The hype has died down from the Wild Prospect Camp, the Wild Road tour, the release of the 2010-2011 NHL schedule (three weeks early, thank you NHL) and the Free Agent Frenzy of July 1st. So now, we blithely throw this question out for the multitudes to ponder:
OK, Minnesota Wild. What do you guys do for an encore? What little tidbit do you all dream up now, in order to keep the hockey-starved public happy until the start of Training Camp, scheduled for Sept. 17th?
Yes, we who go online regularly know about the 'State of Jääkiekko' Finnish-based hockey quiz, that those of us who actually do WORK while online at work, cannot ever join in. That we know about. We know the sales staff is busy. It's their time of the year to turn some on-the-fence people into 10-and-20 game ticket holders.
But what about the hockey staff? The rest of the organization? Do they all get the month of August off? Or are things being done to make the organization better, top to bottom?
We know the roster will be greatly improved, as much by subtractions (no more Boogaard, Hnidy, Irmen, Sifers, Dubielewicz, as examples) as by additions made thru free agency and the NHL Draft. We also know that the rest of the coaching staff (that is, what didn't change following the departure of Doug Risebrough and Jacques Lemaire after 2008-09) will also change going into this season. Mind you, we don't exactly agree with all the subtractions (Owen Nolan, for example), but the dead weight on the Wild's roster had to be eliminated. And, not all of them will find NHL jobs for next season. For some of the eliminated, the future in hockey looks, at best, very bleak, indeed.
On the other hand, relative newcomers such as Colton Gillies (coming off his 2009-10 year with the Houston Aeros), Casey Wellman, Nate Prosser, Tyler Cuma and Marco Scandella will all be on hand, pushing the established veterans hard enough so that some of them may just become something the Wild have rarely had, in their 10-year history:
Trade bait.
Showing posts with label Hnidy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hnidy. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Where do the Wild go from here?
A look at what should be this summer's 'to-do' list for Minnesota's NHL team
Well, we're all still here, one week after the end of the Minnesota Wild 2009-10 season. And, as the roster goes off into the four winds for the next five months, can we stop for a minute and look at what should be the course this team needs to take throughout the summer?
I'd like to think that the rebuilding that started with absolutely nothing last summer continues this summer, as the Wild team management takes yet another look at the roster, in order to find places where to improve.
In my opinion (only, since no one else writes here) this is what the Wild need to do in order to consider the summer successful:
1. Get James Sheppard off the roster -- by any means necessary to do so.
The fact of the matter is that Shep has more than worn out his welcome with the Wild, and the Wild cannot afford a roster spot for as woefully-underachieving a forward as the enigmatic Sheppard, who is the latest poster child for the 'I'll play when I want to play' attitude. He doesn't even attempt to hide his disdain anymore. He doesn't make his linemates better; on the contrary, his linemates are frequently changed, so as to not influence them with his bad habits and attitude.
The second-worst first-round draft choice ever by the Wild (only A.J. Thelen, who never played one minute in a Minnesota uniform, was worse) Sheppard, a restricted free agent this summer, will be available to anyone once the Wild make a qualifying offer to him (10% over last year's contract), but in my own opinion (again) I wouldn't even go that far. With a $1.4M cap hit in '09-10, it's time to cut the cord and say 'buh-bye' to the biggest drain on cap space this team has.
At this juncture, I wouldn't care that the Wild even get anything back in return for Shep. Any draft pick or player (preferably an UFA which we could get rid of July 1st) would definitely be a bonus. Just move Shep off the roster.
2. How 'bout a center?
The Wild definitely need additional help at center, a point which was frequently driven home when Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse did not have a third man to play along side them. A good quality center will probably come at a fairly high cost -- either current players, draft picks, or probably both -- but what will GM Chuck Fletcher be willing to part with to improve the team's scoring punch? Will Fletcher do what his counterpart in Calgary, Darryl Sutter, did and trade his best young defenseman (Dion Phaneuf) away for what was supposed to be more scoring punch in the big swap with Toronto? Will Fletcher do that with, say, Brent Burns or Nick Schultz?
I don't know how long you can continue to depend on the likes of Andrew Ebbett and Kyle Brodziak to play minutes one line combination above their skill level. Give them credit, they both tried valiantly, both of them playing thru injuries at one time or another in January and February. But the fact is that Ebbett is too small in the center position, and Brodziak just doesn't have a lot of puck luck. The Wild need another big-time center, and quickly, as the window for this group could open very soon. They need to be ready when it does.
As for the rookies, like Casey Wellman, who were centers in college? They can have their shot in camp, but to stay up with the 'big club', they have to display talent. And, keep away from Shep.
3. Re-sign Guillaume Latendresse and Mikko Koivu.
Latendresse, a RFA this summer, deserves another contract in Minnesota, but which way to take it? Short-term, so as to see if last season's goal total was indeed a fluke? Or long-term, so the Wild can take advantage of a lower cap number over a longer term? Whatever way the organization and the winger agree to take it, the career of Latendresse rejuvenated itself in Minnesota, after he languished on the fourth line or pulled press box duty in Montreal. The trade of Benoit Pouliot for Latendresse was widely regarded as one of the best trades of last season. Time to reinforce that view with a new contract.
Koivu, named the full-time team captain a few weeks after the start of the season, is one of the 'face of the franchise' figures of the Wild. He has tried -- sometimes, tried too valiantly -- to strap the team onto his back. Sadly, with all the dead weight the former management of the Wild saddled this year's team with, it was frequently too much for him to deal with. The best all-around forward currently on the roster, Koivu will be an UFA after the 2010-2011 season. July 1, 2010, is the CBA-agreed to date for pending UFA's to begin negotiations with their current clubs. I wouldn't wait too long after that to begin negotiating his new deal.
4. Should they stay, or should they go?
The Wild have a number of decisions to make for the 2010-2011 season regarding player personnel, as they have 4 UFA's to be on the roster now, and another four after next season. Here's what they (again, in my own opinion) should do?
Stay: Boogaard, Brunette, Earl or Ebbett (not both).
Stay (if HE wants to): Nolan
Go: Hnidy, Scott, Sifers, Miettinen, whomever does not stay between Earl and Ebbett.
The Wild can do better than those who would not return, and those that do will be asked to do more than they did last season. Boogaard needs to be used more than 4-6 minutes a game; he could be a major disrupter in front of the opponent's net if he is parked in front of the crease. Who knows, he may even score a goal.
Brunette still has value, especially in the garbage-goal category he has become famous for.
Earl and Ebbett, are essentially two of the same; smallish, 3rd/4th-line forwards who you should be able to keep but for contract purposes.
Hnidy and Scott were fill-ins for the defense while Tyler Cuma and Marco Scandella were finishing their careers in Junior 'A'. They will compete for ice time come September. Sifers, although somewhat impressive, pales in comparison to the new kids.
Miettinen, although reaching a career high in goals, could have had 15-20 more had he only had better aim. Do we need to put a barn picture in the net for him to aim at? His contract is $2.5M in 2010-11, and he will be an UFA after that. Get value for him while you can. His is not as vital as Koivu by a long shot, but the fact is that you need to get younger as well as more talent up front.
5. Review the medical policies and procedures.
Part of the problem with the myriad of injuries this past season is the under-reporting of their severity. Burns was 'day-to-day' with his concussion, as an example. Better medical procedures and better reporting may -- MAY -- equal fewer and lesser injuries. And when severe injuries do happen, have a plan for calling up players from Houston, please. And, get them there the shortest possible route (Houston to Edmonton -- via Toronto -- is not exactly the most direct path, as a late-season example).
Now I could go on, and on, about 'they did this wrong' and so on, but this organization is still just going into their first full off-season together, having been put together in the Spring of 2009. That fact is conveinently forgotten by Wild fans who criticized Fletcher and his staff for moves made during this season. They may not be all on the same page yet -- but they're getting there.
And we hope it continues.
Well, we're all still here, one week after the end of the Minnesota Wild 2009-10 season. And, as the roster goes off into the four winds for the next five months, can we stop for a minute and look at what should be the course this team needs to take throughout the summer?
I'd like to think that the rebuilding that started with absolutely nothing last summer continues this summer, as the Wild team management takes yet another look at the roster, in order to find places where to improve.
In my opinion (only, since no one else writes here) this is what the Wild need to do in order to consider the summer successful:
1. Get James Sheppard off the roster -- by any means necessary to do so.
The fact of the matter is that Shep has more than worn out his welcome with the Wild, and the Wild cannot afford a roster spot for as woefully-underachieving a forward as the enigmatic Sheppard, who is the latest poster child for the 'I'll play when I want to play' attitude. He doesn't even attempt to hide his disdain anymore. He doesn't make his linemates better; on the contrary, his linemates are frequently changed, so as to not influence them with his bad habits and attitude.
The second-worst first-round draft choice ever by the Wild (only A.J. Thelen, who never played one minute in a Minnesota uniform, was worse) Sheppard, a restricted free agent this summer, will be available to anyone once the Wild make a qualifying offer to him (10% over last year's contract), but in my own opinion (again) I wouldn't even go that far. With a $1.4M cap hit in '09-10, it's time to cut the cord and say 'buh-bye' to the biggest drain on cap space this team has.
At this juncture, I wouldn't care that the Wild even get anything back in return for Shep. Any draft pick or player (preferably an UFA which we could get rid of July 1st) would definitely be a bonus. Just move Shep off the roster.
2. How 'bout a center?
The Wild definitely need additional help at center, a point which was frequently driven home when Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse did not have a third man to play along side them. A good quality center will probably come at a fairly high cost -- either current players, draft picks, or probably both -- but what will GM Chuck Fletcher be willing to part with to improve the team's scoring punch? Will Fletcher do what his counterpart in Calgary, Darryl Sutter, did and trade his best young defenseman (Dion Phaneuf) away for what was supposed to be more scoring punch in the big swap with Toronto? Will Fletcher do that with, say, Brent Burns or Nick Schultz?
I don't know how long you can continue to depend on the likes of Andrew Ebbett and Kyle Brodziak to play minutes one line combination above their skill level. Give them credit, they both tried valiantly, both of them playing thru injuries at one time or another in January and February. But the fact is that Ebbett is too small in the center position, and Brodziak just doesn't have a lot of puck luck. The Wild need another big-time center, and quickly, as the window for this group could open very soon. They need to be ready when it does.
As for the rookies, like Casey Wellman, who were centers in college? They can have their shot in camp, but to stay up with the 'big club', they have to display talent. And, keep away from Shep.
3. Re-sign Guillaume Latendresse and Mikko Koivu.
Latendresse, a RFA this summer, deserves another contract in Minnesota, but which way to take it? Short-term, so as to see if last season's goal total was indeed a fluke? Or long-term, so the Wild can take advantage of a lower cap number over a longer term? Whatever way the organization and the winger agree to take it, the career of Latendresse rejuvenated itself in Minnesota, after he languished on the fourth line or pulled press box duty in Montreal. The trade of Benoit Pouliot for Latendresse was widely regarded as one of the best trades of last season. Time to reinforce that view with a new contract.
Koivu, named the full-time team captain a few weeks after the start of the season, is one of the 'face of the franchise' figures of the Wild. He has tried -- sometimes, tried too valiantly -- to strap the team onto his back. Sadly, with all the dead weight the former management of the Wild saddled this year's team with, it was frequently too much for him to deal with. The best all-around forward currently on the roster, Koivu will be an UFA after the 2010-2011 season. July 1, 2010, is the CBA-agreed to date for pending UFA's to begin negotiations with their current clubs. I wouldn't wait too long after that to begin negotiating his new deal.
4. Should they stay, or should they go?
The Wild have a number of decisions to make for the 2010-2011 season regarding player personnel, as they have 4 UFA's to be on the roster now, and another four after next season. Here's what they (again, in my own opinion) should do?
Stay: Boogaard, Brunette, Earl or Ebbett (not both).
Stay (if HE wants to): Nolan
Go: Hnidy, Scott, Sifers, Miettinen, whomever does not stay between Earl and Ebbett.
The Wild can do better than those who would not return, and those that do will be asked to do more than they did last season. Boogaard needs to be used more than 4-6 minutes a game; he could be a major disrupter in front of the opponent's net if he is parked in front of the crease. Who knows, he may even score a goal.
Brunette still has value, especially in the garbage-goal category he has become famous for.
Earl and Ebbett, are essentially two of the same; smallish, 3rd/4th-line forwards who you should be able to keep but for contract purposes.
Hnidy and Scott were fill-ins for the defense while Tyler Cuma and Marco Scandella were finishing their careers in Junior 'A'. They will compete for ice time come September. Sifers, although somewhat impressive, pales in comparison to the new kids.
Miettinen, although reaching a career high in goals, could have had 15-20 more had he only had better aim. Do we need to put a barn picture in the net for him to aim at? His contract is $2.5M in 2010-11, and he will be an UFA after that. Get value for him while you can. His is not as vital as Koivu by a long shot, but the fact is that you need to get younger as well as more talent up front.
5. Review the medical policies and procedures.
Part of the problem with the myriad of injuries this past season is the under-reporting of their severity. Burns was 'day-to-day' with his concussion, as an example. Better medical procedures and better reporting may -- MAY -- equal fewer and lesser injuries. And when severe injuries do happen, have a plan for calling up players from Houston, please. And, get them there the shortest possible route (Houston to Edmonton -- via Toronto -- is not exactly the most direct path, as a late-season example).
Now I could go on, and on, about 'they did this wrong' and so on, but this organization is still just going into their first full off-season together, having been put together in the Spring of 2009. That fact is conveinently forgotten by Wild fans who criticized Fletcher and his staff for moves made during this season. They may not be all on the same page yet -- but they're getting there.
And we hope it continues.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Sabre-Rattling: Wild shuffle out of Buffalo with 3-2 win
Sometimes, it just takes a hot goalie, some puck luck, and some timely offense to get out of a horrendous losing streak. When you do it against one of the NHL's top 6 teams, all the better. Such was the case on Friday night at HSBC Arena, where the Minnesota Wild took a three-goal lead into the third period, and held on to snap their disasterous four-game losing streak by defeating the Northeast Division-leading Buffalo Sabres 3-2, as 18,690 mostly Sabres fans looked on in somewhat stunned disbelief.
Josh Harding, playing his second game in as many nights, made 43 saves to preserve the victory, which, depending on the results of the Nashville-Anaheim and LA Kings-Dallas games, will put the Wild either into 11th or remain in 12th in the NHL's Western Conference. Andrew Ebbett, Guillaume Latendresse, and Andrew Brunette scored for Minnesota, and ex-Gopher Thomas Vanek scored both Buffalo goals.
The Wild were without a number of players; Brent Burns (hip), Niklas Backstrom (groin), and Shane Hnidy, who did not go on the road trip (leg) were all scratched due to injury; Wade Dubleiewicz was recalled by the Wild from the AHL Houston Aeros for Backstrom, whose groin tweak is day-to-day.
The Wild, following their March pattern, now come home for the next two games, starting with the Next Game: vs. St. Louis, Sunday, March 14, 5:00 PM Central Daylight Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Blues' TV: FSMidwest, all feeds in HD; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
-- WRT
Remember: Set your clocks AHEAD one hour before going to bed Saturday night!
Josh Harding, playing his second game in as many nights, made 43 saves to preserve the victory, which, depending on the results of the Nashville-Anaheim and LA Kings-Dallas games, will put the Wild either into 11th or remain in 12th in the NHL's Western Conference. Andrew Ebbett, Guillaume Latendresse, and Andrew Brunette scored for Minnesota, and ex-Gopher Thomas Vanek scored both Buffalo goals.
The Wild were without a number of players; Brent Burns (hip), Niklas Backstrom (groin), and Shane Hnidy, who did not go on the road trip (leg) were all scratched due to injury; Wade Dubleiewicz was recalled by the Wild from the AHL Houston Aeros for Backstrom, whose groin tweak is day-to-day.
The Wild, following their March pattern, now come home for the next two games, starting with the Next Game: vs. St. Louis, Sunday, March 14, 5:00 PM Central Daylight Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Blues' TV: FSMidwest, all feeds in HD; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
-- WRT
Remember: Set your clocks AHEAD one hour before going to bed Saturday night!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Aim Low, Boys; It's only the Panthers!
Gutless, putrid, embarrassing Minnesota effort leads to shootout loss, starts lowering the coffin on Wild season
By Wild Road Tripper
The Florida Panthers were given a very special gift for being tonight's participant at Xcel Energy Center.
The gift? Two points in the standings, courtesy of a team that has lost its' will to win a hockey game.
The Minnesota Wild, in true Minnesota fashion, took a two-goal lead into the third period of tonight's game in front of an announced 18,191...and promptly went out and blew the hell out of it. Two Florida goals in just under 11 minutes tied the game in the third period, and then Cory Stillman ended the torture, by a score of 3-2, for the 'Team of 18,000', by finally ending the nightmare with the lone goal of the four-round shootout, a shootout which, in the opinion of this blogger, should rightfully have never even been allowed to happen.
I can go on and on about how there were goals scored, etc., and how Niklas Backstrom would do well to contact an attorney, as he should sue the players in front of him for non-support. Even after both Shane Hnidy (leg) and Brent Burns (hip) left the game due to injury, the Wild still proved they could disappoint.
There were new lows for shots in regulation (9), a tie for overall fewest shots in a game (11), the second time the Wild has taken a two-goal lead into the third period, and so on. But, this is the most telling stat that I could come up with:
There were as many broken sticks (7) as shots on goal (also, 7) until 8:45 remained in the third period. This means there had been 51:15 played, and only seven shots in goal. Seven. Against a Florida Panthers' team of few real stars, and many career 3rd and 4th liners.
This is a classic embarrassment for the Minnesota franchise which vowed to be that much better, on the ice and off, than their other pro counterparts. To play a game like this one, with pretty much your season on the line, against a team which has shown they can be as bad as any in hockey when pushed, in your own building, on regional free TV, when you are in the middle of your season ticket renewal drive, is beyond any possible scope of human comprehension or understanding of how successful businesses draw fans (and, their money, necessary in today's sports landscape of escalating salaries) in the middle of this downturned economy.
As if the Wild needed help alienating any more of their upper-level faithful, most of whom are seeing their season ticket prices raised $5/seat per game, this squad comes out and quite frankly beat themselves this evening. They didn't need the Panthers around to do that.
New Ulm High School would have gladly done the honors, but they were busy next door at the State High School Boys' Hockey banquet at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
Too bad for the Wild. Because New Ulm would have provided a better challenge...
and if you care to stomach it:
Next Game: at Detroit, Thursday, March 11, 6:30 PM Central (7:30 PM Eastern) Time, Joe Louis Arena. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Detroit TV: FSDetroit; NHL Network-US; XM Radio, Ch. 237)
By Wild Road Tripper
The Florida Panthers were given a very special gift for being tonight's participant at Xcel Energy Center.
The gift? Two points in the standings, courtesy of a team that has lost its' will to win a hockey game.
The Minnesota Wild, in true Minnesota fashion, took a two-goal lead into the third period of tonight's game in front of an announced 18,191...and promptly went out and blew the hell out of it. Two Florida goals in just under 11 minutes tied the game in the third period, and then Cory Stillman ended the torture, by a score of 3-2, for the 'Team of 18,000', by finally ending the nightmare with the lone goal of the four-round shootout, a shootout which, in the opinion of this blogger, should rightfully have never even been allowed to happen.
I can go on and on about how there were goals scored, etc., and how Niklas Backstrom would do well to contact an attorney, as he should sue the players in front of him for non-support. Even after both Shane Hnidy (leg) and Brent Burns (hip) left the game due to injury, the Wild still proved they could disappoint.
There were new lows for shots in regulation (9), a tie for overall fewest shots in a game (11), the second time the Wild has taken a two-goal lead into the third period, and so on. But, this is the most telling stat that I could come up with:
There were as many broken sticks (7) as shots on goal (also, 7) until 8:45 remained in the third period. This means there had been 51:15 played, and only seven shots in goal. Seven. Against a Florida Panthers' team of few real stars, and many career 3rd and 4th liners.
This is a classic embarrassment for the Minnesota franchise which vowed to be that much better, on the ice and off, than their other pro counterparts. To play a game like this one, with pretty much your season on the line, against a team which has shown they can be as bad as any in hockey when pushed, in your own building, on regional free TV, when you are in the middle of your season ticket renewal drive, is beyond any possible scope of human comprehension or understanding of how successful businesses draw fans (and, their money, necessary in today's sports landscape of escalating salaries) in the middle of this downturned economy.
As if the Wild needed help alienating any more of their upper-level faithful, most of whom are seeing their season ticket prices raised $5/seat per game, this squad comes out and quite frankly beat themselves this evening. They didn't need the Panthers around to do that.
New Ulm High School would have gladly done the honors, but they were busy next door at the State High School Boys' Hockey banquet at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
Too bad for the Wild. Because New Ulm would have provided a better challenge...
and if you care to stomach it:
Next Game: at Detroit, Thursday, March 11, 6:30 PM Central (7:30 PM Eastern) Time, Joe Louis Arena. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Detroit TV: FSDetroit; NHL Network-US; XM Radio, Ch. 237)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Antti-Swede: Miettinen scores 2 as Wild beat, beat up Canucks
By Wild Road Tripper
Were the Vancouver Canucks trying to make a statement tonight? If they were, after all was said and done, was this what they meant? Really??
If this was what they meant to say, perhaps it's good that the Olympics will be in Vancouver in less than 5 weeks. Because the Canucks sure didn't make the statement they wanted to. Which is a good thing, if you are a Minnesota Wild fan. The Wild beat the Canucks, 5-2, before 18,356 at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night, and beat the Canucks up as well, as three (well, actually two, we'll get to that later) fights in the third period -- all of which also wound up in Minnesota's favor -- and an early end to Roberto Luongo's night in the Vancouver goal spelled defeat for the Canucks, for the first time in St. Paul since March, 2008.
Antti Miettinen continues on his goal-scoring tear, as he twice found twine with a shot from the slot on a 4-on-3 power play early in the third, then scored again near midway thru the third period to put the game hopelessly out of reach. Kyle Brodziak, Mikko Koivu and Owen Nolan also scored for the Wild as they won their fourth straight game, all at home, to climb to within one point of idle Detroit and to within two points of Los Angeles.
No mention of the Canucks would be complete without a mention of, 'Pinky and the Brain', better known as the Sedin Twins, Daniel and Henrik, who were held completely off the scoreboard tonight as the Wild shut down Vancouver's top line all evening.
In the midst of all the hubbub, Niklas Backstrom won his 21st game of the season, and his 114th overall, eclipsing the mark for most Wild goaltender victories, set by Manny Fernandez.
The three fights were like this: First, Derek Boogaard squares off against Darcy Hordichuk, a 'fight' in name only, since only Hordichuk threw punches (and not many of those) and Boogaard backed off after pulling Hordichuk's sweater over his head.
The second fight was indeed the most brutal, as 'Big' John Scott proceeded to systematically destroy Alexandre Bolduc, landing a minimum (by my own count) 12 punches clean to the head of the recent call-up. When the fight was over, Bolduc had to be helped off the ice by the officials, as he definitely had checked in on Dream Street. This fight was almost as one-sided as Scott's destruction last March of the Islanders' Joel Rechlicz at Nassau Coliseum. If this doesn't make someone's fight card, nothing in hockey will.
The last fight of the evening took place just 6 seconds before the coaches would have been fined $25,000 if a fight had taken place. This one featured Shane Hnidy vs. Tanner Glass, two guys who would have really liked not fighting each other at all. This fight came out close to even.
The Wild now go on the road for the next week, starting a stretch where 6 of the next 9 are away from St. Paul, with the Next Game: at St. Louis, tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 14), 7:00 PM, Scottrade Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Blues TV: FSMidwest (in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 237)
Were the Vancouver Canucks trying to make a statement tonight? If they were, after all was said and done, was this what they meant? Really??
If this was what they meant to say, perhaps it's good that the Olympics will be in Vancouver in less than 5 weeks. Because the Canucks sure didn't make the statement they wanted to. Which is a good thing, if you are a Minnesota Wild fan. The Wild beat the Canucks, 5-2, before 18,356 at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night, and beat the Canucks up as well, as three (well, actually two, we'll get to that later) fights in the third period -- all of which also wound up in Minnesota's favor -- and an early end to Roberto Luongo's night in the Vancouver goal spelled defeat for the Canucks, for the first time in St. Paul since March, 2008.
Antti Miettinen continues on his goal-scoring tear, as he twice found twine with a shot from the slot on a 4-on-3 power play early in the third, then scored again near midway thru the third period to put the game hopelessly out of reach. Kyle Brodziak, Mikko Koivu and Owen Nolan also scored for the Wild as they won their fourth straight game, all at home, to climb to within one point of idle Detroit and to within two points of Los Angeles.
No mention of the Canucks would be complete without a mention of, 'Pinky and the Brain', better known as the Sedin Twins, Daniel and Henrik, who were held completely off the scoreboard tonight as the Wild shut down Vancouver's top line all evening.
In the midst of all the hubbub, Niklas Backstrom won his 21st game of the season, and his 114th overall, eclipsing the mark for most Wild goaltender victories, set by Manny Fernandez.
The three fights were like this: First, Derek Boogaard squares off against Darcy Hordichuk, a 'fight' in name only, since only Hordichuk threw punches (and not many of those) and Boogaard backed off after pulling Hordichuk's sweater over his head.
The second fight was indeed the most brutal, as 'Big' John Scott proceeded to systematically destroy Alexandre Bolduc, landing a minimum (by my own count) 12 punches clean to the head of the recent call-up. When the fight was over, Bolduc had to be helped off the ice by the officials, as he definitely had checked in on Dream Street. This fight was almost as one-sided as Scott's destruction last March of the Islanders' Joel Rechlicz at Nassau Coliseum. If this doesn't make someone's fight card, nothing in hockey will.
The last fight of the evening took place just 6 seconds before the coaches would have been fined $25,000 if a fight had taken place. This one featured Shane Hnidy vs. Tanner Glass, two guys who would have really liked not fighting each other at all. This fight came out close to even.
The Wild now go on the road for the next week, starting a stretch where 6 of the next 9 are away from St. Paul, with the Next Game: at St. Louis, tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 14), 7:00 PM, Scottrade Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Blues TV: FSMidwest (in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 237)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Sacre Blue: Latendresse's 2 goals spark Wild win
By Wild Road Tripper
Minnesota Wild fans just can't thank Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey enough. The Habs' insistence of getting rid of what they thought was dead weight, just might be the catalyst for a Wild playoff run, as improbable as that seemed after their disasterous October start left Minnesota for dead in the NHL's Western Conference.
Led by Guillaume Latendresse's first and third period goals, the Wild helped themselves to a post-Christmas 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues before 18,554 merry revelers at Xcel Energy Center Saturday night. Latendresse's two goals, his 7th and 8th of the season, started and finished (respectively) the scoring for the Wild, as Kim Johnsson's breakaway goal and Shane Hnidy's patience, while a screen set up in front of St. Louis goalie Chris Mason, paid off in Hnidy's 2nd goal of the year.
The crowd seemed not quite into it as the two teams went back and forth in the first period. Long, long multi-zone passes that didn't quite connect, went awry time after time for the Wild in the first two periods, creating a very sloppy hockey game. They cut the pass length down considerably in the third period and scored three times for their efforts, but still had to turn the Blues back time and again down the stretch as the intensity racheted up, and the clock wound down.
It really wouldn't be fair to not acknowledge the efforts of Marek Zidlicky is keeping the play alive, single-handedly playing thru the St. Louis defense, in order to feed Latendresse for the game-winning goal. If you want to see how Zidlicky can really play when he is motivated, watch the play that sets up the Wild fourth goal in the third period, and you'll ask yourself: "Where in the hell has THAT been these last two seasons?"
The only real drawback of the night occurred when Chuck Kobasew went knee-to-knee with Blues' winger Keith Tkachuk near the Minnesota net in the third period. Kobasew had to be helped off the ice, not putting any weight whatsoever on his left knee. No word as to his status came from the team following the game, but it is assumed he will not be making the two-game road trip to Southern California on Sunday.
St. Louis, playing their fourth and final game on an extended swing thru the Northwest division, wound up with a 3-1 record on the circuit, as they dropped only their 4th road game of the season. The Blues have earned 25 of their 39 points on the road. If there are 'key stats' in this game, here's one for you: the Wild were 35-for-53 (66%) on face-offs in this game. Another: the Blues' top line (David Backes, Paul Kariya, T. J. Oshie) were a combined -11 on the night.
The Wild now are 19-16-3, good for 41 points and solely in 11th place in the West, two points behind Dallas and Detroit and four points behind Vancouver, who is in 8th place after tonight's 4-1 win against Edmonton. All-time, the Wild are now 2-2-3 on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas, for those of you who've never been into the Dominion to the north of Minnesota), including 1-0-1 at home.
The Wild broke a team record for wins (9) in a single December; if they win one more game this month, they can tie the single-month record for team wins in a calendar month (10, set in March, 2007). They can achieve this record in their Next Game: at Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 28, 9:30 PM Central (7:30 PM Pacific) Time, STAPLES Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Kings TV: FSWest; both feeds in HD; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
Minnesota Wild fans just can't thank Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey enough. The Habs' insistence of getting rid of what they thought was dead weight, just might be the catalyst for a Wild playoff run, as improbable as that seemed after their disasterous October start left Minnesota for dead in the NHL's Western Conference.
Led by Guillaume Latendresse's first and third period goals, the Wild helped themselves to a post-Christmas 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues before 18,554 merry revelers at Xcel Energy Center Saturday night. Latendresse's two goals, his 7th and 8th of the season, started and finished (respectively) the scoring for the Wild, as Kim Johnsson's breakaway goal and Shane Hnidy's patience, while a screen set up in front of St. Louis goalie Chris Mason, paid off in Hnidy's 2nd goal of the year.
The crowd seemed not quite into it as the two teams went back and forth in the first period. Long, long multi-zone passes that didn't quite connect, went awry time after time for the Wild in the first two periods, creating a very sloppy hockey game. They cut the pass length down considerably in the third period and scored three times for their efforts, but still had to turn the Blues back time and again down the stretch as the intensity racheted up, and the clock wound down.
It really wouldn't be fair to not acknowledge the efforts of Marek Zidlicky is keeping the play alive, single-handedly playing thru the St. Louis defense, in order to feed Latendresse for the game-winning goal. If you want to see how Zidlicky can really play when he is motivated, watch the play that sets up the Wild fourth goal in the third period, and you'll ask yourself: "Where in the hell has THAT been these last two seasons?"
The only real drawback of the night occurred when Chuck Kobasew went knee-to-knee with Blues' winger Keith Tkachuk near the Minnesota net in the third period. Kobasew had to be helped off the ice, not putting any weight whatsoever on his left knee. No word as to his status came from the team following the game, but it is assumed he will not be making the two-game road trip to Southern California on Sunday.
St. Louis, playing their fourth and final game on an extended swing thru the Northwest division, wound up with a 3-1 record on the circuit, as they dropped only their 4th road game of the season. The Blues have earned 25 of their 39 points on the road. If there are 'key stats' in this game, here's one for you: the Wild were 35-for-53 (66%) on face-offs in this game. Another: the Blues' top line (David Backes, Paul Kariya, T. J. Oshie) were a combined -11 on the night.
The Wild now are 19-16-3, good for 41 points and solely in 11th place in the West, two points behind Dallas and Detroit and four points behind Vancouver, who is in 8th place after tonight's 4-1 win against Edmonton. All-time, the Wild are now 2-2-3 on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas, for those of you who've never been into the Dominion to the north of Minnesota), including 1-0-1 at home.
The Wild broke a team record for wins (9) in a single December; if they win one more game this month, they can tie the single-month record for team wins in a calendar month (10, set in March, 2007). They can achieve this record in their Next Game: at Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 28, 9:30 PM Central (7:30 PM Pacific) Time, STAPLES Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Kings TV: FSWest; both feeds in HD; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Czech-marked: Wild end road trip with 4-3 loss
The end of the road was the end of the road, literally, for the Minnesota Wild.
The last game of an five game-in-8 day road odyssey -- the last trip of this length this season -- came up just a bit short, as the Wild lost 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks late Saturday night, before 18,810 at GM Place.
From a five-goal first period, to a scoreless second, then a third period which was a cross of the first two, this Wild-Canucks rivalry renewal had a lot of everything that NHL fans crave...hits, goals, close play, and more trash talk than most NBA games.
Josh Harding, who started tonight for the second time this season versus the Canucks, had his troubles concentrating on the puck in the first period, and gave up three goals, two of which were on the power play as the Canucks tried to run-and-gun their way past the Wild early in the game. The Wild fought back with first period goals by Shane Hnidy and Greg Zanon, both off plays by Martin Havlat, who may have finally found his touch following his earlier injuries. In the second period, the play became more the kind of game that fans of the two teams are familiar with -- tight-checking, close-knit affairs which left both teams scoreless in the period. Havlat's prowess continued in the third when his rebound of an Andrew Brunette shot, in front of Roberto Luongo, found twine to close the game at 4-3, but that was as close as the Wild would get.
The Wild did set a franchise record for faceoffs, as they won 71% of them (49-for-69) on the night. It was also the first time in team history that the Wild took 40 or more shots in two consecutive games. Other than moral victories, however, the Wild came away empty, but with a 3-2 record on the road trip, the Wild will go home confident, if not happy, with the result of this game.
Next Game: vs. Columbus, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 7:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center. No TV for this game (the only Wild game not on TV in 2009-10); XM Radio, Channel 207)
-- WRT
The last game of an five game-in-8 day road odyssey -- the last trip of this length this season -- came up just a bit short, as the Wild lost 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks late Saturday night, before 18,810 at GM Place.
From a five-goal first period, to a scoreless second, then a third period which was a cross of the first two, this Wild-Canucks rivalry renewal had a lot of everything that NHL fans crave...hits, goals, close play, and more trash talk than most NBA games.
Josh Harding, who started tonight for the second time this season versus the Canucks, had his troubles concentrating on the puck in the first period, and gave up three goals, two of which were on the power play as the Canucks tried to run-and-gun their way past the Wild early in the game. The Wild fought back with first period goals by Shane Hnidy and Greg Zanon, both off plays by Martin Havlat, who may have finally found his touch following his earlier injuries. In the second period, the play became more the kind of game that fans of the two teams are familiar with -- tight-checking, close-knit affairs which left both teams scoreless in the period. Havlat's prowess continued in the third when his rebound of an Andrew Brunette shot, in front of Roberto Luongo, found twine to close the game at 4-3, but that was as close as the Wild would get.
The Wild did set a franchise record for faceoffs, as they won 71% of them (49-for-69) on the night. It was also the first time in team history that the Wild took 40 or more shots in two consecutive games. Other than moral victories, however, the Wild came away empty, but with a 3-2 record on the road trip, the Wild will go home confident, if not happy, with the result of this game.
Next Game: vs. Columbus, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 7:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center. No TV for this game (the only Wild game not on TV in 2009-10); XM Radio, Channel 207)
-- WRT
Friday, December 11, 2009
Torched! Havlat, Shep beat the 'Dome, Wild douse Flames in OT
And just like that, the Saddledome curse for the Wild is history.
Martin Havlat's give-and-go goal with Marek Zidlicky gave the Minnesota Wild a very well-deserved 2-1 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames and the 'C of Red' Friday night, in front of the usual 19,289 at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Havlat's goal, his first since returning from a hamstring injury, capped off a wild night, one which the Flames fans probably had never before seen, as the Wild peppered Mikka Kiprusoff with 46 shots, the second-most in Wild team history on the road.
The James Sheppard era continued as the former first-rounder took a Shane Hnidy rebound, and flipped it over a prone Kiprusoff to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to the extra session. But, this was not your Wild overtimes of the past. Unlike previous seasons, when Jacques Lemaire would have sat back and held out for the shootout, this group was aggressive, taking chances (especially late in the 3rd period) and kept the Flames bottled up in their half of the ice a good part of the evening. The Flames, for their part, seemed not to get anything sustained going the first 45 minutes of the contest.
Even Derek Boogaard had a victory tonight, as his fourth punch in his second period fight with Calgary's Bryan McGratton sent the ex-Ottawa Senator directly to Dream Street, with a right that connected flush with McGratton's left cheekbone.
The Wild, now 3-1 on this five-game Western swing, could possibly move into third place in the Northwest Division if they can be victorious in their Next Game: at Vancouver, Saturday, Dec. 12 (tomorrow), 9 PM Central (7 PM Pacific) Time, GM Place. (Wild TV: FSNorth; CBC 'Hockey Night in Canada' in HD (doubleheader game); XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
-- WRT
Martin Havlat's give-and-go goal with Marek Zidlicky gave the Minnesota Wild a very well-deserved 2-1 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames and the 'C of Red' Friday night, in front of the usual 19,289 at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Havlat's goal, his first since returning from a hamstring injury, capped off a wild night, one which the Flames fans probably had never before seen, as the Wild peppered Mikka Kiprusoff with 46 shots, the second-most in Wild team history on the road.
The James Sheppard era continued as the former first-rounder took a Shane Hnidy rebound, and flipped it over a prone Kiprusoff to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to the extra session. But, this was not your Wild overtimes of the past. Unlike previous seasons, when Jacques Lemaire would have sat back and held out for the shootout, this group was aggressive, taking chances (especially late in the 3rd period) and kept the Flames bottled up in their half of the ice a good part of the evening. The Flames, for their part, seemed not to get anything sustained going the first 45 minutes of the contest.
Even Derek Boogaard had a victory tonight, as his fourth punch in his second period fight with Calgary's Bryan McGratton sent the ex-Ottawa Senator directly to Dream Street, with a right that connected flush with McGratton's left cheekbone.
The Wild, now 3-1 on this five-game Western swing, could possibly move into third place in the Northwest Division if they can be victorious in their Next Game: at Vancouver, Saturday, Dec. 12 (tomorrow), 9 PM Central (7 PM Pacific) Time, GM Place. (Wild TV: FSNorth; CBC 'Hockey Night in Canada' in HD (doubleheader game); XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
-- WRT
Monday, December 7, 2009
Snooze to Lose II: Wild shutout, lose 2-0 in the desert
For the first half of Monday night's game at Jobing.com Arena, you could have virtually heard a pin drop. It was, indeed, THAT boring. And that boredom spelled the end of the Wild's 5-game winning streak.
For the second half, the Phoenix Coyotes made sure that the Minnesota Wild stayed that way, as the Wild sleep-walked their way to a 2-0 loss in front of 8,981 announced (actual attendance? Who really knows?) hardy souls on a rainy night in the Valley of the Sun.
Ex-Predator Scottie Upshall and ex-Canuck Taylor Pyatt scored for the 'Yotes 44 seconds apart in the second period, both gift goals due to Minnesota mistakes (by Eric Belanger and Shane Hnidy, respectively) which built the 2-0 lead after the second period.
In the third, the Coyotes played the Dave Tippett trap game to perfection for over 14 minutes, as the Wild were held to just two shots on goal in that time frame. The frustration continued thru the rest of the game, as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and the Phoenix defense shut down the Wild, as their 5-game win streak went by the wayside. As the game ended, a melee ensued with James Sheppard the recipient of a few punches by Phoenix' Vernon Fiddler. Both received 5-minute fighting majors (huh?) for the end-of-game scrum.
Anyhow, the road trip continues with the Next Game vs. Colorado, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 8:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Mountain) Time, Pepsi Center. (TV: Versus (Wild viewing parties at Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants for those of you who do not get Versus, info at Wild.com); XM Radio, Ch. 238)
-- WRT
For the second half, the Phoenix Coyotes made sure that the Minnesota Wild stayed that way, as the Wild sleep-walked their way to a 2-0 loss in front of 8,981 announced (actual attendance? Who really knows?) hardy souls on a rainy night in the Valley of the Sun.
Ex-Predator Scottie Upshall and ex-Canuck Taylor Pyatt scored for the 'Yotes 44 seconds apart in the second period, both gift goals due to Minnesota mistakes (by Eric Belanger and Shane Hnidy, respectively) which built the 2-0 lead after the second period.
In the third, the Coyotes played the Dave Tippett trap game to perfection for over 14 minutes, as the Wild were held to just two shots on goal in that time frame. The frustration continued thru the rest of the game, as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and the Phoenix defense shut down the Wild, as their 5-game win streak went by the wayside. As the game ended, a melee ensued with James Sheppard the recipient of a few punches by Phoenix' Vernon Fiddler. Both received 5-minute fighting majors (huh?) for the end-of-game scrum.
Anyhow, the road trip continues with the Next Game vs. Colorado, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 8:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Mountain) Time, Pepsi Center. (TV: Versus (Wild viewing parties at Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants for those of you who do not get Versus, info at Wild.com); XM Radio, Ch. 238)
-- WRT
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wild at the Quarter pole
OK, so after ¼ of the 2009-2010 NHL season has been played, what do we have?
- 7 of the 16 teams who made last year's playoffs would be out today, if the season ended now.
- Six points separate first from eighth place in the Eastern Conference, the same number which separates second from tenth place in the Western Conference.
- The Minnesota Wild coming off a combined road record of 2-9-2 after two killer road trips (one road trip five games, the other four games) in a span of five weeks.
- Six of the next 10 games for the Wild are against teams who are currently in the playoffs, if the season ended today. Two of the other 4 games are against teams who made the playoffs last season.
- The jury is still out on Wild Head Coach Todd Richards and his new 'system' of more offense. Although they actually show signs of doing it the way it's drawn up at times, there are still lapses, such as the third period of last week's game at Tampa Bay, and the first 25 minutes of the game at Carolina last Sunday, a game played so badly, that in that period they allowed a team, who lost 14 games in a row, to get up by three goals. Twice.
- The question still exists of whether or not the Wild will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline following the 17-day Olympic break Feb. 14-March 3. And just whom do you trade, anyhow? Those players with expiring contracts only? Or, do you blow the whole thing to Hell and start over? Who gets to pick and choose who stays, and who goes?
- It is only a matter of time before the Wild's sellout streak is over; it may even happen before Thanksgiving, as the team plays two opponents who are not really strong draws league-wide (Phoenix, NY Islanders) and a third opponent (Boston) who's major calling card, at least in Minnesota, is no longer with the club (Phil Kessel, now a Toronto Maple Leaf.)
- What about the Wild defense? Brent Burns is having an up-and-down season, at best: Nick Schultz, after some horrid nights early on, is slowly adjusting to the new style; Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy are still getting used to playing with their new teammates; Marek Zidlicky still takes the dumb penalty at the wrong time, still gets caught out of position frequently and makes it harder for other defensemen to do their job; and Kim Johnsson, shoulder injury (or higher up, depending on who you listen to) still isn't the same defenseman he was last season.
- Injuries to forwards have plagued the Wild this last six weeks as well. Four of the top six forwards (Petr Sykora, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Andrew Brunette) were out at one time or another. Throw in the pre-season woes of Brunette and Mikko Koivu, and you have a recipe for disaster, as no one knows much about who they're playing alongside.
- Although one of the brightest spots has been the goaltending of Niklas Backstrom, the lack of defense in front of him means he has seen a lot of rubber already, and we still have 60 + games left to play.
Although the Wild are far from out of the playoff race (it's way too early in the season to even start that talk for any team), they are inching precipitously close to the edge of the proverbial cliff. If they go over, they're like a bad Michael Jackson record.
HIS-tory.
-- WRT
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