OK, folks. I really don't have a lot this time around. I'll admit that straight out. But since it's been nearly two weeks since I sat down with my blog, time to get a few more things off my mind...
Stanley Cup Final: The Bruins actually stopped the Canucks' juggernaut. Now all of North America knows what a bunch of whining, crying, diving babies the Canucks are. When the heat was finally put on the Canucks, they wilted like so much lettuce. The Sedins were the ultimate non-factor in the Finals, while Boston goaltender Tim Thomas couldn't have done more to earn the cup, save for making it himself. While Vancouver thought the way to the cup was to fake injuries in order to draw penalties, the referees were having none of it. Play on.
Post-Cup Vancouver Riot: There has been so much said about this already, blaming anarchists and misguided youth. Sorry, Vancouver. You have no one but yourselves (and your lousy hockey team, the guys who couldn't seal the deal) to blame for the destruction which occurred after Wednesday night's Game Seven. Like your hockey franchise, you blame everyone but yourselves for the troubles. Look in the mirror, British Columbia. Don't like what you see? Do something about it. Start with your hockey team. Work on being a better community, one which doesn't tolerate violence every time things don't go your way. Will the Queen's Bench let the guilty off, like they did Todd Bertuzzi?
My guess is yeah, they will. After all, this is Vancouver, where anything goes. We all saw it again last week.
Saying 'Yo' to Mike Yeo: Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher now knows, after two seasons in the front office, just what a disaster he inherited from the remnants of the Risebrough administration. And, after the team tuned out Todd Richards at the end of last season (precipitating the disasterous 'March to Hell' stretch drive) that first and foremost, he had to find someone to get thru to the team's younger talent. The fact that they promoted from within speaks volumes as to where the ownership wants this team to go. This team will progressively get younger as time goes on. The fact that players like Antti Miettinen and (probably) Chuck Kobasew have played their last games in Iron Range Red should actually please the fan base, as there will be room for the kids who Yeo coached to within one game of the AHL Calder Cup at the NHL level this fall. Now if the Wild would buy out Cam Barker, so as to remove him from the roster, there would be two spots available on the blue line for Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella.
One thing Yeo said in his press conference Friday morning stood out: that the Wild will be a more competitive team, night in, night out. Hopefully that will mean the end of the 8-1 home blowouts, followed by two equally embarrassing home losses, all in the same week. Only time will tell.
NHL Draft: By this time next week, we will know who the Wild have selected in the 2011 Draft, coming this Friday and Saturday at the 'X' in St. Paul. As Fletcher and Co., continue to re-stock the larder of talent, the quality of 18-year-olds looks pretty good...on paper. Only time will tell if the decisions made next weekend will pan out. For the young players, it's their second-to-last step to getting paid for all those 6 AM practices in forlorn hockey rinks around the world. For their parents, another one leaves the nest to go out and seek his fortune. For the teams, it's taking a risk on a kid who has talent, but does he have the intangibles needed to survive at the highest level of the sport?
As I said, only time will tell...
Showing posts with label Kobasew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kobasew. Show all posts
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Waiting for the other shoe to drop
That's what Minnesota Wild fans are doing right now. Waiting. Waiting. And, more waiting.
While the rest of the NHL plays on in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Wild sit on the sidelines (or at the tee box), like 22 other NHL teams. Waiting for the right person to become available to be named the team's third head coach. Waiting for June 24th and 25th, when the NHL Amateur Draft takes place at the 'X'. Waiting for July 1st, the start of NHL Free Agency, when the Wild can shed themselves of more of the dead weight that permeated the 2010-2011 club, dragging Wild fans thru the 'March to Hell' stretch drive. When we can finally end the charade that has been the James Sheppard era (sorry, Russo, you and I disagree here. Shep needs a change of scenery. For his sake, and the sake of the club) and clear him off the books, once and for all.
When the Wild can also split up the 'Finnish Mafia' and say 'kiitos' and 'adios' to Antti Miettinen and his lack of goal-scoring ability. Artists with broad sides of barn paintings all over Minnesota, are weeping as the date approaches.
Although he should be offered a community job in the organization, Andrew Brunette's days on the Wild playing roster are, indeed, numbered.
Buh-Bye, Chuck Kobasew. Your presence these last two seasons are now costing us a top-40 draft pick. Hope all will be well, wherever you wind up.
Sorry, Josh Harding. You got caught up in a numbers game. You'll find a job somewhere. You're too young and too good to be cast aside, but the $$ money numbers caught up with you.
Also skee-daddling off the roster will be mid-season pick-up Jed Ortmeyer, the former Nashville Predator, who really wishes he was still on THAT roster right about now.
The Wild need to get more talent on the big league roster. Fast. Otherwise, there will be more than shoes dropping at 317 Washington St., St. Paul.
Maybe even a few heads.
While the rest of the NHL plays on in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Wild sit on the sidelines (or at the tee box), like 22 other NHL teams. Waiting for the right person to become available to be named the team's third head coach. Waiting for June 24th and 25th, when the NHL Amateur Draft takes place at the 'X'. Waiting for July 1st, the start of NHL Free Agency, when the Wild can shed themselves of more of the dead weight that permeated the 2010-2011 club, dragging Wild fans thru the 'March to Hell' stretch drive. When we can finally end the charade that has been the James Sheppard era (sorry, Russo, you and I disagree here. Shep needs a change of scenery. For his sake, and the sake of the club) and clear him off the books, once and for all.
When the Wild can also split up the 'Finnish Mafia' and say 'kiitos' and 'adios' to Antti Miettinen and his lack of goal-scoring ability. Artists with broad sides of barn paintings all over Minnesota, are weeping as the date approaches.
Although he should be offered a community job in the organization, Andrew Brunette's days on the Wild playing roster are, indeed, numbered.
Buh-Bye, Chuck Kobasew. Your presence these last two seasons are now costing us a top-40 draft pick. Hope all will be well, wherever you wind up.
Sorry, Josh Harding. You got caught up in a numbers game. You'll find a job somewhere. You're too young and too good to be cast aside, but the $$ money numbers caught up with you.
Also skee-daddling off the roster will be mid-season pick-up Jed Ortmeyer, the former Nashville Predator, who really wishes he was still on THAT roster right about now.
The Wild need to get more talent on the big league roster. Fast. Otherwise, there will be more than shoes dropping at 317 Washington St., St. Paul.
Maybe even a few heads.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
On the Road: Shamu and 'the Minnow'
On the road with WRT in Chicago for our seventh annual trip to the United Center, as giant whale and small defenseman combine as Wild beat Hawks
As Minnesota Wild road trips go, it was probably the easiest one around. Our seventh annual road trip to Chicago's United Center, as both the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks played the last game prior to the NHL All-Star break.
We start at MSP Airport's Terminal 2 (nee-Humphrey Terminal) where we were about to board our Southwest Airlines flight to Chicago Midway Airport. The flight was no where near full (a rarity for Southwest), where even their 'DING' application never features the Twin Cities, when they call for last-minute fare specials.
As we begin to line up (by number; remember, Southwest boards by group and boarding number, not by row and seat) I look over and see our 737-700 aircraft, and it is none other than the Sea World-sponsored 'Shamu' aircraft, one of a phalanx of special planes in Southwest's over-600 aircraft fleet, painted for a specific attraction or state. Inside, 1/3rd of the overhead luggage bins feature a very large and famous whale, on the outside of the bin.
Our flight takes off nearly 20 minutes late (late arrival from Chicago) but some deft traffic control gets us into the gate (B-1, next to all the goodies) only 5 minutes late at 2:10 PM. Walking thru the airport en route to the Orange Line 'L' train to the Chicago Loop, we (wife and I) are feeling good about everything...but the game itself. We are hoping for the game not to get blown out by the high-flying (at least until this season) Hawks, who are also in the fight for the last four playoff spots in the Western Conference.
My wife has an idea to get some real, honest-to-God Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, and then meet us at our North Michigan Avenue hotel. So, I agree to go on to the hotel, with not only my bag, but hers as well, hers being lighter than mine due to no netbook, no C-PAP machine (I use it in order to sleep), and very little clothing (I think I had more than she did).
I check in, go up to our 20th-floor room, and barely get in the door when I'm asked by my wife to come down and get the pizza, while she goes a couple doors over to get beverages at a local Walgreens store (and before you ask; yes, CVS Pharmacy is right across the street).
We stay at this hotel (which she stayed at earlier in the fall when she took relatives to Chicago) because she wants to, the price was right ($81/night) and the fact that I need to do something to change my Chicago luck. (We've seen two losses in the last three games at the United Center).
And, across the street, is none other than the Blackhawks team store! (A definite plus.) A quick trip across the street yields two T-shirts, one long sleeve, with all four Blackhawk logos in team history; and the other one short sleeve, named 'the Failed Nine', with the logos of the nine NHL franchises which have folded in the modern era (that's post-World-War-II, for you young whipper-snappers out there in the blogosphere).
Anyhow, after my foray across the street, we get to game time, and the CTA #19 United Center Express bus. Now, despite the bus sign saying 'Go Bulls', we board and eventually we pick up a fairly good load (and one drunk asshole, who we let off at Wacker Drive). The bus seems to take forever, as the streets are, of course, full as it is the tail end of the afternoon rush hour. We get off in front of the cavernous arena and enter at 6:45 PM, 45 minutes before first puck drop.
We find our club-level seats, next to the TV camera pavilion, and see that no less than 6 cameras are working this nationally-cablecast game (Versus, TSN2) while the Hawks' fans are in full party mode as they settle in for the evening. At least, until the national anthem is sung. Then, the Hawks' fans go absolutely crazy, as Jim Corneilson belts out a wonderful rendition, nearly drowned out by the cheers of 21,247 UC patrons as his mother, an 88-year-old WAC member from WWII, stood next to her son. She had never heard her son sing the song, which he has become famous in the hockey world for, before last night.
After that, how could the young and still speedy Hawks not come out like gangbusters? But, after Martin Havlat's laser-shot goal opened the scoring, the Wild managed to survive the rest of a first period where Corey Crawford, Hawks' goaltender, looked like he had the night off, and was watching a game played on a half-rink. Two goals scored in the first (by Patrick Sharp and Troy Brower) by the Hawks and the Wild fans in the arena were wondering what was coming next.
What was coming next was 'the Minnow'... and no, we're not talking about the ship featured in the 60's TV series, 'Gilligan's Island', either. We are talking about the Wild's diminutive blue line find, Jared Spurgeon, he of the continuing to impress Wild brass, into a full-time NHL job. Currently playing for the injured Marco Scandella, it will be a very tough decision to send this kid back to AHL Houston, when the somewhat banged-up Wild returns to full health later next month. Spurgeon played against the speedy Hawks like an old vet, not taking chances with the puck, skating it out of the defensive zone when necessary, clogging lanes, you name it, he did it.
With the defensive side holding its' own (and Niklas Backstrom turning in another stand-on-his-head performance: the save on Brower in the first, after Backstrom was forced to slide across the crease on his belly in order to reach the puck, is a 'must-see') it was time for the offense to assert itself, much to the dismay of the big UC crowd, as Chuck Kobasew first found twine out of a Spurgeon shot (Spurgeon's first NHL point, BTW) and then with 3:47 left in the stanza, Antti Miettinen deflected Andrew Brunette's wrister from the boards, to make it 3-2 for 'the good guys', as White Sox announcer Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson would say.
The third period was a lot like the second, as the Wild took the game to the Hawks, especially after Pierre-Marc Bouchard's wrap-around goal made the score 4-2, up to the end, save for one spot when a Jonathan Towes shot was blown dead when referee Stephane Auger, with whom the Wild have had a few run-ins with previously, lost sight of the puck. Since the referee lost sight of the puck, it is NOT, by definition, a reviewable decision by the Toronto 'war room', the decision stood, despite a vehemous protest by Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, and the game played out, to the Wild's good fortune.
Post-game, we make our way thru the sullen crowd to a line of four CTA 'big bend' buses, ready to take passengers back into the Loop. One big difference than normal, though; normally, there is a steady line of people waiting to get on the buses in order to get onto trains going home. Not last night. A lot of them bailed out on the Hawks after Bouchard's goal, leaving the rest of the crowd to see the finish, of what was a very competitive hockey game. We board, find seats, and watch as the usual crush-load of Hawks fans get aboard. This is a very quiet bus (for once) as we make our way past Oprah's Harpo Studios, down Washington and towards the railroad stations, Ogilvie and Union, and the Loop.
We get dropped off directly across the street from our hotel, and we end the night, happy and feeling that it was definitely well worth the effort, to go to the Windy City for a night of really good puck. All in all, it was an effort well worth doing, even though the trip home was uneventful (despite an absolutely full flight). I wish all trips were like this.
Maybe the next one (Feb. 5, at Phoenix) will be as successful. Who knows...?
As Minnesota Wild road trips go, it was probably the easiest one around. Our seventh annual road trip to Chicago's United Center, as both the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks played the last game prior to the NHL All-Star break.
We start at MSP Airport's Terminal 2 (nee-Humphrey Terminal) where we were about to board our Southwest Airlines flight to Chicago Midway Airport. The flight was no where near full (a rarity for Southwest), where even their 'DING' application never features the Twin Cities, when they call for last-minute fare specials.
As we begin to line up (by number; remember, Southwest boards by group and boarding number, not by row and seat) I look over and see our 737-700 aircraft, and it is none other than the Sea World-sponsored 'Shamu' aircraft, one of a phalanx of special planes in Southwest's over-600 aircraft fleet, painted for a specific attraction or state. Inside, 1/3rd of the overhead luggage bins feature a very large and famous whale, on the outside of the bin.
Our flight takes off nearly 20 minutes late (late arrival from Chicago) but some deft traffic control gets us into the gate (B-1, next to all the goodies) only 5 minutes late at 2:10 PM. Walking thru the airport en route to the Orange Line 'L' train to the Chicago Loop, we (wife and I) are feeling good about everything...but the game itself. We are hoping for the game not to get blown out by the high-flying (at least until this season) Hawks, who are also in the fight for the last four playoff spots in the Western Conference.
My wife has an idea to get some real, honest-to-God Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, and then meet us at our North Michigan Avenue hotel. So, I agree to go on to the hotel, with not only my bag, but hers as well, hers being lighter than mine due to no netbook, no C-PAP machine (I use it in order to sleep), and very little clothing (I think I had more than she did).
I check in, go up to our 20th-floor room, and barely get in the door when I'm asked by my wife to come down and get the pizza, while she goes a couple doors over to get beverages at a local Walgreens store (and before you ask; yes, CVS Pharmacy is right across the street).
We stay at this hotel (which she stayed at earlier in the fall when she took relatives to Chicago) because she wants to, the price was right ($81/night) and the fact that I need to do something to change my Chicago luck. (We've seen two losses in the last three games at the United Center).
And, across the street, is none other than the Blackhawks team store! (A definite plus.) A quick trip across the street yields two T-shirts, one long sleeve, with all four Blackhawk logos in team history; and the other one short sleeve, named 'the Failed Nine', with the logos of the nine NHL franchises which have folded in the modern era (that's post-World-War-II, for you young whipper-snappers out there in the blogosphere).
Anyhow, after my foray across the street, we get to game time, and the CTA #19 United Center Express bus. Now, despite the bus sign saying 'Go Bulls', we board and eventually we pick up a fairly good load (and one drunk asshole, who we let off at Wacker Drive). The bus seems to take forever, as the streets are, of course, full as it is the tail end of the afternoon rush hour. We get off in front of the cavernous arena and enter at 6:45 PM, 45 minutes before first puck drop.
We find our club-level seats, next to the TV camera pavilion, and see that no less than 6 cameras are working this nationally-cablecast game (Versus, TSN2) while the Hawks' fans are in full party mode as they settle in for the evening. At least, until the national anthem is sung. Then, the Hawks' fans go absolutely crazy, as Jim Corneilson belts out a wonderful rendition, nearly drowned out by the cheers of 21,247 UC patrons as his mother, an 88-year-old WAC member from WWII, stood next to her son. She had never heard her son sing the song, which he has become famous in the hockey world for, before last night.
After that, how could the young and still speedy Hawks not come out like gangbusters? But, after Martin Havlat's laser-shot goal opened the scoring, the Wild managed to survive the rest of a first period where Corey Crawford, Hawks' goaltender, looked like he had the night off, and was watching a game played on a half-rink. Two goals scored in the first (by Patrick Sharp and Troy Brower) by the Hawks and the Wild fans in the arena were wondering what was coming next.
What was coming next was 'the Minnow'... and no, we're not talking about the ship featured in the 60's TV series, 'Gilligan's Island', either. We are talking about the Wild's diminutive blue line find, Jared Spurgeon, he of the continuing to impress Wild brass, into a full-time NHL job. Currently playing for the injured Marco Scandella, it will be a very tough decision to send this kid back to AHL Houston, when the somewhat banged-up Wild returns to full health later next month. Spurgeon played against the speedy Hawks like an old vet, not taking chances with the puck, skating it out of the defensive zone when necessary, clogging lanes, you name it, he did it.
With the defensive side holding its' own (and Niklas Backstrom turning in another stand-on-his-head performance: the save on Brower in the first, after Backstrom was forced to slide across the crease on his belly in order to reach the puck, is a 'must-see') it was time for the offense to assert itself, much to the dismay of the big UC crowd, as Chuck Kobasew first found twine out of a Spurgeon shot (Spurgeon's first NHL point, BTW) and then with 3:47 left in the stanza, Antti Miettinen deflected Andrew Brunette's wrister from the boards, to make it 3-2 for 'the good guys', as White Sox announcer Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson would say.
The third period was a lot like the second, as the Wild took the game to the Hawks, especially after Pierre-Marc Bouchard's wrap-around goal made the score 4-2, up to the end, save for one spot when a Jonathan Towes shot was blown dead when referee Stephane Auger, with whom the Wild have had a few run-ins with previously, lost sight of the puck. Since the referee lost sight of the puck, it is NOT, by definition, a reviewable decision by the Toronto 'war room', the decision stood, despite a vehemous protest by Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, and the game played out, to the Wild's good fortune.
Post-game, we make our way thru the sullen crowd to a line of four CTA 'big bend' buses, ready to take passengers back into the Loop. One big difference than normal, though; normally, there is a steady line of people waiting to get on the buses in order to get onto trains going home. Not last night. A lot of them bailed out on the Hawks after Bouchard's goal, leaving the rest of the crowd to see the finish, of what was a very competitive hockey game. We board, find seats, and watch as the usual crush-load of Hawks fans get aboard. This is a very quiet bus (for once) as we make our way past Oprah's Harpo Studios, down Washington and towards the railroad stations, Ogilvie and Union, and the Loop.
We get dropped off directly across the street from our hotel, and we end the night, happy and feeling that it was definitely well worth the effort, to go to the Windy City for a night of really good puck. All in all, it was an effort well worth doing, even though the trip home was uneventful (despite an absolutely full flight). I wish all trips were like this.
Maybe the next one (Feb. 5, at Phoenix) will be as successful. Who knows...?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Brand New Year, Same Old Wild Problems
New Year's. Time to re-start everything. Time to turn the calendar over, and renew your committment to making your life better in the New Year,
Oh, how I really wish the Minnesota Wild would follow that philosophy.
The fact of the matter is that despite their recent success (two wins vs. Calgary, wins vs. Colorado and San Jose in the last two weeks), this Wild team is, at best, a .500 hockey club. A testament to middling performance. A team which, if this season so far were made into a commercial, would come out like the Education Minnesota union ad during the elections -- "Mediocrity, Mediocrity, ME-DI-OCRITY!"
The reality is that until the Wild can once again upgrade their forwards to a level of, say, a St. Louis, or the LA Kings, or even this afternoon's opponents, the formerly-lowly Phoenix Coyotes, the Wild will be mired with a Calgary Flames team which is on the verge of a total rebuild, and the near-perpetual bottom feeders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers, teams who are destined to be cannon fodder for the likes of the Detroits and Chicagos of the Western Conference.
How bad are the Wild viewed, especially away from Minnesota?
CBC's Pierre LeBrun, with Kelly Hrudey commenting on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night from Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, where they were doing the Washington-Pittsburgh Winter Classic, came out and said that the Wild are 'not a sexy team' right now, and do not even deserve hosting the Winter Classic (although they wouldn't have had the warm weather problems they did in the Steel City yesterday). He also said that Philadelphia (home of Comcast, who will purchase NBC from GE later this month) and Colorado (who's Invesco Field at Mile High would be an 80,000-seat bonanza, for a game vs. either the Detroit Red Wings or the Dallas Stars) are the current front-runners for the 2012 game, a game which the Wild ownership covets dearly.
LeBrun's comments should have been viewed as an alarm bell, ringing throughout 317 Washington Street in Downtown St. Paul. It's time to get serious as to what direction the Wild need to go in to get where they really need to be -- the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- and soon.
They have to get involved this season at the trade deadline. And at the rate this team is going, they certainly would not be construed as 'buyers'. No way. They need to unload salary, and quickly. Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew all need to be shown the proverbial door. Two other Wild players -- John Madden and Jose Theodore -- are also unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. But there are two Wild players who's output underscores the fact they need a change of scenery.
Cam Barker and James Sheppard, your taxis are waiting to take you to the airport. One-way.
Sheppard, injured in pre-training-camp while ATV'ing in Colorado, needs a new start. Somewhere else. The second biggest draft day bust in Wild history (behind A. J. Thelen), the only thing Shep is doing right now for the Wild, is dragging down the team's salary cap to zero. They won't get anything out of him this season. Anything you get in return for him, (even a used puck bag), should be considered a plus for the Wild. Just get his name off the books.
Barker, acquired in the Kim Johnsson-Nick Leddy trade from Chicago, has probably been the single biggest stalagmite since Martin Skoula departed after the 2008-09 season. He doesn't hit. He doesn't check. Quite frankly, other than take up space on the roster, he really doesn't do much of anything, which is evident in his -12 plus/minus rating, worse than the rest of the Wild defense combined.
And who(m)ever told the Wild forwards that the fans don't want 'garbage' goals at home? The way that this team doesn't score, we fans can't be begging for the 'pretty' goal. Beggars can't be choosers. The Wild faithful will take goals, any way the Wild can deliver them.
Let's hope the New Year will right the Wild's ship of state. Because, the dinghy is still leaking...
Oh, how I really wish the Minnesota Wild would follow that philosophy.
The fact of the matter is that despite their recent success (two wins vs. Calgary, wins vs. Colorado and San Jose in the last two weeks), this Wild team is, at best, a .500 hockey club. A testament to middling performance. A team which, if this season so far were made into a commercial, would come out like the Education Minnesota union ad during the elections -- "Mediocrity, Mediocrity, ME-DI-OCRITY!"
The reality is that until the Wild can once again upgrade their forwards to a level of, say, a St. Louis, or the LA Kings, or even this afternoon's opponents, the formerly-lowly Phoenix Coyotes, the Wild will be mired with a Calgary Flames team which is on the verge of a total rebuild, and the near-perpetual bottom feeders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers, teams who are destined to be cannon fodder for the likes of the Detroits and Chicagos of the Western Conference.
How bad are the Wild viewed, especially away from Minnesota?
CBC's Pierre LeBrun, with Kelly Hrudey commenting on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night from Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, where they were doing the Washington-Pittsburgh Winter Classic, came out and said that the Wild are 'not a sexy team' right now, and do not even deserve hosting the Winter Classic (although they wouldn't have had the warm weather problems they did in the Steel City yesterday). He also said that Philadelphia (home of Comcast, who will purchase NBC from GE later this month) and Colorado (who's Invesco Field at Mile High would be an 80,000-seat bonanza, for a game vs. either the Detroit Red Wings or the Dallas Stars) are the current front-runners for the 2012 game, a game which the Wild ownership covets dearly.
LeBrun's comments should have been viewed as an alarm bell, ringing throughout 317 Washington Street in Downtown St. Paul. It's time to get serious as to what direction the Wild need to go in to get where they really need to be -- the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- and soon.
They have to get involved this season at the trade deadline. And at the rate this team is going, they certainly would not be construed as 'buyers'. No way. They need to unload salary, and quickly. Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew all need to be shown the proverbial door. Two other Wild players -- John Madden and Jose Theodore -- are also unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. But there are two Wild players who's output underscores the fact they need a change of scenery.
Cam Barker and James Sheppard, your taxis are waiting to take you to the airport. One-way.
Sheppard, injured in pre-training-camp while ATV'ing in Colorado, needs a new start. Somewhere else. The second biggest draft day bust in Wild history (behind A. J. Thelen), the only thing Shep is doing right now for the Wild, is dragging down the team's salary cap to zero. They won't get anything out of him this season. Anything you get in return for him, (even a used puck bag), should be considered a plus for the Wild. Just get his name off the books.
Barker, acquired in the Kim Johnsson-Nick Leddy trade from Chicago, has probably been the single biggest stalagmite since Martin Skoula departed after the 2008-09 season. He doesn't hit. He doesn't check. Quite frankly, other than take up space on the roster, he really doesn't do much of anything, which is evident in his -12 plus/minus rating, worse than the rest of the Wild defense combined.
And who(m)ever told the Wild forwards that the fans don't want 'garbage' goals at home? The way that this team doesn't score, we fans can't be begging for the 'pretty' goal. Beggars can't be choosers. The Wild faithful will take goals, any way the Wild can deliver them.
Let's hope the New Year will right the Wild's ship of state. Because, the dinghy is still leaking...
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.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wild, Flames play woeful game; Wild win 2-1 in SO
Final road game of the season...and it looked (and played) like it
The Minnesota Wild, in their final road game of 2009-10, did what many said they would never do - win all three games in the same season in the Pengrowth Saddledome - as the Wild doused the Calgary Flames 2-1 in the shootout, as Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen both scored on Mikka Kiprusoff to seal the fate of the Flames, in their last home game before 19,289 bummed patrons.
In the first period, the only goal was a Chuck Kobasew deflection of a Casey Wellman shot after Burns set the play up by driving well into the Calgary zone, then passed to Wellman whose slapper was deflected by Kobasew past Kiprusoff to make it 1-0 Minnesota.
The second period was a very plodding, slow, torturous affair, the only action being the Nigel Dawes rebound goal after Niklas Backstrom made a great save on Dawes' first shot. The Wild had several power play opportunities, but no such luck for the Wild.
In the third period, the highlight was the shot by Calgary's David Moss which caught Niklas Backstrom up high. Backstrom was replaced by Wade Dubielewicz, the ex-Islander signed as a backup earlier this season who had been called up solely because Anton Khudobin, the goalie in their system they wanted to use, lost his passport at the AHL All-Star Game and has yet to replace it thru the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington; as such, he cannot cross the USA/Canada border. James Sheppard also suffered a knee injury late in the third period after being checked into the boards by Robyn Regehr.
OT was as uninspired as the rest of the game. Not much to say about that, either.
Let's all end this season at the Next Game: vs. Dallas, Saturday, April 10, 7:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Stars' TV: FSSW; XM Radio, Ch. 237)
-- WRT
The Minnesota Wild, in their final road game of 2009-10, did what many said they would never do - win all three games in the same season in the Pengrowth Saddledome - as the Wild doused the Calgary Flames 2-1 in the shootout, as Brent Burns and Antti Miettinen both scored on Mikka Kiprusoff to seal the fate of the Flames, in their last home game before 19,289 bummed patrons.
In the first period, the only goal was a Chuck Kobasew deflection of a Casey Wellman shot after Burns set the play up by driving well into the Calgary zone, then passed to Wellman whose slapper was deflected by Kobasew past Kiprusoff to make it 1-0 Minnesota.
The second period was a very plodding, slow, torturous affair, the only action being the Nigel Dawes rebound goal after Niklas Backstrom made a great save on Dawes' first shot. The Wild had several power play opportunities, but no such luck for the Wild.
In the third period, the highlight was the shot by Calgary's David Moss which caught Niklas Backstrom up high. Backstrom was replaced by Wade Dubielewicz, the ex-Islander signed as a backup earlier this season who had been called up solely because Anton Khudobin, the goalie in their system they wanted to use, lost his passport at the AHL All-Star Game and has yet to replace it thru the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington; as such, he cannot cross the USA/Canada border. James Sheppard also suffered a knee injury late in the third period after being checked into the boards by Robyn Regehr.
OT was as uninspired as the rest of the game. Not much to say about that, either.
Let's all end this season at the Next Game: vs. Dallas, Saturday, April 10, 7:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Stars' TV: FSSW; XM Radio, Ch. 237)
-- WRT
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Talk about Chuck: Kobasew's two goals douse Flames 4-3
Wild win, put smooth effort in otherwise disjointed contest
By Wild Road Tripper
This is the Chuck Kobasew that Minnesota Wild fans had hoped would be coming to Minnesota this fall, when he came to the team from the Boston Bruins.
Kobasew's two goals led the Wild to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames, another team vying for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL Western Conference, in front of 18,411 Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild win, coupled with St. Louis' loss to Nashville, means the Wild will end the day no worse than seven points behind eighth-place Detroit as the new week begins.
The game was very disjointed, especially in the second half of the game, after Mikka Kiprusoff relieved starting Flames goalie Vesa Toskala, who won two weeks ago when Jarome Iginla went wild on the Wild, scoring three goals in that game. But, that was then, and this is now.
Oh, what a difference a fortnight can make.
Shortly after Kiprusoff relieved Toskala, Daymond Langkow took an Ian White shot off his neck, and the game had to be stopped while Langkow was stabilized, and then taken off on a stretcher (later reports indicated that Langkow was responding and had no problems with movement). Later in the early stages of the third, another long delay developed after Guillaume Latendresse tried to check Calgary's Jamal Mayers thru the penalty box door, a play which while perfectly legal, caused nearly a 15-minute delay while part of the penalty box door glass frame was removed. Additional damage was caused to the door itself, as the door was dislodged from the rest of the sidewall at the hinges; this will need to be repaired between now and the next game.
Andrew Brunette and Latendresse also scored for the Wild, who are now 4-2 at home since the Olympic break ended. The month doesn't get any easier for the Wild, however, as there are playoff teams as opponents in three of their next four games, beginning with the Next Game: vs. San Jose, Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 PM Central (5:00 PM Pacific Time), Xcel Energy Center. (TV: Versus, TSN2 (both in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 237)
By Wild Road Tripper
This is the Chuck Kobasew that Minnesota Wild fans had hoped would be coming to Minnesota this fall, when he came to the team from the Boston Bruins.
Kobasew's two goals led the Wild to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames, another team vying for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL Western Conference, in front of 18,411 Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild win, coupled with St. Louis' loss to Nashville, means the Wild will end the day no worse than seven points behind eighth-place Detroit as the new week begins.
The game was very disjointed, especially in the second half of the game, after Mikka Kiprusoff relieved starting Flames goalie Vesa Toskala, who won two weeks ago when Jarome Iginla went wild on the Wild, scoring three goals in that game. But, that was then, and this is now.
Oh, what a difference a fortnight can make.
Shortly after Kiprusoff relieved Toskala, Daymond Langkow took an Ian White shot off his neck, and the game had to be stopped while Langkow was stabilized, and then taken off on a stretcher (later reports indicated that Langkow was responding and had no problems with movement). Later in the early stages of the third, another long delay developed after Guillaume Latendresse tried to check Calgary's Jamal Mayers thru the penalty box door, a play which while perfectly legal, caused nearly a 15-minute delay while part of the penalty box door glass frame was removed. Additional damage was caused to the door itself, as the door was dislodged from the rest of the sidewall at the hinges; this will need to be repaired between now and the next game.
Andrew Brunette and Latendresse also scored for the Wild, who are now 4-2 at home since the Olympic break ended. The month doesn't get any easier for the Wild, however, as there are playoff teams as opponents in three of their next four games, beginning with the Next Game: vs. San Jose, Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 PM Central (5:00 PM Pacific Time), Xcel Energy Center. (TV: Versus, TSN2 (both in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 237)
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wild Death Spiral Watch: Wild blow two-goal lead; Jackets win 4-2
Who declared it 'Rick Nash Night' at Nationwide?
The Minnesota Wild's salute to the 'Bataan Death March' went thru Mid-Ohio Friday night, as the Wild managed to stave off victory, as two goals scored 27 seconds apart in the latter half of the third period, propelled the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 victory over the moribund Wild Friday night, in front of 16,419 at Nationwide Arena.
Rick Nash scored the game winner, and an empty net goal at the end of the game to lead the Jackets, who end the season series 2-2 against the Wild, each team winning its' games at home. Nash's empty netter was his 30th of the season.
Mikko Koivu did accomplish his 20th goal of the season in the first period to open the scoring for Minnesota, who have now lost 4 of their last 6 games away from St. Paul.
It was also the NHL debuts for two Wild rookies: forward Casey Wellman, who added an assist to Minnesota's second goal as he split the Jackets' defense, stole the puck and then passed to Chuck Kobasew for the tally. But after then, the Wild stopped working. Stopped skating, Stopped everything.
And then, there was defenseman Justin Falk, who left the game after a concussion shot to the head delivered by Columbus' Andrew Murray at 4:27 of the second period, for which absolutely no penalty was called by either referee, Brad Watson or Stephane Auger. The referees also missed R. J. Umberger's goaltender interference with Josh Harding on Columbus' second goal, as Umberger backed into the blue crease area (as confirmed by TV replay,) as Kris Russell took the shot while the Wild were being called for a James Sheppard penalty.
The future does, indeed, look bleak for the local sextet, as the most points after tonight they could earn is 96. 95 points are what most experts figure will be the playoff 'magic number', so does the march to the 'Tragic Number' begin Sunday afternoon? We will see what happens in the Next Game: vs. Calgary, Sunday March 21, 2:00 PM Central (1:00 PM Mountain) Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD); Flames' TV: Rogers SportsNet-West; XM Radio, Ch. 206)
-- WRT
P.S.: Would the party who commented in last night's blog about going to Philadelphia please re-comment your e-mail address? I lost it this evening. Sorry. -- WRT
The Minnesota Wild's salute to the 'Bataan Death March' went thru Mid-Ohio Friday night, as the Wild managed to stave off victory, as two goals scored 27 seconds apart in the latter half of the third period, propelled the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 victory over the moribund Wild Friday night, in front of 16,419 at Nationwide Arena.
Rick Nash scored the game winner, and an empty net goal at the end of the game to lead the Jackets, who end the season series 2-2 against the Wild, each team winning its' games at home. Nash's empty netter was his 30th of the season.
Mikko Koivu did accomplish his 20th goal of the season in the first period to open the scoring for Minnesota, who have now lost 4 of their last 6 games away from St. Paul.
It was also the NHL debuts for two Wild rookies: forward Casey Wellman, who added an assist to Minnesota's second goal as he split the Jackets' defense, stole the puck and then passed to Chuck Kobasew for the tally. But after then, the Wild stopped working. Stopped skating, Stopped everything.
And then, there was defenseman Justin Falk, who left the game after a concussion shot to the head delivered by Columbus' Andrew Murray at 4:27 of the second period, for which absolutely no penalty was called by either referee, Brad Watson or Stephane Auger. The referees also missed R. J. Umberger's goaltender interference with Josh Harding on Columbus' second goal, as Umberger backed into the blue crease area (as confirmed by TV replay,) as Kris Russell took the shot while the Wild were being called for a James Sheppard penalty.
The future does, indeed, look bleak for the local sextet, as the most points after tonight they could earn is 96. 95 points are what most experts figure will be the playoff 'magic number', so does the march to the 'Tragic Number' begin Sunday afternoon? We will see what happens in the Next Game: vs. Calgary, Sunday March 21, 2:00 PM Central (1:00 PM Mountain) Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD); Flames' TV: Rogers SportsNet-West; XM Radio, Ch. 206)
-- WRT
P.S.: Would the party who commented in last night's blog about going to Philadelphia please re-comment your e-mail address? I lost it this evening. Sorry. -- WRT
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Havlat greases the skids as Wild lube Oilers 4-2
Goal, assist by Martin Havlat lead Wild to third straight win
By Wild Road Tripper
You knew the way he was playing, Martin Havlat would have a stellar night. And, he brought his linemates right along with him. How could you tell? Look at waiver-wire wonder Andrew Ebbett.
The Minnesota Wild ran their consecutive win streak against the Edmonton Oilers at Xcel Energy Center to a gaudy 13 straight, with a workmanlike 4-2 win over the worst team in the NHL's Western Conference Tuesday night, before an announced crowd of 18,474.
The Wild had ten players scoring points tonight -- nine forwards and defenseman Greg Zanon -- as the Wild won their third straight game, to stay within six points of idle Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Both Havlat and Ebbett scored a goal and added an assist to each other's goal, to lead their team in scoring. Josh Harding turned in a 34-save performance for his third straight win, moving him to within one game of .500 at 8-9.
Antti Miettinen and Chuck Kobasew also scored for the Wild, who now look at two games back-to-back on the road which are totally winnable games. We hope.
New Wild center Casey Wellman, just signed earlier Tuesday as a free agent from UMass, participated in warm-ups but was scratched, as was call-up from Houston Justin Falk. Wellman's parents were involved during the game, however, as the arena's 'kiss cam' focused in on Mom and Dad, with their newly-signed son sitting between them.
The Wild now are in 10th place in the West, six points behind eighth-place Detroit and nine points behind their opponent for the Next Game: at Nashville, Thursday, March 18, 7:00 PM Central Time, Bridgestone Arena. (No Wild TV; Preds' TV: FSTennessee (in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 238)
By Wild Road Tripper
You knew the way he was playing, Martin Havlat would have a stellar night. And, he brought his linemates right along with him. How could you tell? Look at waiver-wire wonder Andrew Ebbett.
The Minnesota Wild ran their consecutive win streak against the Edmonton Oilers at Xcel Energy Center to a gaudy 13 straight, with a workmanlike 4-2 win over the worst team in the NHL's Western Conference Tuesday night, before an announced crowd of 18,474.
The Wild had ten players scoring points tonight -- nine forwards and defenseman Greg Zanon -- as the Wild won their third straight game, to stay within six points of idle Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Both Havlat and Ebbett scored a goal and added an assist to each other's goal, to lead their team in scoring. Josh Harding turned in a 34-save performance for his third straight win, moving him to within one game of .500 at 8-9.
Antti Miettinen and Chuck Kobasew also scored for the Wild, who now look at two games back-to-back on the road which are totally winnable games. We hope.
New Wild center Casey Wellman, just signed earlier Tuesday as a free agent from UMass, participated in warm-ups but was scratched, as was call-up from Houston Justin Falk. Wellman's parents were involved during the game, however, as the arena's 'kiss cam' focused in on Mom and Dad, with their newly-signed son sitting between them.
The Wild now are in 10th place in the West, six points behind eighth-place Detroit and nine points behind their opponent for the Next Game: at Nashville, Thursday, March 18, 7:00 PM Central Time, Bridgestone Arena. (No Wild TV; Preds' TV: FSTennessee (in HD); XM Radio, Ch. 238)
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)
Friday, November 27, 2009
Kobasew launches hat sale as Wild beat back Avs, 5-3
Three goals by ex-Bruin turn 'Dog day Afternoon' into 'Thank God it's Friday' as Wild go .500 for November
By Wild Road Tripper
Chuck Kobasew made sure his teammates had a good day Friday, as the Minnesota Wild rode Kobasew's hat trick, the first 3-bagger for the Wild in 23 months, to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche Friday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center, as an announced 18,365 enjoyed what was, at least in the opinion of this blogger, the Wild's best team effort, start-to-finish, in nearly three weeks.
Kobasew led the charge as seven different Wild players tallied points against the Northwest Division-leading Avs, as the Wild beat the Avs for the second time this season. Kobasew's hat trick was the second of his career; the first was also against Colorado, on Jan. 24, 2006, when he was with the Calgary Flames.
The hat trick set off a 'hat trick hat sale' at the team's Hockey Lodge team stores for the rest of the day, as is custom when a Wild player scores three goals in the same game. The last time a Wild player scored three goals in the same game, was Marian Gaborik's five-goal bonanza against Henrik Lundquist and the New York Rangers on December 20, 2007.
Owen Nolan, the NHL's oldest active player, rang up another goal, his 7th, at 9:28 of the first period, moving away from a surprised Avs defense in doing so as well. Derek Boogaard's pass in front, bounced off the goal and into Kobasew's wheelhouse, where he buried it behind Avs goalie Craig Anderson early in the second period, to give the Wild a brief 2-1 lead. Kobasew struck again just over 3 minutes later when, on the power play, Kobasew took a pass again directly in front of Anderson from Andrew Brunette, and gave the Wild a 3-2 lead.
In the third, with the score tied at 3-3, it was Brunette's turn to score after Mikko Koivu received a pass from Marek Zidlicky, that was a result of the Avs not being able to stay away from the sin-bin, as Darcy Tucker was off on a slashing penalty at the time. Kobasew finished off the afternoon's scoring, as he took a pass from Koivu in front of an empty net after Colorado had pulled Anderson for the extra attacker, and calmly slid it into the empty net with 18 seconds left in the contest.
The Wild move to 6 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie (2002, vs. Colorado) all-time on the day after Thanksgiving, as they get their 4th Western Conference win of 2009-10. The home record of the Wild now goes to 7-3-1 for the season (4-2 against the West), as the scene now shifts to Denver's Pepsi Center for 'Beanie Night', and the rematch tomorrow evening, 8:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Mountain) Time (Wild TV: FSNorth; Colorado TV: Altitude; both feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 241).
By Wild Road Tripper
Chuck Kobasew made sure his teammates had a good day Friday, as the Minnesota Wild rode Kobasew's hat trick, the first 3-bagger for the Wild in 23 months, to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche Friday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center, as an announced 18,365 enjoyed what was, at least in the opinion of this blogger, the Wild's best team effort, start-to-finish, in nearly three weeks.
Kobasew led the charge as seven different Wild players tallied points against the Northwest Division-leading Avs, as the Wild beat the Avs for the second time this season. Kobasew's hat trick was the second of his career; the first was also against Colorado, on Jan. 24, 2006, when he was with the Calgary Flames.
The hat trick set off a 'hat trick hat sale' at the team's Hockey Lodge team stores for the rest of the day, as is custom when a Wild player scores three goals in the same game. The last time a Wild player scored three goals in the same game, was Marian Gaborik's five-goal bonanza against Henrik Lundquist and the New York Rangers on December 20, 2007.
Owen Nolan, the NHL's oldest active player, rang up another goal, his 7th, at 9:28 of the first period, moving away from a surprised Avs defense in doing so as well. Derek Boogaard's pass in front, bounced off the goal and into Kobasew's wheelhouse, where he buried it behind Avs goalie Craig Anderson early in the second period, to give the Wild a brief 2-1 lead. Kobasew struck again just over 3 minutes later when, on the power play, Kobasew took a pass again directly in front of Anderson from Andrew Brunette, and gave the Wild a 3-2 lead.
In the third, with the score tied at 3-3, it was Brunette's turn to score after Mikko Koivu received a pass from Marek Zidlicky, that was a result of the Avs not being able to stay away from the sin-bin, as Darcy Tucker was off on a slashing penalty at the time. Kobasew finished off the afternoon's scoring, as he took a pass from Koivu in front of an empty net after Colorado had pulled Anderson for the extra attacker, and calmly slid it into the empty net with 18 seconds left in the contest.
The Wild move to 6 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie (2002, vs. Colorado) all-time on the day after Thanksgiving, as they get their 4th Western Conference win of 2009-10. The home record of the Wild now goes to 7-3-1 for the season (4-2 against the West), as the scene now shifts to Denver's Pepsi Center for 'Beanie Night', and the rematch tomorrow evening, 8:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Mountain) Time (Wild TV: FSNorth; Colorado TV: Altitude; both feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 241).
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Snooze to Lose: B's put Wild to sleep, win 2-1 in SO
By Wild Road Tripper
Tonight's Boston Bruins-Minnesota Wild game at Xcel Energy Center had all the makings of a fun contest. Two teams, going primarily in opposite directions, getting together on the day before Thanksgiving for a inter-conference battle. One question?
Who slipped both sides the L-tryptophan?
The Bruins proceeded to put the Wild to sleep, winning 2-1 in the shootout in the fourth round as David Krejci stickhandled his puck past Niklas Backstrom to win it for Boston, as Chuck Kobasew's attempt to put it between the pads of Tuuka Rask failed to extend the shootout. The announced crowd of 18,208 yawned mightily, then went off into the night, in order to cook Thanksgiving dinners for loved ones who were smarter than to watch this contest.
A not very exciting game to watch, with the Wild already minus five front-line players, and then at the last minute, having Antti Miettinen come up sick after the line-ups were given following pre-game warm-ups. (We hope Miettinen doesn't have his 'sickness' degrade into yet another Wild concussion.)
Tonight's Boston Bruins-Minnesota Wild game at Xcel Energy Center had all the makings of a fun contest. Two teams, going primarily in opposite directions, getting together on the day before Thanksgiving for a inter-conference battle. One question?
Who slipped both sides the L-tryptophan?
The Bruins proceeded to put the Wild to sleep, winning 2-1 in the shootout in the fourth round as David Krejci stickhandled his puck past Niklas Backstrom to win it for Boston, as Chuck Kobasew's attempt to put it between the pads of Tuuka Rask failed to extend the shootout. The announced crowd of 18,208 yawned mightily, then went off into the night, in order to cook Thanksgiving dinners for loved ones who were smarter than to watch this contest.
A not very exciting game to watch, with the Wild already minus five front-line players, and then at the last minute, having Antti Miettinen come up sick after the line-ups were given following pre-game warm-ups. (We hope Miettinen doesn't have his 'sickness' degrade into yet another Wild concussion.)
If you are so inclined, have your turkey sandwiches ready on Friday as the Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Colorado TV: Altitude; all feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 241) for a 1:00 PM Central (Noon Mountain) Time start. Indications are that new Wild winger Guillaume Latendresse may be in the line-up by that time.
Happy Thanksgiving, blogosphere!
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