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.

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 #11

I never change, I'm too stuck in my ways...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #11!

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?

Some things in life are certain.  Death, taxes, the loudest person being the dumbest, one last blizzard in March, the Columbus Blue Jackets mediocrity, the Timberwolves underachieving, and, for the purposes of this blog, the Wild season going off the rails on a West Coast road trip.

Like many Wild fans, I've become accustomed to this annual December tradition.  Because of realignment, these Western trips don't carry quite the significance they used to, but "points is points" is a two-way street.

This week found the Wild avoiding the landmines of Canada, but found two California heavyweights waiting for them on back to back nights before a quick trip to Denver for a game against the Avs.

Let's break this thing down.

The Week That Was

Wednesday 12/11 - Anaheim: 2  Wild: 1

Allow me two quick comments about this one right off the bat:

1) Heading into this game the Ducks were 12-0-2 at home.  Considering they're routinely hosting the Kings, Sharks, Coyotes, & Canucks, that's pretty incredible.

2)  This was the first Wild game this season that rolled past midnight.  It nearly killed me.  Thank God the Wild don't play in the Northwest anymore.

While there's a list of things that are certain in life, there's also a list of things that are certain every time the Wild visit Anaheim.  The Wild's offense will struggle, Corey Perry will score, Ryan Getzlaf will remind me that, even though I hate him, he's one of the best captains in the league, some guy I've never heard of will score, Saku Koivu will win faceoffs against his brother, and every Wild fan will find themselves shaking their head for staying up so late.

That's exactly how Wednesday's game played out.  Corey Perry netted his 21st (!) of the year as the Wild defense floundered around him.  Rookie defenseman Alex Grant scored his second goal in his second career game.  Jonas Hiller was adequate in net (though, had he actually been challenged, he probably would have been up for it).

Watching the Wild play in Anaheim is like watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother.  There are no surprises, every episode follows the exact same formula, and we're all dumber for having sat through the entire thing.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Josh Harding - I'm starting to feel bad because I only give Harding the WPOTG award when the team loses.  Yet again, Harding played well enough to give his team a shot at a point and yet again the offense failed him.  Harding's a great team guy, but I can't help but wonder if his mind ever drifts to Manny Fernandez's famous, "It doesn't really matter how I play if we don't score any goals" quote.

Impression Of The Game:  I have to work at 6 AM and I stayed up for this?!?

Thursday 12/12 - San Jose: 3  Wild: 1

Just 24 hours after being defeated by the Ducks the Wild found themselves facing off against the Sharks in San Jose.  That would be the same Sharks team that lost in St. Paul just a week earlier despite outplaying the Wild in pretty much every facet of the game.  Like a boxer who loses to an inferior opponent, the Sharks came out intent on reasserting their place in the Western Conference pecking order.

This being the second game of a grueling back-to-back, head coach Mike Yeo decided to go with Niklas Backstrom in net because, evidently, Mike Yeo doesn't give a shit about getting Niklas Backstrom's confidence back.  As a testament to their tired legs, the Wild handed San Jose five power play opportunities (with the refs handing them two more).  The Sharkies went 3-7 on those power plays, racked up 39 shots, and pretty much ran the tired Wild out of the building.

The big story after the game was Mike Yeo firing shots at the Sharks for "diving" or "embellishing," but as far as I'm concerned that was just Yeo looking for any excuse not to have his team look in the mirror.  The Sharks are big, fast, tough, and have talent up front, in back, both young and old.  This time around it was Joe Pavelski netting two goals and rookie Tomas Hertl notching one himself.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Brett Bulmer - Bulmer didn't do anything exceptional to earn this spot, I'm just so excited to see him back with the big club.  I was very impressed with Bulmer's game when he had a 9-game cup of coffee with the Wild a couple of seasons ago (so much so that I thought it made Kyle Brodziak expendable.  I still haven't been proven wrong).  Welcome back, Mr. Bulmer.

Impression Of The Game:  I have to work at 6 AM and I stayed up for this?!?

Saturday 12/14:  Wild: 2  Colorado: 1 (SO)

The last time the Wild visited Denver they salvage a loser point despite being run out of the rink for much of the game.  That was the second half of a home-and-home and the Wild sure played like it.  Despite that, however, the Wild notched their lone highlight of that week when Mikko Koivu  scored with 6 seconds left to force overtime.  At the time, this is what I wrote:

"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."

Much like that game, the Avalanche spent the better part of Saturday's game knocking the Wild around like they were Semyon Varlamov's girlfriend.  What? Too soon?

Fin, the Avalanche spent the better part of Saturday's game knocking the Wild around like they were Patrick Roy's wife.  But yet again, the Avalanche weren't able to shut the door.  Again, they had a chance to put the Wild in the "We got these guys" file failed to finish the job.

The Avs took a 1-0 lead (a Maxime Talbot goal) into the third period, but allowed the Wild to outshoot them 10-5 in the period.  The Wild finally broke through with just 3:53 left in the game when Ryan Suter fired a wrister on net.  Nino Niederreiter managed to tip the puck and just like that, the Wild had rallied yet again in Denver.  The shootout brought goals from Zach Parise & Mikko Koivu, Josh Harding stopped P.A. Parenteau & Ryan O'Reilly, and the Wild wrapped up the week with two points in the bank.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Ryan Suter - Suter had the primary assist on Nino Niederreiter's game-tying goal, but that's not why he's getting the award.  The Wild played three games in four nights, all on the road.  The first two nights he had to square off against Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, & Patrick Marleau.  As if that wasn't enough, Mike Yeo had him on the ice for 32:51 against Landeskog, McKinnon, & Ryan O'Reilly in the thin air of Denver.  He & Broding kept all three of those guys off the scoresheet, Suter notched a helper, had three takeaways, and zero giveaways.  In a season in which Yeo has leaned heavily on Suter, this performance in Denver has to rank among his best of the season.

Impression Of The Game:  I firmly believe that the Wild are in the Avs' heads.  It's a classic little brother/big brother situation, with the Avs getting better and better, but the big brother Wild still able to come out ahead in the end.  Fun times.

So that's the week that was.  The Wild came away with two out of a possible six points, but honestly, the two they got were the most important.  Anaheim & San Jose will almost assuredly be in the top three in the Pacific.  The Wild & Avs, however, appear destined to battle all season for either the three seed in the Central or one of the wild card spots.  Every single point against those guys counts.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 12/17:  Vancouver at Wild

The Wild welcome their longest-running rival to the Xcel Center for a Tuesday night matchup that has nothing to do with nostalgia.  With the Wild sitting in the 8th spot in the West and the Canucks in the 6th, this first-of-three meetings is not to be taken lightly.

Thursday 12/19:  Wild at Pittsburgh

The Wild head to Pittsburgh on Thursday to face Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and... it has to be mentioned, Pascal Dupuis and the rest of the Penguins.  Saying the Pens are easily the class of the Metropolitan is a bit like singling out the most attractive Green Bay Packers fan.

Sunday 12/22:  Wild at New York Rangers

The Wild head to the Big Apple to square off with the underachieving Rangers.  I know it may be hard to believe, but a team that relies on Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist, & Brad Richards (and is coached by Alain Vigneault) is underachieving.  Who could have seen this coming? (Cue every Rangers fan, Stars fan, Canucks fan, and, well, you'll just have to imagine a Blue Jackets fan).

The Big Picture

The West Coast is where Wild seasons go to die.  Much like the gauntlet they were put through two weeks ago the Wild floundered when facing the cream of the Western Conference, but, yet again, they managed to salvage the week by sticking it to Colorado.  The week played out in a very predictable fashion and, as such, has the Wild treading water (which is pretty much what all the pundits predicted for the team).  Kick back and enjoy the three games this week.  Win or lose, they're bound to be less predictable than the last three.

 

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 #10

So here we are again...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #10!

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?

Hello again, hockey fans.  Thanks for stopping by.

The Wild entered this week licking their wounds.  At least, I'm assuming that's how whatever animal the "Wild" is supposed to be treats its wounds.  The boys picked up one out of a possible eight points, losing games to the Blues, Coyotes, Avalanche, and... Avalanche again.  To call it an unsuccessful week would be to question the very definition of success.  Oddly (or perhaps remarkably), the Wild found a way to end the week on a positive note, with Mikko Koivu scoring the game-tying goal with six seconds left in Saturday's game against the Avs.  The fact that the Wild went on to lose the game in a shootout was merely an afterthought to Koivu's exciting goal.

So, we learned that the Wild still have plenty of question marks when it comes to facing the best in the West.  Fortunately, this week brought chances for redemption (with Chicago & San Jose coming to town) as well as chances to fatten up on some bottom feeders (Philly in St. Paul and a trip to Columbus).

Let's break this thing down.

The Week That Was

Monday 12/2 - Wild: 2  Philadephia: 0

Monday brought the Flyers to town for the first time in over two years.  In typical Flyers fashion, their season has been a complete shitshow, littered with goalie fights, underachieving "superstars," and coaching changes.  Despite all of that, the Flyers have managed to rally their way back to .500 which, in the lifeless Eastern Conference, is enough to get them back in the playoff discussion.

Honestly, there just isn't a lot to say about this game.  The score makes it look like the Wild played a swell game, but make no mistake, the Flyers earned their shutout.  Both teams spent the first two periods playing absolutely dreadful hockey.  The Flyers and Wild spent the majority of the first two periods spinning their wheels in the neutral zone (the Wild led 15-10 in shots after two).

The third period brought the only action of the game.  Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle scored goals just 57 seconds apart to put the Wild up 2-0.  Josh Harding made 19 saves for the shutout (including one gigantic save and eighteen non-descript chances).   In the end, this was probably the most forgettable game of the season.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Charlie Coyle - In such a dreadful game it's tempting to just give the award to Harding for the shutout and move on, but Coyle deserves credit for his goal.  The Wild worked the puck back to Jared Spurgeon for a shot from the point.  Ray Emery stopped the shot, but the rebound rocketed out to Coyle.  I can't stress enough the amount of hand-eye coordination it took for Coyle to handle that biscuit and put it back in the net.  Throw in the fact that Coyle's technique (a step ahead of the defenseman, stick on the ice, ready to make a play), and it was really a pretty goal if you appreciate the fundamentals of the game.

Impression Of The Game:  Ugh... part of the Wild went 0-for-last week was that they failed to put together a complete game.  I wish I could write that the Wild figured that out and got back to their winning ways on Monday, but that's simply not true.  The Wild were terrible for two periods, but were out-terribled by the Flyers.  Regardless, this was a team desperate for a win to keep their place in the standings and they did just enough to get it.

Thursday 12/5 - Wild: 4  Chicago: 3

Alright, so the last five games have not gone well.  Thursday brought the Blackhawks to town for the next chapter of this budding rivalry.  Now, conventional wisdom (or the skeptics approach) was that the Wild have been struggling lately and that the Blackhawks would likely roll into St. Paul and mop the floor with them.  However, there is a second way to look at this:  The Wild & Blackhawks know each other very well.  Much like even the most mundane Vikings teams always put up a fight against the Packers & Bears, records go out the window when the Hawks & Wild meet.  For just that reason, the Blackhawks occasionally bring out the best in the Wild.  Given the circumstances of the last week, this game was just what the Wild needed.

If anything, the first period served as a wake up call for the Wild.  The boys came out with energy, but were met by a Hawks team that could smell blood in the water.  Fortunately, goaltender Josh Harding was up to the test, stopping all seven shots he faced and, most importantly, stopping Wild nemesis Patrick Sharp on a breakaway.  Matt Cooke eventually gave the Wild the lead when he slipped a wrister behind Corey Crawford.

The second period featured more back-and-forth play, with Zach Parise staking the Wild to a 2-0 lead at the with three minutes left in the period.  Only the most naive of Wild fans would think two goals would be enough to beat the Hawks and Jeremy Morin reminded the Wild of that fact when he netted his first of the season with just 17 seconds left in the period.  Not only did the late goal put the Hawks on the board, but it swung the narrative of the second period so completely that, despite being up 2-1, the Xcel Energy Center crowd was adrift with a sense of impending doom.

It took only 43 seconds of play for the Wild's fans to realize those expectations.  Brandon Saad buried a wrist shot behind Harding, tying the score and turning the game into a 19 minute sprint to the finish.

With the Wild facing a tie game against their divisional rival and less than a period to play at home, it was time for the Wild to put up or shut up.  After losing to playoff contenders last week, the Wild's status among the Western Conference contenders was sinking quickly.  When Marian Hossa scored one of those goals that only Marian Hossa scores at the 6:35 mark to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead, it seemed like the Wild were proving their second-tier status all over again.

And then, a funny thing happened.  The Wild kept plugging away, skating hard, limiting chances, and eventually drawing a Brent Seabrook hooking call (the kind of penalty that results from hard work).  The Wild had spent the previous two-days trying to fix their anemic power play and it paid off on Thursday night when Jonas Brodin one-timed a Jared Spurgeon pass from the top of the circle and past Crawford.  The crowd went bonkers.  The Wild were off the mat.  The game was now a five minute sprint to the finish (with this Wild fan seeing overtime as a best-case scenario).

But, as we've all learned through my years of blogging, I'm an idiot.  Just three minutes later Marco Scandella scored his first goal of the season.  Superstorm Scandy lofted a wrister from the point that somehow found its way through all the traffic and behind Crawford.  The shot couldn't have been going more than 70 mph, but it was a magic bullet, unbelievably avoiding the bodies in front and surprising everybody when it found the back of the net.  Bedlam ensued in the stands (with Wild fans finally drowning out their Chicago counterparts).  The Wild rode the wave of momentum to the end, shutting the door and ensuring two points.

Wild Player Of The Game: Marco Scandella - Superstorm Scandy seems to have finally figured it all out this year, playing solid, puck-moving defense and becoming a useful member of the defensive corps after years of false starts.  Wild scribes have tried their best to shine a light on Scandella's solid play, but this game-winner proved to be just the exclamation point that everybody needed.  I can honestly say that watching Scandella struggle to hold back his ear-to-ear grin on the video board after the goal was just about the most heartwarming moment of the season.

Impression Of The Game:  Boy, the Wild needed this one.  While winning in such dramatic fashion probably caused coach Mike Yeo to lose sleep, it really couldn't have been drawn up better.  The Wild didn't just play a good period and hold on, they proved to themselves that they could beat the best of the league in the first period or the third, from a scoreless game to a one-goal deficit.  They announced that they still belong in the conversation in the Western Conference.

Friday 12/6 -  Columbus: 4  Wild: 0

This is what I wrote last week about the Wild heading to 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."

Unfortunately, the "something" that gave was the Blue Jackets' terrible play.

Full Disclosure:  I did not watch even one minute of this game.  It was the first Wild game I've missed this season and look what happened.  I'm sorry, everybody.  I had no idea that the Wild's ability to play competent hockey hinged on whether or not I was paying attention.  From here on out I will miss as few games as possible.

Perhaps it was the fact that they were playing just 24 hours (and one time-zone away) after that emotional win over the Blackhawks, but the Wild did nothing well on this night.  Niklas Backstrom made his return to the net and the team in front of him allowed 41 shots.  They netted only 20 of their own and were shutout by Curtis McElhinney.  Curtis McElhinney!  God, I hate Columbus.

Wild Player Of The Game:  I can't help but think that even if I had watched the game I would be able to pick somebody.  I'm going to give it to Niklas Backstrom for not freaking out and killing one of his defensemen.  Stay strong, Scientist.

Impression Of The Game:  At least this was the only victory the wretched city of Columbus got to celebrate this week.  Go Spartans!

Sunday 12/7 - Wild: 3  San Jose: 1

Sunday brought Brent Burns, James Sheppard, Joe Thornton's cock, and the rest of the Sharkies to the Xcel Energy Center for a 5:00 game.  The Sharks were finishing off a four game roadtrip that had found them going 1-3 leading up to Sunday's game.  Remarkably, the Wild had won their previous five meetings with the Sharks in St. Paul.

Josh Harding returned to the nets for the Wild and earned every cent of his game check.  The Sharks outshot the Wild 32-11 through the first two periods and yet the Wild found themselves with a 2-0 lead on the backs of Zach Parise & Mikko Koivu goals.

The Wild attempted to lock down defensively in the third period and, to the surprise of pretty much everybody who's watched the Wild over the last two years, pulled it off.  They limited the Sharks to just 6 shots over the period.  Patrick Marleau scored with the goalie pulled to cut the lead to 2-1 with just 1:20 remaining, but that would be all she wrote for the Sharks.  Zach Parise potted an empty-netter with 6 seconds left and the Wild took home two undeserved points.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Josh Harding - Much like his counterpart Niklas Backstrom was thrown to the wolves in Columbus, Harding pretty much had to fend for himself against the Sharkies.  Unlike Backstrom, Harding was up to the task.  By the end of the night the Sharks had outshot the Wild 38-13 and came away with nothing as Harding reasserted his place as the #1 goalie in town.

Impression Of The Game:  Remember back in October when the Wild outshot the Maple Leafs 37-14 yet lost 4-1?  Well, the hockey gods finally squared up with the boys on Sunday night.  They may not have deserved the two points, but against a Sharks team that is destined to be a force in the Western Conference playoff race you take what you can get.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 12/11 - Wild at Anaheim

The Wild head out West this week to try to find some points in building where they are typically hard to come by.  Wednesday finds the boys in sunny Anaheim to face a Ducks team that has had their number for years.  Honestly, somehow getting out of this game with a point would be a major victory.

Thursday 12/12 - Wild at San Jose

Second game of a back-to-back set in San Jose against a Sharks team that just brutally outplayed the Wild and came away empty handed?  Somebody hold me.

Saturday 12/14 - Wild at Colorado

The Wild get their third crack at the Avalanche in as many weeks.  While they dropped their first two games against this Avs squad, I'm optimistic about this game.  With the Wild likely leaving California without a point, they'll be good and feisty in this divisional game.

The Big Picture

All things considered, it was a peculiar week to be a Wild fan.  If the Wild's victory over the Hawks on Thursday can be classified as a "defining victory" of the season, then the wins over the Sharks & Flyers that bookended the week are... well... whatever the opposite of "defining" is.  Still, the Wild needed points this week and came away with six out of eight possible.  It's a long, winding season and none of those points can be taken for granted.  Still, it's difficult to feel completely confident about this squad with the way the last couple of weeks have played out.

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.

 

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