'The Six-Pack of Suck', Volume VII: Six that got away (literally)

I know, Minnesota Wild faithful. I'm looking at the glass and saying it's half-empty. But, in the words of the bard himself, William Shakespeare, 'Those who do not remember from history, are thereby doomed to repeat it.'

And so it goes for the seventh edition of 'The Six-Pack of Suck', six games that really should have gone the Wild's way, but the hockey gods (along with some really bad defense from the local six,) conspired to think otherwise. The lack of offense didn't help things, especially in the crucial holiday period, where visions of sugarplums danced in their heads, instead of visions of victories.

Oh, well...here we go...

1. October 5, 2013. Anaheim 4 at Minnesota 3 (OT). In this, Anaheim's only regular-season appearance in St. Paul, the Wild managed to lose in the last five seconds of the OT period after Mathieu Perrault (who the Ducks had just acquired from Washington) went in on Niklas Backstrom, and just like in the (supposedly) upcoming shootout, five-holed Minnesota's opening-season starter after both Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon failed to stop the Anaheim rush. Not even the lack of Teemu Selanne (held out by Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, as the next night Selanne would be feted in Winnpeg, where Selanne started his career) held back the Ducks, who started their season on a 3-game road trip.

2. November 27, 2013. Phoenix 3 at Minnesota 1. The Thanksgiving season has traditionally not been a good one for the Wild, and 2013's Thanksgiving Eve game was yet another served-up turkey, as the Wild basically stopped skating against the hungrier Coyotes. Zach Parise had been injured the previous game in St. Louis, taking a shot off his left instep; Mikael Granlund joined him on the IR after the first shift of the game, when he took a head shot and gained a concussion. This really started the Wild's downward spiral, which lasted most of the next six weeks.

3. November 29, 2013. Colorado 3 at Minnesota 1. 'Black Friday' took on a whole new meaning for the Wild, as the hottest team in the NHL in the first 60 days of the season -- the Avs -- rolled into the 'X' and basically laid down the law, as old Wild nemesis J. S. Giguere moved onto an easy victory, as the Wild went 2-2 on Black Friday in the last 4 full seasons. Matt Duchene, Nathan McKinnon, and an empty-net goal made sure the Wild would have rather gone shopping, than play hockey.

4. December 29, 2013. NY Islanders 5 at Minnesota 4. The Wild jumped out to a 3-goal lead on the Islanders, then sat back and watched as Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Okposo (two goals) and Thomas Vanek (two assists) brought the Isles all the way back, in this Sunday night stinker. Wasted in this snooze-fest was Mikko Koivu's two-assist night and Nino Niederreiter's goal and assist. The Isles would win their third straight in a eight-win-in-nine-game stretch, to propel themselves onto the cusp of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Wild, at this point, lost their fifth straight, and the future of Mike Yeo as Wild head coach was in jeopardy after this one.

5. January 14, 2014. Ottawa 3 at Minnesota 0. Following the Islanders game (listed above), the Wild went out and won five of the first six in 2014, and then were soundly brought back to Mother Earth, by a Senators' squad in a game which was exciting as watching paint dry. The Wild only managed three shots on goal in the first period, allowing Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner a virtual night off as the Sens went home victorious. 'We weren't moving our feet', said Mike Yeo after the game. No kidding, Mike.

6. March 11, 2014. Edmonton 4 at Minnesota 3 (SO). In the midst of a four-game homestand, with every point crucial in the Western Conference playoff race, one would think that a three-goal lead after 16 minutes would be a good thing for the home team, right? Think again, as the Oilers came back to tie the game, then win it in the shootout as the Oilers went 3-for-4 in the deciding session, sending Darcy Kuemper and the Wild off with an in-your-face, four round shootout loss. Despite Edmonton drawing a penalty with :09 left in regulation, the Wild fumbled, bumbled and blew a 2-goal lead in the last 8:54 of regulation time. Ugly loss, especially after blowing the big lead.

So, there it is. Six games, 10 points blown, and all home games! If the Wild want more noise and more fans in the seats, they cannot come up with games like these against inferior quality opponents. Only two of the six opponents listed even made the Stanley Cup Playoffs; and, no thanks to this group of lousy games, the Wild were relegated to wild-card status. If the Wild wish to take their coming of age seriously, they cannot have games like this affect their season. Two points are two points, regardless of when you get them. November points are just as good as March points.

I really hope the Wild gets the point when it comes to letting inferior teams off the hook. Next season, you can't do that. Just play better. Every night.

Don't look now, North America; Wild are in 1st

Yes, it's fleeting, but it's still the truth as shortened schedule passes half-way mark

Sorry, North America, but we really hate to break this news to all of you:

The Minnesota Wild are in third place in the NHL's Western Conference, and lead the Northwest Division this Monday morning. Now, granted, it might not be that way for long, but for now, the Wild have the most wins of any team in the division, and that tie-breaker (with Vancouver) means the Wild are No. 1. For now.

With a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games, the Wild have pretty much proven the naysayers wrong, despite the overwhelming feeling about the offseason signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter by the Wild. Yes, it's taken time, and a lot of Wild fan angst, but it looks like the Wild may -- MAY -- have just possibly found themselves in time to salvage the season and possibly break away from a lot of the 9-team middle-of-Conference pack that currently exists in the West. The Wild may also have a hand in the deciding of the Pacific Division as well; they have 10 games remaining against the Pacific, starting with Tuesday night's season-series finale with the current Pacific Division leaders, the Anaheim Ducks.

In fact, Anaheim will be only the second team in the conference the Wild will finish with (Nashville the other) before the Wild go on their next road trip, a 3-game trek to Colorado, Vancouver and Detroit, starting with the game Saturday afternoon in Denver. On the other hand, the Wild have yet to face either of the other two California teams, the San Jose Sharks and the defending Stanley Cup champion LA Kings. In fact, on the NHL Trade Deadline day (April 3) the Wild will conveinently be in San Jose, so if Wild GM Chuck Fletcher makes a move, any player that can be moved can be easily dispatched to whatever point on the NHL compass the trade winds take them.

But, between now and then, there's 11 games (6 home, 5 road) to be played, another nearly 1/4 of the season. So there's time for players to play themselves into, or out of, the day-to-day lineup. Or, should the so choose, all the way off the roster. But the fact is starting to stare at all 30 NHL teams, that the last chance to dump salary (of potential UFA's to be), or get anything of value for players whose welcome has worn thin (or totally out) is coming upon them like a bad storm across the prairie.

Especially this season, this shortened season, this last season before divisional re-alignment, the Trade Deadline day should, in my honest opinion, yield a few surprises along with a couple of shocker moves; the number of medium-level free agents-to-be almost demands that some blockbuster trades happen.

The Wild need to dump salary. They would like to do so and actually get something in return. The franchise is finally getting out of the Risebrough era, albeit slower than most Wild fans would like them to; this summer should finally close the books on the DR reign of the Wild. Now, some of that will be tough (how do you give up on Niklas Backstrom, for example, the way he has played for most of the season so far?) and some of it will be easy (Pierre-Marc Bouchard), and some others will be tough to swallow for some (if Matt Cullen is moved, as example) but the fact is that the Wild are positioned to get younger, bigger and even more talented than they are now. And most followers agree, that this is already the most talented Wild roster in their history.

So what to do? This team needs to make the playoffs -- THIS season -- in order to show Minnesota hockey fans progress towards the success that this market has for so long craved. Even if the end result this season is a one-series 'one-and-done', even that would be considered progress. Then, and only then, would this season be worth it for Wild fans.

Back to earth...sort of...

February rough start vs. Anaheim believed no reason to panic; Coyle gets his shot at Wild roster

It hasn't been the best of times for the Minnesota Wild lately.

After the Anaheim Ducks did what they normally do to the Wild at Honda Center -- namely, beat them into submission, then turn those mistakes caused by the opposition into goals -- the Wild arrived into Phoenix early Saturday looking at a few days in the Arizona desert, with only practice staring them in the face.

And, according to most observers, including the coaching staff, practice is what they really NEED right now. As the 4-3-1 Wild prepare to face the 3-4-2 Phoenix Coyotes -- soon to be the NHL's version of Nomads, if what is being said around the game is to be believed -- on Monday night at Jobing.com Arena in near-bankrupt Glendale, they have help coming to replace the injured Matt Cullen, who crashed (with help) into the boards on Friday night.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the real reason they traded Brent Burns in 2011. Charlie Coyle, welcome to Minnesota. Coyle, who lit up the QMJHL in the half-season he was there after he left Boston College, was called up by the Wild on Saturday afternoon following their off-day practice, to replace the injured Cullen in the line-up for Monday night's tilt. Coyle, who has 14 goals, 10 assists for AHL Houston this season, is called a 'power forward' by the Wild, and his 6-foot-2, 222-lb frame has been called the prototypical size for that position.

Coyle was included with Devin Setoguchi in the NHL Draft night trade in 2011, when the draft was at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Traded for defenseman Burns, who has been in-and-out of the Sharks' lineup since then, Coyle is in his first full season as a pro, and has played 44 games for the Aeros this season.

Power forward, you say?

The position of power forward -- the guy who is not afraid to mix it up in front of the net, to create as much havoc as possible, in order to get nice juicy rebounds and deflections -- is somewhat a novel concept for the Wild. But, it hasn't been like it hasn't been tried before.

Andrew Brunette, slow as he was, is probably the best example of a power forward the Wild has ever had on their roster. Guillaume Latendresse was supposed to be that next version of that, but his concussion problems last season, and his contract status did not allow that to succeed. Zach Parise has some of that in him, but the fact is, he's better than that (we've already seen it). Others that you could put in that category are LA's Dustin Brown, Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf, St. Louis' David Backes, Boston's Milan Lucic, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, and when healthy, Ryan Kesler of Vancouver.

The combination is one that is tough to get, and one that is even tougher to keep up, as the number of players that who have tried to play the position and have failed are many. Teams that have a good power forward are normally teams that go relatively far in the playoffs. And that is where the Wild want to be on the evening of April 27th. Going relatively far. In the playoffs.

Next 5 games: Key Stretch?

Are the next 5 games a key stretch of the season? With three of those five games on the road -- where the Wild only have one point after three games so far -- the next nine days will tell much about the Wild's real chances to not only make the playoffs, but to gain home ice advantage in the first round.

Two games vs. Vancouver (home and away), and games at Phoenix, at Calgary, and the second (of two) games vs. Nashville at the 'X' round out the next five games on the schedule. Do the Wild have a chance to put some points in their column before the season gets too out of hand? Or will the combination of their brutal travel schedule and the shortened season get the better of the roster?

Will Chuck Fletcher have to pull the trigger on a trade, in order to infuse more offense into what has been an underperforming bottom 2/3rds of the roster? Can the roster even respond without a trade being made? And what would be the best trade to make? Do you look towards the future and effectively 'salary dump' UFA's to be before the April 4 trade deadline? Or is 'the future is now' the prevailing view at 317 Washington St., St. Paul, MN? Do you keep the two primary future UFA's (Cullen and Pierre-Marc Bouchard) or do you move them? Does UFA-to-be goalie Niklas Backstrom remain to see the playoffs, should the Wild make it into the post-season? Or do you 'let it ride', like a shaky poker bet, past the trade deadline?

Like the rest of us fans, I just wait and see what will develop. And worry, like some of you do.

Jed returns to Beverly Hills! (sorta)

Ortmeyer temporary solution at center, as Wild begin two-game SoCal swing; Barker claiming injury, so he doesn't become considered as trade bait?

Yeah, so I'm reaching. Sue me.

OK, so since we last sat down with each other, the following has occurred:

The Wild, achieved a 2-2-1 record in the last five games, five games where they really NEEDED to achieve points in the standings. They even managed to stay even with the Detroit Red Wings in front of a regional (wasn't national, folks; that comes later) NBC TV audience.

Vancouver showed the Wild why they were leading the NHL's Western Conference with a 4-1 thrashing at the Xcel Energy Center, in only the second loss by three goals since the New Year.

Chicago's United Center provided the setting for a bobblehead giveaway (Tony Esposito) but little else, as the Wild basically failed to show up for a 3-1 Blackhawks' loss in the Hawks' first home game in three weeks,

Mikko Koivu managed to break his left index finger while blocking a Todd Marchant shot in last Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks. The Wild won, 5-1, despite playing one forward short for the final 52 minutes of the game.

Sunday, Todd Bertuzzi, reviled winger and scourge of Wild fans of all ages, played in his 1,000th NHL game, and absolutely NO acknowledgement of that fact to the crowd at the 'X' during the game whatsoever. 'Big Bert', the evil-doer of note, fired the game winner in the shootout, but the fact that the game actually WENT to a shootout gave hope to Wild fans, despite the 2-1 Detroit win.

Tuesday was 'defenseman's offense night', as six separate defensemen accounted for two goals and four assists in the Wild's 4-1 thumping of the Edmonton Oilers, the 15th straight time the Wild has defeated the Grease in St. Paul. Included in the blue line salvos was a rare goal by ex-Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster, with his first goal since Dec. 1, and the first goal for the 'Minnow', diminutive rookie Jared Spurgeon, playing against the team the Edmonton native idolized growing up as a child.

So now what? Do they stay with bringing up kids, such as Cody Almond, current call-up from the Houston Aeros? So now what do they do, after the Koivu injury?

One does not think that journeyman center Jed Ortmeyer is the answer, but the ex-Shark, Pred and Ranger will get more ice time with a big NHL club, but for how long? Who knows? Ortmeyer was signed earlier this month to a two-way contract, so he gets one pay rate at the NHL level, and another, lower pay rate at the AHL level. The Wild need centers, as they will criss-cross Southern California in the next three days, with only two of their normal four centers (John Madden, Mark Cullen) available, as they take on as vicious a road trip as the NHL can dream up, with back-to-back games at STAPLES Center vs. the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, and the Ducks at Honda Center on Friday night.

Now, will the Wild have Cam Barker to kick around after Monday's trade deadline? That's yet another question facing the Wild, as the return to the ice of Marek Zidlicky has created a temporary 'glut' of defensemen, as Barker has now become the odd man out, with the solid play of Spurgeon and Clayton Stoner, another Houston call-up who doesn't miss the seafood and sun of South Texas. Barker now claims an injury, and yes, indeed he was NOT on the ice for most of last night's Edmonton game; but with all the defensive shuffling and high level of play that the Wild defense has become noted for lately, the fact that Barker has played himself into the 'odd man out' role, speaks volumes for what Barker has done...also for what he HAS NOT done.

Now, we all realize that GM Chuck Fletcher is absolutely loathe to trade away draft picks and/or prospects for basically 'rent-a-players', but will his hand be forced to do at least a little of that as the Trade Deadline, of Monday Feb. 28, 3 PM Eastern Time approaches?

Trade speculation: that's why the hockey media exists, isn't it, folks?

One Quacked Up Evening: Wild lose bizarre game

Bobby Ryan just wanted to make sure no one missed any of his Anaheim Ducks teammates. You know, the ones that are injured...like Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks' leading scorer, who was 'sliced and diced' by a skate during last Saturday's game at San Jose. Like Teemu Selanne. Like Joffrey Lupul.

The Ducks made sure that their fans went home happy with a 4-2 win Tuesday night at Honda Center over the Minnesota Wild. Ryan, with two goals and one assist, made sure that the 16,960 in the house had no worries as the Ducks frustrated the Wild, again standing four across the blue line late in the game as the Wild pressed for the tying goal.

Unfortuantely, Josh Harding was offered as 'sacrificial lamb' again in this one, as the lack of stellar defense in front of him led to three goals against in two periods. Harding's record this season drops to 2-5, all of those games being on the road (Harding has not played at home in over a year). A personal best for Kim Johnsson, as he scored for the third straight game, the first time in his NHL career that he has scored in three straight games.

Although the Wild kept both Derek Boogaard and John Scott in the line-up, the Ducks decided to scratch birthday boy (age 30, Tuesday) George Parros, Ducks' enforcer and porn-moustache pugilist, due to a supposed hand injury. No matter: the officials were more than enough to keep the Wild in check, as dumb penalties were compounded for the worse by dumb decisions, once those penalties were handed out. Clayton Stoner tweaked his groin during morning skate on the slushy Honda Center ice surface, making him unavailable. That led to one of the most bizarre sequences I have ever seen in over 40 years of following the NHL.

Boogaard, taking on Nick Boynton after Boynton took exception to a missed Boogaard check on Apple Valley, Minnesota-native Dan Sexton, proceeded to attempt to beat the much smaller Boynton into last month when in stepped the linesmen to break up the rout; Boogaard, while wailing away on Boynton, threw a right into the ribs of linesman Tony Sericolo, who got in the way of Boogaard. Sericolo, for his part, said the punch was accidental (it was) and that nothing other than the 10-minute misconduct for touching an official would be meted out.

Then, seconds after that, Scott started to go after Troy Bodie, and (now) lone linesman Lonnie Cameron tried to break both of them up as they began to swing away. Scott swatted Cameron out of the way like you or I shoo away a gnat, but Cameron came back and indeed stopped the fight before damage was done. Yet another 10-minute misconduct doled out to the Wild.

The Wild failed to gain ground on the teams directly above them (Dallas, Detroit) in the Western Conference, still leaving them in 11th place in the West with 43 points.

Next Game: vs. Los Angeles, Thursday (New Year's Eve), 7:00 PM Central (5:00 PM Pacific), Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Kings TV: FSWest, both feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 237)

-- WRT

WRT's Monday Miscellany

By Wild Road Tripper

(Another attempt to liven up your start of the week...)

Minnesota Wild fans are, indeed, a hardy lot. We go thru rain, sleet, snow, severe cold, six different starting times, all to see our favorite team actually win a game now 'n' then. Now, just think of how it would be if your team played like some of the other teams in the NHL.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have had it the worst for the longest. The last time they were even in the playoffs was 2003-04, when they were eliminated in 6 games by the Philadelphia Flyers (the series-winning goal? Scored by Jeremy Roenick), and since then, it's been six seasons of losing hockey. Brian Burke was brought in from Anaheim to try and turn around this moribund franchise, and he brought in what he thought was needed -- grit, and lots of it. Well, the Leafs still suck, they play the streaking Buffalo Sabres this coming Friday at HSBC Arena (tickets starting at $78 for the cheapest seats), and they are on the precipice of falling off the NHL radar once again, at least until the entry draft in Los Angeles in late June. Yes, it will take time and effort in order to turn the Leafs' ship of state around. Hopefully for Leafs' fans, the ship isn't named the Titanic...

And, speaking of Philadelphia, Flyers' fans are probably ready to kill anything on skates that is wearing a Flyers' jersey right about now. The Flyers have changed their coach, but they have a different problem; they just don't play well together. They currently have no less than SEVEN players who make over $4,000,000 per season. Flyers' fans feel that they are getting ripped off. And, frankly, who can blame them? Is Kimmo Timonen REALLY worth more of a cap hit than Chris Pronger?

The Flyers are 1-7 since the Thanksgiving holiday; three of those games the Flyers were shutout, and two more they only managed one goal. They cannot depend on their budget-balanced goaltending ($2,400,000 for their top two goalies, paltry by NHL standards) to bail their anemic offense out night after night.

Not that the Western Conference isn't much better. St. Louis Blues fans are asking themselves if they are watching the Rams instead, especially after they came out against Edmonton last weekend, and the Grease slid right by the Blues, 5-3. The Blues have only scored three goals in the last week, and have dropped three straight.

Anaheim Ducks players and fans were asking themselves 'wha' happened?' until they recently started to turn things around to keep the Ducks somewhat relevant in the West. Four of the last five Ducks' games have gone to overtime or the shootout; their 2-0-2 record since the Wild beat them in St. Paul December 4th looks to have saved the job of head coach Randy Carlyle, at least for the time being.

And then, there is the resurgent Wild, with a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, a period of time (late November/early December) when the Wild are traditionally not a very good hockey team. After the Wild's dismal 6-loss-in-7-game start to the season, they players have finally learned to control themselves yet play a more attack-style offense. The new system of Todd Richards is finally taking hold, and Wild fans are loving it. They haven't seen offense like this from a Wild team in franchise history. Reminds me of the starving man who walks into the banquet hall, just as they serve up the steamship round of beef. And, they have done it while at least three players have been recovering from concussions.

Just think of how good the Wild would be if everyone on the roster was healthy...

Have a good Monday!

'Cardiac Wild' hunt down Ducks, win 5-4 in shootout

By Wild Road Tripper

Many of the fans who left the Xcel Energy Center during the third period of Friday night's Minnesota Wild game should be kicking themselves Saturday morning, as they missed a date with Destiny.

Destiny, meet Head Coach Randy Carlyle and the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks saw two two-goal leads evaporate, the second one in the final two minutes of regulation, as the Wild, led by Mikko Koivu and his two goals, one assist night, came back from the dead more times than Freddy Kruger to defeat the Ducks 5-4 in the shootout Friday night. Those of the 18,265 who stayed until the last act of this melodrama saw a shootout save by Niklas Backstrom against Mikko's older brother, Anaheim center Saku Koivu, who was wooed by Minnesota in free agency this past summer before signing with the Ducks.

The Wild victory ran their record to .500 (12-12-3), good for 13th place in the Western Conference, just behind the idle St. Louis Blues, who have a game in hand on the Wild. The OT loss by the Ducks means they stay in the cellar in the West, one point behind idle Edmonton.

But senior Ducks officials were along on this road trip and saw the whole debacle from the Al Shaver Press Box. And, after having seen three games in a row where the Ducks have blown leads in the third period to send games into OT (or longer), they aren't pleased.

The Wild comebacks ruined one for Anaheim as well, as the Ducks welcomed sniper Joffrey Lupul, who the Wild could not figure out all evening, back into their lineup. Lupul scored two goals for Anaheim, and added the only Ducks goal in the shootout. Lupul had been out for nearly two weeks prior to his insertion in the lineup, an event made more necessary due to Teemu Selanne's broken bone in his hand, suffered last night in Dallas in the second period against the Stars. Lupul was all over the place tonight, and he clearly stood out as the best Anaheim player out there.

Nine of the 11 points in the game (4 goals, 5 assists) came from the Wild's current No. 1 line -- Koivu, Andrew Brunette (3 assists) and Antti Miettinen (2 goals, 1 assist) -- as the new system employed by the Wild seems to have developed very much to their liking. Koivu was devastating tonight, always around the puck, and never out of position. Not once. Brunette was his workmanlike self, digging like a nickel miner (hey, he's from Sudbury. Work with me here!) and his passes were spot on most of the evening. The oft-maligned Miettinen, however, is the biggest surprise, as it looks like he has finally figured out how to put the biscuit IN the basket, rather than OVER it.

Miettinen and Guillaume Latendresse scored for the Wild in the four-round shootout, as the Wild take their 2009-10 shootout record to 3-3, and their home record in total to 9-3-1. Home won't be a thing the Wild see much of for a while, however, as they have a rematch with the Nashville Predators coming up tomorrow night at the Sommet Center, to begin a five-game, 8-day road trip. (The Preds won in Chicago on Friday night, beating the Blackhawks 4-1.)

Next Game: at Nashville, Saturday Dec. 5, 7:00 PM, Sommet Center. Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD). No Preds TV: XM Radio: Ch. 239)