Wild vs Kings recap

            OK Wild fans I’m going to just cover the Wild vs Kings in this blog and put up a reaction to the last 3 games in another tomorrow.

            Last night the up and coming LA Kings (5-2-0) came to town to face the consistently inconsistent Minnesota Wild (3-3-1). After splitting 2 games of their first road trip of the season the Wild were lucky to come home with 2 points. Minnesota committed 16 penalties combined and needed to turn it around if they expected to beat LA.

            In the first period the both teams came out physical. LA loves to create their style of offense by shooting the puck and crashing the net which they were able to do multiple times in the first but unable to get anything past Backstrom.

            6 minutes into the first John Madden scored his second of the season and 1^st of the game on a Clayton stoner assist (1).  Not long after the Madden goal Nick Schultz took a set up by Mikko Koivu giving the Wild a 2-0 lead assisted by Koivu (7) and Brent Burns (3). With those 2 goals the Wild scored twice on their first 4 shots of the game.

            The Wild got a chance to get their league leading power play on the ice 12 minutes into the period. By now everyone knows how well the PP has gone but they were unable to get anything clicking. Unable to control the zone twice the Wild gave up the short handed opportunities but the Kings were unable to score.

            Mikko Koivu was called for a tripping call with about 3 minutes left of the first and Kings Center Jerret Stoll was able to cut the lead going into the 2^nd period 2-1. Throughout the first period the Wild committed 4 penalties to the Kings 2 and LA outshot the Wild 10-8.

            Coming into the second period both team were playing 4on4 when the Kings went to the box giving the Wild a chance on the PP only to have Latendress call for hooking 7 seconds in to the penalty. The Wild couldn't get anything going on the 4on4 and 5on5 unable to get a shot on goal till over 7 minutes into the period.  

            Minnesota got a big chance to increase the lead when LA’s Captain Dustin Brown was called for a game misconduct for a hit to the head of Antti Miettinen. Looking at the replay multiple times I’m still not positive if he made contact to the head of Miettinen but with how fast the game goes the refs made the right call. They have to protect the players after the Matt Cook hit on Marc Savard. Savard got a concussion on the play and missed a lot of game time for the Bruins.

            With the Dustin Brown penalty the Wild were given 4 minutes on the power play.  The once potent Wild Power play looked confused along with no sense of urgency at all. Throughout the PP the Kings were able to step into passes and into the plays clearing the puck out of the zone not giving the Minnesota a chance to set up and get going.

            Even though Minnesota couldn’t get anything going the hockey gods must have been smiling on them. Minnesota’s 5^th penalty of the game the Kings missed the open net 3 times, it wasn’t till Captain Koivu committed his 2^nd penalty of the game that Anze Kopitar was able to tie the game up at 2-2. At the end of the 2^nd Minnesota had already committed 7 penalties, were outshot 13-7, and the game was tied 2-2.

            In the 3^rd period both teams played physical and fast. Kings Defenseman Jack Johnson was call for a tripping minor but yet again the Wild were unable to take advantage and get the go ahead goal. The third period ended with that being the highlight of the period. The Wild did not commit any penalties in the third but were outshot 8-5 by the Kings and headed to overtime.

            In overtime neither team was able to get much going. Ryan Smyth was the closest to ending the game when he ripped a shot on goal that bounced off Backstrom and towards the goal. Lucky for the Wild Marek Zidlicky was ther to stop the puck and keep the Kings from getting the win. Overtime ended with the score still 2-2 headed to the shoot out.

            The shootout went as followed:

Rd 1, LA Kopitar (5 hole) score, MN Koivu (backhand) score. 1-1

            Rd 2, LA Johnson Denied, MN Cullen (forehand) score. 2-1 Wild

            Rd 3, LA Stoll (forehand) score, MN Zidlicky missed. 2-2

            Rd 4, LA Williams Denied, MN Burns missed. 2-2

            Rd 5 LA Handzus (forehand) score, MN Miettinen denied. LA wins SO 3-2

            Throughout the game the Wild were unable to get anything going on a consistent basis. Committing too many penalties again was the killer for the team and main reason why the Wild lost going 2-7 on the penalty kill. The First 2 lines didn't do much to contribute to the game, it is hard to get your best players on the ice when they don’t play on the PK and just sit and watch for a third of the game.

            The Wild need to do something to get this turned around fast, with Washington coming into the X on Thursday. With the Capitals high flying offense they could get into penalty trouble again but it is looking like that is not their only problem that is starting to show.

            Thanks for reading, I’m always open to feed back so let me know what you think. Follow me on twitter at @josh_sargent for more Wild updates. 

Wild vs Canucks preview game 2

            Tonight the Wild make the trip all the way to the west coast of Canada to face off with the Vancouver Canucks for the second time this season. In their last meeting Vancouver traveled to the X and got absolutely “Waffle Stomped” (quoted from Adam Dubois) up and down the ice winning 6-2. The Wild controlled the whole game with physical play throwing off the game of the Canucks and their twin threats, the Sedins. Although they went to the box 6 times to Vancouver’s 3 the Wild scored on all 3 power plays where as Vancouver scored only once on the PP in the last 3 minutes.

            To add insult to….a big loss, Ryan Rypien was given a 10 minute misconuct and on his way off the ice into the locker room he reached over and grabbed a fan. Ryan was given a 6 game suspension today from the incident while the fan has reached out to legal council in this matter. This is sure to be a big story going into this game and possibly bring back the Vancouver Minnesota rivalry.

My take on it, Rypien was in the wrong and does deserve to get suspended I thought anywhere from 8-10 games, but looking into it more the 6 games that he was dealt is fine with me being a Wild fan. Now the guy that he grabbed at first I felt somewhat bad for but I really can’t anymore. Yes, if it was me I would get a lawyer too and so would everyone out there if in “his” position. But after hearing him and his brother the last couple days on local radio in MN he is sounding like a whining baby when nothing physical was really done to him. Take it or leave it that is MY take.

            Coming into this game the Canucks have won 4 straight at home vs. the Wild. The big key to them winning is that the Sedins need to get going early and often. So far this season D. Sedin is leading the team with 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists) and brother H. Sedin is just one point back with 9 (9 assists). Vancouver has a 2.14 GG and a 2.57 GAA. Their penalty kill is at 80% and have only given up one goal shorthanded this season at home going 14-15.

There X-factor going into this game is going to be Cory Schneider. The Wild have not seen much of him and so far this season he is 1-0-0 in 4 periods of play with a 0.75 GAA and .974 SV%. He was put into the game after Luongo was pulled going into the third period at the X and did a great job stopping the Wild from doing more damage. If he can continue this pace the Canucks could have one of the best goal tending tandems in the NHL as long as Luongo can get back on pace.

            The Wild last year were 7-8 last year in back to back road games. They were able to win last night in Edmonton though going to the box 10 times. The Wild will need to be more aware of what is going on and stay out of penalty trouble yet keep the physical play going. This season they are 44.4% on the PP (1^st in league), have a 3.33 GG (3^rd in league), have a 2.33 GAA (7^th in League), are perfect when leading after 2 periods, and have not given up more than 2 goals since their season opener to Carolina. Matt Cullen is coming into this game on fire. Seeming like he never gets a break (playing on the PP, PK, and centering the 2^nd line) he is leading the team in point so far with 9 (2 goals, 5 assists).

The X-factor for the Wild is Jose Theodore. Getting the nod and starting his first game of the season Theodore is 19-0-2 in his last 22 starts with a 2.55 GAA. Now I’m going to throw some stats at you and take them how you want because they are coming from both sides of the puck. In Vancouver Theodore is 5-7-2 with a 3.34 GAA and .882 SV%, while 3-1-0 in last 4 in Vancouver with a 2.23 GAA and .914 SA%, and 5-1-0  with 2.15 GAA in last six starts vs. Vancouver.  

Either way this is a big game for both teams. The Wild need to be a solid team on the road this year, if they expect to make a solid run at the playoffs and gain some credibility, while the Canucks are just looking to get back on track.

Thanks for reading; I am always looking for feedback. Follow me on twitter at @josh_sargent.

Wild vs Oilers 2 post game

           The Minnesota Wild come into tonight’s game looking to change how they have played Rexall arena. Just like how the Wild own the Oilers in the X so do the Oilers own the Wild at Rexall. In the last 10 games they have only won twice.

            Starting out in the first period both teams played at a pretty good pace coming out. Both teams went up and down the ice getting some close chances on goals. 3 minutes into the game former Oiler Kyle Brodziak was able to jam home the opening goal of the game on the third try past Khabibulin for his first goal of the season, assisted by Brad Staubitz (1) and Brent Burns (2). 3 minutes after that Brodziak picked up his second goal of the game and season when Latendress found him open putting the Wild up 2-0 early in the first, assists Latendresse (2) Cam Barker (3).

            Nick Schultz was called for a hooking minor giving the Oilers their first power play opportunity. With on 30 seconds left of the power play Greg Zanon turned the puck over leading to Chuck Kobasew being sent to the box for holding. The Oilers with 30 seconds of 5-3 play were unable to cut into the lead though not due to a lack of effort. Just before Schultz was done with his penalty the Oilers had a flurry of shots that were sent away by Backstrom and Wild players alike. Throughout the 5-4 Edmonton couldn’t get anything going with the Wild getting their sticks in the passing lanes and the Wild killed off both penalties. 8 minutes left in the period Cal Clutterbuck was called for a slash giving the Oilers their third power play of the game. 30 seconds into the power play Ales Hemsky scored unassisted cutting the lead 2-1.

            The Wild finally got their chance to get their league leading power play on the ice when Dustin Penner was called for a hooking minor 13:30 into the period.  Setting up Latendress (3) was able to get the puck from Havlat scoring 25 seconds into the power play, assists from Havlat (6) team points leader Matt Cullen (6).

            Before time could expire in the first both teams were not letting up at all until Eric Nystrom was called for a minor charging giving the Oilers their 4^th power play opportunity. Lucky for the Wild, the Oilers were called for a too many men on the ice penalty (2 minutes) evening up the play to 4-4 prior to time expiring.

            At the end of the period shots on goal were 7-9 Edmonton. But the Wild were committing too many penalties. 4 in the first period of play is half of what they have been averaging per game, but still lead 3-1. In the last 8 meetings the Wild have only scored 3 goals in Rexall twice.

            Coming into the second the Oilers were able to kill off the man advantage that carried over from the first. Both teams looked as if nothing was lost coming out of the first intermission playing both physical and fast.

            Just over 4 minutes into the second Latendresse was call for a Delay of game minor giving the Oilers their fifth chance on the power play. Down 3-1 the youth of this team in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle were starting to come on but couldn’t do enough to put the puck into the net.

            The Oilers clearly taking over in the period were firing on goal every chance they had. Putting up 6 shots on goal with 12 minutes left into the period the Wild were too busy deflecting the barrage to get anything going. Things got worse for the Wild when there was a scrum and Brodziak was called for a 2 minute cross checking. Edmonton still firing on all cylinders the Wild needed Backstrom to make a great save stopping the Oilers from scoring and killed off their 6^th penalty.

            8 minutes left of the second Edmonton was out shooting the Wild 13-2. Trying to get something put together the Wild found their stride and started to own the Edmonton zone. They had multiple scoring chances but were unable to put anything past Khabibulin.

            At the end of the period Latendresse was called for a holding minor with only 18 seconds left in a scoreless period. The Oilers out shot, out hustled, and out class the Wild though out the second. The youth of the Oilers in Hall, Eberle, and Paajarvi were flying all over the ice getting plenty of chances but the experience of the Wild were able to weather the storm. The Wild were out shot that period 15-8 but were able to show some signs of life still leading 3-1.

            Coming into the third period the Wild had to kill off their 7^th power play of the game. The Wild safely came out with good defense and bad passes by the Oilers. Only getting 2 minutes of 5-5 play the Wild committed their 8^th penalty of the game but 30 second into the Edmonton power play Dustin Penner was call for a high sticking evening up play 4-4.

            During the 4-4 Brent Burns was called for a roughing minor giving the Wild their 9^th penalty of the game and just over a minute of power play for the Oilers. With 2 seconds left of the Burns Penalty the Oilers Shawn Horcoff scored his third of the year cutting the lead to 3-2.

            Although there was less than 10 minutes of play and the Wild were FINALLY playing 5-5 Hockey they still looked like they were just trying to hold on. Edmonton was taking plenty of shots but was unable to get anything on goal. Looking gassed the Wild were just trying to get the puck out of the zone for a chance to breathe.

            3 minutes left in the game Martin Havlat gets called for interference minor giving the Wild their 10^th penalty of the night. They must have been praying hard enough because Edmontons Tom Gilber was call for interference as well sending play back to 4-4. The Oilers decided to pull Khabibulin with 2 minutes left giving them the man advantage with an empty net.

            Off the face off win Brent Burns was able to bank the puck down the ice and into the goal giving him his 3^rd goal of the season and the Wild the win, assisted by Mikko Koivu (5)

            The Wild needed this win not only because of the division implications but they need to exorcise the demons of Rexall arena. Last season the Wild had a losing record on the road and hopefully will be able to build off this win going into Vancouver tomorrow. Though it was a rough night for them playing basically a whole period shorthanded they were able to take lead early, buckle down, and hold on for the win. The Wild were 1-3 on the power pay and 2-10 on the penalty kill. With this win the Wild gain 2 big points and go 3-2-1 on the season.

            Thanks for reading and get ready for my Wild vs Vancouver preview tomorrow. Follow me on Twitter at @josh_sargent. 

Wild vs Oilers game 2 preview

          Welcome Hockey fans to my Wild pregame blog for tonight.  The Wild (2-2-1) play the first of two road games facing off with the Edmonton Oilers (2-2-0) for the second game out of six for the season. Minnesota comes into this game first overall on the power play at 45.8% and 14^th at 85% penalty kill while the Oilers are 15^th on the power play at 15% and 27^th in penalty kills at 73%. Faceoffs for both teams are as follows, Wild 55%, Oilers 40%, and 29^th in the league.

In their last meeting the Oilers made the travel to the X to face off in the Wild home opener. Unfortunately for them the Wild are were 8-0-1 in home openers, 13-0 vs. the Oilers at the X and won 4-2. The big reason why the Wild won that game was not because of history but that they were 4-6 on the power play while going 1-7 on the penalty kill. Mikko Koivu put up 3 points and Minnesota native Matt Cullen had 2 points also.

Since their last meeting things have changed for both teams. The Oilers have dropped 2 straight on the road after winning the first 2 at home. In the last 2 games between the Wild and Flames, the Oilers have a 4.5 GAA and a 2.5 GG. Lucky for them they are play back at home. In their first two home games the Oilers had a 1.0 GAA and 3.5 GG. The biggest trend that they will have to continue will be their perfect penalty kill at home. Versus Calgary and Florida they went 4-4 and 5-5 but were outshot 46-65 combined.

While facing the Oilers Coach Todd Richards noticed that there was a trend building, lack of effort. After losing their first home game to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2, Richards was not happy about anything in that game. Sunday for their morning skate he put them through their hardest practice since becoming the head coach. Message sent message received. In their following game against division rival Vancouver and their toughest test to start the season not once did the Wild seem to let off the gas. Dominating the entire game the Wild blew out the Canucks 6-2.

The Oilers do have one big thing that they can look forward to in this game, Backstrom is starting in goal for the Wild. Not sure if Coach Richards got his stats sheet for when he plays in Edmonton but just as he owns them at the X, they own him at home. In his last eight starts he has been pulled in four of them. He has a 3-2-1 record and 2.91 GAA playing in Edmonton. I’m not saying that he should sit his number one goalie but maybe Theodore should have got the nod.

The Wild decided to go with the same lineup as they put out on Tuesday. So yet again the team will need big production out of their second line of Cullen, Havlat, and Latendresse if they expect to win. Keeping the intensity going all game long like they did vs. Vancouver is a big key to this game. Like how it disrupted the play of the Canucks it could do the same to the Oilers forcing them into penalty trouble and getting their dominate power play on the ice. Backstom will need to be on his top game or we could see an early showing of Theodore this season.

For the Oilers they will need both their young stars going early and often. Today Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini was quoted that “Taylor Hall will stay with the team all season long.” Both Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle have a combined 3 points in 4 games. The Oilers need them to be consistent this year if they plan to play spoiler this season.

Follow me on Twitter @josh_sargent and get my updates for Wild news and postings

Wild vs Canucks

     This was exactly the kind of game that Coach Richards wanted out of the team after the hard practice he put them through on Sunday. Message sent, message received. Luongo came into this game with a 3-9-3 record at the X along with 3.56 GAA and .873 save percentage. He must really hate playing here now because tonight he looked like Swiss cheese.

     Starting out only 1 minute into the game the Wild already had a hole to dig themselves out of. Daniel Sedin took a blind pass from Alex Edler and in an open net going up 1-0. Shortly after that Cal Clutterbuck was called for an interference call putting the Canucks on the power play and adding more pressure to the already down Wild team. After a solid penalty kill the Wild were able to come out still down one goal.

     5:30 into the game Minnesota went on the power play after a slashing minor sending the Wild and their impressive 5-4 a chance to tie the game up. Marek Zidlicky got his first goal of the season after blasting it from the left circle evening it up at 1-1 assists going to Cullen (5) and Miettinen (3). 2 minutes later Latendresse found a lose puck right of Luongo and put it home for for his second goal of the season and the 2-1 lead for the Wild assists by Havlat (4) and Falk (1).

     Half way throught the first period Staubitz got into a fight with Ryan Rypien after a Luongo stop the puck fueling more energy into the crowd and team. Vancouver's Samuelsson was called for a cross checking on Greg Zanon giving the Wilds potent power play yet another opportunity. Sure enough Latendress was able to get the puck in the neutral zone pass up ice to Havlat where he found Clutterbuck for his second goal of the season. Assists to Havlat (5) and Latendresse (1).

     Coming out of the first period the Wild were 2-2 on the power play and shutting down the Canucks (0-2) on the man advantage. Leading shots on goal 11-7 but down 11-14 in faceoffs the Wild can look back on this period and have no regrets. This is the best that I have seen them play all season so far. They did not make many mistakes and were controlling the puck keeping it out of the Sedins hands as much as a team can do. What I most noticed was Latendresse and Havlat. Coming into this game the Wild needed both forwards to have a big game and through one period they both have a multiple point game.

     Coming out in the second period both teams looked good and determined. Vancouver to get back on the board and hope to tie things up and the Wild to keep there lead and bury the Canucks even more. Both teams were going back and forth until John Madden scored his first goal of the season assisted by Brent Brent Burns (1) and Nick Schultz (1).

     Eric Nystrom was called for a delay of game minor when he sent a puck over the net but lucky for him the Wild penalty kill has been on fire. Only allowing one shot on goal the whole man advantage the Wild were able to put the pressure back in the Vancouver zone. Andrew Brunette found pay dirt shoving the puck past Luongo putting the Wild up 5-1. Assists by Zidlicky (2) and Miettinen (4).

     A frustrated Vancouver team made things worse when Ryan Rypien and Staubitz started to pick up where they left off. Before anything could get going the refs stepped in and stopped the fight. During the scrum Rypien received a 10 minute game misconduct but some how was not ejected from the game. On his way out Rypien shoved a fan that was clapping the penalty. This is going to get looked at by the league and likely be a suspension because of it. I realized that players get frustrated but take it out on the gatorade cooler or break your stick. To go after a fan is completely uncalled for even if they are cheering your getting penalized. Eight seconds into the Rypien power play Matt Cullen was able to rip a goal home giving the Wild a 6-1 lead and putting them 3-3 on the power play. Assists by Koivu (4) and Zidlicky (3)

     Second period ended with the Wild keeping the momentum and getting under the skin of the Vancouver Canucks. Although it was not a dominating period by any means the Wild were able to kill off 2 penalties and score on the only penalty Vancouver created. Shots on goal were Vancouver 11 and Wild 7 but the big contribution was that Burns, Brunette, Koivu, and Cullen all got on the board.

     In the third period the Vancouver Canucks decided to pull Luongo for Schneider and the Wild coaching staff said they wanted to see the team play a complete game. And after 2 minutes into the period Matt Cullen did what they didn't want to see. Cullen was called for a 2 minute minor holding giving the Canucks their 5th power play of the night. Not letting the momentum shift the Wild only gave up one shot on goal and killed yet another penalty.

     The Wild were not letting up at all and playing solid defense Vancouver was unable to get anything going. Clearly not on there game the Canucks had trouble getting passes to each other and shots though to on goal. The Wild were able to take advantage of this having multiple breakaways but unable to anything past Schneider. Finally Daniel Sedin was able to get one past the Wild penalty kill after Nick Schultz was sent to the box for a 2 minute hi-sticking minor. But for the Canucks it was to little to late.

     By far the all around best game for the Wild. Going 3-3 on the man advantage and 1-6 on the penalty kill everyone fan and coaches couldn't be happier. Keeping the intensity up through out the whole game was the key. It kept the Canucks from getting anything going forcing them to make a lot of mistakes. Although getting out shot 27-24 they never gave up, not once did you see the team slow down and lose the momentum. Having to play Vancouver again in three days this is shaping up to be a great rivalry again. If the Wild can continue this type of play they could surprise everyone this season and make a strong playoff push. Like I said before if they plan on getting to the post season this is how they need to play, physical and fast.

Wild v. Canucks preview

     Wow, Tuesday already. Here is my Pregame preview of the game. The Vancouver Canucks come to the X without recording a win on the road and an overall record of 2-2-1. Goal Against Average (GAA) is at 2.2 and Goals per game at 2.4. The Canucks give up as many shots as they take per game with 30.4 shots on goal (SOG) and 31.6 shots against and have a 57% win ratio in faceoffs. The Minnesota Wild are giving up and scoring 2.5 goals per game on average, and their shots on goal and shots against is at 29 per game. Just like the Canucks the Wild are around 58% in faceoff wins. Just looking at stats you would think that both of these teams are equally matched, not so. Vancouver is a better team 5-5 and has the ability to score at will with the Sedin twins, while the Wild have only 2 even strength (5-5) goals. So what the Wild lack in even strength play they make up for on the power play. Coming into this game the Wild are #1 in the NHL with an amazing 38.1% on the power play. The Wild will look to throw the Canucks off their game and get them into the box but if they don't bite it could be a long night for the Wild.

     Although this is not the same Vancouver team that Minnesota fans love to hate, it is still a division rivalry game that both teams can not look past. The Wild need to be able to continuously play physical for all 60 minutes and throw the Canucks off their game. If they dot that they have a good chance and getting the win. But the main key factor will be shutting down the Sedin twins. Both Henrik and Daniel lead the team with 7 points a piece but shutting them down is easier said then done. The one thing that the Wild have going for them is that they are playing at home where they took 2-3 from the Canucks last year at the X.

     One of the X- factors for this game is Martin Havlat. With only 4 games in the books for the Wild Havlat has only 3 points, 2 of which came in the game vs the Blue Jackets. The Wild will need his scoring and play making ability to be a big factor in this game. Captain Koivu needs to be the force that drives this team. His line with fellow Finn Antti Miettinen and crafty Vet Andrew Brunette needs to play like the top line and put a goal on the board every game. Cal Clutterbuck is another player that needs to be a factor in this game. His physical ability to be more or less a human cannon ball is exactly what could throw the Canucks from their game. Punishing players and forcing them to make quick decisions could lead to bad turn overs by Vancouver and quality scoring opportunities for the Wild. The biggest factor will be the power play. Matt Cullen on point for the power play has been the best thing this team has. Great at reading plays and getting the puck to the open man Cullen will need to continue the dominance this team has had on the man advantage.

     If the Wild are able to get a couple of the previous mentioned accomplished they should walk away with a win. If they are not able to then they could be looking at another hard practice and a very upset fan base. Check back after the game for the post game wrap up.

Wild vs Blue Jackets

            Welcome ladies and gentleman, after a horrible day hunting I have decided to do a blog on tonight’s game.  Coming into tonight’s game the Wild power play and penalty kill could only be described as the unmovable force and the unstoppable object.  The Wild are best in the league on the power play going 7-15 (43.8%). Their penalty kill is a solid 82.4% and killed off 6-7 in their home opener against Edmonton. 

            After splitting the season series last year 2-2 both teams come into this game looking for win number 2. Wild won beating the Edmonton Oilers and going 9-0-1 in home openers.  The Blue Jackets split their series in Finland against the San Jose Sharks only to lose their home opener to Chicago 5-2 and get booed by their home town fans.

            Usually I don’t say that the Wild came out flat until the second period, but there was not a lot to be happy about coming out of the first. Columbus had a great period stopping the Wild at every advance. The Jackets led in shots on goal 10-2 and Derek Dorsett scored 13 minutes into the period to put the Jackets up 1-0. Both teams were even on the faceoff and Columbus was the only team to record a penalty, Samuel Pahlsson 2 min for interference. While on the power play the Wild were either unable to get the puck into the Columbus zone or once in was quickly cleared. Throughout the first the Wild were unable to connect on pass attempts either missing completely or being intercepted by the Jackets. Columbus seemed to have a firm grasp on dictating what the tempo of the game was going to be. Though I give credit to the Wild for staying out of the penalty box, the lack of physical play was very evident. This is something that I will repeat all season long, if they expect to do anything this year they need to start out physical and continue it through the whole game, and only having 2 shots on goal in the first is just ridiculous.

            Coming into the second period it looked like Todd Richards did some adjustments this time between periods. The Wild seemed to come out with a bit more aggression then they were willing to show in the first period.  4 minutes into the period they got the added boost that they needed. Kristian Huselius was called for a tripping minor and the Wild power play came through yet again.  Brent Burns was able to get his second goal of the season assisted by Martin Havlat (2) and Matt Cullen (3). For the Home crowd and fans watching this was short lived. 7:30 into the period Cam Barker was called for a 2 minute holding call where Columbus went back up 2-1. With some smooth passing, the Wild unable to keep up, and finished by Derek MacKenzie putting in home past Backstrom took the air out of the home crowd.  After 10 periods and over 200 minutes of play the Wild finally got their second even strength goal of the season to tie the game up at 2 apiece. Cal Clutterbuck (1) was able to rebound a Havlat shot home breathing life back into this team, assists by Martin Havlat (3) and yet again Matt Cullen (4). Coach Richards liked the play of Clutterbuck, Cullen, and Havlat on a line while playing a preseason game in Finland. Deciding to go with Clutterbuck on the line over Latendresse seems to have paid off in the short term. Playing better this period the Wild outshot the Blue Jackets 12-9, both teams had 2 power play chances, and a power play goal. Physical play was up this period with some solid hits and what I really like to see, players finishing their checks. When you finish your check on the opposing teams it forces them to make a quick decision with the puck and is more likely to turn the puck over in their zone giving us better scoring opportunities.

            Third period both teams were equally looking to put up the winning goal. Wild still not looking crisp all game long, hung in and had a couple chances to get some quality shots on goal.  4 minutes in Brent Burns was called for a minor hooking call putting the jackets back on the power play. This time the Wild penalty kill came alive and closed all chances for the Jacket to score. Though not without trying, Columbus was able to cycle the puck very crisp and clean almost the whole power play but unable to get a shot on goal till the penalty was over. 10 minutes into the third the Wild went back on the power play when FedorTyutin was called for interference. Unfortunately for the Wild RJ Umberger was able to score a shorthanded goal to put the Blue Jackets up 3-2. With 8 min left in the period it turned out to be the game winner. Although the Wild pulled Backstrom with 2 minutes left in the third they were just unable to put anything past Garon.  With 1.2 seconds left in the game Garon made a great save to deny the Wild any chance of getting a point in the standings.

            Unlike the home opener the Wild just didn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders tonight. Though they had many chances, the passes weren’t crisp enough and often shot to far ahead or behind intended players, along with sloppy play in all areas on the ice.  There is a lot that the Wild will need to work on for their even strength game if they expect to finish the with the W.  Only scoring their second even strength goal of the season should be something this coaching staff’s number one priority right now for fixing. Despite playing bi-polar one person stood out yet again. Matt Cullen had yet another solid game helping to set up each of the Wild goals and was pivotal for the Wild every time he put his blades on the ice.

            Side notes: This was the first game that the Wild did not sell out since they entered the NHL with only 17,336 showing up for tonight’s tilt. Captain Mikko Koivu was held without a point ending his 3 game streak. Martin Havlat finally showed up on the ice tonight putting up 2 assists. Columbus ended a 4 game losing streak at the X with the win tonight.

2010 Wild Home Opener

            Let me start out by saying, what a great game! This was exactly what the Wild needed from coming off 2 loses in Helsinki versus the Hurricanes.  What better way to start at home where they are 8-0-1 in home openers but to go against the Edmonton Oilers who the Wild have beaten now 14 times in a row now at home. 

            First period started out with a lot of energy both the crowd and the Wild were ready to go. It was very physical starting out but where everyone was looking for a home opener fight I don’t think anyone wanted to start anything in case they had to fight Steve MacIntyer. MacIntyer knocked out Raitias Ivanans of the Flames on Oct. 9^th.  But as goes for a team that is really pumped to play the Wild got themselves into penalty trouble with 4 in the first period.  Cullen and Brunette both served 2 min each for questionable hooking calls, Zanon 2 min for crosschecking, and Brodziak 2 min for roughing. Despite the penalties the Wild penalty kill has been great starting out this year, so sitting in the box for 8 min was no problem.  The Oilers were unable to capitalize on the man advantage and the only penalty Edmonton committed in the first was Dustin Penner 2 min for hooking and Antti Miettinen put the puck home past Nikolai Khabibulin, assists by Andrew Brunette and Cam Barker.

            Biggest problem that I saw in the Carolina series in Helsinki was that the Wild would come out with a ton of energy in the first period and flat to start the second, and yet again came out flat.  Staring the second period they had to finish a penalty kill that carried over from the first period only to have Latendresse get called for a tripping minor 3 minutes in and the Oilers were able to finally get the puck past Backstrom for their first goal of the game tying it 1-1. Just under halfway into the second period the Wild were still unable to get anything going on either side of the puck and Tom Gilbert (native to Bloomington, MN) got the puck off the faceoff and slapped one over the left shoulder of Nicklas Backstrom to put them up 2-1. During this 14 game losing streak against the Wild at home the Oilers have only scored two goals once and have been outscored 50-18. 14 minutes into the second period the Wild got the break that they needed.  Magnus Paajarvi was called for a 2 min minor holding and Mikko Koivu put up the first of his two goals tonight assisted by Matt Cullen and Antti Miettinen. Shortly after that the Oilers went back into the box when Jim Vandermeer was called for Interferance and Koivu put in number two with the help of Andrew Brunette and Marek Zidliky ending the period up 3-2.

            Edmonton trying to get back into the game in the third was set back twice by former Wild defenseman and fan favorite Kutis Foster, for hooking 1 min into the third and holding the stick six minutes later. Matt Cullen was able to capitalize on the second Wild power play of the period when he sent a slap shot off Tom Gilbert and past Khabibulin assisted my Captain Koivu to put the Wild up 4-2 and leaving Edmonton in a cloud of dust. Although Edmonton pulled their goalie with 2 minutes left in the third period they were unable to put anything past Backstrom.

            Despite the 8 penalties that the Wild committed tonight they played a good game.  Most of their top player that need to put up numbers this season did with Cullen, Brunette, and Miettinen with 2 points each. Marek Zidlicky and Cam Barker both got one point and Captain Koivu with the big game put up 2 goals and had one assist. The one disappointment of the game I felt was in Martin Havlat. Havlat seem frustrated late in the game after being stoned by Khabibulin multiple times. The Wild need him to step up and be the game breaker that everyone knows that he can be. If the Wild expect to make a playoff push he needs to get on the board and create space for the rest of the team.

            The one very big bright spot for the Wild was on the power play and penalty kill. Going 4-6 on the power play and killing 6 out of 7 penalties will not happen every game but this will give the team something to build on and give them a big boost in confidence in upcoming games. The addition of Matt Cullen to the team and on the power play has been exactly what this team needs. Cullen has been able to create space for his teammates and make all the right decisions at point on the man advantage. So far this season the team is 7-15 on the power play, yet the team needs to be more aware of what is going on and not commit so many penalties.

            Overall this was yet another great home opener for the Wild showing the fans what this team is able to do. With the next 7 out of 9 games at home they need to put Helsinki behind them and continue the play how they did tonight. This is going to be a tight division this year and they will not be able to let off the gas one bit.  Realistically only 2 teams from the Northwest division will make the playoffs so they need to continue to play chippy and keep the momentum going in the later periods if they plan on playing in April. I understand that it is a long season but for the Wild the playoff push needs to happen all season long, losing games now will cost them at the end of the year.  Beating the Oilers tonight was big not only because it gave them the two points for the win but it gave them a win against a divisional opponent. 

2010-2011 Western Conference Season Predictions.

Ok, so the season has already started and I may be a bit late in posting this, but if you have been following me on twitter I put them out about a month ago and just now putting it up here. I’m going to show you who I have picked for each of the divisions along with what teams I have making the playoffs and who is out, so let’s start with the West.

Western Conference:

Central Division:

Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Columbus, Nashville.

For as long as I can remember Detroit has never had a “young” team and have always been a bunch of grizzled vets, this year being no exception, there is too much experience and talent on this team for them not to. I like them winning this division even over the Cup champions Chicago who in the off season traded key players to their championship run away in Sopel, Byfuglien, Versteeg, Niemi, and picking up what I feel is a downgrade at goal in an aging Marty Turco. St. Louis should make a playoff run this year with Erik Johnson returning and the addition of Halak in goal this team might shock some people. Columbus and Nashville will be at the bottom here completely out classed by the rest.

Northwest Division:

Vancouver, Colorado, Calgary, Minnesota, Edmonton.

Vancouver the clear class of this division with the Sedin twins, Ryan Kesler and the goal tending of Roberto Loungo and although as a fan I hate everything about them you just can’t look at this division and make a viable argument for any other team to win it. Colorado is going to surprise a few teams this year, if you over look them you will leave with a big “L”. Veteran leadership in Adam Foote, and Milan Hejduk and the play of Paul Stastny will be the driving factor for this team to make the playoffs. Here is where this division gets tough; Calgary, Minnesota, and Edmonton are all really up in the air and all have the potential to make the playoffs but realistically maybe only one, that being Calgary. With Kiprusoff in net and Captain Jarome Iginla leading a team of solid vets should finish 3^rd in the division. Minnesota has a long way to go, and there are questions surrounding every part of their game and for me the big one is Goal. With Coach Richards new style of “open” offense it is going to leave some openings for other teams to exploit and if Backstrom doesn’t return to his top form people will be and are asking if he was just another product of a Jacques Lemaire defensive style of play. Edmonton is the Dark horse in the whole Conference, yeah you read that right. Edmonton could finish anywhere from 3^rd in the division to 7-8^th in the Conference. If the youth and veterans can pull it together this is could be the start of them being a viable division champion again, and if you sleep on Jordan Eberle he will burn you bad. I have him picked for the Calder trophy (rookie of the year) this year.

Pacific Division:

San Jose, L.A., Phoenix, Anaheim, Dallas

San Jose is still the clear Favorite in this division (in my opinion) and has way too much talent for this division, not to mention that they will also be the top in the Western Conference. I really like the move in picking up Niemi from Chicago and should be solid for them in goal. With Pavelski, Thorton, Marleau, and Heatley this team has just too much. L.A. is going to be a solid up and coming team this year, a solid mix of experience and youth should give this team what it needs to make a deep run in the playoffs and with the explosive play making ability of Anze Kopitar anything could be possible. Phoenix last year had a great run to the playoffs and I don’t know many people that didn’t pull for them a little bit. This year they will take a slight step back but nothing major, I don’t see them putting up 107 points again but more like in the mid 90’s and should make it into the playoffs again. Anaheim and Dallas, how the mighty have fallen, both teams are shells of their former selves and are going to have to hope….sorry, wish for something dramatic to happen for either team to make the playoffs.

Western Conference Playoff Picture:

1) San Jose

2) Vancouver

3) Detroit

4) Chicago

5) LA

6) Colorado

7) Phoenix

8) St. Louis

My pick to go to the Cup Finals this year is San Jose, I think they get it done this year and with Niemi in net finally get to where everyone has predicted them to go the last 3 years. Unfortunately for them, unless they make some solid moves this year will be the last that time they are favorites in the West. With Vancouver making a solid push for the top spot, and up and coming teams in Edmonton, Colorado, St. Louis, and LA, things will defiantly start to change in the West and torches will be passed. Like the dismissals of Dallas, Anaheim, and Calgary you only have so long being king of the hill before someone knocks you off.

So that is my Western Conference preview, I will be putting up the Eastern Conference here in a few days. I hope you like what I picked but if not, tell me who you like and why.

Thanks for reading!

Wild Game 2

Game 2 for the Wild, and what looked like a completely different team in the first period. Right away in the period the Wild came out with a more physical type of play that I don’t think the Canes were expecting from them. Scrums after play in the Canes zone where even Captain Koivu got involved and a few minutes later a fight that looked like Nystrom was going to lose yet came back with a solid punch to win (in my opinion) helped out a lot for the Wild.

Showing physical play in both the offensive and defensive zones is something this team needs to do consistently to be a quality team this year, seeing they are not going to out skate or out talent ¾ of the teams in the league this year and it opened the way for their first period goal for Andrew Brunette.

Ending the period the wild were up 1-0, out shooting the Canes 18-11

Intermissions are there for teams to rest and for the coaches to make adjustments to their teams play, and in this case the Canes did just that containing what seem like a tired Wild team. The physical play slowed and a bad play by Backstrom early in the second trying to beat a Carolina player to the puck and clear went wrong and he was not able to get back into position in time to stop the goal. It is plays like that where he needs to sit back in the net and be patient, he had a Wild player trailing and there is a good chance they don’t score on that play.

Throughout the period the wild we not without chances to take the lead, Drayson Bowman for the Canes got a double minor 10 minutes into the period followed by a slashing call from Eric Staal gave the Wild 5:30 minutes on the power play and a 5 on 3 for 30 seconds that they were unable to capitalize on. For a team that needs to capitalize on every opportunity, they had a hard time keeping the play in the Canes zone and creating quality shots. This is defiantly something that could be a major concern if continued into the season.

End of the 2^nd period Tied 1-1, Wild out shooting Canes 29-21

Throughout the third period both teams looked a little tired at times and played the type of Hockey that everyone hates in just a back and forth game, skate down shoot, skate down shoot. This is the time where your stars or key players need to step it up, though both teams had their chances but neither could capitalize.

Going into the 3^rd period the Canes were 0 for 2 with no shots on goal and the Wild would have to make a big stand. 12 minutes into the period Clayton Stoner was called for and interference call followed by a Greg Zannon hooking call giving the Canes a 5 on 3. Throughout the game the Wild penalty kill has looked great and this was not the time for it to fail, Backstrom making key saves and the Wild hustling to the puck killed off both calls.

Late in the Third the Wild had a chance to go up 2-1 on a Martin Havlat break away. Havlat took the pass around mid ice and skated in on Cam Ward, deeked to Wards left, and tried to bring it across to get around his right skate but missed wide. Seeing Havlat miss made me kind miss the all Gaborik break a ways that you could count on more times than not.

The Wild were both out shot (15-4) and out played in that period heading into overtime.

End of tree and the game still tied 1-1, Canes out shooting Wild 36-34

Thank the Hockey gods for overtime seeing that the Wild walk away with at least one point. I do have to say that seeing the Wild play the Canes at times that they are a much better 4 on 4 team and if they could play the season out like that I would have to move them up in my rankings, but unfortunately the overtime period ended with the game still tied at 1-1 and headed to a shootout. Prior to the period ending the Wild had a great chance to put the game away but Cam Ward came up with a great save and the Wild could not do much with the power play from a slashing call 7 seconds left

In the shootout Koivu, Burns, and Miettinen all miss and the Wild lose their both games in Finland and will come home with a 0-2 mark yet walk away with one point.

This trip brought up old and new question for the team that will need to be addressed when they get home but also should help with the team chemistry in building for this year. Although better then the last game, the Wild can’t lose the attitude that they had in the first period, they will need to push it through the whole game and feed off of it. You could clearly see the momentum in the game change along with the energy. Richards has quite a journey ahead of him if he is to make this team something special.

Wild Season Opener

Hockey is finally back in play! After a long 5 months without Wild Hockey we can all get our fix now, and after seeing them play today I'm going to need something strong. Looking at the Box score of the game you would think that the Wild played a pretty good game and may have just had an unlucky bounce, but it brings up more questions and they seemed to continue bad trends of last year. There were obvious weaknesses that if are not fixed, will be exploited all year long and have Wild fans up in arms.



One of the big things that sticks out to me right away, and is a very positive thing, is that Koivu, Burns, Havlat, and Latendresse all put up a point and Cullen put up two. Each of these players has the potential and opportunity to do so on either a nightly or every other night basis. All five will and should be the core of this team, they should be able to open space for other players on the team and create opportunity's for themselves and will be leaned heavily on for the entire season, but it is good to see them start out this way and not slowly making people wondering about the legitimacy of how talented each player really is or if the bar is set to high. For now those questions will wait.



Coming into last season new Wild Coach Todd Richards said that this team was going to play a more "open" style offense, this is something that he might want to pull back on and focus a little more on D. Throughout the game this team at times looked completely lost not knowing if they were playing a zone or man D. Along with the penalty kills, leaving men open at the front of the net, and not making them work for it, this team defensively just didn't have it going and will need to improve if they want to make a run at the playoffs this year. It is the beginning of the season and have the players capable of improving and they have a lot more opportunities to do so.



I have been talking about this for the last year now. There is going to be a Goalie problem this year if Backstrom is not able to get back on track lowering his goals against average (GAA) back to around 2.2 and save percentage back to the .920's. This is big year for him and with the Wild signing a proven vet to back him up in Jose Theodore he needs to show that he is not just a product of the Jacques Lemaire system and fast if the wild D can't pull it together. If he is not carefull he could find himself as back up and even on the block come the trade deadline.



Now don't take anything that I have said here as pushing the panic button, these were all areas that coming into the season they needed to fix and everyone was aware of but watching this team play today I saw no real change in the system. After 5 long months I saw the same thing that I did last year without skipping a beat.



Yes, there were some good spots like the Wild dominating on face offs. It does seem that there is an upgrade at center that they really needed from last year, but with 2 min left they lost 3 big face offs to keep the puck in the Hurricane zone and get Backstrom off the ice for the extra attacker.



I am going to chalk this game up to a number of things such as the first game of the season where both teams looked sloppy, Jet lag, thinner air in a higher elevation, every time the play was stopped by the goalie they would shine that spot light on him like a goal was scored (which was a horrible thing to do and created may false cheers while we were in the offensive zone where I was watching the game at), and home sickness. Now some of those might not have had anything to do with it but oh well, it is just game one of and 82 game season there is still plenty of time to pull together and get this thing going. I do think that they could make a push to try and make the playoffs this year but not till addressing some of these issues.