy Martin Havlat, the Wild will be challenged tonight.

Tonight's Games
Ottawa Senators vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6:00pm CT
New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders, 6:00pm CT
Anaheim Ducks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 6:00pm CT
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild, 7:00pm CT
Boston Bruins vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8:00pm CT
Detroit Red Wings vs. Los Angeles Kings, 9:30pm CT

A Look at the Week that's Past and Ahead

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Wild went 1-0-1 last week, losing for the first time against the Sabres in overtime after blowing a two goal lead and barely squeaked out a 2-1 win from the Blue Jackets last night. While there were only two games last week, this week has a fuller schedule with 4 games with Chicago and Montreal visiting the Xcel and the Wild visiting Dallas and Phoenix. The real test this week will be the back to back game in Dallas and back home against the Habs.

Monday - vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00pm CT
Wednesday - @ Dallas Stars, 7:30pm CT
Thursday - vs. Montreal Canadiens, 7:00pm CT
Saturday - @ Phoenix Coyotes, 9:00pm CT

Notes about next week:

Monday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks will be the Wild's first nationally televised game
Captains Koivu on Thursday when the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild face each other, opening faceoff likely will be Koivu vs. Koivu like it was at the preseason game against the Habs

News and Notes from the Week that's Past

The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings introduced the retro jerseys they'll be wearing during the Winter Classic, and they're UGLY
A bad start for goalies this season as Blues goaltender Manny Legace trips on the blue carpet rolled out for GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin, and if you're looking at the stats Turco is dead last in GAA with 4.26 GAA, Luongo is ranked 31 with a 3.29 GAA, and Osgood's 28 with 3.20 GAA, not too good for fantasy owner, huh?
Injuries of note: former Wild Pavol Demitra will be out 3-4 four weeks, the Flyers' Daniel Briere will be out for up to a month, and the Devils will lose Bobby Holik for 3-4 weeks after losing Brian Rolston the week before
Debates on hits to the head will continue after Doug Weight's clean hit against rookie Brandon Sutter who left the game injured
My favorite headline from last week "Swedish hockey game delayed by sex-toy shower"
Biggest hit of the week has got to be Milan Lucic's panel shattering hit

Games to Watch for this Week
Monday, October 27, 2008
Ottawa Senators vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6:00pm CT

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars, 7:30pm CT

Thursday, October 30, 2008
Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

The Palin Curse Continues

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Just as Sarah Palin dropped the puck at the Scottrade Center on Friday night, the Palin curse lifted from the Philadelphia Flyers as they win 6-3 over the Devils, and transferred to the St. Louis Blues. Not only did they lay an egg and lost to the Kings 4-0, but they also lose goalie Manny Legace as he left the first period of the game after he slipped on the blue carpet during the pregame festivities to introduce the vice presidential nominee. We'll see tonight if the Palin curse continues when the Blues face the Panthers at home.

Speaking of tonight...it is "Super Saturday" as declared by the NHL because for the first time since opening day coming out of the lockout all 30 teams will be in action. Too bad there will be 15 games on tonight, but no games on Sunday. What's a hockey fanatic suppose to do on Sunday? Well, it'll be "Super Sunday" for me (don't you just love TiVo), as this hockey fan is pulling a double shift at work today, so no hockey for me on Saturday but lots of hockey for me on Sunday. And I say to all, as I try to get some sleep, please don't spoil any of the games for me, as this fan learned the hard way by checking on Facebook.

4-3 OT Loss

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Both Buffalo and Minnesota are still undefeated in regulation as the Wild give up a 3-1 lead going into the third and give up 3 goals in a span of 4 minutes. Jacques should permanently ban the use of the word "cushion" as one of the commentators use that word after Burns scores on that flukey goal, which really should be credited to Miller. I'm a little POed by the loss, seeing as they had a 2 goal lead going into the third, and at home usually that would signal a win, especially when Backs is in net (Backstrom is 34-0-2 when taking a lead into the third, now 34-0-3).

Who would of thought that Derek Boogaard would get a point in the game,and Koivu, Miettinen, and Brunette would be held pointless for the second consecutive game? At this rate Boogaard is set to score 15 points this season :) and it's only a matter of time before he gets that elusive first goal of the season. The top line did generate some good chances and played well defensively, but were just not able to put it in the net. Cal Clutterbuck played well, and did not look out of place on the ice. He lead both teams with 7 hits and had a couple of good scoring chances. Zidlicky was pretty good in his Wild debut, not registering a point but he had help set up the play on Veilleux's first goal of the season. The Wild were able to contain the Sabres on the powerplay, only giving up two powerplay chances to the Sabres, too bad they weren't able to contain Thomas Vanek who got the game tying goal or Derek Roy who scored 44 seconds into OT.

Don't think Jacques going to be too thrilled with the guys coasting the last five minutes of the game, though we'll see what happens in practice tomorrow. Well, we're at least we're done with Buffalo for the season, now onto the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Oh...funny line from the game recap from NHL.com on Pouliot's goal: "Ryan Miller saved Pouliot's initial shot and robbed Derek Boogaard in front." Funny because who would think that Miller would need to rob Boogie on anything.

Gameday vs. Buffalo, Tonights Games

Finally, after 4 days of being off and 12 days since their last home game the Minnesota Wild will play tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. Only new news coming today is that Owen Nolan is skating with the team and most likely will play on Saturday against the Blue Jackets. Like I wrote yesterday, Zidlicky will be making his Wild debut tonight and Bouchard will be in. Tonight's game won't be easy, seeing as the Sabres have been hot as of late, but if our guys can keep out of the box and get some early offense, they'll have a good night.

Tonight's Games
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins, 6:00pm CT
Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders, 6:00pm CT
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:30pm CT
Calgary Flames vs. Nashville Predators, 7:00pm CT
Buffalo Sabres vs. Minnesota Wild, 7:00pm CT
Edmonton Oilers vs. Colorado Avalanche, 8:30pm CT
Washington Capitals vs. Phoenix Coyotes, 9:00pm CT

"Character Assassination"

There were articles today in the Pio and Strib about Gaby and the claim from his agent that he's the victim of "character assassination". Basically both articles have Salcer refuting the contract numbers that have been thrown out there, and because those numbers are out there and Gaby is reportingly refusing those offers, it makes him look like the bad guy. Well, by this time, fans have already made up their mind about Gaby and his situation. Because of the numbers that have been thrown out there more people have been swayed to go the trade him route, but whether or not those numbers are right, the fact is that Gaby is still not signed at this point and he's being shopped around. I still stand by my opinion that Gaby's not worth over 9 mil, but if they can sign him long term around the 8-8.5 million, I'd take it, but with each passing day it looks like that possibility is moving further and further away.

Sarah Palin...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sarah Palin will again drop the first puck, this time at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Friday. Gosh, I thought that the NHL learned its lesson about mixing politics and hockey when Palin dropped the puck in Philadelphia with the type of recption she got. What I don't get is why St. Louis of all places? I understand Philadelphia, more like I pretend to, where she dropped the first puck because she has a working relationship with the Flyers owners, but what's her connection with the Blues? Look I know that having Palin involved in hockey is PR for the league and her, the self proclaimed "hockey mom", but hockey is hockey, and politics is politics, where's the common ground? I got nothing against Palin, but having her dropping the puck at games kind of makes the NHL look like a joke. You don't see McCain throwing the first pitch at the World Series, or Barak Obama singing God Bless America at a Bears game, or Joe Biden doing whatever they do at a NBA game, so why does the NHL need Sarah Palin anywhere near the game?

Tonight's Games: Results

Florida Panthers, 3 vs. Ottawa Senators, 1
With Rostislav Olesz and Nathan Horton scoring 48 seconds apart early in the first period, the Panthers were able to defeat the Senators 3-1 giving the Senators their second loss in a row. Daniel Alfredsson score a powerplay goal to make the game 2-1, but Cory Stillman scored midway through the second period to keep the two goal lead.

Dallas Stars, 0 vs. New Jersey Devils, 5
The Star laid an egg, while Martin Brodeur makes 21 saves to get his 98th career shutout, his second of the season. John Madden scored two goals for the Devils, while David Clarkson and Minnesota natives Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had a goal.

San Jose Sharks, 7 vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6 SO
High scoring affair in Philadelphia as the Sharks go into Philly and get a win 7-6 in the shootout. There was a combined 7 goals in the first period, while JR gets the shootout clincher to secure another 2 points for the Sharks.

Detroit Red Wings, 4 vs. St. Louis Blues, 3
Tomas Holmstrom score for the fourth consecutive game as the Detroit Red Wings improve to 3-0 on the road and end the Blues 3-0 record at home. Pavel Datsyuk had two assists on the night, while Zetterberg, Lidstrom and Franzen also scored for the Red Wings.

Edmonton Oilers, 0 vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 3
And the Minnesota Wild for the second year in a row are the last unbeaten team again as the Dallas Stars were not the only team who laid an egg tonight. The Edmonton Oilers lost for the first time this season as Nikolai Khabibulin makes 23 saves for his 39th career shutout. Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook and Aaron Johnson scored for the Blackhawks, who under Joel Quenneville are 2-0-1.

Florida Panthers vs. Ottawa Senators, 6:00pm CT
Dallas Stars vs. New Jersey Devils, 6:00pm CT
San Jose Sharks vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6:00pm CT
Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues, 7:30pm CT
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks 8:00pm CT

Other News...
Looks like Mark Parrish has signed a 25 game tryout with his former team, the New York Islanders, and will be playing in the AHL with Bridgeport. Let's hope he sticks and gets a job some where in the NHL. Marek Zidlicky is likely to make his Wild debut tomorrow against the HOT Sabres, and Bouchard should be back tomorrow too, so Zidlicky will probably be in for Reitz, while Bouchard is in for Gillies(?).

Hockey Unplugged and Tonight's Results

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hockey Unplugged with Marian Gaborik and Andrew Brunette
Kevin Falness got the question of the year out of the way when he asked Gaby about the trade rumors and the contract negotiations, and Gaby answered as you would have thought. He doesn't know anything about the trade rumors...blah blah blah...he wants to be in Minnesota...blah blah blah... You can tell that the fans are frustrated with what's going on with Gaby and are trying to ween him out because most of the fans' questions were directed at Brunette, and Gaby knows it too, because he was trying to get some laughs (the key word here is trying). My favorite part of the night was the two talking about Halloween costumes and the party that they had the night before: Mikko being a Hooters girl (and apparently a pretty ugly one according to Brunette, I laughed my butt off trying to picture this), Schultz and his wife being the Williams sister, and Boogie being Mario. And the cutest question...To Gaborik, how many times did you wanted to punch a person in the face? (It was from the cutest little kid.)

Boston Bruins, 2 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 3 SO
When you're hot, you're hot, and right now Thomas Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres are hot (let's hope they are not when they come to the Xcel on Thursday night). After falling down to the Bruins 2-0, the Sabres rallied back to force the game to a shootout after goals from Clarke MacArthur and Drew Stafford, and eventually won the game on a Vanek goal in the shootout.

Anaheim Ducks, 3 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 2 SO
Anaheim lead 2-0, but unlike the Bruins, the Ducks managed to get a win in the shootout. Nik Antropov was the reason that Toronto was even close to the Ducks in this game, scoring both of the goals for the Maple Leafs, as the shootout woes continue for the Maple Leafs, this time not for Vesa Toskala, as Coach Ron Wilson inserted Curtis Joseph in the crease to take the shootout.

Vancouver Canucks, 2 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 4
Derek Dorsett got his first NHL goal as it proves to be the game winning goal for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Most noteable in this game was the play of Kyle Wellwood, who was just recalled, scoring a goal and had an assist, as 3 regulars in the Canucks lineup were missing (Salo, Hordichuk, and Demitra), along with the play of rookie Jakub Vorachek who had 2 assists in the game.

Atlanta Thrashers, 2 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 3 OT
Well, it took a while, but Barry Melrose got his first win as the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning as the Lightning defeat the Atlanta Thrashers. It wasn't a particularly pretty game, as the Lightning blew a two goal lead going into the third, but they were able to pull out the win as Vinny Lecavalier scores the game winner in overtime.

Washington Capitals, 1 vs. Calgary Flames, 2
A very physical game on both parts, and filled with a lot of penalties. At one point in the game, Washington was on a 9 minute powerplay after Rene Bourque retaliated after Tyler Sloan got a clean hit in the neutral zone on Daymond Langkow, and got 2 for instigating, 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct (fighting with a visor), 5 for fighting, and a 10 minute misconduct. With Sergei Fedorov scoring the only goal for the Capitals, he is now tied with Alexander Mogilny for the most goals in the NHL for a Russian born player.

Today's News

Well, Petr Kalus has pulled a Roman Voloshenko and decided to leave the Houston Aeros to return to Europe. The Wild will still own his rights for two years if he decides to come back to the NHL in that time span. In other news, Krys Kolanos was sent back to Houston after he was recalled on an emergency basis after Marian Gaborik was injured playing a "soccer hackysack tennis game".

Speaking of Marian Gaborik (even though I said I wouldn't, though it's envitable considering the situation), it looks like all parties are becoming fustrated with being hounded by the media every second about the negiotations and lack there of it. How did they not expect this after not being able to sign Gaby and making it public that the negiotations were at a stalemate? Let's see how fast the question gets asked to Gaby or Bruno tonight at the Hockey Unplugged (and if you weren't able to get to the event, I'll post up the link of the Pondcast when it gets up). So much for this not being a distraction huh Doug.

Tonight's Games
Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6:00pm CT
Anaheim Ducks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 6:00pm CT
Vancouver Canucks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 6:00pm CT
Atlanta Thrashers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 6:30pm CT
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames, 8:30pm CT

Coming Up This Week

Monday, October 20, 2008

What's on schedule for the Wild?
The Wild will not be in action until Thursday this week when they face the Buffalo Sabres at home. In a special pre-game ceremony that night, the Wild will honor former owner Bob Naegele and his wife in recognition for their contributions in bringing the NHL back to Minnesota and for his services to the Minnesota Wild. The Wild will then face Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Buffalo Sabres, Thursday 7:00pm CT
Columbus Blue Jackets, Saturday 7:00pm CT

Games to Watch this Week
Monday, October 20th, 2008
Dallas Stars vs. New York Rangers, 6:00pm CT

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames, 8:30pm CT

Friday, October 24th, 2008
Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators, 6:00pm CT

Saturday, October 25th, 2008
(A treat for all hockey fans as all 30 NHL teams will be in action this night.)
Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 7:30pm CT
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6:00pm CT

Tonight's Games
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins, 6:00pm CT
Dallas Stars vs. New York Rangers, 6:00pm CT
Florida Panthers vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:30 CT
Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings, 9:30 CT

Who needs a Star when you got Finns

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Wild win 6-2 over the Florida Panthers.

Who ever has Mikko Koivu on their fantasy hockey team must be having fits of giggles with his 5 point night (1-4-5). Who's HOT for the Minnesota Wild, it's got to be Koivu and his linemates Brunette and Miettinen, who have 24 points between themselves in 3 games. Along with Koivu, Miettinen had 3 points (2-1-3) and another 2 goal night (thats 5 goals in 3 games) and Brunette chipped in with the first goal of the game along with an assist. Special teams were great tonight blanking the Panthers on their powerplay chances and scoring 3 powerplay goals. Kim Johnsson and Benoit Pouliot also scored their first goals of the season, and Derek Boogaard got an assist on Johnsson's goal, his first point in over 2 seasons (though I was really hoping that he was going to get credited with the goal or get a Gordie Howe hat trick).

So much for struggling to score goals, huh? Too bad we won't be play the Florida Panthers for the remaining 78 games :)

New Jersey Devils, 1 vs. Atlanta Thrashers, 0
Brodeur gets his 97th career shutout win as the Devils blank the Atlanta Thrashers. Brian Rolston scored the only goal of the game on the powerplay before being injured in the third, as he crashed heavily into the boards and need help off the ice.

Washington Capitals, 4 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 3
Penguins blow a 3-0 lead and the Capitals have 4 unanswered goals as they win 4-3. Alexander Ovechkin was held pointless in this games, as Malkin had a goal and 2 assists and Crosby finished the night with 2 assists. The game lived up to all the hype that was made of it, even without Ovie scoring. Alexander Semin really stepping up for the Capitals.

New York Islanders, 4 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 3 OT
The Lightning had control of the game after coming from a 2-0 deficit to score 3 goals in the third period until Trent Hunter scored the game tying goal with a little over 6 minutes left in the game. Hunter then scores he's second of the night 51 seconds into the overtime session to give the Islanders a 4-3 win over the Lightning. Barry Melrose has still yet to win a game as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Vancouver Canucks, 4 vs. Detroit Red Wings, 3, OT
Vancouver rebound from its game against the Capitals as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. Alex Burrows scored 47 seconds into overtime to give the Canucks the win.

Dallas Stars, 1 vs. St. Louis Blues, 6
Keith Tkachuk and Brad Boyes each scored for the fourth straight games with a 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars, who are struggling so far early in the season.

Philadelphia Flyers, 2 vs Colorado Avalanche, 5
Colorado got its first win of the season as they beat the Flyers 5-2. Andrew Raycroft in his debut for the Avalanche gets the win stopping 16 of 18 shots on net. And let the goalie controversy continue (along with Chicago and Ottawa).

My 3 Stars of the Night
1. Mikko Koivu, 1 goal, 4 assists
2. Antti Miettinen, 2 goals(2 PPGs), 1 assist
3. Martin Brodeur, 25 saves, 97th career shutout

~ FOTW

UHHH!!!

While I go away and try and get an education and Gaborik goes and gets himself injured. "Lower body", they're saying but who knows with the new injury disclosure policy the NHL has. Right now I'm just going to go into my room, lock it and start swearing up and down. Why are players dropping like flies when it's only the 3rd game of the season? Are we supposed to infer this as Risebrough making a move soon on the Gaby situation? We'll see what comes out of this, let's just hope that something will happen, Gaby miraculously gets healthy or a solution to the situation of which I am so sick of hearing about.

In other news, Denis Savard, coach of the Chicago Blackhawks was fired today, and former Colorado Avalanche head coach Joel Quenneville will be announced as the new coach of the Blackhawks. I can't say that I saw this one coming, but seeing as the Blackhawks got their first win last night, and with the expectations that people have for them, I can see the logic behind it, kind of.

On a happier note, I'm looking forward to watching the Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game tonight. Of course I'll be watching the Wild play tonight, more because I want to see how the Wild are going to play without Gaby and without three of its top 6 forwards, but I'll keep an eye on the Caps and Pens (it's the beauty of Center Ice). With the top two forwards in the league playing in this game, and arguable the top three in Evgeni Malkin, this game is bound to be a must watch. You know that Crosby and Ovechkin will be the ones to watch in this game, but I want to see the match up between Ovechkin and Malkin. In previous games, the two have been very physical toward each other, and in their first match up of the new season, it will be interesting which Russian comes out the better of the two.

~ FOTW

Tonight's Games: Results

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Buffalo Sabres, 3 vs. New York Rangers, 1
The New York Rangers were handed their first loss by the Buffalo Sabres as they lost 3-1, with their only goal coming from Scott Gomez. Ryan Miller made 17 saves to get the win, while Thomas Vanek scored two goals and Ales Kotalik stopped the Rangers' 23 consecutive penalty kills with a powerplay goal in second to tie the game at 1-1.

Boston Bruins, 3 vs. Montreal Canadiens, 4 SO
How about the Montreal Canadiens who blew a 3-0 lead but winds up winning the game against the Boston Bruins in a shootout with a goal from Tanguay in the shootout and Carey Price stopping all 3 Bruins shooter, including the last shooter former-Canadien Michael Ryder (who was booed every time he touched the puck).

Phoenix Coyotes, 1 vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 4
The Chicago Blackhawks get their first win of the season as they beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 at home. Nikolai Khabibulin made 29 saves en route toward the win as Brian Campbell and Colin Fraser score their first goals as Blackhawks (Fraser's first in the NHL), along with goals from Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat. Peter Mueller scored for the Coyotes, his first of the season.

Nashville Predators, 4 vs. Dallas Stars, 6
There were a lot of first NHL goals as Patric Hornqvist and former Minnesota Wild draft pick Ryan Jones scored their first NHL goals, and Fabian Brunnstrom scored his first goal, along with his second, and his third in a closely contested game against the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars, in which the Stars get their first win of the season. It is only the third time in NHL history that a rookie has scored a hat trick in his first NHL game (I guess that's why there was all that hype about him during the offseason). Nashville also got goals from Martin Erat and Radek Bonk, while Dallas got their other goals from Mike Modano (2 goals) and Stephane Robidas.

Edmonton Oilers, 3 vs. Anaheim Ducks, 2
Jonas Hiller was strong in his season debut in goal, but his offense was not able to convert on their scoring chances, losing to the Edmonton Oilers 3 – 2, and remaining one of only two NHL teams to have not registered a point in the season (Colorado is the other team).

My 3 Stars of the Night:
1. Fabian Brunnstrom, 3 goals
2. Nikolai Khabibulin, 29 out of 30 saves
3. Thomas Vanek, 2 goals (1PPG, 1SHG)

In other news: anyone find it weird that the first guest on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's radio show NHL Hour is Whoopi Goldberg? The NHL says that she's a long time NHL fan, but have you ever heard her talk hockey?

~ FOTW

Gameday @ Atlanta

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cal Clutterbuck was recalled today.

Wild win 4-2 against Atlanta.

3 Stars of the Night
1. Antti Miettinen
2. Bryan Little
3. Illya Kovalchuk

Bouchard's coming back to Minnesota from the road trip for back problems, probably the same back problems that he had during training camp. And Owen Nolan is out with a "lower back injury".

It's only the second game in the season and already the players are dropping like flies. What's up with that?

~ FOTW

Alexei Cherepanov...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Here's the link to the NHL's story on Cherepanov who died today after suffering a heart attack late during a game. Cherepanov was the New York Rangers first round pick (17th overall) in the 2007 draft. He was only 19 years old.

~ FOTW

...ummm...

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Some more thoughts as I've had a day of thinking about the game...

There weren't that many boo birds out there during the introduction to Gaby, a couple of boos and "sign the contract" were heard but other than that nothing. Gaby wasn't a game breakir in this one, and his line didn't really create that much offense, though he did unselfishly pass the puck to Boogey to try and get him a goal (and Boogey will score 1 goal this year). Oh...and Gaby was given the A, something I didn't think he would get, I thought that maybe Johnsson or Schultz might get it but hey it's the coaches' decision.

Martin Skoula played really well, no brain farts as of yet, and if we could get him playing like this all season, fans may actually start liking him. Bergeron on the other hand was a defensive liability. He coughed up the puck twice, that I remembered, in the defensive zone which lead to scoring chances. And if people say that he can make that up with his scoring ability, his goal in the second against Manny was a weak goal, as Fernandez had the puck, but it just squeaked through under his pads.

What's with Veilleux and Burns both going down on the second Savard goal. After they stopped the first chance, they couldn't get back into the play and stop Savard, as both were still laying on the ice (it's probably why Jacques doesn't like his players sliding down to block a shot). Maybe it would have help too if Gaborik was trying to get the puck away from Savard.

I'm really starting to warm up to Owen Nolan. You know he's a competitor and has a lot of guts to stand up to the 6'9'' Bruins d-man Zedno Chara, nothing really amounting out of it seeing as the refs stepped in right away.

And I still am trying to get used to seeing number 15 and not thinking of Sheppard but of Brunette but all through out the game I kept thinking "Why is Sheppard playing on the wing?" and "Who's #51?". It'll take a couple of games for me.

That's it for now, I'm going to try and catch some games later tonight after work. HOCKEY IS IN SESSION!

~ FOTW

Postgame Thoughts vs. Bruins

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Just got home from the Wild's home opener, and boy am I glad hockey is BACK! I loved seeing that Northwest Division Champions banner in the rafter, and I just hung up the replica banner that were handed out after the game, along with my calendar in my room. Full house tonight at the Xcel and a very loud ovation to Kurtis Foster during the announcement of the players that weren't playing.

The team had an extremely slow start tonight against the Boston Bruins, more because they had to kill a four-minute high sticking penalty early on in the game by Brent Burns, but they managed to go into the second period tied after Eric Belanger scores on a powerplay late in the first. The Wild dominated the Bruins in the second period with three goals from Bergeron, Miettinen, and Belanger, his second of the night. The third period was a different story. It took the Wild more than 10 minutes before they got their first shot on goal in the third, with most of the play being in the Wild's defensive zone. But they held on long enough for a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins, and all that matters right now is getting the W.

3 Stars of the Night:
1. Eric Belanger
2. Mikko Koivu
3. Brent Burns

Oh...and Pavol Demitra just scored the game winner in overtime against the Calgary Flames who blew a 3-1 lead, so much for redemption against the Canucks for the Flames...

Gameday: Home/Season Opener

I'm so excited for tonight's game; can't wait for the festivities tonight and for that Northwest Division Champions banner to hang in the rafters. It will be interesting though to see the fan reaction to Gaby. There's probably going to be some boos here and there and a sign somewhere, but what will the reaction be Gaby scores a goal? Anyways, it will be interesting nonetheless.

Looks like Colton Gillies is making his NHL debut tonight and former Wild goalie Manny Fernandez will be in net for the Bruins.

Hey, be happy hockey season is in session:). I'll be back later with some post-game thoughts and hopefully some pictures, if I can manage to find my camera.

~ FOTW

Eastern Conference & Stanley Cup Predictions

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Eastern Conference:
1. Montreal Canadiens*
2. Philadelphia Flyers*
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
4. New Jersey Devils
5. New York Rangers
6. Washington Capitals*
7. Boston Bruins
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Buffalo Sabres
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Florida Panthers
13. New York Islanders
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. Atlanta Thrashers
*division winner

Number of Teams in the Playoffs in each Division:
Atlantic: 4 (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, New York Rangers)
Northeast: 2 (Montreal, Boston)
Southeast: 2 (Washington, Tampa Bay)

Stanley Cup Finals: Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens
Winner: Detroit Red Wings

~ FOTW

Just some thoughts while I wait for the season opener

I find it amusing that the organization is letting Gaby do a hockey unplugged (if you guys don't know what a hockey unplugged is, it's where two players from the team go to a local establishment and answers questions from fans and sign autographs). They announced yesterday night during the hockey unplugged with Veilleux and Bouchard that the next unplugged will feature Marian Gaborik and Andrew Brunette at the end of this month. I'll bet my whole life's savings that the first question asked to Gaby is going to be about the contract negotiations, it's the burning question and seems like the only thing in the minds of fans and hockey analysts nowadays. Maybe the PR guys know something that the fans don't, and that either Gaby will be gone before October 21 or he'll sign a contract before then? Who knows? Now, I'm just really tired of hearing and talking about Gaby and his contraction negotiations, it's the same thing over and over again, so there will be no more mention of Gaby and contract in the same sentence, unless it's to say that Gaby signed a contract or that he couldn't and that the Wild traded him for Ovechkin (a fan can dream). I'll tell you what though, it will be interesting to see the fan reaction to Gaby on opening night when he gets on the ice. He's been on the ice in front of the fans during preseason while not signed, but he hasn't been in front of the fans since Risebrough's announcement of a stalemate in talks. That's it for the Gaby talks...is it Saturday yet?

Games Tonight
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7:00 pm et
Boston Bruins vs. Colorado Avalanche, 10:00 pm et
Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks, 10:30 pm et
Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks, 10:30 pm et

~ FOTW

Western Conference Predictions

Monday, October 6, 2008

Here's how I predict that it will end up in the Western Conference at the end of the regular season:

Western Conference:
1. Detroit Red Wings*
2. Dallas Stars*
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Calgary Flames*
5. San Jose Sharks
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Minnesota Wild
8. Chicago Blackhawks
9. Nashville Predators
10. Phoenix Coyotes
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Colorado Avalanche
13. Columbus Blue Jackets
14. St. Louis Blues
15. Los Angeles Kings
*division winner

Number of Teams in the Playoffs in each Division:
Central: 2 (Detroit, Chicago)
Northwest: 3 (Calgary, Edmonton, Minnesota)
Pacific: 3 (Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose)

How can you bet against the defending Stanley Cup Champions when that team is the Detroit Red Wings. It will essentially be the same team, with one minor addition, Marian Hossa, and like everyone said when the Wings signed Hossa, "the rich get richer". The Detroit Red Wings will end up atop the Central Division and the Western Conference. Chicago will replace Nashville in the playoffs with their youth and the potential for Martin Havlat (Chicago's version of Marian Gaborik without the groins) to play a full season in a while.
The top five of the conference will be the same clubs with the exception of Minnesota. In the ultra-competitive Northwest division, Minnesota has taken a step down in the offensive department with the departure of Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra, and Mark Parrish, but look for them to still fight for a playoff spot with their improved blueline and consistent goaltending. Edmonton will make a run at the NW title with their youth, but Calgary will be crowned Northwest Division Champions at the end of the regular season.
With veteran leadership in Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow, and young guys in Matt Niskanen, Nicklas Grossman and Fabian Brunnstrom, Dallas looks to be moving up in rankings in the Pacific Division. Of course Anaheim will be in the playoffs with guys like Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Ryan Getzlaf, and newly signed Teemu Selanne, the Ducks will be competitve with Dallas. Along with Dallas and Anaheim, the San Jose Sharks will make it out of the regular season and into the playoffs, but you start wondering how many more times can Joe Thornton go into the playoffs and flop like the Cubs.

~FOTW

Venting My Frustration

Saturday, October 4, 2008

With the 2008-2009 NHL regular season beginning today, I thought that I would post my first blog about my predictions about the season, who's going to come closer to Lord's Stanley Cup and who's going to be on the golf course early, or even the optimism I have for my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, but after reading the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Michael Russo's article, I just needed place to vent my anger and frustration.

After trying for most of the offseason to get Marian Gaborik signed, the Wild's general manager Doug Risebrough has finally admitted that the two parties have come to a standstill on contract negotiations. It's been reported that Risebrough has been offering Gaborik contracts around the $8.5 million range, and yet he has not signed with Minnesota. So, what's the deal with not signing on the dotted line Gaby? Oh, you want to be paid what your worth, and what you're worth is over $9 million?

If Sidney Crosby, the poster boy for the NHL, is making around $8.7 million, and his partner in crime Malkin makes about the same as him, what make Gaborik think that he's worth more than them? Alexander Ovechkin makes $9.5 million, but he's Ovechkin. If some of the top forwards in the league like Hossa, Lecavalier, Thornton, and Iginla makes from $7-$8 million , what makes Gaborik think that he's worth more than they are? Of course Gaborik is a dynamic player, if there's any doubt in that just ask the New York Rangers, and he has the potential to become a star like Crosby and Ovechkin, but for a guy who just had his first full season since the Wild last went deep into the playoffs and who's often on the injured list under “groin problems” to be asking for Ovie money is preposterous. When you think of the top forwards in the NHL, who do you think of? You got Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Lecavalier, Iginla, Hossa, Thornton, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Kovalchuk, Getzlaf, and St. Louis. Where does Gaborik fit into those names? Top 5?, that's arguable, top 10?, I don't know. Most of the players on my list are proven superstars, and Gaborik just started shining last year.

At this point of my frustration as a Wild fan, I say trade him. If Gaborik is unwilling to take $8.5 million, and it's a good deal, don't try and sign him for $9 or over because at that point your just overpaying him. I'd rather get something for Gaborik then lose him for free like Rolston and Demitra.

With the season just about to begin and the Gaborik situation not resolved, it will be undoubtedly a big distraction in the Wild locker room, that's for sure.

~FOTW

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