Washington, 3 vs. Minnesota, 4

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

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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.

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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

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Vancouver, 3 vs. Wild, 2

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

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Gameday vs. Penguins, 2-1 SO Win

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

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

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.

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

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

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Wild Win 3-2; Burns Injured in Warmups

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?
  

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