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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