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 #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.

 

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 #5

Steady, as she goes...

Well hello again, Wild fans!  Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #5!

For those of you who are new to the column, here's the scoop:  The NHL season is a long, tedious journey.  We decided that this season we would ask TCDroogsma of the blog Wildly Biased to stop by each week and give us an update on our local squad.

Droogsy, what'd we miss?

Well hello, everybody.  The Wild spent the week at home hosting the Blackhawks, Canadiens, & Devils.  They came into the week riding high after a big win in Chicago last Saturday night, finally easing some of the sting of losing to Chicago in the first round of last year's Stanley Cup playoffs.  That left their record at 6-3-3 on the season and that's where our story resumes.  Let's have a look at how this week played out:

The Week That Was

Monday 10/28 - Chicago: 5  Wild: 1

When I wrote about the Wild's victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Saturday night I prefaced it by saying that the Blackhawks were "not at the top of their powers."  I don't know if it was the Wild's dominant victory that night, but the Blackhawks came to St. Paul on Monday firing on all cylinders.

After playing so well in his first start in two weeks Wild goaltender was less-than-stellar in this rematch.  Backstrom faced 28 shots on the night and only stopped 23 of them.  He spent most of the night fighting the puck and never really looked like he found his rhythm. 

Backstrom didn't get much help from his defense in front of him.  With Keith Ballard & Jonas Brodin on the shelf with injuries the Wild were forced to play rookie Mathew Dumba & frequent healthy-scratch Nate Prosser.  Prosser played a fine game, but Dumba became the star for all the wrong reasons.  With the game tied 1-1 in the second Dumba found himself out of position, eventually crashing into Backstrom and knocking him out of position.  Hawks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank capitalized on the confusion by burying a slapper form the point.  Bazinga!  The Hawks never looked back.

The game was especially tough for Dumba because it was his 9th game of the season.  For those unfamiliar with the NHL's rookie contract rules, teams are allowed to play rookies for up to 9 games before it counts toward a year of their three-year rookie contracts.  What that means is that after this game, regardless of how Dumba played, the Wild would have to make a decision about keeping him with the Wild (and burning the first year of his contract) or sending him back to Red Deer of the WHL.

Unfortunately for Dumba, that goal wouldn't be his most glaring mistake of the night.  That would come in the third period.  With the Hawks up 3-1 and controlling the play, Brandon Saad came into the Wild zone and pulled the old spin-o-rama before sending a pass just past a confused Dumba and over to frat boy Patrick Kane, who promptly buried the biscuit.  Dumba admitted after the game that the pressure of his contract situation had gotten to him, which is understandable.  If you had a winter in Red Deer, Alberta staring you in the face you'd struggle too.  As of the end of the week the Wild have yet to play Dumba again or send him back to Red Deer.

Anyway, the Hawks went on to win the game 5-1.  Former Wild draft pick (and Eden Prairie native) Nick Leddy scored his first goal against the Wild, making up for Mikael Granlund's abuse in the previous game and causing one blogger (yeah, me) to christen the game "Leddy's Revenge."

Wild Player Of The Game:  Nate Prosser - It's tough to find a lot of bright spots when your team is thrashed like this, so I'm giving it to Prosser.  Prosser's become something of a folk hero to Wild fans despite typically watching games from the press box.  While far from the best player on the ice (he can't beat out Marco Scandella for a regular role.  Marco Scandella!), he provides a level of sandpaper and grit that the Wild usually lacks.  In this game he came to Backstrom's defense after Brandon Saad crashed the net with the score already 5-1.  Prosser earned a match penalty for his trouble, but earned points with fans and teammates for sticking up for his goalie in a game that had devolved into farce.

Impressions Of The Game:  Those of us who have been Wild fans from the beginning have trained ourselves to be cynical.  When the Wild beat the Blackhawks last week we were thrilled, but I don't think any of us thought that was a "changing of the guard" victory.  Monday's loss was discouraging, to be sure, but if the Wild are going to play with the big boys they're going to have to beat the best when they're at the best.

(Quick Fun Fact:  The Wild wore their new "Road Whites" at home on Monday night in an effort "let the fans see the new sweaters" aka "We're going to have a full house because the Blackhawks are in town, what a golden opportunity to try to get our fans to fork over $200 for a new sweater."  It's a much better plan if the Wild don't lose by four.  Just sayin'...)

Friday 11/1 - Wild: 4  Montreal: 3

After a rare three-day break during the week the Wild played host to the Montreal Canadiens for the first time since the 2011-12 season.  That year the Habs finished in last place, but they bounced back during last year's lockout-shortened season to finish the year atop the Eastern Conference.

As is the case all Eastern Conference teams this season, the first came is coming against an unfamiliar opponent.  All teams, that is, except Montreal.  Much like the Wild they are led by their defensemen (Ryan Suter & Jonas Brodin for the Wild, P.K. Subban & Andrei Markov for the Habs).  Also, Montreal is coached by Michel Therrien, Wild coach Mike Yeo's mentor when they were both in the Pittsburgh organization.  So, despite being "unfamiliar," the two teams should have known what to expect out of each other.

Oddly, this led to an up-and-down affair that likely left each coach disappointed in his squad's defensive effort.  The two teams traded goals in the first period, with the Wild's Justin Fontaine getting on the board by deflecting a shot from the point.  Montreal's Brendan Gallagher answered when he tapped a picturesque saucer pass from Alex Galchenyuk behind Josh Harding.

The game continued at this pace during the second period, but only the Wild were able to put numbers on the board.  With defending Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban pinching down low Mikael Granlund was able to beat him to the biscuit and fire and spring a streaking Jason Pominville for a breakaway.  The Rocket Man fired a wrister between Carey Price's pads to put the Wild ahead.

Subban would have his revenge in the third, though.  After Granlund through a gorgeous pass from the half-wall to Nino Niederreiter for the Wild's third goal Subban found the back of the net on a power play to cut the lead to 3-2.  Just three minutes later he & defensive partner Andrei Markov combined to set up Brian Gionta for an easy tap-in to tie the game up.  Fortunately Jason Pominville continued his hot streak by burying the eventual game-winner when Keith Ballard's point shot hit Zach Parise and caromed directly to Pommer for his team-leading 9th of the season..

-Wild Player Of The Game:  Jason Pominville - Pominville said after the game that he was glad to finally be getting some bounces after being stifled over the last week.  I'd said during the first half of the season that, after only watching him for 10 games last season and 10 this season I had yet to really get a sense of what type of player Pominville is.  Over the last week he's proved emphatically that he's just as good as Chuck Fletcher said he was when he was acquired last season.  While not a dominant offensive force, it's clear that the Rocket Man is a threat with either his big shot or his soft hands.  The fact that he & Finnish Jesus seem to bring out the best in each other has made the second line the Wild's most exciting line this season.

-Impression Of The Game:  The Wild welcomed back both Jonas Brodin & Keith Ballard to the defense and their impact was immediate.  Yes, Ballard notched two assists, but more than that, having those two guys on the ice (as opposed to Dumba & Prosser) allowed the Wild to sustain their attack either in the Habs zone or breaking out of their own.  Montreal is a team built on speed and the return of Brodin & Ballard not only allowed the Wild to keep up, but to beat them at their own game.

Sunday 11/3:  Wild: 4  New Jersey: 0

The Wild caught a break on Sunday night, facing a Devils team that was missing key cogs Travis Zajac, Ryane Clowe, & Patrik Elias.  They also gave sure-fire Hall-Of-Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur the night off, though he could hardly be considered a "key cog" when notorious Wild slayer Cory Schneider started in his place.

Also playing into the Wild's hands:  New Jersey had just played (and lost) the night before in Newark, meaning that the Wild was able to practice and watch football all day while the Devils made up sleep from the night before.

Perhaps knowing that they didn't have the legs (or, frankly, the talent) to keep up on Sunday the Devils tried to land their knockout punch early.  They fired 10 shots in the first period, testing Josh Harding on several occasions before the Wild found their footing.  Fortunately that was about all the fight the Devils had in them.  When Mikael Granlund gave the Wild the lead at the 13:20 mark of the first period there was no looking back.

The Wild dominated the second and third periods, holding the Devils to just 9 shots over the two frames.  Torrey Mitchell managed to score a goal by refusing to stop as he crashed the net and knocked in a loose puck.  That was followed by Dany Heatley scoring his second goal of the season (and first against a goalie) to put the Wild up 3-0.  Jason Pominville added an empty-netter to make it 4-0 and that was that.  No really, that was it.  I wish I had more to tell you about this game, but that's the whole story.

Wild Player Of The Game:  Mikael Granlund - Granlund's been on fire lately, putting the second line on his back and making Jason Pominville forget he was ever a Buffalo Sabre.  Granlund's first goal of the year was great, but the sequence of events leading up to it are even better.  Keith Ballard fired a breakout pass from his own goal line toward Granlund at his own blue line.  Granlund, covered by a New Jersey defender, realized he wouldn't be able to handle the pass.  Rather than just swipe at the puck, Granny angled his stick so that the puck would ramp up into the air and over the heads of player in the neutral zone.  The puck landed at Pominville's feet.  Pommer fired a shot that was stop, Nino grabbed the biscuit and fed it to Granlund (who had somehow raced all the way to the top of the crease) who buried it into the empty net.  Finnish Jesus!

Impression Of The Game:  The Devils are not a good hockey team even when they have their full compliment of players.  Considering the roster they iced on Sunday it would have been embarrassing if the Wild had lost.  I bring this up because last year's Wild team would play up to (or down to) the level of their opponent all the time.  Starting this week by losing to Blackhawks may have been disappointing, but beating the teams that they should beat is a sign of progress for this squad under Mike Yeo.

And so here the Wild sit a month into the season.  8-4-3, 3rd place in the Central.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 11/5: Calgary at Wild

The Flames roll into town... at least... I think it's the Flames.  No Kiprusoff, no Iginla... I guess Mike Cammalleri's still there.  And wait, yup, that's the unmistakable stench of Matt Stajan.  It's a mix of rodeo & perpetual defeat.

Thursday 11/7: Wild at Washington

The Wild open a two-game swing through what used to be the Southeast Division by heading to Washington to take on the Capitals.  The Caps have underachieved this year, going an even 7-7-0 through their first 14 games.  Regardless, Alex Ovechkin & company vs. Ryan Suter & the Wild's defense should make for a compelling matchup.  And, if that's not enough (and really, it should be), it'll be the first battle of Ni(c)klas Backstrom's in over two years!

Saturday 11/9: Wild at Carolina

The Wild head to Carolina to face a Canes team that they defeated here in St. Paul.  During that game the Hurricanes lost #1 goaltender Cam Ward.  Ward won't be back for this one, but hopefully former Wild goalie Anton Khudobin will be healthy enough to see the ice for Carolina.

The Big Picture

We're one month into the season and the stresses from the beginning of the season are starting to wear away.  It may seem early, but the Wild find themselves in a playoff spot right now which, traditionally, means good things to come.  Then again, only one team in history has ever lead the NHL in December and wound up missing the playoffs (Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010-11 Minnesota Wild!).

Regardless, the offense is clicking, the defense is healthy, both Josh Hardin & Niklas Backstrom are healthy (hold on a second while I knock on every piece of wood in the apartment), things are shaping up nicely for the local squad.  A visit from the Flames and two Eastern Conference games could put the boys in the driver's seat.

Talk to you next week!

 

 

For more of TCDroogsma's hockey ramblings be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@WildlyBiased).  He can also be found writing about the Wild in greater detail on his hockey blog Wildly Biased.

 

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems stopping by & giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

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.