Your Name Is Wild: Week #19

We now return you to your previously scheduled program...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #19!

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?

Welcome back, everybody!  Did you have a good Olympic break?

(crickets)
(crickets)
(crickets)

Yeah, unless you're Finnish or Canadian that pretty much sucked.  Ah well, nobody on the Wild got hurt and really, that's the important thing.

When last we spoke the Wild had just won two straight home games and gained 10 out of the last 14 available points.  They'd manage to push themselves 5 points up in the race for the Wild card, turning a four horse race for two spots into a three horse race for one spot.

This week found the Wild on the previously dreaded Western Canadian road trip.  However, this time around most of the squad was well rested & the teams they're facing were no longer division rivals.  There are times when I miss the old Northwest Division, but this week wasn't one of them.  Let's break this thing down.

The Week That Was

Thursday 2/27 - Wild: 3  Edmonton: 0

Thursday night found the Wild rebooting their season in the best place possible:  Edmonton.

Despite hopes that the Olympic break would give him ample time to recover, the Wild were again without captain Mikko Koivu as he continues to recover from a broken ankle.  Technically, Niklas Backstrom was healthy enough to play, but realistically, I'm not sure Niklas Backstrom is every going to be healthy enough to play an NHL game ever again.  Fortunately, this Edmonton Oilers squad is embarrassingly bad.  It really wouldn't have mattered what 20 guys donned Wild sweaters Thursday night, if they had even a rudimentary knowledge of hockey they would have been able to compete with these guys.

It didn't take long for the Wild to assert their dominance.  Mikael Granlund, who's clearly feeling extra saucy after a stellar Olympic performance, got the Wild on the board just 2:04 into the game.  Playing 4-on-4, Jared Spurgeon led the rush by dishing the biscuit up to Zach Parise.  With Keith Ballard crashing the net, Granlund was left all alone in the slot. Parise hit him in stride, Ben Scrivens (who was evidently expecting Parise to try to shoot through Keith Ballard) was nowhere to be seen, and boom! Back of the net.  After the game Granlund said the amount of space he had to work with on the play was, "unexpected."  Edmonton Oilers Hockey:  Unexpected!

The second period offered more of the same for the Wild.  The Oilers continued their incredibly sloppy play, dumping pucks into each other's feet and literally crashing into each other on the ice.  At the 9:37 mark the indomitable Stephane Veilleux was left all alone on top of the circle.  Evidently Edmonton does not respect the Ginger Hammer.  Erik Haula took the puck behind the net and hit Veilleux with a centering pass.  Veilleux, gun cocked, fisted a one-timer through a screen and past Scrivens.  2-0. The legend continues...

The third period was highlighted by one of the funniest goals I've seen this year.  With Charlie Coyle & Nino Niederreiter cycling furiously in the Edmonton zone, Dany Heatley planted himself on the right side of the net with his stick cocked for a one-timer.  Oilers defenseman Anton Belov did his best to tie Heater up, eventually leading to the two cross-checking each other.  Just as it seemed Belov had neutralized Heatley, the puck bounded off Scrivens and toward the two.  Heatley promptly chipped the puck over Scrivens, fell down, got up, and celebrated like a fuckin' all-star.  Salt in an old wound for the Edmonton faithful, but at this point I'm assuming they're pretty numb.

That was all she wrote for the Oilers.  Darcy Kuemper stopped all 21 shots he faced (including a stellar save on a Jordan Eberle one-timer in the second) to post his 9th victory of the year.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Stephane Veilleux - Frankly, it would make a lot more sense to give this one to Granlund or Kuemper, but I have a strict "Any time Stephane Veilleux scores he's automatically the Player Of The Game" policy and I'm sticking to it.

Ginger Solidarity!

Impression Of The Game:  I was pretty concerned that the Wild, who went into the Olympics scorching hot, would stumble out of the gates (it's not cynicism, it's realism).  Not only did they come out flying, they looked more powerful than they were before the break.  Then again, kicking the shit out of Edmonton only counts for so much.  That's 12 of the 16 available points in the bank.  Bring on Vancouver!

Friday 2/28  - Wild: 2  Vancouver: 1 (SO)

This game was riddled with pros & cons before the puck even dropped:

Pro: The Canucks sent a ton of players to the Olympics, so they may be an exhausted team.
Con: The Wild played the night before, so they may also be exhausted.
Pro: The Canucks were in a freefall before the break & had fallen out of the playoffs.
Con: They'd already won once since the break, so maybe they've righted the ship.
Pro: The Vancouver hockey press was abuzz with news that Ryan Kesler demanded a trade.
Con: No Koivu, No Scandella, No Backstrom (meaning Kuemper playing just 24 hours after his shutout)
Pro: John Tortorella still coaches the Canucks.
Con: Goaltender Eddie Lack has supplanted Roberto Luongo & looked great.
Pro:  The Canucks entered this game 6 points back of the Wild, meaning a Wild victory would bury them 8 points back.  For revenge's sake, that's a good thing.

Well, the game itself was just this sort of back and forth.  Ryan Kesler opened the scoring when former Canucks whipping boy Keith Ballard coughed up the puck on the power play.  Kesler sped past him (seriously, how slow is Ballard?), retrieved the puck, and beat Kuemper.

Ballard would get his sweet redemption just a few minutes later when he tied the game by blasting a puck behind Eddie Lack.  Or did he?  Referee Brad Meier waved the goal off immediately, claiming that Erik Haula had interfered with Lack.  Replays showed conclusively that no such contact occurred, but this isn't a reviewable play.  No goal.

No matter.  Just a few minutes later Kesler's Team USA teammate Zach Parise buried a laser of a wrist shot on the power play.  1-1 game after 1.

And that, folks, is all of your scoring for the night.  The two teams spent the majority of the second period playing tug-of-war in the neutral zone, while the third period tilted the ice in the Canucks favor.  The Wild,  clearly feeling the effects of playing the night before, held on for dear life, eventually forcing OT & earning a road point.

The extra frame would prove memorable when Zach Parise, the Wild's lone goal scorer, took a completely unnecessary boarding penalty on Chris Tanev.  The Wild sent Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cooke, & Nate Prosser out to kill the penalty.  While playing just about the most passive triangle in the history of the NHL, the trio stood tall, killing off the majority of the penalty with "good sticks" and a willingness to block shots.  It was a tense & satisfying penalty kill that suddenly made it seem like it just might be the Wild's night after all.

The boys escaped OT unscathed only to find themselves in one of the more epic shootouts in franchise history.  Both Kuemper & Lack stopped the first six shooters they saw.  Finally, Justin Fontaine solved Lack by sliding the puck five-hole.  Darcy Kumper stopped noted animal enthusiast David Booth and it was all over but the shouting.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Darcy Kuemper - In addition to playing for the second straight night, Kuemper managed to fight off the negativity of Kesler's breakaway goal, stay sharp as his team sagged in front of him, and then stand tall during a seven round shootout.  Not bad for a 23 year old who was fourth on the depth chart at this time last year.

Impression Of The Game:  That's 14 of 18 points!  Not only that, but the boys managed to gut out an ugly, ugly win on a night when they didn't have the legs, were missing key players, in a brutal building, against a desperate team.  It was not the most entertaining game of the year, but it may have been the defining one.

The Week Ahead

Monday 3/3 - Calgary at Wild

Allegedly both Mikko Koivu & Marco Scandella will return to the lineup Monday night.  One thing's for sure, this potentially mundane March game against Calgary will go down as the first chapter of "Granlund v. Granlund" as the Flames have called up Mikael's kid brother Markus.  The Flames are also the last team to defeat the Wild (nearly a month ago).  That's some shit that needs to be rectified post-haste.

Saturday 3/8 - Wild at Dallas

Amazingly, the Wild enjoy four days off before heading to the house of horrors that is Dallas.  The way things are shaping up now the Stars will be playing for their playoff lives Saturday night.  Can the Wild win in Texas for the first time since the Lemaire Era?  Probably not, but hell, stranger things have happened.

Sunday 3/9 - St. Louis at Wild

After Dallas the Wild head to St. Louis.  After acquiring Ryan Miller this week I'm terrified to see what this Blues team is going to look like post-deadline.  The Blues are legit Stanley Cup contenders.  I don't know how you could improve this team, but here's hoping Doug Armstrong fucks it up.

The Big Picture

The Wild have found a regular home in the rumour mill over the last month thanks to their goaltending situation.  With Wednesday's trade deadline we'll finally have some clarity as to just what the plan is going forward.

Fortunately, none of that gossip seems to be affecting the on-ice product.  The Wild just keep racking up points, leaving Phoenix, Dallas, Vancouver, & Winnipeg to fight for enough scraps to earn the second wild card.  Good times all around.

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 #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 #6

Damn, I'm gettin' fat!

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #6!

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, everybody.  Thanks for stopping by this week's edition of Your Name Is Wild.

The Wild entered the week with an 8-4-3 record, holding down 3rd place in the Central Division, just a point ahead of the St. Louis Blues (who are off to their best start in franchise history).  After beating Montreal and New Jersey at home last week the boys were set to host Calgary Tuesday night before heading out on an East Coast roadie to play the Capitals and the Hurricanes.

Boys went into the week in the driver's seat.  Let's see how it played out.

The Week That Was

Tuesday 11/5 - Wild: 5  Calgary: 1

I remember back in the day when a Calgary Flames visit to the Xcel Energy Center meant a tough, hard-fought, frustrating game was at hand.  Franchise icons Jarome Iginla is the all-time leading scorer against the Wild, scoring 350 goals in 100 career games against the Wild (all numbers approximate).  Defenders Jay Bouwmeester & Robyn Regehr would routinely shut down Wild forwards and, in the rare instance that one of the forwards broke through, goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was always there to make sure the puck stayed out of the net.

Well, Iginla, Bouwmeester, Regehr, & Kiprusoff are gone.  In there place the rebuilding Flames are icing a lineup featuring Tim Jackman, Lance Bouman, Matt Stajan, & rookie goaltender Reto Berra.  Basically, the Flames rebuild in in full effect.

Surprisingly, that lineup managed to string together two solid, efficient periods in St. Paul, forcing the play and keeping Wild goaltender Josh Harding (who seemed to be fighting the puck a bit), on his toes.

Heading into the third period down 2-1, however, the wheels came off for the Flames.  Justin Fontaine gave the Wild a two-goal lead when he circled out from behind the net, faked a shot with a shoulder dip for the ages, and buried the puck behind Berra.  Just thirty seconds later Wild enforcer Zenon Konopka buried his first goal as a member of the Wild (no small accomplishment considering this is his second season in St. Paul), effectively icing the game.  Tim Jackman started a fight with Clayton Stoner, the Wild played tic-tac-toe for a Zach Parise goal (unarguably the sexiest goal the Wild have scored this year) and the Wild found themselves with a 5-1 victory despite really only carrying play for one period.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Zenon Konopka - Quick rule: Any time Zenon Konopka scores he's the player of the game.  Specifically, though, Konopka's done everything that's been asked of him over the last season & a half.  He came to St. Paul with a reputation as a hard-nosed grinder, solid enforcer, and great faceoff man and he's proven to be just that.  It's nice to see him officially in the Wild record books.

Impression Of The Game:  As I mentioned above, a Flames visit to St. Paul used to mean something.  Thanks to realignment (which moved the Flames out of the Wild's division) and a rebuilding effort from the Flames these games just aren't the same.  The scoreboard makes it seem like this game was a dominant Wild win, but that's just not true.  If the Flames still had the players I mentioned above I'd bet my blogger credentials that Iginla would have scored, Bouwmeester would have thwarted at least one goal and Kiprusoff another.  However, those guys aren't walking back through the door.  This is a team that the Wild should run out of the rink.  The fact that it took them 40 minutes to do so is mildly troubling.

Thursday 11/7 - Washington: 3  Wild: 2 (SO)

After dousing the Flames (sorry, all bloggers are legally obligated to refer to a victory over the Flames as "dousing"), the Wild finished up that four game homestand with a 3-1 record and headed off to the Washington to face the Capitals.  Unfortunately, they had to do so with defenseman Keith Ballard back in the Twin Cities nursing an injury.  That meant Nate Prosser would see the ice against a fast, talented Capitals squad.

As they've proven to be for nearly the entirety of the Alex Ovechkin Era, this year's Capitals team is a tough nut to crack.  On the one hand, they sport two of the best forwards in the game in Ovechkin & Nicklas Backstrom and a former Norris Trophy finalist in defenseman Mike Green.  On the other hand, they've spent that same era fattening up on the dregs of the league playing in the former Southeast Division and tasting defeat in the playoff each season.  This year they find themselves in the Metropolitan Division.  With the exception of the Penguins, this division has proven to be as bad as the old Southeast Division.  True to form, the Capitals entered this game in second place in the division, neither overwhelming weaker competition or sinking under the weight of realignment.

While the Western Conference has essentially dominated their Eastern counterparts league-wide, the Wild have not had much luck on the road out East.  This Capitals game would prove to be another frustrating night along the lines of their losses in Toronto, Tampa Bay, & Sunrise, Florida.

The game started on a bad note for the Wild when defenseman Clayton Stoner was taken into the boards by Aaron Volpatti of the Caps.  Stoner would not return to the game, meaning the Wild spent the ensuing 60+ minutes of hockey with only five defensemen (none of which were Ballard or Stoner, and one of which was Nate Prosser).  The Wild then fell behind early in this one, giving up a power-play goal to Alexander Ovechkin at the 8:05 mark of the first.  This was an especially frustrating start for the Wild.  The Capitals have the #1 ranked power play in the league, so everybody's game plan consists of staying out of the penalty box.  Everybody knows that, if you do find yourself on the PK, you can't allow Ovechkin to take one-timers from the weak side.  Well, everybody except Jonas Brodin, who failed to block Nicklas Backstrom's cross-crease pass and spun around valiantly as Ovechkin buried the goal.

After giving up the Ovechkin goal, the Wild quickly righted the ship.  Charlie Coyle netted his first goal of the year at the end off the first period.  The Wild then controlled play for most of the second period, grabbing the lead at the 6:07 mark on Mikael Granlund's second goal of the season.

The Wild were playing well enough to make that lead stand up for most of the third period, but it wasn't quite enough.  The Capitals were able to tie the game with just over three minutes left when Marcus Johansson scored a controversial goal.  Caps forward Tom Wilson circled out of the corner with the puck and was able to find room to slide the puck to Johansson when Brooks Laich laid a very illegal pick on Jonas Brodin.  Wilson threw the puck at the net, it went off Nate Prosser (who would not have been playing in this situation if Ballard or Stoner was healthy), and Johansson tipped it behind Harding.

Regulation ended with the score tied 3-3.  The Wild had several chances in overtime, but were thwarted by Caps goalie Braden Holtby (who finished the game with 33 saves for 1st Star honors).  The Wild then headed to the shootout where, despite employing three of the most successful shootout shooters of all-time in Parise, Koivu, & Pominville, were shut out.  As the Caps third shooter Nicklas Backstrom put the puck behind Harding and that was all she wrote.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Ryan Suter - As I mentioned above, the Wild played all but three minutes of this 65 minute game with only five defensemen.  Unsurprisingly, head coach Mike Yeo turned to Ryan Suter to make up the difference.  Suter ended up playing 36:51 on the night, a remarkable number when you consider the quality of the opposing forwards.

Impression Of The Game:  The Wild had a legitimate complaint that Johansson's game-tying goal shouldn't have happened because of Laich's pick.  However, there's nothing to be done about that after the fact.  The Wild played an outstanding road game against a quality opponent and, at the end of the day, there's no shame in taking only one point on the road against an Eastern Conference team.  A frustrating loss, to be sure, but one of little consequence.

Saturday 11/9 - Wild: 3  Carolina: 2 (SO)

The big story heading into Saturday's game against Carolina was the reappearance of Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba.  Since struggling in the Wild's 5-1 loss to the Blackhawks almost two weeks ago Dumba had been living in the press box as a healthy scratch.  That move was less about how Dumba was playing (though he hadn't been great) and more about the Wild deciding whether or not to let Dumba play a tenth game this season.  As I've mentioned before, that tenth game is significant in Dumba's case because he's on his rookie contract.  By playing ten games the first year of that very affordable contract is burned up.  However, with both Keith Ballard and Clayton Stoner on the shelf with injuries, Mike Yeo had little choice but to swallow hard and put Dumba on the ice.

With Josh Harding back in the net, the Wild found themselves ahead after one period.  Ryan Suter, again carrying the defense on his back, sprung Jason Pominville for a breakaway.  Pominville put the puck behind Justin Peters for his 11th goal of the season and 200th of his career.  Unfortunately, the Hurricanes tied the game only 1:20 later when Ryan Murphy's shot deflected off Jared Spurgeon's stick and fluttered over Harding.

The Wild and Hurricanes traded goals in the second period, with Jiri Tlusty scoring for Carolina and Justin Fontaine netting his sixth of the season when he deflected Marco Scandella's shot from the point up and over Peters' shoulder.

Entering the third period tied at two, the Hurricanes took control of the play.  A major reason for the Hurricanes dominance in this period was the play (or lack there of) of Mathew Dumba.  Much like the Wild had been hampered by only having five defensemen back in Washington, Dumba's struggles through the first two periods forced him to the bench for much of the third, leaving Ryan Suter & Marco Scandella to eat up his minutes.  While this strategy played out OK for Mike Yeo in Washington, it nearly derailed his team this time.  The Wild spent the majority of the third frame chasing the puck around their own end, failing to mount any attack of their own.

Fortunately, Josh Harding yet again bailed out his squad.  He made several strong saves in the third period and in overtime to force this game into a shootout.  Again, the Wild have struggled in the shootout this season, but they finally found the right mix Saturday night.  All three Wild shooters (Parise, Koivu, & Pominville) scored against Justin Peters while Josh Harding allowed only one goal on two Carolina opportunities.  Two points in the bank and the shootout monkey off their backs.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Josh Harding - I'm naming Harding the Player Of The Game both for his efforts in thwarting the Canes (27 saves) and for the body of work that he put together over the week.  The Wild finished this week 2-0-1 despite being outplayed for large stretches by all three opponents.  Little plays here and there may seem like difference makers, but the Wild wouldn't even have the opportunity to make those plays if Harding hadn't backstopped them to the opportunity,

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 11/13 - Toronto at Wild

The Wild get a rare three days off before spending the week at home.  First up, the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The first Wild/Leafs game proved to be a major talking point for the Wild through this first quarter of the season, with the Wild outshooting and outplaying the Leafs but finding themselves losing 4-1.  That loss led to a bizarre stretch of line shuffling that found the Wild losing to both Tampa Bay & Florida on the rest of that trip.  Wild coach Mike Yeo essentially conceded that game in Toronto by starting Darcy Kuemper instead of Josh Harding (in hind sight, this move is comical, as Yeo stated he needed to "manage Harding's workload," a plan he's since abandoned).  Yeo has said that forgotten man Niklas Backstrom would get at least one start on this homestand.  Giving it to him Wednesday night would mean five days off for Josh Harding, a break he could likely use.

Friday 11/15 - Florida at Wild

Tom Gilbert's homecoming!  The former Wild defenseman finds himself playing for his second coach in as many months as the Panthers fired Kevin Dineen this week and replaced him with Peter Horacek.  Whatever.  If the Wild fail to beat the Panthers at home then they may as well pack it in for the season.

Sunday 11/17 - Winnipeg at Wild

The Wild finish up the week hosting the Jets for the second time this season.  The Wild notched their first victory of the year the first time the Jets visited St. Paul.  While that game acted as a springboard for the Wild, it was just another loss for a franchise that seems to specialize in them for the Jets.  Regardless, divisional games are always spirited and the influx of Jets fans to St. Paul will likely bring a great atmosphere to this one.

The Big Picture

Taking three out of for points on any road trip is a successful week.   However, the Wild are fattening up on the also-rans of the league.  A lot of the games the Wild have won this season are games that they should win.  This week brings two more opponents that the Wild should be able to handle (especially on home ice).  It's important for them continue accruing points now.  It'll be a lot more difficult to take them from Chicago or St. Louis in February than Florida in November.

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 #4

Feels good to be home, baby...

Well hello again, hockey fans!  Welcome to Week #3 of Your Name Is Wild!

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.  Thanks for stopping by for Week #4 of Your Name Is Wild.

Our beloved hockey squad went into this week spinning their wheels.  A four game trip through the Atlantic Division earned the Wild 3 out of 8 available points and brought with it more questions than answers.  Who's going to score?  What's wrong with the PK?  Are the Wild too thin in goal? Is Mike Yeo starting to feel the heat?

That last question was really beginning to gain some steam.  The Blues & Avalanche are fighting it out for the division lead, the Blackhawks are a sleeping giant, and the Wild are struggling to beat teams like Nashville & Buffalo.  That 1-2-1 trip through the Atlantic left the Wild at 3-3-3 for the season.  If the Wild couldn't do any better than treading water against Nashville & Carolina at home things could get ugly.

So let's break this down:

The Week That Was

Tuesday 10/22 - Wild: 2  Nashville: 0

Remember a couple of weeks back when I was breaking down the Wild's loss in Nashville and I mentioned that the Wild & Predators always seem to play bizarro games?  Tuesday's victory was the exception that proves the rule.

Wild coach Mike Yeo has built this Wild team around speed, defense, puck possession, and solid goaltending.  So far this season the Wild has proven that they are capable of playing that game with one huge flaw:  they fail to turn those first three attributes into goals.  Tuesday night they dominated the Predators for much of the game, peppering Preds goalie Pekka Rinne with 28 shots while holding his team to just 16 shots of their own.  The Wild's strong play finally paid off when Rinne failed to hold on to a Clayton Stoner shot and Justin Fontaine, playing on the first line, buried the rebound.

Unsurprisingly, despite the statistical domination, the outcome was still very much up in the air until the final minute.  The Wild were unable to beat Rinne again, but finally sealed the victory when Jason Pominville put away an empty netter .

Wild Player Of The Game:  Josh Harding - Hards pretty much wins this one by default.  He stopped all 16 shots he faced to notch his first shutout of the year (with no small amount of help from Jared Spurgeon, who swept a puck of the goal line with under a minute remaining to preserve the victory).  Harding played well, but wasn't challenged much.

Impression Of The Game:  The win (over a division rival) lifted the Wild over .500 on the season and alleviated a ton of pressure from Mike Yeo.  The win came with a price, though, as prized sophomore defenseman Jonas Brodin took a puck to the face, breaking his cheekbone and knocking him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.  Two points is two points, but this was a boring, frustrating game in which the Wild's biggest question mark (why can't this team score?) remained unanswered.

Thursday 10/24 - Wild: 3  Carolina: 1

After lugging themselves over the .500 mark, the Wild welcomed the Carolina Hurricanes to town.  With the lockout last season the Wild & Canes hadn't faced each since the 2011-12 season, meaning that neither team really know each other too well.  Throw in a semi-conservative game plan due to the loss of Brodin & Keith Ballard (meaning both Mathew Dumba & Nate Prosser were in the lineup on defense) and the two teams combined to play a peculiar, disjointed game.  Fortunately the Wild came out of it with two more points in the bank.

Things got weird quickly in the first period.  The Wild came out with pop-guns firing, sending 5 shots at Carolina goaltender Cam Ward.  After stopping those shots Ward lunged to his right to try to stop a Mikael Granlund shot that ended up missing the net.  Something popped in Ward's leg and he was unable to continue, giving way to backup Justin Peters.  Rolling into the game ice cold, Peters promptly gave up goals on each of the first two shots he faced.  Nino Niederreiter broke through first, roofing a sexy Mikael Granlund pass.  All-American Boy Zach Parise added to the lead three minutes later, deflecting a Jared Spurgeon shot past Peters.

The Wild & Hurricanes traded jabs for the second period with only the Canes landing a blow in the form of Alexander Semin's power-play goal.  The real story of the second period, however, was Josh Harding suffering an injury.  At some point during the period Harding strained his leg, grimacing in pain and moving gingerly during stoppages.

(Quick Goalie Sidenote:  I said it several times during Harding's stretch of hot play:  Every time it looks like Harding is going to grab the #1 goalie role on this team he loses it because he gets injured rather than cooling off.  That's exactly what happened during this second period.  We've all seen this movie too many times.)

Niklas "The Scientist" Backstrom returned from his own injury to pitch a shutout for the third period.  The St. Paul faithful, lethargic Tuesday night despite the Wild victory, finally came to life with Backstrom's reemergence.  When Dany Heatley finally scored his first goal of the year, an empty-netter to clinch the victory, the Xcel Energy Center was downright giddy for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Ryan Suter - Suter had the secondary assist on Parise's goal, but that's not why I'm giving him the POTG status.  Mike Yeo & Chuck Fletcher have built a team that relies on controlling the puck & the pace.  When Jonas Brodin (and earlier, Keith Balalrd) went down, the Wild were able to continue dictating the style of the game because Ryan Suter is just that good.  They leaned on him against Nashville when they played most of the game with only five defensemen.  They leaned on him again when they moved Jared Spurgeon up to be his defensive partner.  Mathew Dumba & Nate Prosser received a lot of credit (all of it deserved) for stepping into the lineup and handling business, but they can't handle their business if Suter doesn't roll with the punches and continue dominating.

Impression Of The Game:  The Wild finally erased the negativity surrounding their ugly road trip.  The Canes are not a particularly good team, but neither were the Sabres, Preds, & Panthers.  This time the Wild outplayed their opponent and were justly rewarded.  The score makes this game seem much closer than it actually was.  Positivity abounds as the Wild head to Chicago for a Saturday night showdown with the Blackhawks.

Saturday 10/26 - Wild: 5  Chicago: 3

Before I get into this one I feel like I should mention a few things:

1.  The Blackhawks are not at the top of their powers.  Maybe it's Stanley Cup hangover, maybe it's just too early in the season, but for whatever reason the Hawks aren't quite "there" yet.

2.  There's almost nothing quite so "Minnesota Sports Team" as viewing a regular season game against a team that thrashed you in the playoffs as a "rematch."  Minnesota teams always win these inconsequential "rematches," causing their fans to sound like idiots bragging about the victory.

3.  I hate Chicago.  The Blackhawks and their fairweather fans can all go fuck themselves.

Now that we've cleared that up:  fuckin' A, boys!  The Wild rolled into Chicago and, in addition to thrashing the defending champs, managed to make it back out of the city without losing anybody to a bullet wound.  That, my friends, is a win/win.

The Wild didn't dominate this one, but they certainly went toe-to-toe with the champs, scoring the first two goals of the game as Backstrom held down the fort.  When the Hawk did manage to land a blow of their own (in the form of a Bryan Bickell goal), the Wild responded immediately by abusing golden boy Nick Leddy and burying a goal to restore the two-goal lead.

The Wild scored 5 goals in this one, matching their season-high.  The mantra over the last couple of weeks was that the floodgates were going to give eventually.  I don't think anybody expected this game to be the one where it actually happened (though, in hindsight, it's Corey Crawford).  Suck it, Chicago.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Mikael Granlund - Granlund entered the game playing very well, tied for the team lead with 5 assists and raising some questions about what would happen when Charlie Coyle returned to the lineup.  Two assists (and one awesome high-stick of pretty boy Patrick Sharp) later and Granlund ended the game with the nickname "Finnish Jesus."  Nothing will endear you to the fanbase quite like sticking it to the Blackhawks.  The fact that he was able to steal Nick Leddy's pass and then make Leddy look silly on the ensuing assist (pictured above) was enough to make people shut the fuck up about the Nick Leddy/Cam Barker trade for at least a couple of days.  Well done.

Impression Of The Game:  I don't blame the Wild fanbase for letting this one go to their (our) heads.  Consider:

Last season the Wild went into Chicago to try to end the Hawks points streak.  Devin Setoguchi scored first and the Wild looked like they may be giant slayers.  Within the hour the Hawks had scored four goals and sucked the life out of everybody involved.

Drawing the Hawks in the playoffs Cal Clutterbuck scored the first goal of the series, causing us all to collectively buy what the Wild were selling.  The Hawks dominated the rest of that game and eventually won when Johnny Oduya made the greatest pass he'll ever make.

So, when the Wild got the first couple of goals on Saturday night I think we were all a bit tentative of being burned a third time.  However, the Wild came through.  I mean, how often do I even get to type that sentence.  It may have been the textbook "inconsequential rematch," but the Wild won it.

The Wild started the week 3-3-3 with their coach on the hot seat.  They ended it 6-3-3 and thrashing their divisional rivals.  I think it's safe to say that it was a good week to be a Wild fan.

The Week Ahead

Monday 10/28 - Chicago at Wild

The second half of the home-and-home brings the Blackhawks and their filthy, filthy fans to St. Paul.  What else is there to say?

Friday 11/1 - Montreal at Wild

The first of November brings with it welfare checks and the Habs' only visit to St. Paul.  If I remember correctly the last time the Candiens visited St. Paul was the last game of the 2011-2012 season and P.K. Subban scored his only career hat trick.  Much like the Hurricanes game this week the Habs are an unfamiliar opponent.  With three days off between games, however, Mike Yeo should be able to draw up a plan.

Sunday 11/3 - New Jersey at Wild

My memory is even more slippery here, but I believe the last time the Devils were in town was one of those wonky games where both teams used both goalies.  This one was especially significant because the Wild chased future Hall-Of-Famer Martin Broduer after something like 10 minutes.  While nothing is official it's very likely that this game will be the last chance the St. Paul faithful get to see Martin Brodeur in person.  It may also be their last chance to Jaromir Jagr as well, though that's probably a good thing, as his career resurrection isn't doing his legacy any favors.

The Big Picture

Listen, we have years and years of blog posts that should show you how I always expect the worst when things are going well.  The Wild have been routinely outplaying their opponents for two weeks now and they're finally beginning to get some of the bounces.  If anything it's beginning to look like that three game losing streak two weeks ago is going to turn out to be the anomaly.

Regardless, this week is no cake walk.  The Blackhawks may act like they don't care much about any game this early in the season, but I'm certain that some of the guys in that room won't take a beating like Saturday's lying down. Mike Yeo's hot seat should be nice and cool for a while now, but this week features three winnable home games.  Best to take advantage.

 

 

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.