Well hello again, Wild fans! Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #5!
For those of you who are new to the column, here's the scoop: The NHL season is a long, tedious journey. We decided that this season we would ask TCDroogsma of the blog Wildly Biased to stop by each week and give us an update on our local squad.
Droogsy, what'd we miss?
Well hello, everybody. The Wild spent the week at home hosting the Blackhawks, Canadiens, & Devils. They came into the week riding high after a big win in Chicago last Saturday night, finally easing some of the sting of losing to Chicago in the first round of last year's Stanley Cup playoffs. That left their record at 6-3-3 on the season and that's where our story resumes. Let's have a look at how this week played out:
The Week That Was
Monday 10/28 - Chicago: 5 Wild: 1
When I wrote about the Wild's victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Saturday night I prefaced it by saying that the Blackhawks were "not at the top of their powers." I don't know if it was the Wild's dominant victory that night, but the Blackhawks came to St. Paul on Monday firing on all cylinders.
After playing so well in his first start in two weeks Wild goaltender was less-than-stellar in this rematch. Backstrom faced 28 shots on the night and only stopped 23 of them. He spent most of the night fighting the puck and never really looked like he found his rhythm.
Backstrom didn't get much help from his defense in front of him. With Keith Ballard & Jonas Brodin on the shelf with injuries the Wild were forced to play rookie Mathew Dumba & frequent healthy-scratch Nate Prosser. Prosser played a fine game, but Dumba became the star for all the wrong reasons. With the game tied 1-1 in the second Dumba found himself out of position, eventually crashing into Backstrom and knocking him out of position. Hawks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank capitalized on the confusion by burying a slapper form the point. Bazinga! The Hawks never looked back.
The game was especially tough for Dumba because it was his 9th game of the season. For those unfamiliar with the NHL's rookie contract rules, teams are allowed to play rookies for up to 9 games before it counts toward a year of their three-year rookie contracts. What that means is that after this game, regardless of how Dumba played, the Wild would have to make a decision about keeping him with the Wild (and burning the first year of his contract) or sending him back to Red Deer of the WHL.
Unfortunately for Dumba, that goal wouldn't be his most glaring mistake of the night. That would come in the third period. With the Hawks up 3-1 and controlling the play, Brandon Saad came into the Wild zone and pulled the old spin-o-rama before sending a pass just past a confused Dumba and over to frat boy Patrick Kane, who promptly buried the biscuit. Dumba admitted after the game that the pressure of his contract situation had gotten to him, which is understandable. If you had a winter in Red Deer, Alberta staring you in the face you'd struggle too. As of the end of the week the Wild have yet to play Dumba again or send him back to Red Deer.
Anyway, the Hawks went on to win the game 5-1. Former Wild draft pick (and Eden Prairie native) Nick Leddy scored his first goal against the Wild, making up for Mikael Granlund's abuse in the previous game and causing one blogger (yeah, me) to christen the game "Leddy's Revenge."
Wild Player Of The Game: Nate Prosser - It's tough to find a lot of bright spots when your team is thrashed like this, so I'm giving it to Prosser. Prosser's become something of a folk hero to Wild fans despite typically watching games from the press box. While far from the best player on the ice (he can't beat out Marco Scandella for a regular role. Marco Scandella!), he provides a level of sandpaper and grit that the Wild usually lacks. In this game he came to Backstrom's defense after Brandon Saad crashed the net with the score already 5-1. Prosser earned a match penalty for his trouble, but earned points with fans and teammates for sticking up for his goalie in a game that had devolved into farce.
Impressions Of The Game: Those of us who have been Wild fans from the beginning have trained ourselves to be cynical. When the Wild beat the Blackhawks last week we were thrilled, but I don't think any of us thought that was a "changing of the guard" victory. Monday's loss was discouraging, to be sure, but if the Wild are going to play with the big boys they're going to have to beat the best when they're at the best.
(Quick Fun Fact: The Wild wore their new "Road Whites" at home on Monday night in an effort "let the fans see the new sweaters" aka "We're going to have a full house because the Blackhawks are in town, what a golden opportunity to try to get our fans to fork over $200 for a new sweater." It's a much better plan if the Wild don't lose by four. Just sayin'...)
Friday 11/1 - Wild: 4 Montreal: 3
After a rare three-day break during the week the Wild played host to the Montreal Canadiens for the first time since the 2011-12 season. That year the Habs finished in last place, but they bounced back during last year's lockout-shortened season to finish the year atop the Eastern Conference.
As is the case all Eastern Conference teams this season, the first came is coming against an unfamiliar opponent. All teams, that is, except Montreal. Much like the Wild they are led by their defensemen (Ryan Suter & Jonas Brodin for the Wild, P.K. Subban & Andrei Markov for the Habs). Also, Montreal is coached by Michel Therrien, Wild coach Mike Yeo's mentor when they were both in the Pittsburgh organization. So, despite being "unfamiliar," the two teams should have known what to expect out of each other.
Oddly, this led to an up-and-down affair that likely left each coach disappointed in his squad's defensive effort. The two teams traded goals in the first period, with the Wild's Justin Fontaine getting on the board by deflecting a shot from the point. Montreal's Brendan Gallagher answered when he tapped a picturesque saucer pass from Alex Galchenyuk behind Josh Harding.
The game continued at this pace during the second period, but only the Wild were able to put numbers on the board. With defending Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban pinching down low Mikael Granlund was able to beat him to the biscuit and fire and spring a streaking Jason Pominville for a breakaway. The Rocket Man fired a wrister between Carey Price's pads to put the Wild ahead.
Subban would have his revenge in the third, though. After Granlund through a gorgeous pass from the half-wall to Nino Niederreiter for the Wild's third goal Subban found the back of the net on a power play to cut the lead to 3-2. Just three minutes later he & defensive partner Andrei Markov combined to set up Brian Gionta for an easy tap-in to tie the game up. Fortunately Jason Pominville continued his hot streak by burying the eventual game-winner when Keith Ballard's point shot hit Zach Parise and caromed directly to Pommer for his team-leading 9th of the season..
-Wild Player Of The Game: Jason Pominville - Pominville said after the game that he was glad to finally be getting some bounces after being stifled over the last week. I'd said during the first half of the season that, after only watching him for 10 games last season and 10 this season I had yet to really get a sense of what type of player Pominville is. Over the last week he's proved emphatically that he's just as good as Chuck Fletcher said he was when he was acquired last season. While not a dominant offensive force, it's clear that the Rocket Man is a threat with either his big shot or his soft hands. The fact that he & Finnish Jesus seem to bring out the best in each other has made the second line the Wild's most exciting line this season.
-Impression Of The Game: The Wild welcomed back both Jonas Brodin & Keith Ballard to the defense and their impact was immediate. Yes, Ballard notched two assists, but more than that, having those two guys on the ice (as opposed to Dumba & Prosser) allowed the Wild to sustain their attack either in the Habs zone or breaking out of their own. Montreal is a team built on speed and the return of Brodin & Ballard not only allowed the Wild to keep up, but to beat them at their own game.
Sunday 11/3: Wild: 4 New Jersey: 0
The Wild caught a break on Sunday night, facing a Devils team that was missing key cogs Travis Zajac, Ryane Clowe, & Patrik Elias. They also gave sure-fire Hall-Of-Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur the night off, though he could hardly be considered a "key cog" when notorious Wild slayer Cory Schneider started in his place.
Also playing into the Wild's hands: New Jersey had just played (and lost) the night before in Newark, meaning that the Wild was able to practice and watch football all day while the Devils made up sleep from the night before.
Perhaps knowing that they didn't have the legs (or, frankly, the talent) to keep up on Sunday the Devils tried to land their knockout punch early. They fired 10 shots in the first period, testing Josh Harding on several occasions before the Wild found their footing. Fortunately that was about all the fight the Devils had in them. When Mikael Granlund gave the Wild the lead at the 13:20 mark of the first period there was no looking back.
The Wild dominated the second and third periods, holding the Devils to just 9 shots over the two frames. Torrey Mitchell managed to score a goal by refusing to stop as he crashed the net and knocked in a loose puck. That was followed by Dany Heatley scoring his second goal of the season (and first against a goalie) to put the Wild up 3-0. Jason Pominville added an empty-netter to make it 4-0 and that was that. No really, that was it. I wish I had more to tell you about this game, but that's the whole story.
Wild Player Of The Game: Mikael Granlund - Granlund's been on fire lately, putting the second line on his back and making Jason Pominville forget he was ever a Buffalo Sabre. Granlund's first goal of the year was great, but the sequence of events leading up to it are even better. Keith Ballard fired a breakout pass from his own goal line toward Granlund at his own blue line. Granlund, covered by a New Jersey defender, realized he wouldn't be able to handle the pass. Rather than just swipe at the puck, Granny angled his stick so that the puck would ramp up into the air and over the heads of player in the neutral zone. The puck landed at Pominville's feet. Pommer fired a shot that was stop, Nino grabbed the biscuit and fed it to Granlund (who had somehow raced all the way to the top of the crease) who buried it into the empty net. Finnish Jesus!
Impression Of The Game: The Devils are not a good hockey team even when they have their full compliment of players. Considering the roster they iced on Sunday it would have been embarrassing if the Wild had lost. I bring this up because last year's Wild team would play up to (or down to) the level of their opponent all the time. Starting this week by losing to Blackhawks may have been disappointing, but beating the teams that they should beat is a sign of progress for this squad under Mike Yeo.
And so here the Wild sit a month into the season. 8-4-3, 3rd place in the Central.
The Week Ahead
Tuesday 11/5: Calgary at Wild
The Flames roll into town... at least... I think it's the Flames. No Kiprusoff, no Iginla... I guess Mike Cammalleri's still there. And wait, yup, that's the unmistakable stench of Matt Stajan. It's a mix of rodeo & perpetual defeat.
Thursday 11/7: Wild at Washington
The Wild open a two-game swing through what used to be the Southeast Division by heading to Washington to take on the Capitals. The Caps have underachieved this year, going an even 7-7-0 through their first 14 games. Regardless, Alex Ovechkin & company vs. Ryan Suter & the Wild's defense should make for a compelling matchup. And, if that's not enough (and really, it should be), it'll be the first battle of Ni(c)klas Backstrom's in over two years!
Saturday 11/9: Wild at Carolina
The Wild head to Carolina to face a Canes team that they defeated here in St. Paul. During that game the Hurricanes lost #1 goaltender Cam Ward. Ward won't be back for this one, but hopefully former Wild goalie Anton Khudobin will be healthy enough to see the ice for Carolina.
The Big Picture
We're one month into the season and the stresses from the beginning of the season are starting to wear away. It may seem early, but the Wild find themselves in a playoff spot right now which, traditionally, means good things to come. Then again, only one team in history has ever lead the NHL in December and wound up missing the playoffs (Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010-11 Minnesota Wild!).
Regardless, the offense is clicking, the defense is healthy, both Josh Hardin & Niklas Backstrom are healthy (hold on a second while I knock on every piece of wood in the apartment), things are shaping up nicely for the local squad. A visit from the Flames and two Eastern Conference games could put the boys in the driver's seat.
Talk to you next week!
For more of TCDroogsma's hockey ramblings be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@WildlyBiased). He can also be found writing about the Wild in greater detail on his hockey blog Wildly Biased.
For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems stopping by & giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment