Perplexion in the 'Plex: One blogger's view

Strange things seem to happen when the Minnesota Wild play the Dallas Stars in Big D. Why?

It happened again last night. The Minnesota Wild were seemingly in control of a tough, hard-nosed game versus the former Minnesota franchise, the now-Dallas Stars, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Ahead by a 3-2 score early in the third period, the Wild were on track to win their 4th game since the Olympic break ended. And then, as has happened so often in Dallas...

...the Wild's train derailed, just outside 'Victory Station' of D-FW's Trinity Railway Express. Again.

The Wild have managed to craft an all-time 4-16-6 record in the Metroplex, including this year's two losses (a 4-0 whitewashing, on Jan. 21st, was the other disaster in Big D this season), against a Dallas Stars team which is struggling to stay in the Western Conference playoff race. A victory last night, and the Wild would have opened up a seven-point lead on the currently-8th place Stars; now, the Wild only have a 3-point lead as they head into tonight's home game vs. the St. Louis Blues, a team which is so hot, they may be able to be No. 1 in the Western Conference, and win the President's Trophy for best overall record in the regular season, if they keep up their winning ways.

The fourth home game in eight nights for the Stars was the best-attended game since Norm Green did his now-infamous Mayflower move, and hijacked the then-North Stars from Bloomington to Big D in 1993. The reason? 'Mike Modano Retirement Night', as his No. 9 jersey was retired and moved to the rafters forever. But even all that wasn't enough to stop the Wild, as Erik Haula did his best to keep the Wild in the game, until Cody Eakin tripped (and nearly slewfoot) Haula as he was going in against Dallas starting goalie Kari Lehtonen. The resulting crash knocked Lehtonen out of the game, gave the Stars a 5-minute, all-you-can-score power play as Haula was assessed a major and a game misconduct for his actions, and screwed the Wild out of any momentum for the rest of the evening.

Now, that wasn't the losing goal; Keith Ballard served that up, on a platter, when his errant pass hit Dallas' Erik Cole instead of Clayton Stoner, Ballard's defensive partner. The resulting breakaway turned into the margin of victory after Cole scored, leaving the Wild empty again in the 'Plex.

The question on the floor, then: Why does this keep happening? Why does the Wild have such an awful record in Dallas?

I can only come up with three possible reasons:

1. The way the schedule is set up, the Wild and Stars seem to always play when one or the other team is on a back-to-back. They may be thinking about the previous game, or the next one; but they sure aren't thinking about THIS one, and that's the problem.

2. The home team is always setting up some special event for when the other team is in town. Modano night could (doubtful, but go with me here) have been 'retaliation' for the Stars being offered up as the opponent for the Wild's nightcap apperance in 'Hockey Day Minnesota', the Fox Sports North-conceived celebration of Minnesota hockey. In fact, of the eight HDM's since the series started in 2007, Dallas has been the opponent more than any other NHL team (3 times), and holds a 1-1-1 record in those games (winning in a shootout in 2007, losing in regulation in 2012, and losing in OT this year on Nate Prosser's rebound, 3-2, on Jan. 18).

3. There really may be some actual animosity between the two teams building, as there already is amongst the fans of the two teams (Minnesota fans still equate today's Stars, with the Norm Green-era group from the mid-90's; Dallas fans hate anything Minnesota, going back to the Cowboys' heyday, and so on).

Wild fans (at least the older ones, like me) especially relish any victory over the former North Stars, it doesn't matter how, where, or when. Dallas fans equate beating the Wild with picking on baby brother: 'But Mom, it's just SO fun to see him like that'.

Someday, these two teams will meet in a playoff series. That will indeed be a series for the ages.

Here's hoping that day is soon.

MoDo'd Over: Wild lose finale in SO as Stars shine, 4-3

Modano brought to tears twice by appreciative Minnesota hockey fans


By Wild Road Tripper

It was the final game for the Minnesota Wild tonight at Xcel Energy Center, as the 2009-2010 season drew to a close. Normally, that would be the big event if your team was not going on to the playoffs. Normally, the last game would be a chance to say farewell to the local hockey club as they swing into their summer hiatus.

Saturday night, 19,109 -- announced as the sixth largest crowd in Wild regular-season history -- saw as abnormal a finish as the NHL can provide, with a four-round shootout which featured a future Hall of Famer, both teams' leading scorers, and a rookie in only his 12th NHL game. And then, there was Jamie Benn and his shootout winner, the only goal scored by either side in the four-round shootout, as the Dallas Stars completed the comeback with a 4-3 shootout win to end the NHL regular season for both teams.

And then, there was what happened after the game.

Mike Modano, ending his 20th NHL season and weeks away from age 40, was voted the No. 1 Star of the Game. He celebrated it very appropriately, at least for being in Minnesota.

He came out in a white late-80's Minnesota North Stars jersey -- the ones that he wore at the late, lamented Met Center -- to a second standing ovation, having been given pucks to sign and throw out to the lower bowl crowd. He was still wowed by the response after the game when he faced the press post-game (link: http://wild.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=842&id=65712).

It was a fitting tribute to the only No. 1 overall draft choice of either Minnesota NHL team to make it long-term in the NHL. Twenty seasons is a very long time. 1,538 points, more than any other U.S.-born player in NHL history. And now, it could be all over. Modano was also feted during a TV timeout in the first period, as a Wild-produced video (link: http://wild.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=849&id=65693) celebrated his career as fans, players and even the game officials cheered for well over three minutes.

As for the game itself, Mikko Koivu and Steve Ott each scored twice, as the back-and-forth nature of this game made it only moderately entertaining knowing that this game was the end of the string for both teams. Rookie free-agent signee Casey Wellman also scored his first NHL goal, tying a team record for fastest goal from the start of the period, :09 into the third (tying Brian Rolston for that Wild team record). Neither had anything of consequence to play for going in: the Wild will pick 9th in the NHL Entry Draft June 25-26 in Los Angeles, and the Stars will draft either 12th or 13th (depending on results of Sunday's games).

The Wild will disperse on Monday (physicals) and Tuesday (exit interviews) with many, including head coach Todd Richards, destined for the IIHF World Championships in Germany which will begin at the end of April.

With six regulars out of the Wild lineup (Zidlicky, Nolan, Havlat, Latendresse, Harding, and Sheppard) the Wild were down to the bare minimum -- 18 players, 2 goalies -- as they limped across the finish line to close out their ninth season of play. They looked like a tired, beaten-up bunch of hockey players. They've played like it for weeks, tho. And that's the hard part.

Next Game: Next season. Schedule TBA (expected schedule release date: July 14th).

(BTW: This blog will continue all summer long. So, keep reading!) -- WRT

Wild go o-fer-Big 'D' for sixth year as Stars win 4-2

Last-minute injury, 'dirtiest player in game' combine to help Dallas extend Wild losing streak in Metroplex to six full seasons

The Wild just can't get a victory out of Victory Station.

The Dallas Stars, behind Steve Ott's two fights against Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck, fought -- literally -- their way to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, as an announced 16,729 roared their approval for Mike Modano's goal and assist, which propelled the Stars to victory at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, whose commuter train stop (for trains to Fort Worth) is named 'Victory Station'. The victory solidfied Dallas in 10th place in the NHL Western Conference.

Without Derek Boogaard and John Scott in the lineup, the Stars' Steve Ott, widely known as one of the dirtest players in the NHL, was allowed to run roughshod over the overmatched Wild, playing their fourth game in seven nights, as they ended a three-game road trip with a 1-2 record.

The problems were exacerbated prior to the game, as the Wild's Josh Harding, the scheduled starting goalie, somehow re-aggravated his hip injury in warm-ups, necessitating the use of emergency call-up Wade Dubleiewicz, who was re-recalled to the big club after being sent down on Monday to the Houston Aeros. Dubleiewicz played in the Aeros' game vs. Abbotsford on Monday night, after traveling from San Jose to Houston on Monday, after having been sent back when Niklas Backstrom, who had been ill, was declared OK to play on Sunday. Tuesday morning, Backstrom was sent back to Minnesota, as he still was not feeling well.

The Wild now are home for the next month; two weeks of that, however, is the Olympic break, when locker rooms are closed. Prior to that, there is a five-game homestand, beginning with the Next Game: vs. Edmonton, Thursday, Feb. 4, 7:00 PM Central (6:00 PM Mountain) Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (including FSWisconsin) in HD; Oilers' TV: Rogers SportsNet-West; XM Radio, Ch. 238)

-- WRT