After the Fall: Wild post-mortem (Part I)

Well, the Minnesota Wild season is over. Has been for about two weeks now. Do we dare look back, and at least try to smile, after a season when a goaltender managed to single-handedly turn Chicken(bleep) into Chicken salad, only to get crushed like a pan pizza, against the Chicago Blackhawks? Let's go...

The Wild in 2014-15 is the tale of two seasons; pre-January 14, and January 15 and afterwards.

Before January 14, you had numerous blowouts against the Wild, including the last two games before the arrival of the season's savior; the numerous injuries; two illnesses ravaging the team; and the 12th-worst record in the NHL's Western Conference following a 7-2 drubbing at Consol Energy Center vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 13, a game which I witnessed in person. And, left early (the second time I ever did that, by the way.)

There is reason for optimism. A legit first line, two decent centers, a vastly improved defense, and for the first time in four seasons, decent goaltending. But there is also cause for alarm, as well.

Players thinking the goal is 9 yards wide, instead of six feet. Certain players thinking the opposition blue line is the equivalent of the Demilitarized Zone. Poor aim (or, none at all) while shooting. (Or, being so afraid to score, as to not bother shooting at all, even when a wide-open net is directly in front of them).

The defense is not immune, either. Too much ice time by one (or two) defensemen dragging the team down in the playoffs. Too many turnovers (especially late in home games).

The goaltending quandry is about to take an upward turn, as Josh Harding 's contract expires, Niklas Backstrom is due to be bought out (Backstrom has one year left on his contract), which leaves only the 'new' goalie -- Devan Dubnyk, who has indicated he wishes to return -- to be signed during the next 35 days (or so). Remember, July 1 is NHL Free agency day.

So, the season had two parts: pre-Devan, and after-trade.

Part I: Started well enough, won four of the first six games prior to the first sign of trouble, the classic third-period collapse vs. the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, when the Wild blew a 3-1 3rd period lead and lost 5-4 in regulation.

Following that, three wins, and then a 3-game road trip (at Ottawa, Montreal and New Jersey) in which the Wild scored a measly two -- 2 -- goals, while giving up 10 at the same time.

After that, an up-and-down November, punctuated by the Thanksgiving Eve turkey served up to the Wild fans by the LA Kings -- a 4-0 drubbing, one which sent the faithful out of the 'X,' booing the team lustily as they went into the night.

And then...there was the 2014-15 Holiday season. Free points for everyone playing the Wild, except one poor unfortunate team (Toronto). An absolutely abysmal 2-7-4 record from December 15 to January 13. Five times when the 'defensively-minded' Wild gave up five or more goals, including two games where they gave up SEVEN goals (fortunately, neither game was in St. Paul, so all Wild fans had to do is turn off the TV set).

And then, there was Part II: An immediate 8-0-1 record after Dubnyk arrived in Buffalo early in the morning on Jan. 15. The best record in the entire NHL after Jan. 15th. Optimism reigned supreme, as pessimism was shown the door, and the Wild caught no less than 5 teams to claim the No. 1 wild-card spot in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. The season was saved, after all.

And then, being the only wild-card team to make it past the first round of the playoffs. Granted, the second round showed that the Wild still have a ways to go as a unit, but that the foundation is, indeed, there for the future. All it needs is yet another round of unloading overpaid underachievers, and that the youth of this franchise may actually be in position, to take this franchise where Wild fans want it to go.

Finally.

Things to be thankful for...and, not so much...

Five things to be thankful for this Minnesota Wild season...and a couple that we're having second thoughts about...

Let us try and be thankful for what NHL hockey fans in Minnesota have right now. Because, it could be much, much worse...

1. The play of Zach Parise is certainly worth the price of admission, if you're a Wild fan. He actually gets it, that it's the play EVERY night that determines how a team does. Practices the same way as he plays. Overcomes adversity like few the game has seen in a long, long time.

2. Ryan Suter has actually become a better player with less overall time on ice this season. Until recently, when 3 of the top 4 defensemen went out with injury and/or illness at the same time, Suter was on his way to less time on ice on a game-by-game basis. And, he was becoming a better defenseman for it. But, help is on the way, as his 'little buddy', Jonas Brodin, seems to have overcome the mumps and may be back for duty this weekend, vs. St. Louis on Saturday night.

3. The offense that is coming from the second line, with Nino Niederreiter as the team's leading scorer, is a welcome relief for what could have been a really stagnant line otherwise. Nino, indeed, knows how to put the 'biscuit in the basket'. Now, if he could only get Charlie Coyle going again...

4. Marco Scandella's maturation and development is a sight to behold. The No. 3 defenseman for the Wild right now, the fact that he is moving the puck and not just playing steady defense right now, speaks volumes as to his versatility and development. Scandella's play has inspired others to do the same, also.

5. The two-headed goalie tandem is back. Niklas Backstrom rolled over the Florida Panthers like a storm front Monday night; the only goal scored was a disputed high-stick call. Darcy Kuemper came back from a disastrous game on Nov. 16 vs. Winnipeg, to shut down the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly on Thursday night.

OK. That was the good stuff. Now, the bad stuff:

1. The power play is as abysmal as ever. If ever there was an option for not accepting a penalty against your opponent, the Wild could use that option about now. A wretched 1-for the season power play on the road does not make for happy coaches, players, or fans. Which leads me to Item No. 2...

2. Thomas Vanek. This isn't snakebit, folks. The snake would die of embarrassment if he bit Vanek, whose steadfast refusal to skate, hit or (especially) shoot the puck makes his $6.5M contract even a bigger albatross for Wild management than the two contracts that were vanquished from the books (Dany Heatley, Robert Parrish) and the one who got away (Clayton Stoner) who were cleared out to sign the ex-Gopher. Vanek thinks that every goal he scores should be a tip-in from in front of the net. Sadly, not every goal will be that way. But, don't tell Vanek that.

I'd rather have Jason Zucker and Erik Haula on the power play than Vanek, which makes the last 1:17 of Saturday night's 2-1 loss at Tampa even more puzzling. The coaching staff knows how little Vanek produces, yet they still put him out there. Anyone else would have been more productive.

Oh, yes, we'll still see Vanek out there, trying to cherry-pick at the red line, unable to help out on defense or the power play. And, he's into the Wild for about $19 million more the next three seasons. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Let's see what happens the next five games, with four of the five teams in last season's playoffs. Then we'll be past the quarter mark, and four of the next five games at home. Let's all see what happens.

Together.

More Borscht, Comrade Kuemper?

Taking dangerous paths in a negotiation, and angering Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, is not the way for 24-year-old, third-year-pro goalies to endear themselves to an organization. Or its' fans.

You think that Darcy Kuemper's representation would have figured that out by now. Fletcher knows that there are a lot of goalies out there, goalies that would jump at the chance to play one year (if that) in the AHL, in order to get a shot at an NHL job next summer. Or, sooner, given the health histories of both Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding.

But, Kuemper's representation has been adamant on getting Kuemper an NHL salary for playing in the AHL. Frankly, Kuemper probably wouldn't be spending the holidays in Des Moines; but with the Wild up against the salary cap, Fletcher is trying to save every dollar of cap room possible. With Kuemper on a one-way (NHL salary only, regardless of where he plays) contract, the Wild wastes salary cap room every day that Kuemper is down 'on the farm'. With a two-way contract, Kuemper gets a lower (maybe 1/3rd of his NHL salary) rate of pay, but at least he plays here.

And, did I say, that this two-way is for this coming season only? The second year, under Fletcher's offer, was at the NHL rate, regardless of where he plays. So, we are only talking about ONE SEASON.

Kuemper's agent, Jeff Helperl, has threatened to take his client's talents to the KHL, where 'he can play every day', as his agent has been quoted locally as saying. Oh, he'd play every day, alright. But if he gets injured (as goalies frequently do: remember last season's two concussions, Darcy?), good luck getting decent medical care 6-9,000 miles away from home. Not to mention the travel arrangements (ask the widows of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv tragedy). And the food (Russian). And the bleak, Russian winter existence.

Kuemper's home town of Saskatoon would look like Nirvana, compared to some of the stops on the KHL's circuit. The fact that Kuemper at worst is a year away from a full-time NHL gig, you would think, would be more than enough to keep him in the organization which, up to this point, has nurtured him and developed him to the point where he is a serviciable NHL goaltender.

Fletcher is perceived as playing hardball by Kuemper's camp. Hardly. These are the rules that both sides have agreed (through the CBA) to live by. The fact that the Wild did not negotiale earlier (at least publically) is partly their own fault; but, due to the continuing shedding of the dead weight on the Wild roster (Dany Heatley, Clayton Stoner), the roster is in flux virtually right up to the home opener Oct. 9 vs. Colorado. With that as a background, Kuemper is now the single biggest roster problem on the Wild, now that Nino Niederreiter has agreed to a 3-year, $8M contract.

So, the question is now this: What does Kuemper do? Does he tell Helperl to accept Fletcher's offer, and report to camp this coming week? Or, does he pack his bags, get a Russian visa, and head out for the Wild, Wild East?

Which Admirals team do you want to see in October, Darcy? Milwaukee? Or Vladivostok?

It's your choice, Darcy Kuemper.

Calm before the storm...sort of...

Free Agency looms as Minnesota Wild ponder their options in short, long term

It's June 30th. The last day before the start of NHL Free Agency, also known as 'Silly Season', where teams outbid each other for the services of veterans whose contracts expired the previous day (i.e., today).

So, what are the Wild going to do to improve their roster, without breaking the bank, or worse than that, trading away their prized young players, whom GM Chuck Fletcher has stockpiled over the last four seasons, while trying to resurrect the franchise after the disaster left behind by Doug Risebrough left the cupboards bare after years of trading away second-and-third round draft picks for the likes of Bill Muckalt and Chris Simon?

For once, fiscal restraint during the previous season proves fruitful, as the Wild have nearly $17 million to spend on free agents (including five of their own restricted free agents). The fact that they can get in the free agent sweepstakes at ALL is proof that what Fletcher is doing -- selective shopping for the right type of player, one that will fit the system that Coach Mike Yeo has instilled in the Wild, during the end of last season and last season's two-round playoff run -- is actually working.

It definitely is at the box office, where about 3,000 fewer seats for each game will be available when individual regular-season tickets go on sale in late August or early September. This means several million dollars in the Wild's bank, even before the first pre-season game is played in Winnipeg on Sept. 22.

Nobody knows what is going thru the collective mind at 317 Washington St., St. Paul. Both sides -- owners AND players -- are sworn to secrecy, written into the latest CBA. They can talk generalities, all right, but not numbers or specifics -- supposedly. But do you, dear Wild fan, actually BELIEVE that numbers haven't been passed across a table or two?

Me neither. Let's all see tomorrow, starting at 11:00 AM, Central time. Together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Decompression...and remorse...after a Wild playoff run

By Wild Road Tripper

Well, folks. Even I finally have to admit it.

It's Over.

The Minnesota Wild season is over. Shoulda been a Game 7 last night, at the United Center in Chicago. But, alas, such was not to be. The fact of the matter turned out to be, though, that good teams generate their own puck luck. And, the talented, uber-successful Chicago Blackhawks are that good. They generated the luck to get that OT goal in Game 6, to end the Wild's season after two rounds.

But what about the season that just ended? What about the 2013-14 campaign, one that came to the precipice of utter disaster, following a Dec. 29 Sunday night disaster at home against the lowly New York Islanders, where the Wild came out, and utterly stunk out the Xcel Energy Center?

But that's for another time, another column. (Don't worry, I'll still provide the 'Six-Pack of Suck' in a few weeks. Need to get over our playoff run first.)

But think back and remember fondly what the Wild did accomplish this seaosn:

1. Going thru goaltenders faster than commercial jets go thru tires. Seven different goaltenders started at least one game for the Wild this past season. Seven. Had you told me that was going to happen last October, I'd have said you need your head examined. But, alas, that's exactly what happened. Thru Niklas Backstrom's 'core muscle' injury, Josh Harding's battle with Multiple Sclerosis, Darcy Kuemper's 'Bells of St. Mary's' routine, both in the regular season and in Game 5 in Denver; the emergence (and demi-lucidity) of Ilya Bryzgalov; John Curry's twirling to a win in the stretch drive, just to name a few.

2. They won and thrived, despite Dany Heatley's lack of contribution as he muddled his way thru the last season of his $7.5M contract; Kyle Brodziak reverting to form after his 'contract drive' of late last season; and so much lack of contrbution from virtually every other player on the roster at one time or another. The fact is that the Wild won at times in spite of themselves, as much as their efforts had any effect on the outcomes.

3. The emergence of so many of the young guns that GM Chuck Fletcher has assembled over the past 4 years. Mikael Granlund, Jared Spurgeon, Charlie Coyle, Eric Haula, Justin Fontaine, just to name a few. And you have Matt Dumba and Christian Folin waiting in the wings, as well as Raphael Bussieres, the injured Jason Zucker, and so many other talent 'in the larder', as it were, that the Wild are now in a position of strength, where they can afford to trade for top talent, and actually have players that other teams want, for one of the few times in franchise history.

4. I tweeted just before the first Wild home playoff game (Game 3, vs. Colorado) that the Wild need to give the fans something to cheer for, and they will cheer. Loudly. And, they did. I was among them, for all six home playoff games. Yes, the Wild wish you could get this kind of response on a mid-January night vs. Edmonton, Calgary, or Carolina, but with 41 home games in the regular season (and 2 or 3 pre-season games), you're just not going to get that response every night. Meanwhile, the fact that the Wild can fill the building as they have, despite stretches like the holiday period of 2013, is a continuing testament to the faithfulness of the fanbase.

5. The national media finally admitted that the Wild are not the only NHL team playing 'the trap' anymore. Begrudgingly, the Wild have earned the respect of the national hockey media (E. J. Hradek, and Sirius XM NHL Radio notwithstanding) thru their two-round playoff run. The fact of the matter is that the Wild franchise is finally coming of age...again. The only other team from the '99-00 class of teams that has gone beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, more than once, is still only one: the Minnesota Wild.

So, with all that behind us, Wild fans turn to the future. And it's a very bright future, indeed. With all the talent assembled, and the position of where the Wild is as an organization, the future is where the Wild are at. You still have a little dead weight on the team (Brodziak, Stoner) to get rid of; some of the rest of it (Heatley, Matt Moulson, Prosser) will become UFA's by themselves. Other than at the goaltender position, you got to like where the Wild are at, talent-wise.

Mike Yeo's future as the head coach of this franchise was assured by their playoff run; I would, however, do some kind of an audit on your training and medical staffs, as there were too many injuries, at too many of the wrong times, by too many of the wrong players. Some of it was, yes, game-related; but a lot of it were developing injuries, over time, while the medical staff waited for the inevitable to occur. A little more proactive effort is what's needed, IMO, to stem the tide of injuries.

Next up: NHL Draft, June 27-28, at 'The Rock' in Newark. Go for it, Chuck Fletcher.

Wow. Just Wow.

Minnesota Wild defeat Colorado, go on to face Blackhawks in playoff round two

Well, that was a fun ride, wasn't it?

The Minnesota Wild, after their Game 7, 5-4 OT win last night over the Colorado Avalanche at Denver's Pepsi Center, now face even a more formidable task in the Second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs: the defending Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. Fact of the matter is, the only time the Wild were ahead all night, was the one time when it counted: at the end.

Despite the Avalanche racing off to an amazing start in their first 20 games, despite the divisional championship the Avs won this season, none of that carried over into the 'second season'. The Avs, and the Wild, won all their home games. Until last night, that is.

So, with that as a background, how do the Wild take on Chicago, who's basically been on cruise control for the last 2-3 weeks? Does the Wild take on the Hawks, head-on? Or do they go after the Hawks, the same way they dispatched Colorado in the just-completed last round?

And what am I saying, anyhow?

I really kind of wonder at times. Now, after this point, there is no local TV of Wild playof games; all games will be on the networks of NBCUniversal (NBCSN for Game 1 on Friday night; the mothership, NBC, on Sunday afternoon; then sent off to CNBC, for Tuesday's Game 3, an 8 PM CDT start).

Beyond that? Even the networks don't know for sure.

So a little friendly advice from your Road Tripper; sit back, relax for a day, and enjoy the ride. The heavy traffic will begin again, soon enough. Enjoy what already has happened. Minnesota hockey fans have earned this.

Wild needs: Sweep the Week

The Minnesota Wild have played themselves into a corner. They need to sweep this week's 4 upcoming home games. Or else, ...?

The facts are clear. Clear as mud, granted. But they are clear.

The Wild cannot win a game away from the 'friendly confines' of St. Paul. And for a team as talent-laden as this one is, that's not a good thing.

The fact that they are such a Jekyll-and-Hyde team away from Xcel Energy Center belies the fact that this is a young team, which needs to get younger yet (buh-bye, Dany Heatley) in order to achieve anything, like what the management and ownership wants them to achieve.

You can't change the players, especially when nine of them have no-trade/no-movement clauses. You will move up to five players thru free agency, simply by not re-signing them; making the Wild a premiere target on Trade Deadline day, should the Wild's precipitous fall in the NHL's Western Conference standings continue into the New Year.

As the calendar turns into the New Year, Wild fans are looking at another near-.500 month in January, with the team having a chance in 6 of their 7 games next month (you REALLY think they'll beat Chicago, the way they are rolling right now?) at home; and losing 6 of the seven road games (the only game they may have a chance at is at Nashville, but even that is the second of a back-to-back, the only one next month, and as we all know, the Wild do not do home-and-away back-to-backs well ).

So, going into the Olympic break, the Wild will barely be on the cusp of a playoff spot. Barely. And looking at the NHL's 16-day Olympic break (Feb. 9-25) and wondering...

'What if we had beaten the Jets back on Dec. 27 in Winnipeg?'

Please, Wild. Prove me wrong. Sweep the week. This week.

'Yeo woe' hits new low as Wild bumbles, stumbles towards holidays

Second-worst offense in NHL stumbles thru Metropolitan Division as holidays approach; no end in sight

The facts are clear. The Minnesota Wild stink right now. And there's absolutely no way to sugar coat that fact, as the Wild wrap up a disasterous 3-game trip thru Pennsylvania and New York City, just in time to gift-wrap two points to the Penguins, Rangers and Flyers.

With the No. 31 offense in the 32-team NHL -- only the gutted-for-rebuild Buffalo Sabres are worse at scoring right now -- the No. 31 road offense in the NHL limps (literally) into the mandatory three-day holiday break after a pair of disgusting, lacklustre, 5-2 and 4-1 losses at Pittsburgh and the NY Rangers, respectively, into the NHL's nastiest arena for visiting teams, as the Flyers are given the gift that keeps on giving -- the Wild -- at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.

This team needs offense. Desperately. The shuttle between Des Moines and St. Paul has had enough grooves in it already to resist snow plowing; another move was made prior to Monday's game, as Stephane Veilleux was called up and Erik Haula was returned to the Iowa Wild, whose own roster belies the up-and-down nature of a farm team of a desperate big club.

When you peel back the cover just a bit, you have a lot of problems; two lines that cannot score no matter what; a power play that cannot score on a 5-on-3, or even get a shot on goal during a power play; a No. 2 goalie who can't stop much of anything when he sees it right in front of him; and a No. 1 line that would rather pass than take a shot on goal, like it's a mortal sin if they did.

Dany Heatley needs to take a seat in the press box. So does Kyle Brodziak, and anyone else whose lack of effort does not warrant dressing for games. This season is careening out of control; will anyone in the Wild organization be able to stop this skid in time, in order to salvage a playoff spot?

I guess we all find out...together.

Into the abyss: the dreaded 'Yeo Woe'?

And Minnesota Wild fans wonder why their team gets no love or respect; weeks like the last two are reasons why they will not be eligible for NHL prime events, like the NHL Winter Classic, until they can do one thing consistently: win.

Some things, like the calendar, happen at the same time every year:

The swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
The buzzards return to Hinckley, Ohio.
Macy's Parade happens on Thanksgiving Day in NYC.
The Vikings implode onto police blotters, all over the Twin Cities' west suburbs.
(OK, I went a little too far there. But very little.)

And the Minnesota Wild begin their annual fall out of the top of the NHL Western Conference. OK, it didn't take three full months, like it did in the 'first-to-worst' season of 2011-12; nor did it have a short season to fall down upon, like last season's end-of-season, near-complete crash-and-burn directly out of the NHL playoffs.

But it's happening. Again. And, may I say, as a life-long Minnesotan;

Just like every Minnesota sports team. It happens to all of them.

And Wild owner/CEO Craig Leipold wonders why his team and market get passed over for major NHL events, like the Winter Classic, and the NHL Stadium Series.

Your team can't score right now, Craig. You have a $7.5M human 'boat anchor', Dany Heatley, who can't score unless there's no goalie in the net (unless he gets a bounce of the puck), playing on your 4th line. The center of the 4th line is out because he got a puck inadvertantly in the face...by one of his own players. Your third line is centered by a player who can't seem to play the puck unless it's perfectly placed on his stick just so (don't even think to ask him to look in his skates for the puck.) Your second line center just had his brain injured twice...in eight days. Your first line center is deathly afraid to shoot the puck, so much so that he passes up scoring chances, in order to pass the puck away. An assist is worth more to this guy than a goal is. Wide open net? Pass the puck. Breakaway? Pass the puck. Any other decent scoring situation? Pass the puck.

God forbid that you actually shoot at the net. Your countrymen, back in Assist-land, would not be pleased.

And Minnesota fans wonder why the NHL gives them no love whatsoever, why they are always second-to-last on NHL media, like 'NHL Tonight' and other NHL-produced shows.

So, someone (namely, Nick Henry, he of the 'Hitting the Post' blog) coined the phrase which so rightfully fits the Wild's mid-season malaise; namely, the 'Yeo Woe'.

The Wild can't score. The Wild can't shoot. The Wild can't stop other teams from scoring. The Wild can't forecheck, because they're backchecking all the time. Blah, blah, blah...

Wild fans are tired of the excuses. Wild fans are looking for results. Or, do the Wild become the next version of the Buffalo Sabres, who are blowing it up and starting over?

The Wild have lost three straight (and 4 of their last six) while only scoring 12 goals total in that time. Twelve goals. in nearly two weeks. Certainly, that kind of 'production' won't get you far, at least in today's NHL.

So what to do? With the Wild right up against the lowered salary cap, they can't go out and trade for that player(s) they need, unless the net effect is to lower their salary cap number. And, quite frankly, that means moving Heatley, whose contract expires at the end of this season. Due to last season's end-of-season injury, suffered at the end of a 6-1 blowout loss at San Jose April 18, the Wild were prohibited from tendering a buyout of Heatley's massive contract over the summer. Now, the Wild are really paying the price, for carrying 'Heater' on the roster.

No one will take 'Heater' off the Wild's hands for any reason whatsoever. The rest of the NHL knows he is damaged goods; the Wild are stuck with him. Would the Wild be better off just flat-out sending him down to their AHL affiliate in Des Moines? We probably will never know.

But it would be interesting to find out...

Meaty, meaty, meaty, meaty...

Wild start 16 game-in-30-day marathon tonight vs. Jets: Another goalie in their future?

Venerable Minneapolis Star-Tribune beat writer Michael Russo likes to use the term, 'meaty', when the Minnesota Wild face a particularly tough stretch of their schedule. Now, he's used it for years, and normally, he's pretty much spot on when he's used it.

So, in that respect, the next 30 days are, indeed, four weeks of 'meaty' games for the Wild, as they delve headlong back into Western Conference play after mostly feasting on the weaker Eastern Conference for the last 2 1/2 weeks.

And, they do so, at least for the time being, without one key cog in their lineup; goaltender Niklas Backstrom, whose concussion is the aftermath of Toronto's Nazem Kadri going Hanson brothers on Backstrom during the first period of Wednesday's 3-2 Wild victory, over the otherwise hapless Maple Leafs at Xcel Energy Center. (Nice forearm shiv there, Nazem. I see Colton Orr has taught you well.)

The fact is that as long as Josh Harding can hold up physically, the Wild should at least stay in most games in the next month; after all, they have the fourth best record in the Central division, which has proven to be the NHL's toughest, up to this point. But what recourse do the Wild have should Harding go down again, like he has each of the last two seasons?

They have to sign another goaltender, and soon. They cannot depend on their Iowa Wild tandem (Johan Gustafsson, Darcy Kuemper) to play full-time backup; the revolving door on I-35 between Des Moines and St. Paul can only go so fast. The name most mentioned is ex-Wild (and Canadiens, Avalanche, Capitals, Panthers) keeper Jose Theodore, who reportedly is working out near his South Florida home.

With four back-to-backs in the next four weeks (including two in a nine-day stretch), two home and away, two with both games away, the Wild's schedule gets ridiculously tough going into the next few weeks. Three games vs. Central co-leader Colorado, two games vs. Winnipeg, two vs. San Jose, and single games against Montreal, Ottawa, St. Louis, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Chicago, Columbus, Anaheim, Vancouver, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This is a schedule that would decimate most clubs, especially when 10 of the 16 games are away from St. Paul, where the Wild have become the most dominant team in the NHL. The only home blemish in regulation time is the 'Monday Night Massacre', the Oct. 28 nationally-televised 5-1 drubbing by the Chicago Blackhawks, the game after the Wild went into Chicago's United Center and routed the 'Hawks 5-2 two nights earlier.

It will be a real test for the Wild to go from a speed game (vs. Colorado), to an almost brutal game vs. Philadelphia, back to a speed game vs. Chicago, to a control game vs. Columbus, and so on. Different teams will present different challenges for the Wild, be it P.K. Subban, Eric Karlsson, David Backes and T.J. Oshie, Mike Smith, or 'Jumbo Joe' (Thornton) and 'Little Joe' (Pavelski) with San Jose.

As versatile as the Wild have had to become so far, they bettter start honing their game. Very much so, and quickly. As the Western Conference is prepping to leave the Wild in their dust, the Wild need to amass a large number of victories in this next 16 games -- in my opinion, nothing less than 11-5-0  (22 points) will do -- which means they need to win all their home games during this stretch, and be at least .500 on the road.

Should the Wild still be in contention by the Christmas three-day holiday break, four of the first five games after the break will be in the 'friendly confines' of the 'X' -- and a good way to start the New Year.

But, until that time, the schedule is, indeed, 'meaty'. So enjoy the banquet, Wild fans. Or at least try to.

What Hath Wild Wrought: After one week...

After one week,of the regular season, we know this about the 2013-2014 Wild:

1. They start slow. The Wild definitely need to pick up the pace, before the opponent does. Both LA and Anaheim found that by getting the first goal (or, goals), they could put the Wild behind the proverbial '8-ball' for the rest of the evening. The first ten minutes of the game are as important as the last 10 minutes of the game. Wish some on the roster would remember this.

2. Haven't we seen this before? Two seasons ago, the Wild started the season with a great power play offense, scoring nearly at will when given the man advantage. Of course, the flip side of the coin that season turned out to be a dearth of goals on the power play later in that season. The Wild have scored power play goals in both games played so far (two vs. Anaheim, one vs. LA). They have shown they can score at 5-on-4; now, can they score more at even strength, 5-on-5?

3. OT/Shootout: new season, same old problems. As we have all witnessed the last three days, the same old bugaboos for the Wild that have plagued them since the departure of Jacques Lemaire have reared their ugly heads once again; namely, the inability of this team to figure out how to win in extra time. Thursday, the fact that the game went to a shootout played right into the hands of the LA Kings, as the entire NHL knows that Niklas Backstrom is the NHL's worst goalie in extra time. On Saturday night, the Ducks' Mathieu Perrault made Backstrom look like a midget goalie, floating a backhander thru Backstrom's five-hole as time ran out. Now, maybe that was a blessing in disguise, as now maybe Josh Harding will start in Nashville on Tuesday night, as the Wild play the new divisional rival Preds for the first time under the new divisional format. And speaking of which...

4. You really don't have time to straighten it out. Six of your next 11 games (including the next 3 in a row) are against divisional opponents. If the Wild continue to falter as they have, they definitely will be on the outside, looking in towards those teams they let slip away from them in October as the season progresses. You can work as hard as hell in practice, but it's in the games where you need to improve. You need to start winning. In regulation time.

Yes, I realize that this is a long season, and that it's only 2 games in. But, with the compressed schedule due to the Sochi Olympics, you really don't have the time to stop and rework what is, in order to reclaim points lost due to inattentiveness, and a goaltender who is a world-beater for 60 minutes, then becomes Egg Beaters for the extra 5. I know that this goes against the grain for goalies; 'You're shattering their confidence', and so on, but at some point, you have to try something different, if the rest of your team cannot get the job done in regulation time. The inattentiveness? You need Sigmund Freud himself to explain why the last 10 seconds of OT becomes a tropical vacation for some guys. And, as for the goaltending in OT/SO?

Put in the other guy when OT starts. For the good of all your goalies. Don't let the team waste 60 minutes (or somewhat less) of effort, by staying with a goalie that can't stop a beach ball in extra time.

Fix what you can. Now. Before the snowball starts downhill and you can't stop it. For another last week of the season looms larger every day as this season unfolds.

It's that time of year...again

NHL training camps open this week. What to expect from the Minnesota Wild in the next three weeks?

A few things:

1. Very spirited competition, the likes of which head coach Mike Yeo never had last season. Yeo, not unlike most NHL head coaches, hated last season's 48-game 'shotgun start' regular season. The fact is that the Wild never had a real opportunity, after the lockout was settled to sort out all the talent on the roster to see who was NHL ready, and who wasn't.

2. The end of an era for some players? Marco Scandella, Tyler Cuma, and a few others on the first wave of the 'bandwagon of youth' need to figure their games out. And quickly. Because, there's others coming up thru the system to push these 'older' players aside. Scandella especially, as he already has had two cracks at the big time, and hasn't made the most of those chances. Time to either step up or pack up, Marco.

3. Will the new talent help finally take the Wild to the next level? The first full season of Jason Pominville. Minnesotan Keith Ballard quietly trying to rebuild his career after having been signed as a UFA after a stint with the Sedins in Vancouver. And then, there's the man you really love to hate, Matt Cooke. (I still can't believe he is a member of the Minnesota Wild.)

4. Will the real Mikael Granlund please finally step up? The most-hyped Euro in five seasons didn't live up to the lofty expectations that Minnesota fans put upon his young shoulders last season. Hopefully, the grind which was a season in the AHL last year will put some of the hunger back, into a young man who's been spoon-fed a bit much in the last three years.

And, speaking of the farm club...

5. Will the Wild take full advantage of having their farm team less than 250 miles away from St. Paul? By the Alexanders not renegotiating a proper lease in Houston, the Aeros have moved to the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, Iowa for 2013-14. Renamed the 'Iowa Wild', the club is only a 3-hour drive from the 'X', which is both good and bad. Good for the 'big club' as they have ready access for help, when they are at home. Bad for that Des Moines is not a hub for any major airline, unlike Houston's Bush Intercontinental. Getting players up to the Minnesota Wild roster when the parent club is on a long road trip will be a real challenge; all moves will have to be made either via MSP (on Delta) or Chicago (American, United).

The logistics of call-ups and send-downs are somewhat daunting, especially when you consider that the final destination is, indeed, Des Moines. Not exactly a hot spot for anything, unlike the hustle and bustle of Houston, the largest city in the US without a pro hockey franchise on any level. Should make for interesting conversations in the Des Moines Register between Iowa Hawkeye and ISU Cyclones seasons.

So what happens next? We'll all find out together, starting on Thursday. So hang on for the ride.

PRED-atory pricing in Music City

Nashville Predators, taking advantage of Chicago Blackhawks' popularity, forces Hawks fans to buy tickets to games they'll never see

Chicago Blackhawks fans will feel a little bit like fans of da Bears in Nashville this season. As in, ripped off to see their team on the road.

The Nashville Predators have instituted a 'pairing' system for games against the Blackhawks this coming season, in order to sell a few more tickets to games OTHER than against Chicago, whose easy access for Hawks' fans, who cannot afford the sky-high prices for Blackhawks games at the United Center, makes road tripping to Music City USA an irresistable target.

The Predators anounced that they were pairing the Hawks' games with games against less-popular teams of their choosing (read: Edmonton, Calgary and Colorado, teams which traditionally don't draw flies in Nashville). Now, if you don't want to go to that paired game, there are Preds-approved ways to get rid of those unwanted tickets (and take a financial bath in the process, IMO).

You can give them to charity (supposedly, you receive something you can take to your tax advisor), put them on the Preds' Ticket Exchange (so the Preds can re-sell them and make the profit, not you) or you can give them away to a Preds-approved military group of your choice.

That is, if you can even GET tickets.

See, the Preds are going to a staggered system to sell single-game tickets online; should your ZIP code (which they will ask for) not start with 36, 37 or 38 (the three assigned to Tennessee), you will be SOL for nearly a week after they go on sale in Nashville, at Bridgestone Arena.

Mind you, the Preds are not alone in their pricing scheme for Blackhawks fans. NFL teams do this as a normal course of their business (the Vikings do this to Green Bay and Chicago annually; but unlike the NFL, where each divisional team plays each other once a season home and away, the Hawks and Preds play each other 5 times this season alone.)

But for a team like Nashville to do this? Yeah, I suppose I can understand that you try to spread out the 'pain' of having thousands of Chicago fans in your arena, but they will come regardless: ask Winnipeg Jets fans, who have made the band-box-sized MTS Centre the toughest ticket in the NHL to get into. There were still thousands of Habs, Leafs, and Rangers fans in the stands when they showed up in the 'Peg. There will be thousands of Hawks fans in Winnipeg this November, too, when the Hawks finally play their first-ever regular-season game in Manitoba.

And, don't tell that to the unabashed kings of NHL road tripping, the Detroit Red Wings, whose sheer numbers of fans seeing them on the road confirm that there is no one left in Detroit to see them play in the regular season. (OK, I kid.) But the fact is that most teams put the Red Wings in their 'Premium' category for tickets (i.e., jack the prices up), due to the Wings' proven ability to draw away from Joe Louis Arena.

So, here's hoping all those 'paired' tickets get used. By fans of THOSE other teams. Because, Nashville Predators, you've done nothing but bring it on yourselves.

It's amazing what one man can do...

Minnesota Wild start 2013 free agency season with a trade and a big Bang

This is almost geeting too eerie, isn't it, folks? Fourth of July weekend, everyone's out celebrating and then...

BOOM! Once again, here comes GM Chuck Fletcher and the Wild, marching across the local media landscape like Sherman thru Georgia, with another 'I can't believe he did THAT'-type of free agency blockbuster.

Well, the master of July hockey fireworks did it again last week, as the Wild, after trading away restricted free agent Cal Clutterbuck to the Islanders for Nino Niederreiter, cleared out veterans Matt Cullen and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, both of whose contracts were expiring, and, via trade with Winnipeg, Devin Setoguchi, then picked up ex-Vancouver Canuck (and Florida Panther) Keith Ballard, and then, shortly after 6:00 PM Friday night, Fletcher turns around and drops 'the Big one' on Wild fans, by signing the NHL's Public Enemy No. 1, uber-pest forward Matt Cooke, who was an unrestricted free agent after not being re-signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What to make of all this movement? Of all this upheaval and change? Of the NHL's all-time cheap-shot king, making Minnesota his in-season home for the next three seasons, at $2.5M per?

The jury has just only begun to deliberate. Not all the facts are in, either.

We just don't know which Matt Cooke will actually show up at the 'X' in September: the one who, supposedly 'reformed', played as a servicable winger on the Penguins' 3rd line for five seasons; or the 'love-to-hate' player, who was along with Jarkko Ruutu (now with Ottawa). Cooke and Ruutu were, at least in their Vancouver years, two of the most despised players in hockey, along with Todd 'Big Bert' Bertuzzi.

Both Fletcher and Head Coach Mike Yeo had Cooke in Pittsburgh during their pre-Wild tenures, and they both swear up and down that Cooke has reformed his game, that he's not all about the cheap hits and the after-the-whistle stickwork anymore. But, for players and fans alike, old habits are hard to break. And there's the images, such as from 2003, when Matt Johnson took a stick butt-end to the groin from Cooke, and then, Cooke ran, precipitating a fight which spilled over into the stands at then-GM Place (now Rogers Centre).

And, there may be even rumblings that the fun hasn't ended yet, as supposedly Zenon Konopka is being shopped around by the Wild before the pre-season has even started.

So what to think?

Just My Opinion, folks, but... Let's actually see what Cooke does bring to the table in the fall. The cheap stuff aside, the guy does hit, does go into the corners and can score. The Wild need every scorer they can get, and if he happens to play the third line, all the better to spread the goals around. If he can keep his nose clean, and stay out of the post-whistle scrums, he can be a reasonable alternative on a 3rd or 4th line.

According to Russo's depth chart on his 'Russo's Rants' blog, Cooke will play one side with Niederreiter on the other side, and Kyle Brodziak at center. This could be a pretty good third line, with the 6'2" Niederreiter, who has shown he can score at every level of hockey except the NHL, learning defensive skills from the likes of Cooke and Brodziak, both of whom are considered defensive specialists; Brodziak has the big winger on his one side he has never really had on his third line; and Cooke, the hitter, gets to ply his trade with two guys that will probably be there all season, unlike in Pittsburgh, when his linemates routinely stepped up to play alongside both Crosby and Malkin at times last season.

There's a lot to think about, as the Wild plods on thru the rest of the summer, looking for the right combination to take this team towards where we all want them to go. The fans want a winning team, Can the Wild hierarchy say that they have all the tools necessary to get them far in the playoffs on a consistent, year-after-year basis?

Only time will tell for sure.

It's over. Now what?

Taking a look into that Wild-colored crystal ball into the future

Well, folks, we've had time to decompress from the 5-game series against the Chicago Blackhawks. The fact is, that the Wild did themselves in with the April swoon, as they went a hapless 1-5-1 at home in the final month of this shortened NHL season.

It's not enough that they had to essentially 'back in' to the playoffs, having to win on the final day of the regular season in Denver to qualify for the playoffs; it's that the two teams that finished ahead of them both moved on to the second round, eliminating NW Division champion Vancouver (by San Jose, 4-and-out) and Pacific Division champion Anaheim (by Detroit, in 7 games).

It's not enough that the Wild get pretty much handled, by the President's Trophy champion Blackhawks, pulling out a win in OT (thank you, Jason Zucker) in what otherwise would have been a very depressing series. Top 2 goalies injured, down to the No. 3 goalie (Darcy Kuemper) and you're facing the one team, that can roll four great lines at you all night.

No. That's not enough. You get to sit home and watch, as the two teams that you should have been ahead of both win, and go onto the next round of the Playoffs.

Meanwhile, back in St. Paul, bags are packed up and good-byes said for the summer (or, in a few cases, permanently). Who knows what the Wild roster will look like in September, when the NHL 2013-14 season begins? There will need to be about $6 million pared off the current roster, between now and July 5 (the start of NHL free agency)?  Who goes, and who stays?

There may be a lot of roster changes netween now and July, as the Wild may use one (or both) of their 2013-agreed 'compliance buyouts' to get under the new, reduced salary cap. With a $64 million cap in 2013-14, the Wild will be hard-pressed to redistribute the wealth, in order to further improve the club while staying within the guidelines agreed to after the 2012-13 lockout.

So, do we dare look into the crystal ball and see what may happen ahead? Or, do we just wait, and wait, and wait some more, until the NHL draft (June 30-July 1, at Newark) happens, and Wild GM Chuck Fletcher maybe pulls another rabbit out of his hat?

The crystal ball looks awfully cloudy these days. Best just to wait and see.

How 'bout a little help for the Wild?

If the Minnesota Wild could scream something at the rest of the NHL this Sunday morning, it very well could be saying:

'Thanks for nothing, guys!'

The fact of the matter, however, is that whatever team needed to lose in various games last week in the NHL, didn't. In fact, of the 12 non-Wild games I mentioned last week on this blog, only 4 of the 12 turned out the way that the Wild could eventually take advantage of, and 3 of those 4 were that the game didn't go to overtime or shootout. The only game that didn't go OT/Shootout that turned out the way the Wild would like was Calgary's 3-2 win at home Wednesday against faltering Detroit.

So, having said all that, we turn to the final seven days of the Western Conference race, where the race will finally and mercifully (for some teams, at least) end. The last four games of the season will feature three teams who are out of the race (Calgary, Edmonton, and Colorado) and one team -- Tuesday's home game vs. the LA Kings -- who has already clinched a playoff spot.

Update: 11:30 AM Sunday: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, of the Edmonton Oilers, is reportedly having shoulder surgery in Cleveland this coming week, ending RNH's season.

Do you think the Wild have a better chance this week? Let's find out...

Sunday, April 21: Wild at home, must beat Calgary
                              Colorado must beat St. Louis
                              Dallas at LA Kings cannot go OT/SO
                              Columbus at San Jose cannot go OT/SO

Monday, April 22: Chicago must win at Vancouver
                               Phoenix at Detroit cannot go OT/SO

Tuesday, April 23: Wild at home, must beat LA Kings
                               Phoenix must win at St. Louis
                               Dallas at San Jose cannot go OT/SO

Wednesday, Apr. 24: Detroit must beat LA Kings
                                   San Jose at Phoenix cannot go OT/SO

Thursday, Apr. 25:  Nashville must win at Detroit
                                Calgary must win at St. Louis
                                Columbus at Dallas cannot go OT/SO
                                Anaheim must beat Vancouver

Friday, April 26: Wild at home, must beat Edmonton
                          
Saturday, April 27: Wild must win at Colorado
                                Chicago must win at St. Louis
                                Edmonton must beat Vancouver
                                All other Western Conference games must not go OT/SO

Wild playoff qualification plan: Win..and get help

Reeling Minnesota Wild need to turn it around, help from others to make playoffs

Good Morning, Wild Nation.

Your team sucks as bad as the weather outside (at least in the Twin Cities, anyways.) A three-game homestand, which should have yielded at least four points (read the last post, folks), came within 3:15 of not producing any points at all. Without Jason Pominville's late third-period, power play rebound goal, the Wild would currently be 0-fer April at home.

As it is, with two weeks, and seven games left in their season, the Wild need help -- big-time, somebody-else-has-to-beat-your-rival, high-school-grade help --in order to even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not only do the Wild have to sweep the last seven games, but they need the following to happen, just this coming week:

Today: Chicago needs to win at St. Louis (on NBC)
            Nashville needs to beat Detroit

Monday: Wild needs to win at Calgary
                Chicago needs to beat Dallas
                San Jose needs to win at Phoenix
               
Tuesday: Wild needs to win at Edmonton
                Vancouver at St. Louis cannot go to Overtime/Shootout

Wednesday: Calgary needs to beat Detroit
                     Anaheim needs to beat Columbus

Thursday: Wild needs to win at San Jose
                 Phoenix needs to win at St. Louis
                 Vancouver at Dallas cannot go to OT/SO
                 Columbus at LA Kings cannot go to OT/SO

Friday: Dallas at St. Louis cannot go to OT/SO

Saturday: Chicago needs to beat Phoenix
                Detroit at Vancouver cannot go to OT/SO

Sunday April 21: Wild, at home, needs to beat Calgary (again)
                             Dallas at LA Kings cannot go to OT/SO
                             Columbus at San Jose cannot go to OT/SO
                             Colorado needs to beat St. Louis

So, dear reader, you can see the kind of crater that the Wild have dug for themselves. The biggest thing, however, is that the Wild must sweep the week. It's that simple. Keep your eyes on the prize, and the rest should take care of itself.

Hopefully.

Wild goal: Eight out of five?

Are fans asking for too much from the Minnesota Wild? Or are expectations changing as team changes?

Eight points in five games. Is that too much to ask?

The end is near. Or so the guy with the hand-made sign on the street says. So, I ask you, dear blog reader: is eight points for the Wild in the next five games (basically, a 4-1 record) too much to ask from the boys in Iron Range Red (or Forest Green, vs. Chicago)?

With 11 games (including Sunday's 5 PM tilt in Columbus) remaining in the shortened, compressed NHL season, the fact that the Wild are in position to even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a testament to the determination of this team to make it work, despite the NHL's worst travel schedule and nine back-to-backs. The Wild head into Columbus and the first home game for ex-Wild cherry picker Marian Gaborik in his new home with the suddenly successful Blue Jackets, who have not lost in Nationwide Arena in nearly two months (Feb. 10, in fact, vs. Edmonton). The Jackets start their last meaningful home stand today; when they meet again this coming Saturday in St. Paul, the Jackets will have embarked on a six-game, 13-day forced march thru Minnesota, Colorado and the Pacific Division, meeting every team except Phoenix away from Ohio. So every point they get at home will be as critical for them as the points are for the visiting Wild.

As of today, the Wild have 7 games with 4 of the bottom 6 teams in the NHL's Western Conference, including home and away games with lowly Calgary, somewhat-fading Edmonton and the Blue Jackets, and one game (the final regular-season game) at Colorado. Fortunately, the Anaheim Ducks, the Wild's chief pain in the collective side, are not on the schedule the rest of the regular season. Single games remain at home vs. Chicago, St. Louis, and LA; the Wild are still scheduled for one more visit, to the house of horrors known as the HP Pavilion-San Jose, to face the Sharks.

Are fans expectations changing as the team changes and gets better?

I, for one, do expect more as the team gets better. Yes, I know, I should learn to 'manage expectations' better, but as this team adds talent to the roster, the expectations should, conceivably, rise to the occasion of the talent level. I grow tired of the 'maybe we'll make the playoffs, and maybe we won't' expectation, season after season. The fact is that this team is in a good state right now; the team's upper management, and ownership, has proven to the players (and fans) that they will do what they can in order to win.

Now it's up to the players -- the guys who are actually 'in the room' -- to get the job done. Show the fans that you are as committed to winning as those you answer to are. Yes, the fans have every right to still be a little bit skeptical as to whether or not you will even MAKE the playoffs, much less go far in them. But that's what fans are. After four seasons of not making the playoffs at all, a little skepticism goes a long, long way. And after the spectacular crash-and-burn which occured about this point last season, just holding on for dear life isn't going to help you at all, Minnesota Wild.

So, to go back to my original point; is eight points in the next five games too much to ask? Let's take a look ahead:

Game 1 -- today, 5 PM CDT, at Columbus -- Wild either win close or lose in OT/SO. Too close to call. But, since the point is to manage expectations; we'll manage them to a Wild win, as Nate Prosser is relieving Tom Gilbert on the blue line today. When Nate plays, the Wild win. Simple as that. Two points for the visiting Wild.

Game 2 -- Tuesday, 7 PM CDT, vs. Chicago -- nationally-televised game in which the Wild should do well in. (Hopefully better than last month's disaster in the United Center, where the Wild basically laid an egg, losing 5-3.) Chicago already assured home-ice in 1st round with that 24-game unbeaten-in-regulation streak. Wild win. (2 Points.)

Game 3 -- Thursday, 7 PM CDT, vs. St. Louis -- Blues will be on 3rd game of 4-game roadie (at Detroit, Nashville, Minnesota, Columbus). This is the game that scares me. Which Blues team will show up Thursday night? The one that lost 4 of 5 prior to the last game last week at the X? Or the one from earlier on this season, which won 6 of their first 7? With Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold both now on the Blues' blue line, this could be a trap game. This is the one I think Wild lose. (Hope I'm wrong, but...)

Game 4 -- Saturday, 7 PM CDT vs. Columbus -- Marian Gaborik's revenge night. Unlike when AJ Pierzinski and Kevin Garnett left Minnesota, folks, Gaborik brought nothing back when he signed as an UFA with the Rangers in 2009. It's OK to boo lustily whenever he touches the puck (which, we hope, won't be often.) Wild win this one. (2 Points).

Game 5 -- Monday, April 15, 8:00 PM CDT, at Calgary -- the Flames have basically thrown in the towel. GM Jay Feaster sold off Jarome Iginla, Bouwmeester, and almost sold off Curtis Glencross, have been told Mikka Kiprusoff is not returning after this season, and the rebuilding has, indeed, started in Calgary. Wild should win this game, too. (2 points).

That's my thoughts. Let's play the games and see how it all shakes out. Remember to manage your expectations, also. Doug Risebrough would expect nothing less.

Keep On, Keepin' On

Is the five-game winning streak for real? It will get tested this week

Are the Minnesota Wild for real? Are they actually going to make the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs? Or are they going to fold, like they did last season? And who will be there to heckle them, as they do?

Well, we hate to break it to you, folks, but this team is for real.  With five straight wins, including wins at two of the NHL's toughest venues, Vancouver's Rogers Arena (ex-Canada Hockey Place, nee-General Motors Place) and Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, the Wild seem to be wanting to be that team that breaks away from the nine-team pack in the Western Conference, and join the likes of the Conference's two front-runners, Chicago and Anaheim, not only to make the playoffs, but to secure home ice advantage in the first round, something the Wild have not experienced since their Northwest Division championship season of 2007-08, the only earned banner that hangs in the rafters of Xcel Energy Center.

This Wild team, the most talent-laden club in the history of the franchise, has finally started to play like the talent they actually have. The kids that were brought in by GM Chuck Fletcher (Jonas Brodin, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker) have turned out to be great additions to a primarily veteran-laden roster, one with enough depth that when one gets injured (as hockey players do over the course of a season), another one can be plugged in and the level of play does not significantly suffer.

And that does really not set well with a lot of NHL people.

The lack of respect that the Wild are getting is borderline appalling. Now, some of that is indeed deserved, as the team hasn't qualified officially for anything...yet. The fact of the matter is that the league's media outlets, mostly tightly controlled by the league's Toronto offices, refuse to accept the fact that a team not based in British Columbia, might actually win the final Northwest Division title.

The League has stated that the Wild will not participate in any special event games (Winter Classic, NHL Premiere in Europe) until -- and unless -- they start making the playoffs. The Wild are particularly adept at getting pushed down the line in League-operated media, such as the 'NHL Tonight' highlight package TV show, on the NHL Network. The fact that they are in the Western Conference in an Eastern Conference-based media doesn't help; no national respect is coming for this Wild team. But as long as they are in the same division as perennially-whiny Vancouver, whose fan base -- like the team itself -- cries after every game, win OR lose, the Wild will always be treated like the country cousin who never gets any respect, even after they have re-invented the wheel.

The Wild now heading into a particularly dicey stretch of the season, with 6 of the next 7 games (and 7 of the 8, including yesterday's game vs. San Jose) against teams in the Pacific Division, a division which currently is Anaheim, and then, everyone else. Six points separate second-place LA from last-place Phoenix; the current trend for the division (excluding Anaheim) is 2-6. The old adage of  'it's not who you play, it's when you play them' may just work in the Wild's favor here. The fact of the schedule being what it is, with two games vs. the Dallas Stars with the lone visit to Minnesota by the Phoenix Coyotes thrown in the middle, is not fun, but the alternative -- a two-game 'mini-series' in the Metroplex vs. the Stars -- might just have been that much worse. And, at the back end, the Wild will finally face the LA Kings, for the first time this abbreviated season, at home on Saturday.

The Stars are the '2' in that 2-6 Pacific Division streak trend I mentioned earlier. They have taken a patchwork lineup of players on their last go-rounds (Jaromir Jagr, Ray Whitney, Vernon Fiddler, Stephane Robidas) and have kept themselves relevant in the Conference, despite the presence of Anaheim in the same division. The Stars will not play between Monday's game vs. the Wild, and Friday's rematch at American Airlines Center. The Wild will be hard-pressed to win one, much less both, of the two games. But they can do it, IF they play their game like they have shown they can in the past five games.

Wild fans just keep on hoping, that the joy ride doesn't end for a long, long time.