Wild Rally Back from 3-0 to Win 4-3 in OT

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It's a good thing that I decided not to leave the home opener early like I was planning to after it was 3-0 at the end of 2, but who would have blamed me or anyone who left after 2 the way that the Wild were playing.

The first period was uneventful, mainly because most people in attendance were still wrapped up with the Twin-Tigers game (and the crowd roared with applause and cheer when the Twins won). The second period was just an utter disaster. Passes weren't on target, the Wild couldn't get any sustained pressure in the offensive zone, and when the Wild were able to get shots, they were either not on target or they were shooting into the body of Ducks player (note that they were shooting into the Ducks player, not that the Ducks players were blocking them). And like Richards said in his postgame, the defensemen were trying to create something that wasn't there and stepping up in the offensive zone at unnecessary times creating odd man rushed (I saw a 4-on-1 twice) and the Wild, like in the Columbus game, were scrambling in their defensive zone, and just like that it was 3-0 Ducks. The lazy and lackluster play of the first 40 minutes of the game took the fans out of the game, but the turning point in the game has to be the George Parros vs. John Scott fight, it definitely woke the crowd up again.



Mikko Koivu, Petr Sykora, and Eric Belanger scored in the third to tie up the game, and Andrew Brunette score in the overtime on the powerplay after James Wisniewski took a retalatory penalty on Kyle Brodziak to secure the overtime win for the Wild, and Todd Richards' first win as an NHL coach.

Fans saw in the third period how well Todd Richards system could work for the Wild, we'll see if the Wild can do what they did in the third for a full 60 minutes.

Notes:
  • Pierre-Marc Bouchard was a late scratch due to ongoing headaches. He'll be out indefinitely until the organization figures out what's wrong with him.
  • Loudest ovations during lineups to Brent Burns, Koivu, Niklas Backstrom and Cal Clutterbuck.
  • A Wild player got hit in the first period and was just dumped into the bench...can't seem to find who it is though, anyone know?
  • Joffrey Lupul took a puck to the face in the first period, but came back in the second to score the first goal for the Ducks.
  • The Wild actually won in the faceoff department, winning 63 percent of the faceoffs, with Koivu winning 76 percent of his faceoffs.
  • Can you honestly tell me that the home opener was a sellout when the suites and club levels were mainly empty, the lower level had a bunch of rows that were empty, and the end opposite of the one that I was sitting across was just bare?...Well, it is tickets distributed, not how many people actually show up...
UP NEXT: Thursday @ Los Angeles Kings, 9:30pm CT

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2009-10 NHL Season Predicitons

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

With the 2009-10 NHL season about to get underway, here are my predictions for the season:

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

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

Conference Finals:
Western: Detroit Red Wings vs. Vancouver Canucks
Eastern: Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Stanley Cup Finals: Vancouver Canucks vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Winner=Philadelphia Flyers

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Wild Preseason Schedule Released

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Minnesota Wild officially announced their preseason schedule today, which consists of seven games, four on the road and three at home. Preseason tickets will go on sale August 22.

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Wild 2009-2010 Regular Season Schedule Released

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Highlights from the schedule:
  • Season Opener - October 3 @ Columbus Blue Jackets
  • Home Opener - October 6 vs. Anaheim Ducks
  • October 30 vs. New York Rangers: The return of Marian Gaborik...I cheered him when he left, I'll boo him when he returns
  • October 31 @ Pittsburgh Penguins, January 11 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
  • January 2 vs. New Jersey Devils: Jacques Lemaire and Brian Rolston return to Minnesota
  • Final Game of the Regular Season - April 10 vs. Dallas Stars
  • Note: The Olympic break will be February 15-28.
Regular season single-game tickets will go on sale September 12, pre-season game tickets will go on sale August 22.

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Conference Finals Predictions

Friday, May 15, 2009

My predictions during the playoffs have not been great to say the least, but I'm already this far along, I might as well continue...

Western Conference
2 Detroit Red Wings vs. 4 Chicago Blackhawks - Detroit in 7

Eastern Conference
4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 6 Carolina Hurricanes - Carolina in 7

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Conference Finals Schedule

2009 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES M
#4 vs. #6
Network
Monday, May 18 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Thursday, May 21 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Saturday, May 23 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, May 26 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Friday, May 29 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Sunday, May 31 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Tuesday, June 2 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
2009 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES N
#2 vs. #4
Network
Sunday, May 17 at Detroit, 3:00 p.m. NBC, TSN, RDS
Tuesday, May 19 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Friday, May 22 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sunday, May 24 at Chicago, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
* Wednesday, May 27 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Saturday, May 30 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Monday, June 1 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS

- * denotes if necessary
- All Times are Eastern Standard Time

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IIHF World Championships Quarterfinals

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

So the qualification round in Switzerland is done and quarterfinal games will start tomorrow. Here's the schedule:

Quarterfinal

Wed, May 6










16:15

Russia

vs.

Belarus

Wed, May 6










20:15

Finland

vs.

USA

Thu, May 7










16:15

Canada

vs.

Latvia

Thu, May 7










20:15

Sweden

vs.

Czech Rep.


Semi-final

Fri, May 8










16:15


RUS/BLR

vs.


FIN/USA

Fri, May 8










20:15


CAN/LAT

vs.


SWE/CZE


Should be some interesting matchups...

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Round 2 Playoff Predictions

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Eastern Conference

1 Boston Bruins vs. 6 Carolina - Boston in 7
2 Washington Capitals vs. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins - Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference

2 Detroit Red Wings vs. 8 Anaheim Ducks - Detroit in 6
3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 4 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver in 7

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Round 2 Schedule

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

SERIES I
#1 vs. #6
NETWORK
Friday, May 1 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
Sunday, May 3 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Wednesday, May 6 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
Friday, May 8 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
*Sunday, May 10 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Tuesday, May 12 at Carolina, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Thursday, May 14 at Boston, TBD TSN


SERIES J
#2 vs. #4
NETWORK
Saturday, May 2 at Washington, 1:00 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
Monday, May 4 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Wednesday, May 6 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Friday, May 8 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Saturday, May 9 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Monday, May 11 at Pittsburgh, TBD VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, May 13 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS


SERIES K
#2 vs. #8
NETWORK
Friday, May 1 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN2
Sunday, May 3 at Detroit, 2:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
Tuesday, May 5 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Thursday, May 7 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Sunday, May 10 at Detroit, 5:00 p.m. TSN
*Tuesday, May 12 at Anaheim, TBD VERSUS, TSN
*Thursday, May 14 at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN


SERIES L
#3 vs. #4
NETWORK
Thursday, April 30 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Saturday, May 2 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Tuesday, May 5 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Thursday, May 7 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
*Saturday, May 9 at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m CBC, VERSUS
*Monday, May 11 at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS (JIP)
*Thursday, May 14 at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS

* - if necessary

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Backstrom, Vezina Nominee

Monday, April 27, 2009

Here's the story from NHL.com

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Last Two Weeks, Quick Look at the Roster

Just a little over two weeks since the end of the season for the Minnesota Wild, and I've been a little depressed hockey-wise with no rooting interests in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the injuries that have been coming out of the woodworks since the beginning of the offseason have just made it worse.

Here's some bullet points of the the last two weeks since the season has ended and a look at the player situation right now for the Wild:
  • Jacques Lemaire resigned from his position as head coach of the Minnesota Wild.
  • Doug Risebrough's contract was "not renewed" by Craig Leipold, as the Wild will now have to search for a new GM and coach.
  • Bad luck for players with last names beginning with 'B' in the organization as Bouchard, Brunette, Burns, Boogaard, Backstrom, and Bergeron are all currently injuried, along with Koivu, Schultz and Fritsche.
  • Wild send 5 players to the IIHF WCs in Switzerland: Zidlicky (Cze), Miettinen (Fin), Harding (Can), Olvecky (Svk), and Madsen (Den).
  • The search for a GM is on!

As for the Wild’s GM search, I hear Craig Leipold has more than 25 applicants, and he’s weeding out some names currently.

I also hear the interview process has begun, but I won’t start throwing names on unless I get it 100 percent confirmed that they’ve met. I am pretty sure one (Irish) bigwig that I’ve quoted in the past week was in town, but like I said, unless I find out that he was 100 percent in town to meet with the Wild, I’m not going to assume why he was here.

But you know things are getting down to the nitty gritty because suddenly candidates either don’t return calls or are hesitant to speak on the record. That typically means the process has reached a stage where everybody thinks they’ve got a chance for the job and don’t want to say anything to spoil their chances at it. ~Russo



Players under contract for the 09-10 season:
  • Pierre-Marc Bouchard, C - concussion
  • Mikko Koivu, C - knee
  • Owen Nolan, R
  • Andrew Brunette, L - knee
  • Antti Miettinen, L
  • Eric Belanger, C
  • James Sheppard, C
  • Colton Gillies, C
  • Derek Boogaard, L - shoulder
  • Cal Clutterbuck, R
  • Craig Weller, R
  • Kim Johnsson, D
  • Brent Burns, D - concussion, shoulder
  • Nick Schultz, D - concussion
  • Marek Zidlicky, D
  • John Scott, D
  • Niklas Backstrom, G - hip
Restricted Free Agents:
  • Benoit Pouliot, C
  • Dan Fritsche, C - broken collarbone
  • Peter Olvecky, L
  • Danny Irmen, C
  • Josh Harding, G
Unrestricted Free Agents:
  • Marian Gaborik, L
  • Stephane Veilleux, L
  • Krys Kolanos, C
  • Martin Skoula, D
  • Marc-Andre Bergeron, D - back
  • Kurtis Foster, D
  • Tomas Mojzis, D
  • Nolan Schaefer, G
Restricted Free Agents:

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2009 IIHF World Championships

Wednesday, April 22, 2009


With the IIHF World Championships just two days away in Switzerland, I thought I'd throw up a little tidbit about the World Championships. The Wild will have 5 players playing for their countries during the World Championships which are Josh Harding (Can), Morten Madsen (Den), Antti Miettinen (Fin), Peter Olvecky (Svk), and Marek Zidlicky (Cze). Usually during the World Championships teams don't have their big names in place because of the NHL playoffs. There are some names that Wild fans might recognize on some rosters like Petteri Nummelin (Fin), Rickard Wallin (Swe), and Mattais Weinhandl (Swe). They haven't released the where the games will be broadcasted yet, but people can watch the games online at the IIHF website for all 56 games at 39.95 Euros (51.79 USD) or a single game for 6.95 Euros (9.00 USD).

Here's the complete schedule for the games:

Remember that Zurich/Berne is 7 hours ahead of the central time zone.

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Next GM, Injury News

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The question now after Craig Leipold "didn't renew" Doug Risebrough's contract is: Who will be the Minnesota Wild's general manager? Michael Russo threw out some names which includes Pat Quinn, Doug MacLean, Jay Feaster, Rick Dudley, Neil Smith, Pierre McGuire, Chuck Fletcher, Ron Hextall and Peter Chiarelli. And...uh...Jacques Lemaire has already told Russo that he's not intereseted in being the GM. Whoever it is will have to make a lot of major decisions this offseason, and they'll be important ones, starting with who will be the next head coach.

News on other fronts:
From Russo's article:

Backstrom said Thursday he might need surgery.

"I saw a doctor today, and the team doctors, and we have to decide now in a couple days if I need surgery," Backstrom said. "I need to get other opinions, and also from back home in Finland. It's tough for me because everything's in English, so I need someone to translate to me so I know exactly what's going on."

Backstrom said he hoped to talk to Gaborik so he can see his hip specialist, Marc Philippon of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo. Backstrom said the recovery from surgery "is speculated, but in my mind, I'll be ready by the start of the season."

Isn't that just great :( ... Andrew Brunette had successful reconstructive right knee surgery, and Derek Boogaard will have surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday.

Read more...

Risebrough Fired by Leipold

Via Russo and NHL.com:
Minnesota Wild Owner, Craig Leipold, announced today that the organization will not renew the contract of President and General Manager, Doug Risebrough, beyond the 2008-2009 season.

"The entire Minnesota Wild organization is forever indebted to Doug for his substantial efforts in establishing this franchise's solid foundation and winning tradition," said Leipold. "The positive impact of Doug's service will be felt for many years to come. We wish Doug the very best."

The search for a new General Manager will begin immediately. The first order of business for the incoming General Manager will be to select the team's next Head Coach.

Until a replacement is found, Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn, will be acting-General Manager.
From Craig Leipold:
Wild fans,

I wanted to personally be the one to tell you of my very difficult decision not to renew Doug Risebrough’s contract beyond the 2008-2009 season. I have agonized over this decision for some time now, but ultimately, I reached the conclusion that change was in order.

I cannot begin to thank Doug enough for all that he has done for this organization over the past nine years. When he arrived he brought instant credibility, expertise and extraordinary work ethic to an expansion franchise in desperate need of those things. He then worked tirelessly to build the Minnesota Wild into one of the premier franchises in the NHL. So much of our success – on and off the ice – is directly attributable to Doug’s leadership and his legacy will remain evident for years to come in the aura of success and winning tradition that defines this place. I know that you’ll join me in wishing Doug and his family the very best.

The search for a new General Manager will begin immediately. The first order of business for the incoming General Manager will be to select the next Head Coach.

On behalf of our entire organization, we thank Wild fans for the incredible support you’ve given us.

Craig Leipold

It's something that Wild fans have been calling for since the beginning of the season, and with the disappointment of not making the playoffs, it doesn't come as a shocker...but it is. The Wild are now a team without a GM and a head coach, and with a team that was already facing a lot of questions going into the offseason, the main question will now be...

Who will be the next GM of the Minnesota Wild?

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The Best of Jacques Lemaire

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

It's just HILARIOUS...Jacques' sound bites will be missed...I love how he laughs at his own jokes, LOL.

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Quarterfinals Picks

Monday, April 13, 2009

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
1 Boston Bruins vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens - Boston in 6
2 Washington Capitals vs. 7 New York Rangers - Washington in 6
3 New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes - New Jersey in 6
4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers - Philadelphia in 7

Western Conference Quarterfinals
1 San Jose Sharks vs. Anaheim Ducks - San Jose in 7
2 Detroit Red Wings vs. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets - Detroit in 6
3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 St. Louis Blues - Vancouver in 6
4 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 5 Calgary Flames - Chicago in 6

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Stanley Cup Playoffs Quarterfinals Schedule

2009 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS



SERIES A
#1 vs. #8
Network
Thursday, April 16 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. CBC, RDS
Saturday, April 18 at Boston, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Monday, April 20 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. CBC, RDS
Wednesday, April 22 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m. CBC, RDS
*Saturday, April 25 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. CBC, RDS
*Monday, April 27 at Montreal, TBD CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, April 29 at Boston, TBD CBC, RDS




SERIES B
#2 vs. #7
Network
Wednesday, April 15, at Washington, 7:00 p.m. TSN
Saturday, April 18 at Washington, 1:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
Monday, April 20 at New York, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Wednesday, April 22 at New York, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Friday, April 24 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN, RDS
*Sunday, April 26 at New York, 2:00 p.m. NBC, TSN, RDS
*Tuesday, April 28 at Washington, TBD VERSUS, TSN, RDS




SERIES C
#3 vs. #6
Network
Wednesday, April 15 at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. TSN, RIS
Friday, April 17 at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. TSN, RIS
Sunday, April 19 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. TSN, RIS
Tuesday, April 21 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. TSN, RIS
*Thursday, April 23 at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. TSN, RIS
*Sunday, April 26 at Carolina, TBD TSN, VERSUS
*Tuesday, April 28 at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m. TSN




SERIES D
#4 vs. #5
Network
Wednesday, April 15 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Friday, April 17 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sunday, April 19 at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, April 21 at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Thursday, April 23 at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Saturday, April 25 at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
*Monday, April 27 at Pittsburgh, TBD VERSUS, CBC




2009 WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS



SERIES E
#1 vs. #8
Network
Thursday, April 16 at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sunday, April 19 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, April 21 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thursday, April 23 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Saturday, April 25 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Monday, April 27 at Anaheim, TBD VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, April 29 at San Jose, TBD VERSUS, CBC, RDS




SERIES F
#2 vs. #7
Network
Thursday, April 16 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Saturday, April 18 at Detroit, 6:00 p.m. TSN
Tuesday, April 21 at Columbus, 7:00 p.m. TSN
Thursday, April 23 at Columbus, 7:00 p.m. TSN
*Saturday, April 25 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Monday, April 27 at Columbus, TBD TSN
*Wednesday, April 29 at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN

SERIES G
#3 vs. #6
Network
Wednesday, April 15 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS, RDS
Friday, April 17 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS, RDS
Sunday, April 19 at St. Louis, 7:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Tuesday, April 21 at St. Louis, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
*Friday, April 24 at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS, RDS
*Sunday, April 26 at St. Louis, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS, RDS
*Tuesday, April 28 at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS, RDS




SERIES H
#4 vs. #5
Network
Thursday, April 16 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
Saturday, April 18 at Chicago, TBD TSN
Monday, April 20 at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. TSN, VERSUS
Wednesday, April 22 at Calgary, TBD TSN, VERSUS
*Saturday, April 25 at Chicago, 10:00 p.m. TSN, RIS
*Monday, April 27 at Calgary, TBD TSN
*Wednesday, April 29 at Chicago, TBD TSN





- * denotes if necessary
- All Times are Eastern Standard Time

Courtesy of NHL.com

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Predators, 4 vs. Wild, 8

Friday, April 10, 2009

The Wild did their part in this game, it's just too bad that they didn't do their part in the season, as the Wild have now been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with St. Louis defeating Columbus and Anaheim defeating Dallas. Onto a pretty good game by the Wild...

Nashville got the first lead of the game when turnovers in the Wild's defensive zone lead to Jason Arnott's first goal of the game, but on a delayed penalty Dan Fritsche scores on the breakaway to even up the score. Andrew Brunette caps off the scoring in the first period when he scored with 25.2 seconds left in the period on the powerplay to give the Wild a 2-1 lead going into the second. The Wild got the two goal lead in the second period when Marc-Andre Bergeron, but what really overshadowed the goal was Fritsche laying on the ice. As Fritsche was searching for the puck, Jordin Tootoo comes across with a high elbow and Fritsche laid on the ice, while Bergeron scored, and had to be helped off the ice. Kim Johnsson then adds a powerplay tally, but not long afterward Arnott cuts the lead in half as he notches in his second goal on the night. And as Tootoo is in the box, Bergeron gets his second goal of the game on the powerplay to make it 5-2 at the end of the second period. In the third, the Preds make it 5-3 on the powerplay as they had a 5 on 3 powerplay, but not long afterward, Mikko Koivu scores shorthanded to give the Wild a 6-3 lead. Steve Sullivan makes it 6-4 with a goal, but with less than two minutes left in regulation, Nashville pulled their goalie Pekka Rinne, and Cal Clutterbuck and Marek Zidlicky score empty netters to end the game and the home finale a 8-4 victory.

I guess it's a small consolation that the Wild eliminated the Predators from playoff contention...

Notes:
  • Looks like Gaby's not going to be coming back next year (big surprise) as at the end of the night he took a lap around the rink and waved buh-bye, and the crowd gave him a big ovation, which did include me
  • Dan Fritsche will not travel with the team after receiving a high hit from Preds agitator Jordin Tootoo. It will be the first game that Fristche has missed since being traded from the Rangers. My problem with the hit, it's obviously a hit to the head, and there are two refs watching the play and call nothing...and he was playing so well during the game...

    I really wished that the refs would've let John Scott get at Tootoo.
  • The writers during JL presser really wanted to know whether or not he would be back next season. When asked if JL would be curious to see what the team would be like if he had a full team, he responded in true JL fashion that he's "curious but not that curious", but apparently he's already made a desicion on his future in coaching.
  • SI's Allan Muir comparing Martin Skoula's physicality to a "pre-pubescent Zac Efron" really made my day...and for the record, I like Skoula...
  • “Only in the NHL: A linesman had to pause the game for a few seconds to pick up two teeth from the mouth of Brunette after he was hit in the face with a puck in the second period” ~AP
UP NEXT: Saturday @ Columbus Blue Jackets, 6:00pm CT (I know that the guys are really disappointed in not making the playoffs, but I really hope we beat the Jackets badly tomorrow for not helping out cause.)

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Stars, 1 vs. Wild, 3

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

It's just a little too late for the Wild to have any hopes of making the playoffs. With the St. Louis Blues handily defeating the Phoenix Coyotes last night, the Wild made no ground with their 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars and still remain 3 points out of the eighth and final spot in the playoffs. And with the Blues' win, the Wild's fatal number is now ONE. Well, at least Nashville lost to Chicago, so the Wild are one point behind them for ninth, and Edmonton lost to Los Angeles and are now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

On to something less depressing: the game...the first period didn't start out well for the Wild as they didn't register a shot on goal until almost the half way point of the period, but from then on, they had a better game. Marian Gaborik got the scoring going, as he got a great feed from Andrew Brunette to make it a 1-0 score by the end of the first period. A couple of powerplay goals by Eric Belanger and Owen Nolan and some great saves by Niklas Backstrom and the Wild start the third period with a 3-0 lead. Fabian Brunnstrom scored for the Dallas Stars in the third to end Backstrom's bid for a shutout, but all in all, the Wild played a solid game...and with only TWO games left in the season, I'd rather not dwell on the bad...well, that is until I do the season recap.

"Buy your tickets. Get in line. It'll be interesting." -- Lemaire on Friday's game

Notes:
  • Scratches: Derek Boogaard, Craig Weller (listed as out with a concussion, but when did he get a concussion or is it the lingering effects of the one he had earlier in the season?), Brent Burns, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Nick Schultz.
  • At least now we know when Burns got his concussion:
    "Burns got a concussion in practice after the January All-Star Game, yet he played through it until two hits were the final straw during a March 5 game at San Jose." ~ Michael Russo, Star Tribune
  • I love Adrian Peterson, but he totally gaffed on the "Let's Play Hockey" call...so much for "practice makes perfect" right. Well, at least it wasn't a misplay on the word "puck".

  • With Schultz missing the game because of a head injury, Antti Miettinen and James Sheppard remain the only players to have played in all 80 games this season.
  • In 15 games this season, Gaborik is 11-7-18, since his return he is 8-5-13 in 9 games and is riding a five game point streak, and in his 500th game he had a 1-2-3 night.
  • With his 25th goal of the season, Nolan becomes the 4th player in franchise history to reach the 25 goal mark in a Wild uniform. Others who did it, Gaborik - five times, Brian Rolston - three times, Pavol Demitra - one time; the trend here, no Rolston, no Demitra, and soon, no Gaborik.
  • Stats of the night: Clutterbuck - TOI 16:38, 8 SOG, 6 Hits, 2 Blocked Shots
  • Gosh...those players' jerseys look HUGE!
  • Hope that all of you caught this yesterday, but if you didn't, former Minnesota Wild forward Jim Dowd officially announced his retirement on NHL Live after playing 17 seasons with 10 NHL teams.
UP NEXT: Friday vs. Nashville Predators, 7:00pm CT

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Games to Watch This Week

Monday, April 6, 2009

Tuesday, April 7
Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks, 9:00pm CT

Thursday, April 9
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins, 6:00pm CT

Friday, April 10
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues, 7:30pm CT
Calgary vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8:00pm CT

Saturday, April 11
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 2:00pm CT
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames, 9:00pm CT

Sunday, April 12
Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 1:00pm CT
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 4:00pm CT

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Flames, 0 vs. Wild, 4

Saturday, April 4, 2009

A year ago last night, the Wild were facing the Calgary Flames, already having clinched a playoff spot, they were on the cusps of clinching their first Northwest division title. Fast forward to today, and the Wild are battling for their playoff lives, hanging onto a sliver of hope and playing against the same Calgary Flames team, a team in which the last win the Wild had against them was a year ago.

The Wild came out with a purpose againt the Flames, and it showed in the results. With a powerplay opportunity early in the first period, the Wild get the first goal of the game when Andrew Brunette tipped in the puck past Miika Kiprusoff off of a Marek Zidlicky shot from the point. Not even a half a minute later, Cal Clutterbuck ends his 30-game goal-less drought, as he scores his 9th goal of the season. The Wild makes it 3-0 when Owen Nolan takes a slap shot that squeezes through Kiprusoff and gives him his team leading 24th goal of the season. The Wild end the first period with a 3-0 lead, and tell me you weren't thinking about the Ottawa Senators, the last game that the Wild scored three goals in the first period, but luckily, the Wild didn't have a repeat of the Valentine's day fiasco. The Wild were a litle sloppy in the second period (and yes, I had a little Sean Avery moment), taking three consecutive penalties and basically passing the puck to the Flames players. But Niklas Backstrom was solid when he needed to be and the penalty killers were great. The third period was a good solid period where fans saw that the Wild didn't sit back on a lead. The Wild had some prime scoring chances, a couple of missed open nets, a couple of wide shots, but the Wild were keeping the pressure on the Flames, and eventually made it 4-0 when Marian Gaborik scored off of a great feed from James Sheppard. Overall, it was a great game by the Wild, and a great overall effort by everyone on the ice last night, and it showed onbrhe boxscore as 12 of the 18 skaters got a point.

Today will be a crucial day for the Wild, and they're not even playing. A lot I scoreboard watching, and a lot of rooting for the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Stars...and...(gulp) the Canucks.

Notes:
• Scratches: Kolanos, Olvecky, Gillies, Boogaard, Bouchard, Burns
• Kiprusoff was pulled after Clutterbuck's goal, but later put back in net. Total time spent off the ice: 12 seconds.
• Backstrom made 27 saves for his 16th career shutout, 13th career at home, and 8th this season, second only to Steve Mason (10).
• How good was Martin Skoula last night? He played almost 25 minutes, had an assist and was solid all night, he was robbed of the first star.

UP NEXT: Sunday @ Detroit Red Wings, 11:30am CT, NBC

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Things to Watch in the Last 5 Games

Thursday, April 2, 2009

How well will Marian Gaborik will play in order to improve his UFA status this summer? So far, in the 6 games since his return, Gaborik has had 5 goals and 3 assists.


Will Josh Harding get a start in order to create more buzz around his RFA status and to up his stock for a potential trade this summer?

Will the minor league call ups (Krys Kolanos, John Scott, and Peter Olvecky) who were on the Aeros' clear day roster be sent down before the end of the season to help the Aeros in their playoff run?

Will Brent Burns and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who are both out with concussions, play another game this season?

Will Derek Boogaard score his first goal in over 2 seasons? He's had a couple of good scoring chances this season, but has been injured as of late.

Will the Wild make the playoffs?...Hey they still have a 16.6% chance to get into the playoffs (that's up 2.2% from yesterday)

You got to love April Fools Day jokes...well maybe not if you're Eric Belanger...



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Canucks, 2 vs. Wild 1 OT

Wednesday, April 1, 2009


Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune


You can see the disappointment in the body language of Kim Johnsson and Niklas Backstrom after the game winning goal in overtime by Henrik Sedin. This was an essential game that the needed to gain the two points, and game after game in these must wins and got to get situations, the Wild have failed to secure the two points. After a scoreless first period, the second period looking like it was going to end scoreless too, when on the powerplay Antti Miettinen took a suspect hooking penalty as Ryan Kesler got past Eric Belanger on the point and deep into the Minnesota zone. And with 1:02 left in the second period, Pavol Demitra scored on the powerplay (his 300th goal, and 3 goal vs. the Wild) as the puck deflected into the net past Backstrom off of Johnsson. The Wild tied the game when Andrew Brunette made a pass to Gaborik, who was moving toward the front of Roberto Luongo, and scored. The Wild had a strong third period, as they didn't allow the Canucks any shots, and had the opportunity to put the game away when Sami Salo took a delay of game penalty as he shot the puck over the glass with 26.8 seconds in the powerplay, but nothing amounted from the powerplay as the two teams were still tied at 1 at the end of regulation. With a lengthy 4-on-3 powerplay in overtime (1:28) and numerous opportunities afterward, the Wild were able to generate good scoring chances, but weren't able to put the puck past Luongo. And with exactly one minute left in the overtime session, Henrik Sedin was able to score to give the Canucks the win and the Northwest division lead. The Wild played a solid 60 minutes of hockey, and outshot the Canucks 39-19, but it just wasn't good enough to get the job done.

Mathematically, the Wild are still capable of making the playoffs, but realistically (and I think the players are coming to terms with this) they are out. With just FIVE games left (OMG) to have any hope of making the playoffs, they'll need to win all five games...and when was the last time that the Wild had more than two wins in a row, hell, when was the last time that the Wild had back to back wins?

Notes:
  • Scratches: Kurtis Foster, Brent Burns, Peter Olvecky, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Colton Gillies, and Derek Boogaard
  • The Wild went 0-for-5 on the powerplay
  • The Canucks scored 2 goals on their last 3 shots.
  • Stats from the night: Zidlicky TOI 31:38, Johnsson TOI 30:56
  • In the 6 games since Gaborik's return, he has 5 goals and 8 points.
  • At the beginning of the game the fan sitting next to me was pointing out Canucks players to his date, and he said, "Did you know that the Canucks have biological twins on their team? Yeah, the Sundin twins, Mats and Henrik." Yes, it's true the fan next to me actually said this, and me being a polite little girl didn't correct him in front of his date.

UP NEXT: Friday vs. Calgary Flames, 7:00pm CT

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Wild, 3 vs. Oilers, 2

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Wild keep their playoff hopes alive, if only for a couple more days, with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves on the night for a franchise record 34th win and improved to 13-1-0 against the Oilers, in a rare win for the Wild at Rexall Place. The Wild got the scoring start when Marian Gaborik fanned on a shot that went directly to Andrew Brunette who scored while falling down as the powerplay had just expired, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead. And just 1:51 later, the Wild built a 2-0 lead when Martin Skoula scored from the point, his 2nd goal in 3 games. After a scoreless 2nd, the Oilers began to make it interesting, cutting the lead in half when 1:04 into the third, Oilers captain Ethan Moreau drove to the net, and Fernando Pisani tipped the puck in past Backstrom. But the Wild answered back, when on a delayed penalty drawn by James Sheppard, Gaborik comes on the ice as the extra man and scored, giving the Wild another 2 goal lead. The Wild were outshot 16-4 in the third period, and eventually the Oilers cut the lead down to one again on an Ales Kotalik goal with just under 5 minutes to play, but Backstrom's play was solid and the Wild were able to leave Alberta with 2 out of 4 points on the weekend road trip.

The Wild got the win and the two points last night, but so did the Preds, Blues and Ducks...it's going to be hard for them to get into the playoffs with the other teams ahead of them playing as well as they have been.

Notes:
  • Mikko Koivu returned after missing 3 games with a knee injury, he had a TOI of 19:06 and won 13 of 20 faceoffs.
  • Pierre-Marc Bouchard missed his 2nd consecutive game with what the Wild are now saying is a concussion, most likely occurring during the Islanders' game when Nate Thompson checked Bouchard.
  • Kurtis Foster was a scratch, along with Colton Gillies and Peter Olvecky, who was out after blocking a shot during the Calgary game; Krys Kolanos played after being called up earlier in the day.
  • LOL, during John Scott's fight with Zack Stortini, Stortini ripped of Scott's nameplate, and Scott had to play the rest of the first period with only his #36.
  • Clutterbuck's getting a lot of attention lately with a NHL.com and THN article about him.
  • Stats from the night: Skoula +3, Sheppard +2, Patrick O'Sullivan -3
  • On a not Wild related note, I hope that some of you caught the Canucks-Blackhawks game last night, as a pretty interesting brawl erupted after Dustin Byfuglien checks Roberto Luongo in the face...it just gives me more reason to dislike Alex Burrows after watching him fight (I'm a girl and even I wouldn't pull hair in a fight ^_^). Really, they should put mics in the penalty box, I would pay to watch that show...


    LOL that the penalty box is full, and the bench is half empty.
UP NEXT: Tuesday vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00pm CT

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Games to Watch this Week

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sunday, March 29
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6:00pm CT

Monday, March 30
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames, 8:30pm CT

Tuesday, March 31
Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8:30pm CT

Wednesday, April 1
New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:30pm CT

Saturday, April 4
Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers, 9:00pm CT

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Top 10 'Goalies Gone Wild'

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sportscenter's top 10 'goalies gone wild' moments inspired by the weekend theatrics that Tukka Rask pulled in the AHL...I just had to suppress my laughter and amusement.

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Wild, 6 vs. Islanders, 2

Doesn't this game start the what-ifs for fans about Marian Gaborik; what if Gaby had been healthy the entire season (heck I would've taken half of the season)? In his 3rd game since returning from hip surgery Gaby looked like he was back in form, with a TOI of 19:22 and 2 goals and 2 assists for a four point night in a game that was physical and chippy to the end. Not even 5 minutes in and John Scott and newly recalled forward Joel Rechlicz when at it, with Scott getting the decision with his 6'8'' reach. The scoring didn't start until off of a faceoff win for the Islanders in their offensive zone Bruno Gervais score on a great play set up by Dean McAmmond and Mark Streit to give the Isles the 1-0 lead. The Wild tied it up when Marek Zidlicky was working just off the corner and feed Gaby who was standing in front of Isles goalie Yann Danis to pot the goal. With a late powerplay in the first, Antti Miettinen netted his career high 15th goal of the season 10 seconds into a Rechlicz holding minor. The first didn't end all happy, as Nick Schultz took exception with a slash by Blake Comeau, which entailed him to shove Comeau and as the off ice security was just opening the door to let the Wild into the locker room, Miettinen came back at Comeau to give him a shot, Comeau was being shoved through the doors, and it lead to a huge gather which saw both Comeau and Miettinen get coincidental roughing minors and former Gopher Kyle Okposo jawing at every Wild player he saw. The Wild built up their lead as Owen Nolan scored a powerplay goal in the second period when he went to the center of the offensive zone and gestered for the puck and got a great feed by Gaby, and when Martin Skoula scored from the point in the third period, the Wild had a comfortable 4-1 lead over the Islanders. The Isles came back with an Andy Hilbert goal to cut it to a two goal deficit, but the Wild put the game away when Andrew Brunette scored in front of the net, and on a 5-on-3 powerplay Gaby got his second goal of the game.

But I'm not too overly enthusiastic about the game, it was a game that the Wild should win against a team that the Wild is very much better than, it will make it interesting to play the Islanders next season though.

Notes:
  • Scott got back into the lineup, which meant that Kurtis Foster and Craig Weller were the healthy scratches for the night.
  • The Wild were much better last night in faceoff% winning 52-48.
  • With 7 hits in the game, Clutterbuck broke the NHL hits record set last year by Dustin Brown with 311 hits; Clutterbuck now holds the record with 317 and counting.
  • LOL...when Zidlicky and Okposo both went to the penalty box for coincidental roughing minors, Clutterbuck was already in the box. Clutterbuck was then gestering to Okposo to shave because "if he can’t grow it on the rest of his face, why try at all?".
  • You see boys...if you drive to the net how many goals that you can score...
  • This game was pretty interesting with the physicality and chippiness of it, but it also displayed a rare 3 on 3 opportunity when Zidlicky and Okposo took coincidentals and Clutterbuck and Comeau were already in the box for coincidentals.
  • I was so annoyed with the MSG commentators for the Islanders during the broadcast last night. They just kept talking about the "restrictions" of the system and how the Wild play a trap which leads to a "boring" game...GAWD the Wild don't play the trap anymore, granted it's a defensive first system, but that just means that the d-men just need to know when and when not pinch into the the offensive zone so that it doesn't lead to an odd man rush, a scoring opportunity or, worst, a goal against. Ugghhhh...I'm just so tired of commentators and mainstream media saying that the Wild play a "trap and boring" game...
Scott vs. Rechlicz


Let's hope that this 6 goal output by the Wild doesn't mean that they'll lay an egg in Calgary...but I won't hold my breathe knowing what the Wild's record is in Calgary (and overall against Calgary for that matter).

UP NEXT: Saturday @ Calgary Flames, 9:00pm CT

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Wild, 1 vs. Rangers, 2

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

With the way that this team has been playing, the Wild has as much of a chance to get into the playoffs as the Ottawa Senators. It was a night of what-ifs, and with the stretch the Wild have been on and with the position that they've put themselves in, they can no longer dwell on the what-ifs, and the what-ifs are no longer a comfort to fans. The Wild were outplayed by the Rangers, and basically had no puck possession, no sustained pressure in the offensive zone, so basically no offense at all. After Colton Orr took an additional roughing minor in his fight with Owen Nolan, Antti Miettinen took and ill-advised interference call in the the offensive zone, and negated the powerplay opportunity for the Wild. During the 4-on-4 play, with 4.4 seconds left in the first period, Nikolai Zherdev scored to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead going into the second period. The Wild weren't playing all that well in the first and going into the second, you thought that they would've gained momentum when Marian Gaborik scored his first goal since December 23 more than a minute and a half into the second period to tie up the game, but in less time than it took for the Wild to tie the game up, they were again trailing the Rangers when Scott Gomez scored 43 seconds after Gaborik tied the game (now you know you didn't have the game tied long when the opposition scored before you're goal was even announced on the PA). I don't know how the Wild expected to tie the game when with 6 minutes left in regulation the team takes a too many men on the ice penalty, and just when the penalty is about to expire, Nick Schultz does a bone head move and shoots the puck over the glass. That's four minutes of wasted time, and with two minutes left to try and generate offense the Wild did nothing. With Niklas Backstrom on the bench for the extra attacker, the Wild did nothing...well, not nothing, Kim Johnsson took as slashing call with 33 seconds left in regulation to put the Wild out of its misery.

Just the Wild's luck that the Anaheim-Nashville game goes into extra sessions (and the only thing I was rooting for in that game was that it would end in regulation) and each teach has at least a point. Edmonton lost to Detroit, but St. Louis shutout the Kings, so the Wild are now 11th in the Western Conference...and quickly sinking...

Notes:
  • Craig Weller and John Scott were the healthy scratches.
  • Colton Gillies had a TOI of 3:02; he was on the ice for Gomez's game winning goal, took one shift after (10 minutes between the shifts) and was benched in the third.
  • Scary incident in the first when Kurtis Foster lost an edge going into the boards and one of the refs fell on top of him, his skate hitting Foster's head; Foster was OK and played the rest of the game.
  • Stats: NYR won 65% of the faceoffs (which is closer than what it really was), 70% at even strength; Johnsson was -2 last night
  • It was a pretty physical game with 60 total hits in the game and "gatherings" after whistles; even Gaborik was physical, credited with 4 hits and pretty good one on Markus Naslund.
  • Clutterbuck vs. Avery, Nolan vs. Orr



UP NEXT: Today @ New York Islanders, 6:00pm CT

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Today's News

Monday, March 23, 2009

Mikko Koivu will be out at least a week with a knee injury; he didn't travel with the team today.
Derek Boogaard also stayed behind on this road trip with an upper body injury.


Photo By Craig Lassig, Associated Press - Ap

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A Win at a High Cost

Obviously I was too lazy after yesterday's afternoon game to post my postgamer so I'm doing it now...

The Wild and Niklas Backstrom shutout the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 yesterday afternoon to move into a tie with Anaheim for ninth place (with Anaheim getting the nod over the Wild with more wins), but it comes at a high price. After the return of Marian Gaborik to the ice since before Christmas break, the Wild lose another important piece to the team in their loss of their captain Mikko Koivu. After coming out of the penalty box, Koivu collided in the offensive zone with an Oilers player, and fell awkwardly. Koivu played the rest of the first period, and part of the second, but did not return for the third period. And it must be serious because the team said that this is a knee injury and not the famous lower body injury term that they've coined this season, but Koivu will be reevaluated today before the team heads out to New York.

So...Koivu's injury overshawdowed a great win for the Wild, an important win for the team. Though they didn't get a great start to the game being outshot by the Oilers 15-2 in the first period, but they came back with a franchise record 23 shots in the 2nd period (isn't that usually their shot total for a game), with Owen Nolan getting first goal on the powerplay by going to the net and getting his own rebound. The Wild built up their lead in the third when Nolan again went to the net and got a great feed from James Sheppard to get the two goal lead. And then Stephane Veilleux scored...well sort of...Veilleux was the closest to the play when Tom Gilbert's pass deflected off of Sam Gagner's skate an past Dwayne Roloson, but I guess when you're a scoring like Veilleux has lately, it'll go in for him. But isn't it refreshing that the Wild had a 3-0 lead, and not trailing by 3-0? Oh...and Gaborik was back and on the ice for 17:43, had 24 shifts, and 6 shots.

Veilleux's Goal


Notes:
  • Colton Gilles, Craig Weller, and Peter Olvecky were the healthy scratches; Marek Zidlicky is day-to-day with a lower body injury and Brent Burns is still out with concussion like symptoms.
  • Backstrom got his franchise record 16th career shutout, and a franchise record 12th shutout at home, both surpassing...Dwayne Roloson, who now has surpassed Roberto Luongo for most losses against the Wild.
  • I read the TaR article on SI.com about overrated coaches in the NHL and Jacques Lemaire was named...it was just a small snippet in an NY Post article by Larry Brooks...maybe I drink too much of the kool-aid that the Wild offer, but IMO Lemaire is the only reason why the Wild have been as competitive as they've been, especially early on in their history.
UP NEXT: Friday @ New York Rangers, 6:00pm CT (this one is going to be dubbed as Marian Gaborik vs. the New York Rangers and we'll see lots of replay of the 5 goal game leading up to it...but I doubt that this time Gaby's going to get 5 goals again)

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Games to Watch this Week

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sunday, March 22
New Jersey Devils vs. Boston Bruins, 2:00pm CT

Monday, March 23
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6:00pm CT
Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames, 8:30pm CT

Saturday, March 28
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:00pm CT

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Devils Hand Wild a 4-0 Loss for Brodeur's 101st Career Shutout

Friday, March 20, 2009

Every game now for the Wild is a critical game and the outcome is either a crucial game won or, in this case, a frustrating blow. And that was what came out of this 4-0 loss to the Devils, FRUSTRATION. After playing a "safe" first period, which saw a total of 10 shots (6-Devils, 4-Wild), Zidlicky (as Russo described it) executed a gorgeous, blind backhanded pass in front of the net, too bad it went right to Patrik Elias who got it past Niklas Backstrom for the 1-0 lead. The Devils took a 2-0 lead 20 seconds when Brian Gionta scored after killing off a Johnny Odyua penalty when Zidlicky ill-advisedly stepped up in the offensive zone and allowed Zach Parise and Gionta to have 2-on-1 with Martin Skoula "backchecking". And a little over a minute later Odyua scored to give the Devils the 3-0 lead, and drove Backstrom out of the net as Harding came in to replace him. The Devils eventually made it 4-0 when Elias scored his second goal of the game on the powerplay with Nick Schultz in the penalty box.

I think that this has been the most frustrated that I've been with the Wild since I've been following them. When did it become commonplace that they fall behind their opponents so often. At the beginning of the season, it was the powerplay that was helping the Wild win games when they couldn't score 5-on-5, and now at this point in the season when they still can't score 5-on-5, the powerplay hasn't been able to generate any offense either. The powerplay may have essentially cost the Wild this game. On a night where the Wild ended up 0 for 7 on their powerplay opportunities, and they had 5 consecutive powerplay, 2 back-to-back opportunities, the Wild were not able to capitalize on their man advantage. And as I like to point out, if their opponents want to take that march to the penalty box, you have to make them pay for it, and the Wild were just not able to do anything on the powerplay tonight, or anything during the game for that matter.

Some quotes from tonight's game via Russo:
"We couldn't come up with nothing. Nothing!" Lemaire said.
"[Mistakes] have haunted us all year and [they] continue to haunt us," veteran Andrew Brunette said.

Notes:
  • Stats from the game: Skoula -3, Zidlicky -2, Clutterbuck -2; Clutterbuck credited with 7 hits (14 total for the Wild), for a league leading 297
  • The Wild have been down 3-0 to an opponent in 4 of the last 9 games , that's 5 of the last 9 that the Wild have been down at least 2-0 to an opponent.
  • The Wild have allowed at least one powerplay goal in
  • I don't know if I can watch this type of play from Zids for another year, sure he's good on the pp as a point man, and can score those goals, but he ends up putting more in the net against us than for us.
  • With Edmonton defeating Chicago 5-4 in the SO and St. Louis defeating Calgary 3-2, the Wild have fallen to 12th place in the Western Conference.
UP NEXT: Sunday vs. Edmonton Oilers, 2:00pm CT (Gaby is aiming to return Sunday...let's see if he will be this "shot in the arm" that I keep hearing about, though it maybe too late)

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter

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Michael Farber SI Article

Just thought that I'd post the link to the SI article by Michael Farber about the Boy's High School Hockey Tournament. It's a pretty good read, and here's his interview with Falness.

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Avalanche, 2 vs. Wild, 3 SO

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Mikko Koivu said that it may have been the biggest goal of the year so far for the team, it probably is the biggest goal in Nick Schultz's career (seeing as he only has 21 career goals in 7 seasons in the NHL), but it was the overall effort of the play that created the game-tying goal with 1:46 left in regulation that draws my praise. It was an unbelievable play (and great effort) by Eric Belanger to keep the puck from going over the blue line and getting it to Dan Fritsche, who eventually feed the puck to Schultz for his second goal of the season, and first since December 20 in St. Louis a span of 38 games. The Wild started the game out well, getting good scoring chances (a couple from Boogey), but after a good powerplay from the Wild when Cody McCormick took a penalty, the Avalanche turned on the pressure and were getting better scoring opportunities. The game went into the second with no scoring until Cody McLeod scored 9:21 into the second off of a Ben Guite wrap around. Stephane Veilleux scored 1:44 after McLeod tying the game at 1 when he tipped in a Martin Skoula shot from the point. Ryan Smyth scored almost 3 minutes after to give Colorado the one goal lead going into the third period, and then fans just got a sinking feeling going into the third look at the Avs stats: the Avs were 19-0-0 going into the third with a lead. For as bad as a team that Colorado has been this season, those were numbers that you wished that you could just ignore, and when Nick Schultz tied the game with just under two minutes to go in regulation, I was just glad that they got a point. The game eventually went into the shootout where Niklas Backstrom was able to stop Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos (Wojtek Wolski scored...don't feel bad Backs, he's the NHL's best shootout scorer, going 10 for 11 this season) as Koivu and Marek Zidlicky (Pierre-Marc Bouchard was stopped)scored on Peter Budaj for the win, and the two points.

How good does a WIN make you feel?...at least for a couple of hours.

Notes:
  • Happy birthday to Craig Weller yesterday! And his birthday present was being the healthy scratch for the Wild, along with John Scott and Colton Gillies. Brent Burns is still out and according to Russo, it'll be a while before Burns gets back.

  • Kurtis Foster was back in the lineup for his second game of the season, his home debut, and his first game back at the X in a exactly a year, ironically it was against the Colorado Avalanche.

  • Zidlicky is now 3 for 5 in shootouts as all 3 of his goals in the shootout have been the shootout deciding goal.

  • Tom Reid, the Wild's color analyst on the radio, has shut it down to recuperate from knee surgery; Kevin Falness, the Wild's radio producer, will be filling in for Reid.

  • 5 of the last 8 games for the Wild have needed extra sessions to decide the winner, in those five games the Wild have won 2 (one in OT, one in SO) and lost 3 (two in OT, one in SO).

  • The Wild's April 5th game at Detroit has been picked up by NBC, so instead of a 4:00pm CT game start the game will start at 11:30am CT; it is only the 2nd time in franchise history that the Wild will be televised on NBC. NBC has also picked up a Detroit, Chicago game at the end of the season (and here I thought that NBC only thought that there were four teams in the NHL).

UP NEXT: Friday @ New Jersey Devils, 6:00pm CT (great...we get a well rested Martin Brodeur, because he won't be playing tonight against the Hurricanes, coming off of his 552nd NHL leading win...that's just wonderful!)

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Wild, 3 vs. Blues, 5

Monday, March 16, 2009

The worst thing that the Wild could've done last night was to score the 4th goal after the Blues scored the empty netter to saddle Josh Harding with the loss. On a road trip that will basically tell the team whether or not they can still make a run at the playoffs, they come out and lay an egg in all three cities. In a game where both team were supposed to come out desperate, St. Louis came out and dominated play, basically they just wanted the win and the two points more. Honestly, I turned the tv off after the THIRD powerplay goal was scored by the Blues (and I thought the Wild were supposed to be the #1 PK team) to make it 3-0 Blues and turned it back on with 5 minutes left in the game to check out the score. I knew that the Wild weren't going to come back from the 3-0 deficit (though hopefuls might point out the last couple of games where they've been down 2-0 and 3-0 to rally) with the way the that the Wild were playing. The 5-3 score makes the game seem closer than it really was, and like I said, the worst thing that the Wild could've done was to saddle Hards with the loss, like they've done so many times this season. Obviously a really disappointing loss for the team and the players as Russo said that the players looked "disappointed" and that JL looked "defeated", but they dug themselves this hole.

To the eternal optimist (aka the Kool-Aid drinking fans): Hey, the Wild are only a point of a playoff spot, if they string some wins together they're back in the thick of things.

To the realist and pessimist in all of us: When was the last time that the Wild had more than two wins in a row? Pack it in and hope that they make a big splash in the free agency market this summer. NO GABY, PLEASE!

I'm officially done with the hockey season and am resigned to know that this year, there will be no playoff run (at least they won't be one and out again, that's a consolation prize, right)...July 1st here we come...now, who do I root for in the playoffs?

There's no "Isn't it sad", it's just sad T_T.

Notes:
  • So much for all those games in hand, huh?, as those have all but complete disappeared during the last two weeks.
  • The Wild have lost nine of its last eleven (2-5-4), and I thought these must win games were supposed to make the team come out with desperation?
  • Andrew Brunette playing on a torn ACL contemplating surgery during the offseason. My opinion: shut it down. I know he wants to help the team "succeed", but I don't think even AO could help this team...And like Riser says in that article, guys like Bruno and Nolan are a dying breed now in the NHL.
  • I want to know what's going on with Brent Burns! The only news that has been heard is that he's suffering from concussion-like symptoms, but that was early on when he was out of the line up, is he planning on playing Tuesday?
  • I wonder how the crowd will react to the team when they come back home for one game, or whether or not it will be a full house at the X?
UP NEXT: Tuesday vs. Colorado, 7:00pm CT

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