Games to Watch this Week

Sun, March 15
Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 4:00pm CT

Tues, March 17
Chicago Blackhawks vs. New Jersey Devils, 6:00pm CT
Phildelphia Flyers vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:30pm CT

Sat, March 21
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 6:00pm CT

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Wild, 2 vs Stars, 3 OT

The last time that the Wild won in Dallas, Wes Walz had the GWG, with Richard Park and Lubomir Sekeras getting the helpers, it's been that long...March 21st, 2003 to be exact. What is it with this team that they like being down 2-0 or 3-0 that makes them actually get going...it's pretty annoying for a fan to watch. As it's been said all season, the Wild just can't seem to pull out a full 60 minute effort. Really, when was the last game that the Wild actually played 60 minutes of solid hockey? With a goal two minutes into the first period by Steve Ott, the Wild were down 1-0 early in the game. And 38 seconds into the second period, Ott scored his second goal of the game to give the Stars the two goal lead. The Wild then started the rally Cal Clutterbuck drew a high sticking call, and Mikko Koivu scored on the powerplay. Andrew Brunette scored 1:51 after Koivu to tie the game at 2. The game ended in overtime 2:23 into overtime when Niklas Grossman scored giving the Stars the win and the extra point.

Question, and I know that I'm reposting this but, Is it sad that the team is becoming satisfied with ONE point? At what point in the season is the team going to start showing the desperation that they've needed in the past month to make a push for a playoff spot. They showed it a little bit tonight, but the problem is that it may just be too late for this team to make the playoffs now as the teams competing with the Wild for the last two playoff spots look to be moving up, while the Wild are stagnant in their position.

Notes:
• Derek Boogaard returned to the lineup after serving his 5 game suspension, though he was eligible to return against Colorado, Boogaard was ill and not able. Colton Gillies, Craig Weller, and Kurtis Foster were the scratches, while Brent Burns still remains out with concussion like symptoms.
• All the teams that are bunched around the 7th and 8th seeds picked up points last night except for St. Louis, as Dallas of course won and got two points, Nashville won, an Edmonton picked up a point in an overtime loss to Colorado.

UP NEXT: Today @ St. Louis Blues, 5:00pm CT

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Wild, 1 vs. Avalanche, 2 SO

You've got to feel for those 150 or so Wild fans that shelled out the money to go on that road trip to watch a one goal, 17 shots effort by the Wild in a 2-1 shootout loss against the 15th seeded Colorado Avalanche. I think I'm going to have a new way of analyzing Wild games...whether or not it was a complete waste of my time to watch the entire game, because this one was. The Avs dominated play for most of the game, and that's a sad thing to say. The Wild started off the scoring when Marc-Andre Bergeron scored on the powerplay in the first, but John-Michael Liles was able to tie the game 37 seconds into the second period on the powerplay that carried over from the first. You knew that the Wild were doomed when they couldn't get anything going on the 6-minute powerplay that Colorado gave to them in the second (Cody McCormick double minor for high sticking, Ryan Smyth hooking). That entire powerplay sequence basically entailed the Wild dumping the puck into the offensive zone and the Avs getting to the puck first to be able to get the puck out of the zone. The Wild just couldn't for the life of them get the puck out of their defensive end during the latter part of the second and the entire third period, and when they did they couldn't put any sustained pressure on the the Avs in their offensive zone with errant passes and dump ins where the Avs got to the puck first, and it showed in the shot total with the Avs outshooting the Wild 41-17 in the game (38-15 in regulation). Niklas Backstrom was the only reason that the Wild were able to get a point in this game making 40 of 41 saves in the regulation and overtime. Wojtek Wolski (shootout winner) and Milan Hejduk scored in the shootout, while Peter Budaj made saves against Owen Nolan and Mikko Koivu to give the the Avs the extra point.

Is it sad that this is the team that we've seen all season?...and some fans still hold hope that they get another gear to try and make the playoffs (if only to lose in the first round to the Sharks or Wings).

Is it sad that I think that the Wild and Avalanche are similar teams in regards to their on ice performance?...the only difference in the teams is that the Wild have the tandem of Backstrom and Harding, while the Avs have Budaj and Raycroft.

Notes:

• Gaborik skated with the team yesterday in Colorado...yes it's true.
• Doug Risebrough says that there's a potential for signing Marian Gaborik short term. Honestly, bridges have been burned, GET OVER IT...and even if they offer a short term contract, what's the odds that Gaby wants to sign here? Oh, and another question, Gaby has played how many games this season?
• I wonder if McCormick is going to get anything for the head shot on Cal (maybe a response to Cal's check on Foote in the first who sustained a head injury and didn't return, but I don't remember seeing the hit), but knowing the league and how inconsistent Campbell is at doling out discipline, I'm not holding my breath...and how do you get called for a dive when you're crosschecked?
• Here's the Scott vs. McCormick fight from last night, no doubt it was in response to the head shot on Cal, and Scottie was definitely icing his knuckles in the penalty box afterward (I believe this was John Scott's first fight in the NHL?):
  
  
• TWO effin shots in the third period, and their first shot came with 4:23 left in regulations...are you freaking kidding me!

UP NEXT: Saturday @ Dallas Stars, 7:00pm CT

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Wild Rally Falls Short in OT

When the Sharks went up 3-0, fans kind of hoped that there would be another rally like last Thursday night in San Jose, and low and behold I had hope after Olvecky's goal in the second. The Wild dug themselves into a hole (how many times has that been said this season) but the rally began in the second with Peter Olvecky scoring his second goal of the season (and of his career) to get the Wild within two, and I had hope with the thought that the Wild have rallied before down 3-0 against the same Sharks team, and then Pierre-Marc Bouchard scores 1:02 into the third, just after a powerplay, to cut the deficit to one. Milan Michalek then scores to give the Sharks the two goal lead again, but Owen Nolan comes to the rescue. Nolan scored his 400th career goal tipping in a shot from the point by Marek Zidlicky, and then was able to tied the game at 4 with just over two minutes to play in regulation on a great effort by Koivu to get the puck to the net. The Wild were able to generate pressure in the offensive zone and scoring opportunities in overtime, but with Miettinen making a bad pass and Christian Ehrhoff getting to the puck before Zidlicky, Ehrhoff was able to put the puck up high into the net to score the gamewinner. A deflating loss for the Wild after the effort that was put forth to try and get the two points.

And with the overtime loss, the Wild leave the X with a point and move into 9th place, 1 point out of a playoff spot. Is it sad that I was kind of satisfied with 1 point...I really hope the players weren't...

Notes:

• Brent Burns out with concussion-like symptoms.
• Something that hasn't been said much this season, but Backstrom was not good in this game, allowing a couple of soft goals.
  
• With Nolan scoring his 20th goal of the season, and 401st goal of his career, the New York Islanders are now the only team remaining without a 20-goal scorer on their roster.
• The Wild had THREE shots in the first period...three freaking shots, and two came in the last two minutes...ughhhh!
  
• I'm on twitter now.
  

UP NEXT: Thursday @ Colorado Avalanche, 8:00pm CT

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Stats from the 6-game Road Trip

Record: 2-4-0 (1-2-0 SC1st; 1-2-0 TR1st)
Goals For/Against: 15-16
Powerplay: 3-16 (18.8%)
Penalty Kill: 16-18 (88.9%)
Shots For/Against: 165-188
Faceoffs: 170-367 (48.7%)
Time Lead: 90:38-304:38 (29.6%)
Time Trailed: 210:14-304:38 (69.1%)

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Wild, 3 vs. Ducks, 2

At least the Wild ended this road trip on a good note, beating the Ducks by a 3-2 score, finishing the trip with a 2-4-0 record. The Wild came out well out of the gate, with Stephane Veilleux getting a goal 1:08 into the game, but a lackadaisical play behind the Wild net in the second by Marc-Andre Bergeron, while the Wild were on the powerplay, allowed Todd Marchant to tie up the game at one. The game was tied going into the third period until Veilleux scored his second goal of the game on a slapshot (reminiscent of Brian Rolston), as Owen Nolan feed him the puck to allow for a breakaway opportunity for Veilleux. Andrew Brunette scored 11:49 into the 3rd period to give the Wild a two goal lead, and it proved to be an important goal as it ended up being the gamewinner as Scott Niedermayer scored with 21 seconds remaining in the period. Niklas Backstrom had a solid night with 36 saves, rebounding from his last game against the Kings in which he was pulled. The Wild finish the season series with the Ducks with a 2-2-0 record.

Let's see how the team comes out against the Sharks, as they come home for a game after a long road trip, just to head out to another road trip (@Colorado, @Dallas, @St. Louis).

Notes:

• After getting playing in his first game in almost a year, Kurtis Foster was a healthy scratch against the Ducks after John Scott was recalled from Houston. Brent Burns missed his second consecutive game, as Craig Weller got back in the lineup with Gillies being a healthy scratch.
• With the win against the Ducks and the two points, the Wild leap frog over the Ducks into 10th place, 1 point out of a playoff spot.
  

UP NEXT: Tuesday vs. San Jose Sharks, 7:00pm CT

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Games to Watch this Week

Sunday, March 8
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals, 2:00pm CT

Tuesday, March 10
Edmonton Oilers vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:30pm CT

Thursday, March 12
Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings, 6:00pm CT

Saturday, March 14
New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:00pm CT

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