Your Name Is Wild: Week #17

If we can make it through the day, keep the ships at bay...

  
Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #17!

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 hey there, fellow Wild fans.  Thanks for stopping by.

Going back to last week, the Wild managed to take two out of three (including an important OT win over division rival Dallas) on the strength of Darcy Kuemper, Erik Haula, Jason Zucker, & Nate Prosser.  It was a successful week in that it kept the Wild clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  It was encouraging to see role players and young guys step up and fill in the blanks while Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Jared Spurgeon, & Josh Harding remain on the shelf.

This week found the depleted Wild taking on three difficult tasks:  Keep the Stars at arm's length in the playoff race by beating them in Dallas, continue to hold serve in the Central Division by taking on the Blackhawks in St. Paul, and head out West to begin a brutal four game road trip in San Jose.

Let's break this thing down:

The Week That Was

Tuesday 1/21 - Dallas: 4  Wild: 0

When the Wild beat Dallas in St. Paul at the end of last week, it was a big win for a couple of reasons.  First, despite ceding a point to Dallas in OT, the Wild's victory meant that they remained 9 points ahead of the Stars for the eighth & final playoff spot in the West.  Second, it made this second half of their home-and-home far less significant, which proved to be tremendously important as the Wild have always played terribly in Dallas.  Tuesday night was no exception.

The Wild did young goaltender Darcy Kuemper no favors in the first period.  Yet again they were vastly outplayed in the first frame of a game (a trend that threatens to sink the Wild on a nightly basis).  They were outshot 12-3 in the first period and only the stellar play of Kuemper kept the score at a manageable 2-0.  Vernon Fiddler got the Stars on the board by tipping an Alex Goligoski shot from the point behind Kuemper.  Erik Cole's corpse continued the scoring when he fired a wrister past Keumps with just over 3:00 remaining, putting an exclamation point on the first period and leaving the Stars in the driver's seat for he remaining two frames.

Now, this has been the script for the Wild lately.  During the first act they're badly outplayed (though usually they aren't behind by more than one and, frequently, surprisingly, they're ahead a lot of times).  They then battle even in the second and usually carry the third.  However, that script has only been running for a couple of weeks.  The script of the Wild getting thrashed in Dallas has been running for years.

Tuesday night's second period showed that a couple weeks worth of trends cannot overcome years of history.  The Stars came out firing yet again.  They outshot the Wild 16-6 on the period while carrying play on both ends of the ice.  Bless his heart, Kuemper did everything he could to keep the Stars at bay, but it wasn't enough.  Ray Whitney (the second oldest player in the league) finally managed to solve the young goaltender with a move at the side of the net that was so filthy he would have to register as a sex offender in 43 of 50 states.  3-0 Stars at the end of the second.

The Wild managed to outshoot the Stars 9-8 in the third, but that was largely a product off Stars coach Lindy Ruff calling off the dogs and locking down on defense.  Jordie "don't call me Jamie" Benn concluded the night's scoring at the 11:22 mark, putting a penalty shot behind a sprawling Kuemper. Kari Lehtonen held on for the what was likely the easiest shutout of his career and the Wild limped out of Dallas like they have a dozen times before:  defeated.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Darcy Kuemper - The final score (4-0) is ugly, but don't let that throw you, without the efforts of Darcy Keumper it could have been 6 or 7-0.  With Niklas Backstrom now hurting himself in practice and Josh Harding essentially MIA, I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Keumper's effort in net is keeping the Wild afloat.  The fact that he was able to continue to play well behind a team that had clearly checked out for most of a this game speaks to the level of maturity the young man now carries.

Impression Of The Game:  The Wild entered this home-and-home series with an eight point lead over Dallas.  Obviously, had they lost both of these games that lead would have been cut to four points, giving the Stars a legitimate shot at catching the Wild (especially since the Stars have two games in-hand on the Wild).  After winning in St. Paul the Wild extended that lead to 9 points, but by losing in Dallas two nights later the lead was down to 7.  At the risk of sounding overconfident, if the Stars were to have a legitimate shot at catching the Wild they needed to take both of these games in regulation.  By giving up only one point in the standings the Wild all but assured the Stars of an impossible uphill battle to the playoffs.

Thursday 1/23 - Wild: 2  Chicago: 1

Thursday night's showdown with the Blackhawks brought two noteworthy events to the Xcel Energy Center.  The first is that the Blackhawks were in town, which meant the the barn would be filled with somewhere between three and four thousand filthy, drunken, boisterous Blackhawks fans.  What these fans may lack in fashion sense (do they appreciate the irony of a special edition St. Patrick's Day Patrick Kane sweater?) and common decency, they more than make up for in sheer volume (both attendance-wise and decibel-wise).  For better or worse, a visit from the Blackhawks means a chance to check the local barometer of the enthusiasm for the Wild.  When the buzz is running high, the stereotypically passive-aggressive locals are able to drown out the Hawks fans.  When the buzz is running low, it may as well be United Center North.

Fortunately for the Wild, they had a trump card to play in the battle for volume:  Zach Parise's long-awaited return from a foot injury.  With the Wild somehow managing to stay in the playoff picture during Parise's absence, the buzz around the team was healthy.  Adding Parise to the lineup with the rival Blackhawks in town assured the Xcel Energy Center would be loud.

As for the game itself, the Wild were facing the Hawks under the best of circumstance.  The Hawks had played the night before (a shootout loss to the arch-rival Red Wings), meaning they didn't arrive in St. Paul until the wee hours of the night.  Second, they were playing without Norris Trophy winning defenseman/narcissistic headwear aficionado Duncan Keith.

There's an old adage in hockey that states that the road team should typically prepare to focus primarily on defense for the first ten minutes of a game.  The theory is that the home team, fired up by a loud building, will come out flying for the first half of the first period so the road team should focus on holding down the fort until the game settles down.  Of course, the Wild have been pissing away first periods for the better part of a month now, so something would have to give.

Fortunately, that something was the Chicago Blackhawks.  Whether it was the return of Parise, a loud Xcel Energy Center, or both, the Wild came out flying during the opening frame.  The Wild managed to outshoot the Hawks 10-6 in the first, but more importantly, they were able to get two shots behind Hawks backup goaltender Antti Raanta.

The first goal of the night turned out to be the highlight of the game.  Clayton Stoner cleared a puck up the right wall to Jason Pominville.  Pominville then dumped the puck across the ice to Dany Heatley as they crossed the blue line.  Heater found a streaking Mikael Granlund down the middle.  Finnish Jesus took the puck deep toward the net, drawing defenders & eyes with him before sending a pass across the top of the crease to a wide open Pominville for the goal.  It was a gorgeous goal, firing up the crowd and showing to the Blackhawks the Wild were feeling frisky tonight.

The Wild doubled up their lead just five minutes later when Matt Cooke found the back of the net.  As is typical of the third line, the play began when Justin Fontaine slid a pass to Kyle Brodziak as they attacked the Chicago blue line.  Brodziak, of course, handled the pass like it was a live grenade, chopping the puck in half and sending it bouncing through the slot.  Fortunately, the hockey gods (perhaps repaying him for taking an unpenalized elbow to the face last week), put the puck right Matt Cooke's stick.  He fired a wrister that seemed harmless until you remembered the Hawks were starting their backup goalie.  Boom, 2-0 Wild after 1.

From that point on, it was the Darcy Kuemper show.  I know I've been harping on Kuemper's stellar play for two weeks now, but these last two periods Thursday night were the exclamation point on that stretch.  

Over the final two periods of this game, the Wild faced a Blackhawks team that seemingly sat down during the first intermission and said, "Fuck that. 2-0 doesn't mean shit.  We're the fucking champs."

The Blackhawks came out with guns blazing over the final two periods.  They outshot the Wild 28-9 over that stretch, yet were denied nearly every time by young Kuemper.

(Kuemper Sidenote:  He played the last half of the game wearing Niklas Backstrom's mask after his own was dented.  This kid is in the zone right now.)

The Hawks finally broke through with a mere 32 seconds left in the game on a Patrick Kane slapshot (giving the drunk & confused Hawks fans something to cheer about).  Fortunately, that was all the Wild would surrender on the night.  They took the game 2-1 and have now taken 3 of 4 from the Hawks on the season.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Mikael Granlund - Look, we all know that Darcy Kuemper was the star of this game.  Frankly, I've run out of ways to compliment him on the job he's doing.  I'm awarding this one to the Finnish Jesus on the strength of his ultra-filthy assist on Pominville's goal.  Outside of the pass itself (which was gorgeous), the decision to even make the pass is where Granny deserves extra credit.  The Wild are not now (nor have they ever been) a team that scores a lot of goals.  When Granlund took the puck to the side of the net, it would have been the sound decision to take a shot.  Granlund's big brother Mikko Koivu has been crucified by both fans and beat writers alike for his tendency to pass when he has the opportunity to shoot (a fact I'm sure Granlund is aware of).  By opting to attempt a difficult pass over taking a decent shot, Granlund showed that hearing those sort of criticisms mean nothing to him.  He's a great passer and that's what great passers do: they see lanes nobody (not fans, not beat writer, not, eveidently, Niklas Hjalmarsson) see.  It was a confident play by a confident player.

Impression Of The Game:  Given the circumstances that surrounded this game, it would be ludicrous to say the Wild are a team on par with the Blackhawks.  The Hawks absolutely dominated this game for two periods, but were thwarted when a hot goaltender outplayed their backup.  Regardless, the way the schedule shakes out after this game (a brutal four game road trip out west), the Wild needed to make sure they got points at home.  Mission accomplished.

Saturday 1/25 - Sharks: 3  Wild: 2 (OT)

Riding high on taking two points from the champs, the Wild opened an absolutely brutal four game road trip on Saturday night in the Shark Tank.  Now, this building has not been kind to the Wild in the past, so my inclination was to expect the Wild to get thrashed.  Of course, I said the same thing about the Staples Center & Jobing.com Arena a couple of weeks ago and they went into both of those buildings & took wins.  Is it possible the days of west coast road trips meaning abject fear are behind us?

Based on Saturday's game, the answer is "sort of."

To the surprise of everybody, the Wild took that "road team" adage I mentioned above and completely inverted it.  By a large margin, the Wild's best period of the night was the first.  Yes, they were still outshot (11-7), but they carried play for large stretches and walked away from the first frame with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Matt Cooke.

The Wild were able to build on that 1-0 lead in the second.  Keith Ballard buried a wrist shot behind Sharkies netminder Antti Niemi to put the boys up 2-0 just 4:16 into the second.  The two teams battled evenly for the remainder of the second period, but the Sharks proved to be too much for the Wild.  The Wild were done in by goals from Joe Thornton & Patrick Marleau, both of whom were playing their first games since inking three-year contract extensions with the Wild.  Both showed exactly why they were awarded those deals 

With the Sharkies bleeding momentum, the Wild spent the third period pretty much holding on for dear life.  Though the Sharks outshot the Wild 7-4 in the frame, they weren't able to get the puck past the staunch Darcy Kuemper.  The Wild made it to the end of regulation and stole their point for the night.  Appropriately, they quickly buckled in overtime, giving up a second goal to Jumbo Joe 3:30 into the extra frame.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Matt Cooke - I'm giving this one to Matt Cooke on the basis of his body of work in both this game and the Chicago game.  Cooke's run awfully hot & cold this year, but it's no coincidence that when he managed to find the back of the net a couple of times the Wild took three out of four points from two of the best teams in the West.

Impression Of The Game:  I wrote last week that, "If the Wild could somehow get out of this game with a point I would be thrilled."  Well, color me thrilled.  There are eight available points on this road trip and, if we're being honest, none of them are a give (yes, even Calgary).  Starting the trip by getting one of two may not seem like much, but every point on this trip is a bonus.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 1/28 - Wild at Anaheim

The Wild finish off the California half of this road trip at the Honda Center.  They'll be trying to avoid season sweep at the hands of the league-leading Ducks.  Those Ducks have laid waste to nearly every team that has set foot inside their barn this year, with their only regulation home loss coming to the... wait for it... Jets.  So, I guess it's possible.

Thursday 1/30 - Wild at Colorado

The Wild resume their contentious season series with the Avalanche on Thursday night. So far this year the two teams have battled viciously, but Colorado retains the edge in games won and has somehow managed to keep the Wild at arm's length all season.

Saturday 2/1 - Wild at Calgary

The Wild conclude their road trip in the Saddledome against the former-division-rival Flames.  The Saddledome used to be a house of horrors for the Wild, but the tide has turned in the last few years and now is likely a worse experience for Flames fans & players than opposing teams.  That said, there's a very real possibility that the Wild will roll in on Saturday having only gained one of six available points on this trip.  A win in Calgary, regardless of how the rest of the trip plays out, is a must.

The Big Picture

The Wild opened the week in 8th place in the Western Conference.  After gaining three of six points, they still sit in 8th in the West.  Frankly, this counts as progress.  The longer the Wild are able to hold serve and check games off the calendar the better.  That may not seem like the most exciting approach to the remaining months of hockey, but with Mikko Koivu & Jared Spurgeon likely out through the Olympic break, treading water is just what the Wild should be doing.

I'll be back to break down that road trip next week.

Until then...

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.

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Your Name Is Wild: Week #15

Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #15!

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 hi there, everybody!  I'm glad to see you've decided to stop by after yours truly was proven to be a mediocre hockey mind after last week's games.

To recap:  In YNIW: Week #14 I essentially wrote an obituary for your beloved Minnesota Wild.  Yes, the Wild ended last week with consecutive home victories over Buffalo and Washington, but I maintained that they hadn't really solved any of their underlying problems.  They also found themselves without captain Mikko Koivu for the next month thanks to a broken foot (adding to an injury list that already included Jared Spurgeon, Zach Parise, & Josh Harding).  They were mired in last place and staring down a two-game road trip that took them to the house of horrors known as the Staples Center and then on to Phoenix to face Dave Tippet's Phoenix Coyotes.  From their they returned home to face an Avalanche team that they've been trying to catch all season and then on to Nashville to face the pesky Preds less than 24 hours later.

Frankly, I thought this slate of games was too much for the talent-deprived Wild and that the week would go down as the death knell of the 2013-2014 season.

Turns out I couldn't have been wronger.

Let's break down my idiocy:

The Week That Was

Tuesday 1/7 - Wild: 2  Los Angeles: 1 (SO)

As I mentioned above, the deck was stacked against the Wild heading into Tuesday night's game.  They've always struggled in Los Angeles, they were playing without their two best forwards, one of their three best defensemen, and without their #1 goalie.  As if that wasn't enough, deposed #1 goalie Niklas Backtrom developed abdominal issues, meaning the Wild's fate would be placed into the tender young hands of Darcy Kuemper.  As if that wasn't enough, the game would mark Kuemper's first appearance since injuring himself down in Des Moines back on December 20th.

The Wild started out the game about as well as one would expect given the circumstances.  They allowed 17 shots to the Kings while managing just six of their own in the first period.  Remarkably, young Kuemper managed to make all 17 stops and looked outstanding while doing so.  Among those 17 saves were several that he had no business making.  He looked calm, cool, and in control.

The Wild picked up in the second period right where they left off in the first: Against the ropes.  Just 0:50 seconds into the period longtime Wild nemesis Jarrett Stoll put a wrister behind Kuemper.  The goal seemed like the type of goal that would take the wind out of the sails of the Wild.  Having barely escaped the first period tied, Stoll's goal felt like a knockout punch thrown by a fighter to start a later round, a champion taking his best shot right away.  The Wild had put up a valiant enough fight for a period, but this is where the script called for them to come back to Earth.

Except nobody told the Wild.  Just two minutes after Stoll's goal the reunited second line of Jason Pominville, Mikael Granlund, & Nino Niederreiter combined to even the score.  All three players drove the zone with the puck.  Granlund surveyed the scene before dishing the puck to Pominville.  With Niedrreiter crashing the net Pommer somehow managed to put the puck on his tape. Nino quickly slipped the puck behind Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and just like that the game was back to square one.

That goal, however, came on one of only three shots the Wild managed during the second period.  Yet again the Kings dominated every facet of the period, outshooting the Wild 13-3 to give them a 30-9 shot advantage heading into the third.

Perhaps sensing an opportunity to steal a point in a tough building, the Wild stepped their game up in the third period.  They were still outshot, but only by a 7-6 margin.  Led by Ryan Suter & Jonas Brodin, the Wild slowed down the play and held on for dear life as Kuemper yet again answered every shot thrown his way.  The teams ended the period tied at one, but that meant different things for each team. The Wild had stolen a point, the Kings had given one away.

Overtime proved fruitless, so the teams headed into the shootout.  On one end was Stanley Cup winner, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and newly minted U.S. Olympic goaltender Jonathan Quick.  On the other, the Wild's third string goaltender.  By this point in the game, however, none of that mattered.  Kuemper quickly proved as much by stopping all four shooters he faced.  The Wild, down their two most consistent shooters in Parise & Koivu, went 0-3 before Nino Niederreiter (he of the Wild's only regulation goal), snuck a shot past Quick to give the Wild the surprising win.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Nino Niederreiter - I know what you're thinking: After laying out all the odds against Darcy Kuemper you're not going to name him player of the game after stopping 39 of 40 shots?  First of all, shut up.  Write your own blog if you don't like it.  Second, Kuemper's going to make an appearance as a WPOTG later in this post and Nino's effort here deserves just as much commendation as Kuemper's.

With the Wild's first line on injured reserve, the line of Pominville-Granlund-Niederreiter would be asked to help carry the offensive load while dealing with the additional burden of facing opponents #1 defensive pairings.  They didn't dominate the Kings by any stretch of the imagination, but they were the only line to put a number on the board.  Niederreiter stepped into the void left by Parise & Koivu by finding the back of the net while doing his usual pest routine against a tough, chippy opponent.  It was probably one of the more difficult nights of Nino's career, but also one of the most rewarding.

Impression Of The Game:  Holy shit!  Darcy Kuemper & Nino Niederreiter combined to beat the Kings in L.A.?  I never thought I'd type that sentence during their careers (let alone at this early stage of said careers).  The Wild remained in 9th place after this victory, but it did give them a slightly larger margin of error with three difficult games waiting the rest of the week.

Thursday 1/9 - Wild: 4  Phoenix: 1

The goal of most teams in the NHL is to go .500 on the road over the course of a season.  Typically, if a team can pull that off (and kick some ass at home), they find themselves in the playoff picture.

With that in mind, the Wild rolled into Phoenix having already grabbed two of the four available points on this two game swing.  Now, the Kings should be one of the top three teams in the Pacific Division pretty handily, meaning that the likely won't be competing with them directly for a playoff spot.  Phoenix, however, is unlikely to catch L.A., San Jose, & Anaheim in the Pacific, meaning they'll be battling the Wild (along with Vancouver & Dallas) for one of the two wild card playoff spots.  Basically, the Wild win in L.A. means that any success in Phoenix would be a bonus.  However, any game against Phoenix should be looked at as a four-point-swing game.

With Josh Harding still out for the foreseeable future the Wild turned to Niklas Backstrom on Thursday.  While Wild brass was no doubt thrilled with young Darcy Kuemper's performance on Tuesday, they know that it will be important to get Backstrom rolling if this squad is going to stay in the playoff race.

Much like they had in L.A., the Wild spent the majority of the first period hanging on for dear life.  They were outshot 15-7 in the opening frame as Backstrom did all he could to keep the team in the game.  Unlike L.A., however, the Wild managed to get on the board amidst the Coyotes onslaught.  Justin Fontaine took the wind out of the sails of the Coyotes, staking the Wild to a 1-0 by picking off a Keith Yandle pass & beating Mike Smith with a wrist shot with only 1:19 left in the period.  It would prove to be the beginning of an eventful night for Fontaine.

Unfortunately, the Wild were not able to build on the late goal in the second period.  For the fourth time in five periods they were outplayed and outshot (13-8).  The Coyotes got the equalizer when Mikael Boedker snuck a rebound under a tumbling Niklas Backstrom.  With the amount of bending the Wild had done on this road trip, I don't think anybody would have been surprised to see them break at this point.

Yet again, the Wild proved skeptics like me wrong.  Not only did they tighten up in the third period, but they made a bit of their own luck.  Kyle Brodziak (no, really, Kyle Brodziak) restored the Wild's lead just four minutes into the third when he fired a shot directly into Mike Smith's chest.  Fortunately, Mike Smith pretty much sucks, which means his angle was so bad that the puck ricocheted off the Coyote on the front of his sweater and into the net.  That's exactly the type of terrible play that it takes to get Kyle Brodziak on the board.

Proving that when it rains it pours, Smiths poor play was followed up by a bout of bad luck.  Just four minutes later Jason Pominville dumped the puck into the Coyotes zone.  With Smith heading behind his net to stop the dump in, the puck caromed off the end boards and bounced directly in front of the now-vacant net.  Justin Fontaine pounced on the loose biscuit and put it in the net, giving the Wild a two-goal lead and a bit of breathing room for the first time all week.

Niklas Backstrom held up his end of the deal (eventually stopping 39 of 40 shots) until Fontaine was able to score the empty-netter, enuring a Wild victory and eliciting a few hats from the Wild faithful in Phoenix.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Niklas Backstrom - Between injuries, his questionable new contract, and usurpers it's been a rough year for The Scientist.  And yet, with the Wild trying to claw their way back into the playoff race, look who turned up and made 40 saves against a wild card rival.  Backstrom is getting older and may not have "it" as often as he used to, but games like this one stand as a reminder that he can still
answer the bell when called upon.

Impression Of The Game:  I've spent years and years saying that Mike Smith sucks and that the Coyotes are only good because Dave Tippett is a god among NHL coaches.  The Coyotes have spent the last few years reminding the public that I'm always wrong.  Finally, last week, I conceded that it would be difficult to beat the Coyotes (and specifically, that Mike Smith might not be terrible).  True to form, the Coyotes proved me wrong again.  Go fuck yourself, Phoenix.

Saturday 1/11 - Colorado: 4  Wild: 2

So, with a surprising four points in the bank from their road trip, the Wild returned home for Saturday night showdown with the division rivals Avalanche.  The Wild have spent the entire season looking up in the standings at the Avalanche.  While most pundits (myself included) predicted the Avalanche would come back to Earth, it hasn't happened (not completely anyway).  For that the Wild have few to blame but themselves.

The Wild and Avs have played several curious games this season.  The Avalanche took both games in a weekend home-and-home series early in the season (with the second game noteworthy for Mikko Koivu's late game-tying, point-salvaging goal).  The Wild then won in their return visit to the Mile High City.

Oddly, this game would prove to be the opposite of the two games the Wild won on their road trip.  It was the Wild who controlled play throughout the first period (outshooting the Avs 9-3), but found themselvesd unable to push a puck past goaltender/women's rights advocate Semyon Varlamov.

Those missed opportunities would come back to haunt the Wild at the 9:08 mark of the second period when Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog managed to sneak a weak backhander behind Niklas Backstrom.  Just four minutes later Ryan O'Reilly would give the Avalanche a two-goal cushion as he too beat Backstrom with a shot that some would describe as "stoppable."

That two-goal lead didn't last for long though.  With the Wild getting offensive support from all sources in the absence of Mikko Koivu & Zach Parise, this night they turned to those injured player's former linemate Charlie Coyle.  Coyle, playing on a line with Dany Heatley, thrust the Wild right back into this game, scoring his first of the period at the 14:19 mark.  Just 40 seconds later Coyle found the net yet again (with assists to Dany Heatley on both goals).  The period ended with the two teams tied at two and 20 minutes left to determine a winner on what had become a raucous Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

For the first time all week, however, it was the Wild's goaltending that didn't hold up its end of the deal.  Ryan O'Reilly notched his second of the game (and the eventual game-winner) on yet another shot that Niklas Backstrom would probably like to have back.  The Wild threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Avs in the third (outshooting them 13-6), but it wasn't enough.  Maxime Talbot put home an empty-netter and the Wild found themselves two more points back of the Avalanche.

Wild Player Of The Game: Charlie Coyle - I think most of us here in the State Of Hockey agree that Charlie Coyle's future is very bright.  What we don't agree on is just when he's going to get there.  I, for one, was hoping to see Coyle taking large strides this season, whereas the reality has brought mostly baby steps.  Saturday's game, however, may have been the turning point.  Up against a fairly staunch Avs defense Coyle flashed the skill & size that makes his future status as one of the game's premier power forwards such a foregone conclusion.  The fact that he's the only guy on this team that seems to be able to find a pulse in Dany Heatley is just icing on the cake.

Impression Of The Game:  It's impossible to be down about this game considering the two that preceded it.  Still, any loss to Colorado counts as a four-point-swing in a Central Division race that is treading very closely to being called in favor of Colorado.

Sunday 1/12 - Wild: 4  Nashville: 0

I'll be honest, I was terrified of this game.  The Wild & Preds traditionally play very strange games.  Throw in the fact that this one doubled as the second half of back-to-back games (with the Wild leaving from home, meaning they weren't in "road trip mode"), the injured players, and the questionable goaltending situation and I thought this game had all the makings of a real letdown for the Wild.

Well, if this blog post has one overarching theme, it's that I'm wrong pretty much all of the time.

Not only did the Wild roll into Nashville and win, they won handily.  Charlie Coyle & Dany Heatley picked up right where they left off against Colorado, combining for a give-and-go that ended with a Heatley tap-in 12:00 into the game.  Their linemate Jason Zucker joined the party two minutes later when he netted his third goal of the season (assisted by Heatley & Coyle).

With Niklas Backstrom on the bench after playing the night before, young Darcy Kuemper was tasked with making that two-goal lead stand up.  Not only did he make it stand up, he made it seem excessive.  Yet again Kuemper was excellent all night long,  Though not tested by many quality chances (after all, it was the Predators), Kuemper stopped all 23 shots he faced, looking calm and in control as he notched the first shutout of his young NHL career.  In fact, once Matt Cooke scored to give the Wild a 3-0 lead a minute into the first period, Kuemper's pursuit of that first shutout became the only compelling story.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Darcy Kuemper - See, I told you Kuemper would get his due.  As a rule, anytime a goalie gets his first career shutout he gets to be named player of the game (even if it comes against the Predators).

Impression Of The Game:  The Predators are a team that's given the Wild fits for years.  Watching the Wild walk into Bridgestone Arena and thoroughly handle business (especially after losing the night before) was the sign of a team that is no longer getting caught up in the peaks and valleys of its season.  For a team that has more peaks and valleys than most, that has to be a good thing.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 1/14 - Ottawa at Wild

The Senators head to St. Paul to try to get their season back on track.  These two played a bizarrely wide-open game up in Ottawa earlier this season, with the Wild coming away with the victory.  This game doubles as former Wild enforcer Matt Kassian's first visit to the Xcel Energy Center as an opponent

Thursday 1/16 - Edmonton at Wild

Thursday brings the LOiLers to town for the first time since they laid a 6-0 beating on the Wild with the Wild playing for a playoff spot last season.  That game sucked, but nowhere near as much as being an Oilers fan must suck.

Saturday 1/18 - Dallas at Wild

Saturday is Hockey Day In Minnesota and, as per tradition, that means the Stars are in town.  The Stars have had just as schizophrenic as season as the Wild, but with the notable fact that they've been doing it looking up at the Wild in the Central Division race.  Much like the Wild just can't seem to make up ground on Colorado, it's important for the Wild keep the Stars at arm's length.

The Big Picture

Well, last week I wrote that I thought the Wild were dead in the water.  They responded by taking six out of eight points, winning three games on the road but losing at home.  Yes, I look like an idiot, but if you show me somebody who saw that stretch coming and I'll show you a liar.

This week brings three very winnable games and a valuable chance to build on the points they banked over the last week.  Zach Parise & Josh Harding are both practicing, which means the Wild could really be poised to keep rolling in 2014.  Fingers crossed.

Until 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.

Your Name Is Wild: Week #9

Gotta show & prove...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #9!

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?

Oh boy, what a week...

Coming into this week the Wild were off to their best start in franchise history.  They'd done so largely by beating inferior opponents.  I don't say that to be disparaging.  If a team is going to make the playoffs in the NHL it has to get points when it plays inferior opponents.  And really, you can only play who the schedule says you play.

The schedule, however, is a harsh mistress.  After 8 weeks of mixing a few tough matches in against mostly beatable teams, this week brought the Wild four games against teams that they will definitely be battling for a playoff spot in the reconfigured Western Conference.  As I noted last week, this was the week that would tell us a lot about just how good the Wild are.  The optimists out there saw it as a chance to prove the Wild could hang with the big boys.  The pessimists among us (Hi!) were terrified.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's get into it.

The Week That Was

Monday 11/25 - St. Louis: 3  Wild: 0

The Wild began this week by heading down to St. Louis to face-off with the Blues for the first time since they became Central Division rivals.  Many experts consider the Blues to be true Stanley Cup contenders this year and so far the Blues have looked the part.  They adhere to coach Ken Hitchcock's simple, physical style, get sound defensive play from all six defensemen, and get stellar goaltending from the duo of Jaroslav Halak & Brian Elliott.

This season's edition of the Wild has become known for their first period indifference.  With the significance of the game in mind, however, the Wild came out swinging.  They scored the first goal of the just 30 seconds in when Zach Parise tipped a point shot from Ryan Suter behind Halak, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead and a bit of confidence going forward.

Wait... no, they didn't.  The on-ice official ruled that Parise tipped the puck with a high stick.  They called to Toronto to get an official ruling and the NHL replay held up the ruling on the ice.  Perhaps he ruled this way was the fact that Parise's stick was well above his head to begin the play (creating the illusion that the stick was too high), but he made contact with the puck as he brought his stick down.  How he managed to touch the puck with a high stick when Suter's initial shot never rose above the crossbar is a mystery to me.  Regardless, NHL policy dictates the replay officials have to see conclusive evidence to reverse the call on the ice.  Had the on-ice official ruled "goal," it likely would have been confirmed.  Since he ruled "no goal," the off-ice officials had to find sufficient evidence to prove him wrong.  Evidently they did not.

At that point the wheels came off.  Just one minute later Vladimir Sobotka scored to deflate the Wild even further.  Twelve minutes later goal-scoring automaton Alexander Steen notched his NHL-leading 18th of the year.  Then, as if the period wasn't disappointing enough, Zach Parise blocked a shot with his foot with under 30 seconds left in the period, bruising his foot to the point that he was not able to return.

The Blues spent the final 40 minutes of the game running the Wild ragged.  Their ability to dump the puck in, retrieve it, send it back to the point for a shot, and collapse around the net for the rebound proved to be too much for the Wild.  Though the Wild did manage to outshoot the Blues 12-1 in the third period, the Blues had gone into lockdown mode, taking their foot off the gas and placing it squarely on the Wild's throat.  By the time Steen buried the empty-netter the Wild were thoroughly defeated.

Wild Player Of The Game: Mike Rupp? Sure, Mike Rupp - Rupp played his first game of the season and on a night like this that makes him the star.  Welcome back, Rupper!

Impression Of The Game:  Sweet Lord almighty, this division is going to be tough.  In my season preview I picked the Blues to finish third in the Central.  Ken Hitchcock has a history of turning teams around and then wearing out his welcome.  It happened in Dallas, Philadelphia, & Columbus and I thought this would be the year that he finally wore thin in St. Louis.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  The Blues are not only playing Hitchcock's style perfectly, but they're doing so as a team built to play this style.  A full season of Jay Bouwmeester & the emergence of Alex Steen as a legitimate goal scorer have pushed this team over the edge.  They certainly made the Wild look like pretenders Monday night.

Wednesday 11/27 - Phoenix: 3  Wild: 1

The Wild returned to St. Paul licking their wounds.  Zach Parise's injury was deemed a bone bruise, an injury that typically take 2-3 weeks to overcome.  To make matters worse, the Phoenix Coyotes were in town.

They Coyotes are coached by Dave Tippett, who is, in my opinion, the best coach in the NHL.  He's done such a thorough and consistent job with the Coyotes perennially piecemeal roster that columnists have pretty much permanently affixed the word "surprising" to the words Phoenix Coyotes.

This season Tippett has the peace of mind of new owners, stability in Phoenix, and a roster that is accustomed to his style of play, with young star defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson & Keith Yandle filling out their sky-high potential, Mike Ribeiro brought in as the first legit free agent acquisition in years, and Mike Smith in net (though, for the record, I wouldn't let Mike Smith look after my dog, let alone be my #1 goalie).

Despite losing Parise, the Wild seemed to catch a break Wednesday night.  Phoenix had cooled off, coming in sporting a three game losing streak.  Even better, they started backup goaltender Thomas Greiss instead of Mike Smith.

Different game, same old story.  The Wild came out with their guns jammed in the first period.  Mikael Granlund managed to get himself concussed just 29 seconds into the game by leading the forecheck with his head (which was soundly repelled by Connor Murphy's shoulder).  With their lines now completely jumbled, the Wild eventually yielded a goal to Mikkel Boedker 8:13 into the period.  The second period brought a goal by legendary Wild slayer Radim Vrbata, giving the Yotes a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.

Again, the Wild showed signs of life in the third period.  Dany Heatley notched a goal with 10 minutes to go in the game, giving the Wild a glimmer of hope that they could put the pedal to the metal and, at the very least, get an opportunity once they pulled Backstrom.  Nope.  Thwarted at even strength and finished off by a Vrbata empty netter.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Dany Heatley - Ummm... Heatley scored a goal, so he kind of wins by default.

Impression Of The Game:  The Coyotes are pretty much the Pacific Division's version of the Wild.  Both teams play in extremely difficult divisions, both rely on sound defense, scoring by committee, and better-than-average goaltending that could collapse at any moment.  Basically, these two teams will likely be battling each other for one of the wild card playoff spots at the end of the year.  I know it's still just November, but losses to the Yotes are four-point-swing games.

Friday 11/29 - Colorado: 3  Wild: 1

What better way to celebrate the long holiday weekend than a home-and-home showdown with the Colorado Avalanche?  The Avs are the only team that's shared a division rivalry with the Wild since Day 1.  They've traded many memorable games over the years, with teach team defeating the other in a a playoff series over the last 13 years.

This year's Avs have no shortage of storylines.  Rookie head coach (and franchise legend) Patrick Roy has the Avalanche finally playing up to the level of their talent, goaltender Semyon Varlamov has been arrested & accused of domestic violence, first overall pick Nathan MacKinnon made the team out of camp, and the Avs took the West by storm during the first quarter of the season.

Fans came out in droves for Friday's showdown, packing the Xcel Energy Center with its largest crowd of the season.  With a day off from work, a long-time rival in town, and the triumphant return of Zach Parise after missing just one game (!), the crowd was overflowing with energy.  That energy certainly translated to the ice, as both teams began the game flying around as if they had something to prove to one another.  Unfortunately, that high energy play suits the Avs more than the Wild, a fact that became obvious just 3:45 into the game.  Jonas Brodin circled behind his own net with the puck, panicked, and dumped the puck off to Ryan Suter (his only passing option).  The Avalanche forecheck, realizing that Brodin had no other play, swarmed on Suter, and forced a turnover that eventually led to a Jan Hejda goal to open the scoring.

The Wild did all they could to tread water during the remainder of the period and found themselves rewarded when professional jackass Cody McLeod took a boarding penalty at 17:24, slamming Jonas Brodin face-first into the boards.  McLeod was kicked out of the game and the Wild were handed the greatest gift a team can receive:  A five minute power play that begins at the end of a period (potentially allowing them to a chance to score and thus rewrite the narrative of the period) and resumes at the start of the next period (the dreaded fresh-ice power play and a chance to grab the narrative of that period as well).

Of course, this is the Wild and nothing ever comes easy.  The Wild limped through both halves of the power play with the urgency of a codeine addict.  The Wild managed just one shot during the five minute man-advantage (and surrendered a two-on-one scoring opportunity to the Avs) as a sense of doom pervaded the once-raucous arena.  Two minutes after being thwarted by their longtime nemesis J-S Giguere the Wild found themselves beaten by MacKinnon, a player that Wild fans will likely come to fear over the next decade.

The Wild showed some life later in the period when Dany Heatley finished off a brilliant cross-ice feed from Nino Niederreiter (a play that began with some great work from former Gopher Erik Haula, making his NHL debut).  Unfortunately, that would be all the offense the Wild mustered on the night.  Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog finished off the night by scoring an empty-net goal as Giguere shut the door.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Erik Haula - With Mikael Granlund on the shelf the Wild needed a center.  In year's past this meant it was time for Nick Johnson or Jed Ortmeyer or Warren Peters.  This year, however, it meant it was time for adopted Minnesotan Haula to get his shot in the NHL.  I would have awarded Haula POTG honors simply for not being Nick Johnson, but Haula earned the designation on the ice.  He used his speed to set up Zach Parise during a two-on-one in the first period and eventually notched his first assist of the season in the second.  If I was Kyle Brodziak I'd be very, very afraid.

Impression Of The Game:  I've been a longtime hater of the Colorado Avalanche.  From their hideous sweaters to their indifferent fans to that Sasquatch foot logo to Peter Forsberg to their dump of an arena, there is nothing I like about the Avs.  As such, I was able to make my peace with their hot start by reminding myself that their goalie got arrested, their captain is 21 years old, Patrick Roy's never been a head coach in the NHL before, and their sweaters are still grotesque.  I'm still holding out hope that this team is going to collapse at some point, but right now, they are young, fast, talented, and a little crazy.  Basically they're the Jennifer Lawrence of the NHL.  And nobody's hotter than Jennifer Lawrence right now.

Saturday 11/30 - Colorado: 3  Wild: 2 (SO)

(First things first, check out that Keith Ballard photobomb.  Veteran move.)

Alright, second half of the home-and-home in the Mile High City (and that no longer refers to the altitude) as the Wild looked to salvage a week that had seem them gather zero out of six possible points thus far.

Both teams changed up their goalie for this one, with loyal, adversity-overcoming, humble Canadian hero Josh Harding manning the net for the Wild and alleged woman-beater Semyon Varlamov at the other end.

Unfortunately the change in netminders yielded similar results.  Yet again, the Wild gave up the first goal of the game and yet again, it came very early in the first.  Gabriel Landeskog (who had scored the empty-netter the night before) opened the scoring by putting a backhander behind Harding just 2:22 into the game.

The Wild found themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball when Nathan MacKinnon scored nearly 13 minutes into the second.  The goal was a reminder that MacKinnon has the potential to be the next Joe Sakic in the pantheon of "Guys Who Own The Wild" (it also meant that the Avs last four goals over the two games had gone MacKinnon-Landeskog-Landeskog-MacKinnon, a palindromic nightmare that Wild fans may relive for the next decade).

Fortunately, much as the Wild had spent the week sucking in the first period, they maintained their trend of playing their best in the third.  Matt Cooke notched his first goal in about a month at the 16:33 mark.  The goal proved to be a spark for the Wild.  The boys played valiantly until they were finally rewarded.  With just six seconds left Mikko Koivu buried the game-tying goal behind Varlamov.

The Wild were unable to score in OT and, as is typically the case with shootouts, lost.  The big three of Parise, Koivu, & Pominville came up empty.  Harding held his own, stopping Parenteau & MacKinnon before yielding Ryan O'Reilly's game winner.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Mikko Koivu - This week had been the most unsatisfying and depressing week of the season, begining with Parise's injury, three consecutive losses, and the reminder that Mike Rupp is on the team.  Then, for one brief, shining moment, Koivu reminded us all why watching hockey late into a Saturday night can be so exhilirating.  His clutch, game-tying goal was enough to make you forget the brutal 12 periods of hockey you've watched over the week.

Impression Of The Game:  I'll admit right away that I'm reading too much into this, but don't underestimate the mental ramifications of Koivu's late goal.  If the Avalanche had just flat-out beaten the Wild two nights in a row they would have been able to file the Wild away under the "We got these guys" section of their brain.  Now, ever so slightly, there's a crack in that confidence.  The Wild and Avs will likely be battling all season for third place in the Central Division and every little edge helps.

So that's the week that was.  The Wild gained 1 out of a possible 8 points and ceded ground to two teams they'll be battling for a playoff spot.  They lost Mikael Granlund, found out what they had in Erik Haula, welcomed Mike Rupp back to the team, watched Zach Parise turn a two-week injury into just one game, and ended the week on a high note (that happened in a loss, but still...).  All in all, an adventurous way to end November.

The Week Ahead

Monday 12/2 - Philadelphia at Wild

The big, bad, perennially dysfunctional Flyers roll into town to start the month of December.  The Flyers started the season by by collapsing in a fiery ball of failure, costing head coach Peter Laviolette his job.  Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Flyers have clawed their way back to .500 under new coach Craig Berube.  Just a hunch, but I'd keep an eye on Pominville & Coyle in this one.

Thursday 12/5 - Chicago at Wild

The last time the Blackhawks rolled into St. Paul it was as the second half of a home-and-home.  Having been beaten soundly by the Wild in Chicago the Blackhawks returned the favor in Chicago (much to the delight of the large contingent of out of shape, poorly dressed, drunken Chicagoans living in the Twin Cities).  The Blackhawks occasionally bring out the best in the Wild.  It won't be easy, but Thursday's game definitely presents an opportunity for the Wild to circle the wagons, refocus, and get back on track.

Friday 12/6 - Wild at Columbus

Friday finds the Wild heading to Columbus for the first time this season.  For reasons that are pretty much inexplicable, the Wild have always had trouble in Nationwide Arena.  For reasons that are the definition of "explicable" this year's Blue Jackets squad is a blight on the Midwest and perfectly suited to play in a second-rate college town.  Something has to give.

Sunday 12/8 - San Jose at Wild

The Wild return to the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday to face the San Jose Sharks for the first time this season.  I picked the Sharks to win the Pacific this year and so far they're making me look like a prophet (as long as you don't look up my picks for Colorado or St. Louis).  They're big, fast, talented, and, for reasons I don't totally understand, pay James Sheppard to play hockey.  Can't win 'em all, I suppose.

The Big Picture

Last week sucked.  There's just no way to sugar-coat it.  The Wild learned that the Avalanche are for real.  They learned that the Blues are just as good as they seem on television.  And, perhaps most troubling, they learned that they're just one Zach Parise injury away from being worse than the Coyotes.

Now, one week in November does not a season make.  I don't want to overreact here, but for all the hype surrounding the Wild finally being measured against the best in the West this week it's had not to be dejected.  Do the Wild really have the firepower (or the goaltending) to hang with the Avs & Blues?  I sure hope so, but this week's games certainly make that seem like a fool's bet.

Until 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.

Your Name Is Wild: Week #8

What a bunch of hosers...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #8!

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 again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Week #8 of Your Name Is Wild!  As always, I know you could have chosen any Wild blog in the world, but you're here with me and I appreciate that.

The Wild entered Week #8 coming off a three game homestand in which they won all three games by one manner or other.  Winning at home is a huge key to success in the NHL, so with those points in the bank the Wild spent last week traveling Central Canada.  They embarked on a three game road trip hoping to steal points from Eastern Conference opponents (Montreal & Ottawa) before heading to division-rival Ottawa for a Saturday matinee showdown with the Jets.

Let's get into it...

The Week That Was

Tuesday 11/19 - Montreal: 6  Wild: 2

Good freakin' god...  the less said about this game the better.

As I mentioned above, the Wild headed to Montreal riding a wave of confidence after an unbeaten homestand.  The Habs (perhaps still a little bit upset that they left St. Paul without a point on November 1st) made sure to put a stamp on this game.

The Wild and Canadiens played a relatively even first period (with Montreal leading 9-7 in shots), but that was as long as this one would remain competitive.  The floodgates sprung a leak at the 2:57 mark of the second period when Max Pacioretty snuck his first goal of the night past Josh Harding.  They began to strain when Pacioretty netted his second of the game at the 10:06 mark.  They were officially broken when Pacioretty finished off the natural hat trick at 13:36.

That goal brought with it the end of Josh Harding's night.  With the Wild heading to Ottawa to face the Senators the next night (and Niklas Backstrom sidelined with concussion issues), Harding gave way to Darcy Kuemper.  Sadly, young Kuemper didn't fair any better, allowing a Michael Bournival deflection to sneak past him.  By the end of the second period the Wild were being outshot 20-15 but trailed 4-0 on the scoreboard.

The third period brought with it the expected "when it rains, it pours" goals from the Habs (courtesy of Daniel Briere & Alex Galchenuyk) with a couple of Wild goals in between (Nino Niederreiter at 5:30 and Dany Heatley, trolling Wild fans by scoring at 19::58 of the third).  By the period didn't even feature any of the typical feistiness that accompanies a blowout.  The Wild were beaten, badly, and knew it.  The sooner they could get out of Quebec the better.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Darcy Kuemper - Now, make no mistake, Kuemper did not play well.  Goalies pride themselves on being ready "whenever your number gets called," but after stopping only 6 of the 9 shots he faced, it was clear Kuemper wasn't ready.  So why name him Wild Player Of The Game?  Because, for his second straight appearance, Kuemper was not put in a position to succeed.  That's a theme I've come back to several times and I'm granting Kuemper the same benefit of the doubt.  Not only were the Wild clearly off their game, but by the time Keumper assumed his post between the pipes, they'd quit expending even that lackluster effort.  Mike Yeo could have put Dominik Hasek out behind this night's version of the Wild and he would have allowed at least three.

Impression Of The Game:  Despite being absolutely slaughtered, there was a positive to take away from this one.  The Canadiens play an inherently Eastern Conference style of hockey.  Very physical, strong on the forecheck, lots of extra-curriculars...  While disappointing, it's no entirely surprising that the Wild weren't able to match that style.  Fortunately, the Wild's season hardly hinges on their ability to play that style.  Theirs is a puck-possession, speed, & sound defense style that, at least to this point in the season, has proven to be pretty effective in the Western Conference race.

Wednesday 11/20 - Wild: 4  Ottawa: 3

 The Wild may have been soundly beaten by the Habs on Tuesday night, but Wednesday provided a good test:  Would the Wild limp into Ottawa and continue on one of their typical Canadian-road-trip death spirals or would they show some resolve and put the previous night's embarrassment behind them?

The answer: resolve.  Despite being outshot 2-1 in the first period (and outshot 18-6), the Wild stuck to Mike Yeo's speed/puck possession/mobile defense style and it paid off.  Jonas Brodin notched his third goal of the season at the 3:00 mark of the second period.  Just 3:15 later Ottawa's favorite villain Dany Heatley snuck a garbage goal past Craig Andreson to give the Wild a 3-2 lead.

That successful period gave way to a tense third period.  Mika Zibanejad scored early to tie the game up.  With the fans behind them, the Senators took control of the game for stretches of the third.  However, Josh Harding stood tall in net and, just as we were all preparing for this one to go to OT, Mikko Koivu buried a shot from the circles to give the Wild a 4-3 lead with only 2:57 to play.  The Wild held their ground and took the victory in regulation.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Mikko Koivu - The Assassin may have signed his name on this one by scoring the winner late in the third, but his line was a force all night.  Koivu and linemates Zach Parise & Charlie Coyle combined for one goal, five assists, and eight shots on goal over the course of the game.  Despite the varying shot totals each period, that first line was a threat whenever they were on the ice.  The took a team licking its wounds and put it on their backs. leading to two big road points and a suddenly .500 road trip.

Impression Of The Game:  The Senators have struggled to play up to expectations this season.  My theory?  Unlike division rivals Montreal, Toronto, & Boston, they play a Western Conference style of hockey.  The Wild were helpless against the physical Canadiens, but against against a Sens team that was trying to beat them at their own game they stepped up and delivered.  As a Wild fan I've pretty much been trained to expect that,when the opposing team ties the game in the third period it's only a matter of time before they score the winner.  I'm sure I'm overreacting to the Wild beating a struggling team in November, but the fact that the Wild fought back instead of rolling over says a lot about the character of this year's squad.

Saturday 11/23 - Wild: 3  Winnipeg: 2 (SO)

With their foray into the Eastern Conference redeemed the Wild returned to the Central Division Saturday afternoon when they visited Winnipeg for the first time this season.

Coming into the game the Wild were 2-0-0 against the Jets, having won both games in St. Paul.  The Jets have cobbled together a disappointing season thus far, occupying the cellar of the Central and nearly playing themselves out of the playoff picture before December.

Fortunately for the Jets they were dealt two breaks before the game.  First off, Mike Yeo announced that Mikael Granlund would miss the game with an upper-body injury, thus jumbling the Wild's top six forwards.  As if that wasn't enough, goaltender Josh Harding left pre-game warmups with a lower-body injury.  He was ruled out for the game, which meant that Niklas Backstrom (himself returning from a concussion) would get the start despite only one practice in the previous two weeks.

Saturday's game won't go down as the prettiest game of the season by any stretch of the imagination, but it may go down as an important one.  The Wild did not play well during the first two periods.  They weren't completely hapless (as they were in Montreal), but they weren't able to mount any offensive attack, instead relying on Backstrom to prop them up until they found their game.  Backstrom, surprisingly, was up to the task.  He stopped 24 of 25 shots through the first two periods.  When Nino Niederreiter tied the game just over 3:00 into the third it was all because Backstrom had stood his ground at the other end of the rink.

The Jets turned the tide back their way just a couple of minutes later when Matt Halischuk scored at 5:35 to give the Jets a 2-1 lead.  The Wild weren't able to mount much of an attack for the majority of the period and, when Marco Scandella took a hooking penalty with four minutes remaining, a Jets victory seemed all but certain.

But then a funny thing happened.  With the Wild on the penalty kill Mikko Koivu gathered the puck.  He and Zach Parise, who've played so well over the last couple of weeks, put the team on their backs yet again, finishing off a two-on-two rush with Parise burying a one-timer while falling down.  Tie game.  Silent MTS Centre.

The Wild and Jets traded opportunities in the overtime period before heading to the shootout.  Backstrom, notoriously bad during shootouts, came shining through, stopping 3 out of 4 Jets attempts before Charlie Coyle won the game on his first career shootout goal.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Niklas Backstrom - As much as I'd like to give this one to Nino Niederreiter (who responded to an in-game benching by scoring a goal while getting under the skin of the Jets), The Scientist was the story of the game.  Backstrom had played 11 minutes in the last two weeks (the amount of time before Nazem Kadri concussed him) and had one practice under his belt.  Not unlike Josh Harding stepping in for Backstrom during last year's playoffs, Backstrom not only stepped in, but elevated his game.  The Wild didn't play their best game, but they played well enough to beat a division rival thanks in no small part to Backstrom's ability to weather an early storm.

The Week Ahead

Monday 11/25 - Wild at St. Louis

As has been noted by just about every Wild blogger there is (all four of us), the Wild have put together solid start to this season primarily by fattening up on the bad teams in the league.  That all changes this week, beginning Monday night when the Wild head to St. Louis to face the Blues.  The Wild and Blues have been trading 2nd & 3rd place in the Central for the last couple of weeks, though the primary difference is that the Blues have a couple of games in hand and have beaten several quality opponents.

This Blues squad is scary good.  In addition to sporting the NHL's leading goal-scorer in Alex Steen they feature a balanced attack (led by captain, Minnesota-native, and dog adoption advocate David Backes), physical defense, and above-average goaltending.  Frankly, they play a rough-and-tumble style that has far more in common with the Eastern Conference than the rest of the Central.  Whether or not the Wild are able to stick to their own plan (speed & possession) or if they get goaded into the Blues physical style will be indicative of just how the Wild stack up against their division rivals.

Wednesday 11/27 - Phoenix at Wild

Much to the surprise of pretty much everybody, not only are the Coyotes still in Phoenix, but they've played their way to a playoff spot in the staggeringly competitive Pacific Division.

The Coyotes may lack star power, but it's important that the Wild don't overlook this one.  By the end of the season it's entirely possible that the Wild & Coyotes will be battling for one of the Western Conference's wild card playoff spots.  I realize it's awfully early to be thinking about four-point swings, but these things count in November just as much as they do come spring.

Friday 11/29 - Colorado at Wild

The day after Thanksgiving brings the surprising Avalanche to St. Paul for the first half of a weekend home-and-home series.  New coach Patrick Roy has, surprisingly, been just the man to assemble the talented pieces of the Avalanche into a cohesive team.  After beginning the season by rocketing to the top of the Central the Avs have come back to Earth a bit.  Much like the Coyotes, it's important the Wild don't underestimate this Avalanche team.  With the top 3 spots in each division guaranteed a playoff spot (and Chicago & St. Louis the presumptive favorites for two of those spots in the Central) it's paramount that the Wild take as many points as possible from the Avs.

Saturday 11/30 - Wild at Colorado

After Friday's game both teams will board flights and head out to Denver for the second half of this weekend series.  While it's sure to be exhausting for the players, it's an incredible amount of fun for us fans.  Any bad blood that arises during Friday's meeting is certain to continue the next night, setting the Wild and Avs, rivals for years in the Northwest Division, up for a new chapter in a long rivalry.

The Big Picture

Having watched the Wild start hot nearly every season I was fully prepared for them to begin struggling on this Canadian road trip.  While the Montreal game left me with that here-we-go-again feeling, my optimism was renewed with comeback victories in Ottawa & Winnipeg.

I've been skeptical that the Wild can actually keep pace with the Blues & Blackhawks, but those two victories lead me to believe that this Wild team is different from previous versions.  I've said that many times before and I've been wrong, but I feel good about this group.  Four tough games over the next seven days will tell us a lot about where this year's version stacks up.

Until next Monday...

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