Predators, 4 vs. Wild, 8

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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Canucks, 2 vs. Wild 1 OT

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, 1 vs. Rangers, 2

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

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

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