Calm before the Storm

Final weekend before draft, summer tour, free agency day allows Wild, fans to think of 'what if?'

Well, folks, we're almost there.

Next week at this time, there will be new players for the Minnesota Wild, courtesy of the NHL Draft being held this coming Friday and Saturday in Pittsburgh. There will be limo buses being gassed up and inspected, for the Wild Summer Tour starting the following Monday. And, as we have all had drilled into us for months, the start of Free Agency on Sunday, July 1st.

Now, I'll digress at this point, as we all know which free agents that the Wild covet, and which ones they don't. We all know that the Wild have carloads of cash and cap space to spend; but so do others, others who are closer to the Stanley Cup Finals than the rebuilding Wild are.

There are also issues with the current roster, as well, as there is the Guillaume Latendresse question to answer: Will he return to the Wild roster, after basically two seasons of suffering concussions? Will Latendresse sign a lesser contract, one that will be incentive-laden, to remain on the roster? Or will GM Chuck Fletcher say that enough is, indeed, enough, and that the coming influx of new talent will be enough, to allow a potential 30-plus goal scorer in Latendresse to get away? Even Gui knows he won't be getting the $2.5M qualifying offer that, as a restricted free agent, he would be eligible for. But the fact that this Wild team was 30th in the NHL last season in scoring, is a statistic that screams out at everyone involved -- management, players, and fans alike.

There is the also continuing Pierre-Marc Bouchard issue as well. Three seasons when he has had his season cut short with head issues. Again, the question is: How long do you hang onto the talent, knowing that you've seen what he can do, but not knowing when -- or, if -- you can depend on him to play a regular spot?

There are issues surfacing at a spot -- defense -- which Wild fans are not used to dealing with, either, with the departure (via trade) of Nick Schultz and the arrival (in the same trade) of Tom Gilbert, Bloomington native and defensive liability, IMO. Whomever pairs with him had better be fast, as Gilbert's lack of speed and unfamiliarity with the ways of Mike Yeo, and the rest of the roster, were very apparent as the season's final weeks played out this past season.

As offensively challenged as Schultz was, his defensive work more than made up for his lack of point punch. The replacement? Who knows? That will be decided in training camp, as one of the six (or more) spots on the roster to be filled, by the load of newbies coming down the restocked pipeline.

And what of the new blood? We all know about Mikael Granlund, he will be on the roster on Opening Day; but what of the other youngsters? Who will make the cut? Who goes to Houston for Gulf Coast seafood and hockey seasoning? And who gets traded (if anyone) for 'NHL talent'?

Does 'trader Chuck' make an appearance in Pittsburgh during the draft? Or do the Wild, with extra picks from trades made during the past season, stand pat and continue to restock the larder following the end of the Risebrough era?

And then, there is the Free Agency scenarios, many of whom have hit the light of day in the last few weeks as the date approaches. Parise, Suter, Joe Corvo, the list goes on and on. I won't bore you with all the various details, but suffice it to say, that the end results will more help the Wild, than hurt it, again IMO. (And don't ask me who or how...)

Yes, the schedule also comes out this week as well. But, until there is agreement between owners and players on a new collective bargaining agreement, any schedule will not be worth the paper (or, bandwidth) that it's printed on. Labor peace must be obtained before the puck is dropped again. The Phoenix Coyotes situation must be dealt with (again), as any sale must have the de facto approval of the Goldwater Institute ("In defense of Liberty") before the sale is finalized. Then there is Quebec City, who is building a new arena (in the parking lot of the current Colisee Pepsi), hoping to land an NHL franchise. But which franchise will it be? Phoenix? Or, another franchise of the six NHL teams in financial trouble?

Only the NHL knows for sure, And, no one in Gary Bettman's office is talking.

Random thoughts after the dust has settled...

The dust has finally settled from the pre-Trade Deadline wheeling and dealing for the Minnesota Wild.

And, to the dismay of the fanbase, nothing has really changed. The Wild are still precipitously close to entering the top 5 in the 2012 NHL Draft, due to the club's continued inability to score goals in a timely manner (or, as in Detroit last Friday night, at all). The lack of offensive punch is a major worry to everyone in the organization as well, from GM Chuck Fletcher on down. The Wild, who had everything in place to execute the unbelieveable 3-goal comeback on Thursday night in Montreal, wound up having a Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan-esque moment, when Devin Setoguchi blew his shootout shot attempt, after falling down and losing control of the puck. The only thing missing was Setoguchi crying, 'Why? Why?' after the blown chance.

Yes, Setoguchi did help engineer the comeback, scoring the tying goal and assisting on another in the final few minutes of the third period, but it will be the shootout opportunity lost that will haunt the Wild the rest of the season. Add that to Tuesday's now-strangely-familiar 4-0 blowout loss on national TV to the Los Angeles Kings, and your 0-2-1 week for the boys in Iron Range Red was made.

You trade the longest-tenured Wild player -- Nick Schultz -- for Tom Gilbert, a similar-but-different Minnesota boy (Bloomington Jefferson) who came from the hapless Edmonton Oilers, and what happens? He gives up the game winner vs. LA, and reminds Wild fans how difficult it is to be the steady, stay-at-home defenseman that Schultz actually was.

You trade Marek Zidlicky to the New Jersey Devils, for a boatload of soon-to-be free agent talent (including two former Wild players, Kurtis Foster and Stephane Veilleux) and possibly two draft picks, and what happens? Zidlicky promptly goes -5, and Jersey fans are incensed. The Wild are immediately relieved of over $3M of salary at the end of this season, which means that if the salary cap does NOT go up, the Wild are nearly $20M under the cap...just enough to possibly be in the running, for two of the NHL's premiere free-agents-to-be, Nashville's Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, who just happens to be toiling away currently with...the New Jersey Devils.

You trade Greg Zanon to the Boston Bruins for Steven Kampfer, a 23-year-old ex-Wolverine who no one knows much about. He still hasn't played his first game in a Wild uniform, although that will probably end this evening in tonight's twilighter vs. the Colorado Avalanche. It looks like he will be paired with Gilbert tonight vs. the Avs, so hopefully the lost (Gilbert) won't lead the 'newbie' down the wrong path. Zanon was going to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) anyhow, so why not get something for him?

So, where do you go from here? Do you actually try to make the playoffs, try to make a last-minute charge for the No. 8 seed (the Wild are seven points behind current No. 8 seed Dallas this Sunday morning) or do you throw in the towel, play as many of the kids as possible, and make the fan base suffer thru the remainder of the fourth consecutive non-playoff season?

Now I know that three of the Wild's top six forwards are unavailable due to various injuries now. They have been for weeks at a time this season, especially after the Dec. 13/14 games where two players suffered concussions in back-to-back games. But the fact is there is no talent in the pool right now. It's been drained.

Reminds me of limbo. 'How LOW can you go?'

How bad into limbo are the Wild right now? And what can be done to pull out of the funk? Or, do you just wait for June and the NHL Entry Draft to try and get better?

I guess we all just wait and see...

Playing out the String

So nice to see Blogger fixed its' problems so we can all get together again like this. Thanks to the Blogger team for fixing the problems with Internet Explorer. Now, could they do the same for problems of the Minnesota Wild?

Let's face it. This season really HAS been that bad, hasn't it? Now, most Wild followers thought that at best the Wild would be a No. 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs. One series and done. At best. Some of us said the Wild wouldn't even make the playoffs. Now, I really hate to blow my own horn, but after the March to Hell that was the Wild last month (3 weeks and only one point in the standings to show for it), the fact is that the Wild now are fighting for 12th and 13th, not a playoff spot. And doing it with four of their top ten players (Nick Schultz, Martin Havlat, Marek Zidlicky, and John Madden) out and not on the season's final road trip, things don't look like they'll look up any time soon.

The fact of the matter is that although the Wild tried to halt the slide in March, once the snowball started to really gain steam (with the four-game road trip where the Wild were outscored 15-4), it would have taken a monumental home stand to stop the skid. That, as we all know by now, didn't happen, as their 0-3-1 record in what would turn out to be the team's most important homestand in three seasons sealed their fate, puncuated by a blow out, a shutout, and a game where the Wild quit on their fans, flat-out.

The chant of, 'Wait until next year', kind of rings hollow in the halls of 317 Washington St., St. Paul right now. As Wild fans go into their third consecutive summer with no post-season play, the loyal fan base is asking itself, 'How much IS enough'? You wonder how, as the season wears down, what new tricks the Wild will have up their collective sleeves to keep the fans interested as the roster is overhauled once again?

Now, it's great for John Madden and his family that they love Minnesota (hey, we do too; that's why most of us live here, despite the seemingly endless winter) and that Madden wants to play here or retire (as has been reported elsewhere); but will that be enough to offset the fact that this Wild team has way-y-y too much dead weight on the roster? And, that they can't shed that weight fast enough for most fans?

Going into the summer, as the Wild change everything, from their first line forwards, to their flagship radio station outlet, will the changes on the ice be enough to address the lack of offense from this season's Wild team?

We'll see, beginning 48 hours after the Stanley Cup has been awarded, as that is when the trade freeze (in place since Feb. 28th) finally thaws. As Minnesota begins planning in earnest for the June 25-26 NHL draft at the 'X', and the start of free agency July 1st, will the fans have enough patience to wait this all out?

Until then, never mind that the Vancouver Canucks will celebrate their winning the President's Cup, for the most points in the NHL, against the Wild Thursday night at Rogers Place. Wild fans will just sit and wait for the planning of the Canucks' victory parade on Robson St., to go for naught, once again.

At least the Wild don't have a 40-year record with no Cups to worry about.

Minnesota Wild: Poultry Farm

Laying more eggs than a poultry operation, Wild back out of playoff contention

It's true, blogosphere. You really won't have the Minnesota Wild to kick around this spring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They'll all be out on golf courses across North America, enjoying the sun, thinking 'what might have been', had they just gone out in March and played like they actually wanted to be participating in the NHL's post-season. Because, with 10 games left in the season of 2010-2011, this team has spit the bit more than a $10 claimer at the horse track.

Since we last got together, the Wild have been outscored 12-8 in losing three straight (two in regulation) to Vancouver, San Jose and the previously-thought-hapless Columbus Blue Jackets. After yesterday's embarrassing 5-4 OT loss at home, however, the Wild are no better than some of the NHL's worst, as their 2-6-2 record in their last 10 games would imply. In fact, that embarrassing record is the second-worst in the League, only ahead of the already-imploded Colorado Avalanche, who wrote the season off weeks ago. Even the Edmonton Oilers, the team who everyone saw as two easy points thru most of the season, are better than the Wild as the season wanes.

Yes, the Wild need scoring. Desperately. Their lack of offensive punch is something the team's management and staff will have to address throughout the off-season. As cash-strapped against the cap as the Wild are, however, some familiar names on the current Wild roster will have to pack up and move on come the summertime.

A lot of people are targeting the Wild's top two defensemen, Brent Burns and Nick Schultz, as candidates for relocation in the summer of 2011. But, as valuable an asset that these two are together, might it be better for the success of the club, long-term, to break them up and get some offense in to take the pressure off them this summer?

The obvious answer is to not sign any of your unrestricted free agents this summer, namely forwards Antti Miettinen, Chuck Kobasew, and Andrew Brunette, goaltender Josh Harding, and the ultimate first-round-bust, James Sheppard. These five players must be shown the door (you could bring Brunette back if the price is right, tho) in no uncertain terms. Cam Barker must find a new home.

The roster must be overhauled. NOW. This off-season. The current make-up of the Wild roster is unworkable, as this team has lost its' way so bad, they'll never see the forest for the trees. Their 1-7-2 record so far this season against the bottom eight teams in the Eastern Conference, is proof positive that the Wild are just like every other Minnesota sports team; that is, they play up -- or, down -- to the level of their opposition (except, of course, when they face Detroit or Dallas, where they almost always lose).

So, while the rest of the NHL goes onto the post-season, the Wild get ready for the next thing on the team's agenda: tee times.

Because, for this bunch of turkeys, the season is indeed over.

Time for a Change?

Something -- nee, anything -- needs to be done if the Minnesota Wild are to salvage anything from the 2010-2011 season.

After getting shelled for 5 or more goals in three of their last four games, two of which were at home, the time has come for the Wild management to do something about this team's malaises. The days of taking whole periods of games off has to stop. And, it has to stop NOW.

Yes. different players (most notably Nick Schultz and Captain Mikko Koivu) have taken the 'fall on the sword' for recent team bad performances. But, it's not just one or two players that take whole periods off. It's the whole damn TEAM that is taking periods off.

This cannot be allowed to continue. The fact of the matter is that if the Wild are serious in an attempt to even qualify for the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they need to right the ship of state NOW, or else face a long, cold winter of discontent -- something, quite frankly, that this franchise has never really faced before. Unless they get going, and soon, the only post-season activity that will be hockey-related at the 'X', will be the 2011 NHL Entry Draft June 24 & 25.

Should this poor performance continue, it will make four seasons since the Wild will have qualified for the post-season. The statistics (yes, I know, lies, damn lies, and statistics; but these don't lie, people) speak for themselves:

• The Wild are being outshot 117-54 in the second period of the last nine games (going back to the game in Atlanta, Nov. 11), and 79-24 in the second period of the last five games alone. In fact, the Wild rank 30th -- that's right, dead last -- in shots on goal overall this season. And this for a team which is supposed to have a 'new and improved' offense, under Head Coach Todd Richards.
• Niklas Backstrom, who was held out of the Nashville victory on Friday, should start thinking of getting a lawyer, and suing his defense for non-support. His goals-against average has ballooned from 1.90 to 2.66 in his last three starts, all of which 'featured' the Wild giving up five, six, and seven goals, against the NY Rangers, Philadelphia and Colorado, respectively. Should the Wild start Jose Theodore in their next game (against Calgary on Monday night, in the Saddledome), Backstrom would start against the Phoenix Coyotes at home, on Wednesday night, against a Coyotes team which has scored 4 or more goals in 5 of their last 8 games, winning 7 of those last 8 games, including a sweep of all three Western Canadian teams (Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver) on the road last week (something the Wild have never achieved, by the way).
• The next seven games for the Wild (five of which are, thankfully, on the road...I don't feel as guilty shutting the TV off and going to bed, as leaving a home game early) are against Calgary (twice, home and away), Phoenix (same, home and away) and at Dallas, LA Kings and Anaheim. The fact is that the Wild, as they are playing now, stand a better-than-even chance of losing at least 5 of those 7 games, and realistically could find themselves out of the playoff race in the Western Conference before Dec. 19, the start of the NHL's Christmas holiday roster freeze.

The Wild are also hamstrung with three players on injured reserve (Josh Harding, Guillaume Latendresse, Pierre-Marc Bouchard) for which GM Chuck Fletcher stubbornly refuses to request Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) status to get cap relief, to bring in another player who may actually help this club turn its' fortunes around, whether it be via trade, free-agent signing (Owen Nolan is still out there, as example) or otherwise. Now, whether he is trying to 'save' his cap space, so he has more to use later on or whatever, the fact remains that there may not be a 'LATER', if he doesn't do something about turning the fortunes of the club NOW.

The Wild are in free fall, and everyone -- from Owner Craig Leipold, to the most casual fan -- knows it. Will anything be done before they hit rock bottom? The people who DO have all the answers, aren't saying. And the paying public? Those who are 'stakeholders' in this franchise? We're not pleased. And if we aren't pleased, we won't come to games anymore. We'll stop helping pay the bills.

For as fans, the best response to apathetic play, is our own apathy.

If only every week was like this past week...

3-0 week for Wild bodes team well despite injuries, schedule, cap woes

By Wild Road Tripper

If only.

If only every week was like this past week for the Minnesota Wild, they might -- might -- make the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, for the first time in three seasons. Now, we know that in a long season like this, not every week will be as successful as this past week was. But, you can't sneer at a 3-0 week, where the Wild somewhat returned to the defense-first style of hockey that made this franchise successful in most of the first eight seasons of its' ten-year history. Especially when you consider that the week started off, with the first regulation-time victory over the usually-pesky San Jose Sharks in five seasons.

In fact, the Wild have a record of 7-4-2 overall, and 6-3-1 since returning from the NHL Premiere games in Helsinki. Normally, a 6-3-1 record would mean the pressure is off the coaching staff. That the old adage of, 'open the doors and the people will come', would once again hold sway at the 'X', as the longest home stand of the 2010-2011 season ended on Tuesday, with a very respectable 3-1-1 record, good for 7 points in the standings, as the schedule's treacherous start has finally fallen by the wayside, giving way to a 5-game stretch of opponents who did not qualify for the playoffs in 2010.

If only we fans knew what's wrong? Why aren't the people showing up to sell out the building? Why is there still skepticism amongst Wild fans (myself included) not believing (or not wanting to believe) that this team, despite missing three forwards (Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Guillaume Latendresse, Antti Miettinen) and one of their top four defensemen (Marek Zidlicky) might be as good as they are now? That this is all a mirage, and one day we will all wake up, and find out that this was all a dream?

If only we knew the answers to these questions. Part of the reason for the non-sellouts is, indeed, the fact that the economy still is in the dumper, and will be for some time, tax breaks not withstanding. People don't have the spending cash for pro hockey when they are trying mightily to make ends meet. Of course, the fact that the Wild have failed to make the playoffs (which means, you admit that you are one of the 14 worst teams in the league) for two seasons now hasn't helped things very much, either.

If only the local pro football team wouldn't grab the headlines nearly every single day, with the Peyton Place-esque behind-the-scenes issues facing that club, that the local college football team wasn't firmly entrenched as one of the sport's Bottom 10 teams, and you have a hockey team which is relegated well inside the pages of the local sports sections.

If only we knew that this past week would be what we could expect, Wild fans could prepare themselves for the future, which would be looking pretty good. Think of the future if Brent Burns holds to at least his current level of play. Wild fans know this guy shows up every night with his engine running, then goes out and plays like it. But now, for the first time ever, it really shows where it counts (on the score sheet) and when it counts (late in games, like Saturday night in Columbus, where he basically took over after the Wild got the 3-2 lead).

If only we knew that Martin Havlat would build on the upswing that we have seen over the last week, he wouldn't even need his agent, Allan Walsh, to beg the coaching staff (via Twitter) to play his guy more. Marty, we hoped you had that in you; why did we have to wait so long for this to come out?

If only the Wild had realized earlier that the power play needed real help, and then they went out and got it in Matt Cullen, who is the big difference between a power play which doesn't get shots off at all, and a power play which is top 10 in the NHL.

If only the Wild had put Burns and Nick Schultz earlier as a defensive pairing. The Wild now have two real top-4 pairings (Burns and Schultz, and the fan-dubbed 'ZZ Top' pairing of Zidlicky and Greg Zanon) on the blue line -- something the Wild has long coveted, while other Western Conference teams (Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, San Jose, Vancouver) have enjoyed this for years.

Now, if only the Wild can stay somewhat healthy while playing in the Southeast this coming weekend, they could come home with a gaudy win streak of 6 games into their next home game vs. Anaheim on Nov. 17th.

If only...

Don't forget us! Oilers 4, Wild 1

Edmonton's Rexall Place has become the equivalent of its' southern Alberta cousin, the Pengrowth Saddledome, for the Minnesota Wild. A house of horrors, where strange things just seem to happen, no matter what position either team is in the standings.

Monday night was no exception, as the Edmonton Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and went on to thoroughly beat the Wild 4-1, as the Wild loss streak grew to four games (three in regulation, one in OT) as the NHL's 2009-10 schedule winds down. The Wild end their season with an 0-fer Edmonton (just as the Oilers have an 0-fer in St. Paul.)

What was important for Wild fans, however, was the fact that they played the entire game without two of their top six defensemen (Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky) and one of their better forwards (Owen Nolan), and then lost Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat during the game to injuries as well.

This was a classic game between two teams with absolutely nothing to play for. Really chippy play, no crisp passing, very little discipline by either team, as they were both indeed playing out the string. And it showed. Now, only one more road game remains this season, and it's the...

Next Game: at Calgary, Thursday, April 8th, 8:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Mountain) Time, Pengrowth Saddledome. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Flames' TV: Rogers SportsNet-West; XM Radio, NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)

Turnabout IS Fair Play: Wild 3, Kings 2

180-degree improvement in Wild effort puts Los Angeles down for fourth straight loss

By Wild Road Tripper

That classic line from the TV game show, "Hollywood Squares", aptly sums up what the difference was between tonight's effort between the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings, and last Friday's no-show effort by the Wild in Detroit.

Brent Burns did his best Marian Gaborik imitation, Martin Havlat and Owen Nolan scored also as the Wild got off the schneid to hand LA their fourth straight loss, a loss which puts the Kings in a very precarious position as they continue on to Nashville, to face a red-hot Predators team which all but has a date with the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs all sewn up.

The Wild even went so far as to kill a two-man 2-minute power play early in the third period, after retiring referee Kerry 'the Hairdo' Fraser called two Wild players for penalties on the same play -- Cal Clutterbuck for hooking, Nick Schultz for cross-checking -- and forced the Wild to use the same three penalty killers -- Mikko Koivu, Greg Zanon, and Burns -- for 1:14 of the 2 minutes. On that power play for LA, Dustin Brown was alone at the side of the net not once but twice, and never got a shot off, blowing the pass both times. Zanon, playing despite having a broken ankle, blocked 6 -- yes, SIX -- shots during the game, including two on that power-play alone. (OW!)

What started out as a very dull, boring game in the first period had, by the end of the evening, become a lively, defensive struggle as the 18,284 in attendance at Xcel Energy Center roared their approval.

Next Game: vs. Chicago, Wednesday, March 31st, 7:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: KSTC-45; Hawks' TV: CSN-Chicago; Versus (in select areas only, check listings); XM Radio, Ch. 207)

Blue Jackets show why they're 14th in West as Wild win, 4-2

By Wild Road Tripper


The Columbus Blue Jackets showed again tonight why they are 14th in the NHL's Western Conference, and why teams like the Minnesota Wild beat them, 4-2, as in Saturday night's 'Hockey Day Minnesota' feature game, as the Wild played a solid 59 minutes of good, quality hockey. The victory ran the Wild's all-time record on 'Hockey Day Minnesota', to 2-1-1.

But, about that 60th minute; we'll get to that later.

The first 59 were good, solid hockey, punctuated by the two goals of Mikko Koivu, Eric Belanger's surprise throw-in towards tough-luck Jackets goalie Steve Mason, and Robbie Earl showing again why he could be a finisher-in-training for the offensively-beleagured Wild. And, for good measure, Derek Boogaard made short work of Jared Boll, as Boogaard showed again why he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the NHL. Even maligned defenseman Marek Zidlicky wound up a +3 for the night.

But it was that 60th minute that shocked the 18,173 in attendance, as the Jackets, behind goals by Rick Nash and Antoine Vermette, not only blew Niklas Backstrom's shutout, but closed the gap quickly to 4-2, but the last goal was scored with 3 seconds left in the contest, and the Wild walked away, victorious in regulation time for the first time in a week and a half, but the Jackets late antics (including a Nash-Nick Schultz fight; yes, you read it correctly, folks -- Schultzie dropped the purse!) left a bitter taste in the mouth of Head Coach Todd Richards, as he explained in his post-game press conference.

Jeff Rimer, Jackets play-by-play announcer, wrote yesterday for his blog on Bluejackets.com that the Jackets believe that they are still a legitimate playoff contender. After last night, the two most descriptive words about the playoff hopes of Columbus would be:

Fat. Chance.

Next Game: vs. Detroit, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 7:00 PM Central (8:00 PM Eastern) Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth; Detroit TV: FSDetroit; both feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 208)

Gui's Big Bite takes down Pens, 4-3

One goal, 3 assist night makes Wild fans forget about Pouliot

By Wild Road Tripper

There was no bigger stage in hockey Monday night. A national cable/satellite audience (except for DirecTV subscribers) in both the USA and Canada, exclusive time slot, big game at home, and the opponent: the defending Stanley Cup Champions, led by the twin stars of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And, with all that, who knew it would be Guillaume Latendresse stealing the show?

The Minnesota Wild won their third straight game as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in front of 19,044 at Xcel Energy Center, with Latendresse leading the charge, with the game winning goal with 13:47 remaining, and assists on the other 3 Minnesota goals in the back-and-forth, intense game. Eric Belanger also got a goal and an assist, as the Wild defeated the Pens for the second time this season. Martin Havlat extended his point streak to eight games with his 8th goal of the season, and Cal Clutterbuck tallied his ninth on a second period tip-in. The Wild now have a 7-3-3 record against the Eastern Conference this season. The Wild have not lost to Pittsburgh since the first month of the 2007-08 season.

The Wild, playing in front of a lot of Pittsburgh fans (or more accurately, a lot of fans of, 'Sid the Kid') stayed with the Pens throughout the game, as the up-and-down pace meant long stretches between whistles, meaning players were being used up quickly. And, it showed as the game went along, as the pace, although fairly brisk, slowed considerably in the third period, as the Wild waited for opportunities to develop where the offense could take advantage of a somewhat shaky Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pens' goal. Sid did get two goals and an assist in the game, and ex-Wild winger Pascal Dupuis chipped in a goal and assisted on both of Crosby's tallies, to get back at the team that gave him a paycheck for six seasons. Martin Skoula, former Wild defenseman and legend of Xcel's press box popcorn machine, was also reunited with his old mate; he was a healthy scratch for Pittsburgh in this game.

Niklas Backstrom, who was pulled after two periods prior to the unbelieveable comeback on Saturday night against Chicago, made 35 saves, several of the spectacular variety, to win his 20th game of the current season, and his 113th NHL win overall, all with the Wild, which ties Backstrom with Manny Fernandez for most wins by a Wild goaltender in a career. Belanger and Nick Schultz both achieved the 100th point as Wild players with their contributions, as well.

The Wild draw even in points with 10th-place Dallas in the NHL Western Conference, but the Wild have played one more game than the Stars; both teams are four points behind eighth-place Los Angeles, who lost to the Sharks last night. The Pens gain no ground on Atlantic Division leader New Jersey, six points ahead of the Pens. The big question for Wild fans going into the next game will be: can the Wild keep it up?

That NEXT GAME: vs. Vancouver, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 6:00 PM Central (4:00 PM Pacific), Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD); Canucks TV: Rogers SportsNet Pacific; also available in HD on NHL Network-USA only; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)

Touche'! Belanger's two goal night burns Calgary

Wild win 4-1 as Belanger raises stakes in contract drive season

By Wild Road Tripper

It was Eric Belanger's world Wednesday night, and the 18,137 in attendance at Xcel Energy Center were only too happy to be part of it for a few hours.

The Minnesota Wild, led by Belanger's two goals, extinguished the Northwest Division's hottest team, the Calgary Flames, by ending their 5-game winning streak with a 4-1 Wild victory. The Wild also ended their own 4-game losing streak in the contest.

Niklas Backstrom outdueled his countryman, Mikka Kiprusoff, for his 19th victory of the campaign, as the Wild moved to 45 points, still good for 11th place in the NHL's Western Conference.

But it was Belanger, whose good luck and good timing came into play on both the Wild's first and third goals, who would be the beneficiary on this night. Playing in his 600th NHL game, the veteran center tipped in a Marek Zidlicky shot high in the slot area for the first goal, then took Owen Nolan's soccer-kick pass and backhanded it past a surprised Kiprusoff just past the half-way point of the game. Not only did this increase his possible trade value (the Wild front office staff, including GM Chuck Fletcher, are meeting Thursday and Friday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, regarding their 9 unrestricted free agents-to-be), but playing in his 600th NHL game gives Belanger a little extra 'room' on the road. For being that he has played 600 NHL games and is a 10-year veteran, he now gets his own room (i.e., no roommate) under terms of the CBA.

Kyle Brodziak, who the Wild obtained at the NHL Draft last June from the Edmonton Oilers, scored his first goal in nearly two months when he golf-swung a loose puck, which then worm-burned its' way past Kiprusoff to start the second period scoring. Nick Schultz assisted on three of Minnesota's four goals, giving him a +2 on the evening, so he is now a -1 on the year.

Now, the bad news: it doesn't get any easier very soon, as the 4-game homestand continues with the Next Game: vs. Chicago, Saturday, Jan. 9, 7:00 PM Central Time, Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); Hawks TV: Comcast SportsNet Chicago, all feeds in HD; XM Radio, Ch. 238)

Trois Bien! Wild workman-like effort beats Canadiens, 3-1

When you work at your game as efficiently as the Minnesota Wild have recently, very little will be able to stop them. The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest franchise in the sport in North America, found out that old-fashioned effort turns into winning the hard way tonight, as the Wild out-worked the Habs en route to a 3-1 victory before the full house of 21,273 Thursday night at Centre Bell in Montreal.

Goals by Robbie Earl, Mikko Koivu and Cal Clutterbuck underscored the effort tonight, as the Habs were frustrated at every turn by the close-checking, hard-hitting, shot-blocking Wild, whose few opportunities were quickly snuffed out by Niklas Backstrom, who made 30 saves on the night. Nick Schultz led the Wild on the night with a +2, as eight different Wild players figured in the scoring. The Wild played a fairly clean game, as there were only three penalties called in the contest.

Guillaume Latendresse, the Quebec native who was traded by the Habs to the Wild Nov. 23, returned home to mostly applause...at the start. He was quickly hearing boos and catcalls, reminiscient of when Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi skates at Xcel Energy Center. It was that loud and that inappropriate, especially when they dragged the name of his significant other (singer Annie Villeneuve) into the jeering, as the game went on and the Habs failed to score. While Latendresse failed to score, his five hits were second on the Wild, only behind the hit-machine, Clutterbuck. The Wild victory brings their all-time record in Montreal to a 2-2-1 mark, and it was their first victory in Montreal since 2003.

The Wild also improve to 7-11-2 on the road, 7-3-2 since the disasterous start in October ended in Pittsburgh on Hallowe'en, good for 37 points (17-14-3) which will leave the Wild in 11th place in the NHL's Western Conference, two points behind ninth place Dallas (who lost to Atlanta in the shootoout Thursday night), four points behind eighth-place Detroit, who were idle on Thursday. Their fourth win in their last 5 games, the Wild have also won nine in their last 11, and are 7-2 overall in the month of December.

The Wild went 'old school' for the two-hour trip to Ottawa after the game, eschewing their normal chartered jet...for a 55-seat team bus. After the game, Coach Todd Richards said that after they got some sleep, they would decide about practice 'in the morning'.

The way the Wild have been playing, I really don't think that 'in the morning' will be too early.

Next Game: at Ottawa, Saturday, Dec. 19, 6:00 PM Central (7:00 PM Eastern) Time, Scotiabank Place, Kanata, Ontario. (Wild TV: FSNorth (includes FSWisconsin); CBC 'Hockey Night in Canada' (regional game); XM Radio, Ch. 206)

-- WRT

Wild at the Quarter pole

OK, so after ¼ of the 2009-2010 NHL season has been played, what do we have?

1. 7 of the 16 teams who made last year's playoffs would be out today, if the season ended now.
2. Six points separate first from eighth place in the Eastern Conference, the same number which separates second from tenth place in the Western Conference.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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?
7. 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.)
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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