Well hello again, Wild fans! Welcome to Your Name Is Wild: Week #8!
For those of you who are new to the column, here's the scoop: The NHL season is a long, tedious journey. We decided that this season we would ask TCDroogsma of the blog Wildly Biased to stop by each week and give us an update on our local squad.
Droogsy, what'd we miss?
Well hello again, Wild fans! Welcome to Week #8 of Your Name Is Wild! As always, I know you could have chosen any Wild blog in the world, but you're here with me and I appreciate that.
The Wild entered Week #8 coming off a three game homestand in which they won all three games by one manner or other. Winning at home is a huge key to success in the NHL, so with those points in the bank the Wild spent last week traveling Central Canada. They embarked on a three game road trip hoping to steal points from Eastern Conference opponents (Montreal & Ottawa) before heading to division-rival Ottawa for a Saturday matinee showdown with the Jets.
Let's get into it...
The Week That Was
Tuesday 11/19 - Montreal: 6 Wild: 2
Good freakin' god... the less said about this game the better.
As I mentioned above, the Wild headed to Montreal riding a wave of confidence after an unbeaten homestand. The Habs (perhaps still a little bit upset that they left St. Paul without a point on November 1st) made sure to put a stamp on this game.
The Wild and Canadiens played a relatively even first period (with Montreal leading 9-7 in shots), but that was as long as this one would remain competitive. The floodgates sprung a leak at the 2:57 mark of the second period when Max Pacioretty snuck his first goal of the night past Josh Harding. They began to strain when Pacioretty netted his second of the game at the 10:06 mark. They were officially broken when Pacioretty finished off the natural hat trick at 13:36.
That goal brought with it the end of Josh Harding's night. With the Wild heading to Ottawa to face the Senators the next night (and Niklas Backstrom sidelined with concussion issues), Harding gave way to Darcy Kuemper. Sadly, young Kuemper didn't fair any better, allowing a Michael Bournival deflection to sneak past him. By the end of the second period the Wild were being outshot 20-15 but trailed 4-0 on the scoreboard.
The third period brought with it the expected "when it rains, it pours" goals from the Habs (courtesy of Daniel Briere & Alex Galchenuyk) with a couple of Wild goals in between (Nino Niederreiter at 5:30 and Dany Heatley, trolling Wild fans by scoring at 19::58 of the third). By the period didn't even feature any of the typical feistiness that accompanies a blowout. The Wild were beaten, badly, and knew it. The sooner they could get out of Quebec the better.
Wild Player Of The Game: Darcy Kuemper - Now, make no mistake, Kuemper did not play well. Goalies pride themselves on being ready "whenever your number gets called," but after stopping only 6 of the 9 shots he faced, it was clear Kuemper wasn't ready. So why name him Wild Player Of The Game? Because, for his second straight appearance, Kuemper was not put in a position to succeed. That's a theme I've come back to several times and I'm granting Kuemper the same benefit of the doubt. Not only were the Wild clearly off their game, but by the time Keumper assumed his post between the pipes, they'd quit expending even that lackluster effort. Mike Yeo could have put Dominik Hasek out behind this night's version of the Wild and he would have allowed at least three.
Impression Of The Game: Despite being absolutely slaughtered, there was a positive to take away from this one. The Canadiens play an inherently Eastern Conference style of hockey. Very physical, strong on the forecheck, lots of extra-curriculars... While disappointing, it's no entirely surprising that the Wild weren't able to match that style. Fortunately, the Wild's season hardly hinges on their ability to play that style. Theirs is a puck-possession, speed, & sound defense style that, at least to this point in the season, has proven to be pretty effective in the Western Conference race.
Wednesday 11/20 - Wild: 4 Ottawa: 3
The Wild may have been soundly beaten by the Habs on Tuesday night, but Wednesday provided a good test: Would the Wild limp into Ottawa and continue on one of their typical Canadian-road-trip death spirals or would they show some resolve and put the previous night's embarrassment behind them?
The answer: resolve. Despite being outshot 2-1 in the first period (and outshot 18-6), the Wild stuck to Mike Yeo's speed/puck possession/mobile defense style and it paid off. Jonas Brodin notched his third goal of the season at the 3:00 mark of the second period. Just 3:15 later Ottawa's favorite villain Dany Heatley snuck a garbage goal past Craig Andreson to give the Wild a 3-2 lead.
That successful period gave way to a tense third period. Mika Zibanejad scored early to tie the game up. With the fans behind them, the Senators took control of the game for stretches of the third. However, Josh Harding stood tall in net and, just as we were all preparing for this one to go to OT, Mikko Koivu buried a shot from the circles to give the Wild a 4-3 lead with only 2:57 to play. The Wild held their ground and took the victory in regulation.
Wild Player Of The Game: Mikko Koivu - The Assassin may have signed his name on this one by scoring the winner late in the third, but his line was a force all night. Koivu and linemates Zach Parise & Charlie Coyle combined for one goal, five assists, and eight shots on goal over the course of the game. Despite the varying shot totals each period, that first line was a threat whenever they were on the ice. The took a team licking its wounds and put it on their backs. leading to two big road points and a suddenly .500 road trip.
Impression Of The Game: The Senators have struggled to play up to expectations this season. My theory? Unlike division rivals Montreal, Toronto, & Boston, they play a Western Conference style of hockey. The Wild were helpless against the physical Canadiens, but against against a Sens team that was trying to beat them at their own game they stepped up and delivered. As a Wild fan I've pretty much been trained to expect that,when the opposing team ties the game in the third period it's only a matter of time before they score the winner. I'm sure I'm overreacting to the Wild beating a struggling team in November, but the fact that the Wild fought back instead of rolling over says a lot about the character of this year's squad.
Saturday 11/23 - Wild: 3 Winnipeg: 2 (SO)
With their foray into the Eastern Conference redeemed the Wild returned to the Central Division Saturday afternoon when they visited Winnipeg for the first time this season.
Coming into the game the Wild were 2-0-0 against the Jets, having won both games in St. Paul. The Jets have cobbled together a disappointing season thus far, occupying the cellar of the Central and nearly playing themselves out of the playoff picture before December.
Fortunately for the Jets they were dealt two breaks before the game. First off, Mike Yeo announced that Mikael Granlund would miss the game with an upper-body injury, thus jumbling the Wild's top six forwards. As if that wasn't enough, goaltender Josh Harding left pre-game warmups with a lower-body injury. He was ruled out for the game, which meant that Niklas Backstrom (himself returning from a concussion) would get the start despite only one practice in the previous two weeks.
Saturday's game won't go down as the prettiest game of the season by any stretch of the imagination, but it may go down as an important one. The Wild did not play well during the first two periods. They weren't completely hapless (as they were in Montreal), but they weren't able to mount any offensive attack, instead relying on Backstrom to prop them up until they found their game. Backstrom, surprisingly, was up to the task. He stopped 24 of 25 shots through the first two periods. When Nino Niederreiter tied the game just over 3:00 into the third it was all because Backstrom had stood his ground at the other end of the rink.
The Jets turned the tide back their way just a couple of minutes later when Matt Halischuk scored at 5:35 to give the Jets a 2-1 lead. The Wild weren't able to mount much of an attack for the majority of the period and, when Marco Scandella took a hooking penalty with four minutes remaining, a Jets victory seemed all but certain.
But then a funny thing happened. With the Wild on the penalty kill Mikko Koivu gathered the puck. He and Zach Parise, who've played so well over the last couple of weeks, put the team on their backs yet again, finishing off a two-on-two rush with Parise burying a one-timer while falling down. Tie game. Silent MTS Centre.
The Wild and Jets traded opportunities in the overtime period before heading to the shootout. Backstrom, notoriously bad during shootouts, came shining through, stopping 3 out of 4 Jets attempts before Charlie Coyle won the game on his first career shootout goal.
Wild Player Of The Game: Niklas Backstrom - As much as I'd like to give this one to Nino Niederreiter (who responded to an in-game benching by scoring a goal while getting under the skin of the Jets), The Scientist was the story of the game. Backstrom had played 11 minutes in the last two weeks (the amount of time before Nazem Kadri concussed him) and had one practice under his belt. Not unlike Josh Harding stepping in for Backstrom during last year's playoffs, Backstrom not only stepped in, but elevated his game. The Wild didn't play their best game, but they played well enough to beat a division rival thanks in no small part to Backstrom's ability to weather an early storm.
The Week Ahead
As has been noted by just about every Wild blogger there is (all four of us), the Wild have put together solid start to this season primarily by fattening up on the bad teams in the league. That all changes this week, beginning Monday night when the Wild head to St. Louis to face the Blues. The Wild and Blues have been trading 2nd & 3rd place in the Central for the last couple of weeks, though the primary difference is that the Blues have a couple of games in hand and have beaten several quality opponents.
This Blues squad is scary good. In addition to sporting the NHL's leading goal-scorer in Alex Steen they feature a balanced attack (led by captain, Minnesota-native, and dog adoption advocate David Backes), physical defense, and above-average goaltending. Frankly, they play a rough-and-tumble style that has far more in common with the Eastern Conference than the rest of the Central. Whether or not the Wild are able to stick to their own plan (speed & possession) or if they get goaded into the Blues physical style will be indicative of just how the Wild stack up against their division rivals.
Wednesday 11/27 - Phoenix at Wild
Much to the surprise of pretty much everybody, not only are the Coyotes still in Phoenix, but they've played their way to a playoff spot in the staggeringly competitive Pacific Division.
The Coyotes may lack star power, but it's important that the Wild don't overlook this one. By the end of the season it's entirely possible that the Wild & Coyotes will be battling for one of the Western Conference's wild card playoff spots. I realize it's awfully early to be thinking about four-point swings, but these things count in November just as much as they do come spring.
Friday 11/29 - Colorado at Wild
The day after Thanksgiving brings the surprising Avalanche to St. Paul for the first half of a weekend home-and-home series. New coach Patrick Roy has, surprisingly, been just the man to assemble the talented pieces of the Avalanche into a cohesive team. After beginning the season by rocketing to the top of the Central the Avs have come back to Earth a bit. Much like the Coyotes, it's important the Wild don't underestimate this Avalanche team. With the top 3 spots in each division guaranteed a playoff spot (and Chicago & St. Louis the presumptive favorites for two of those spots in the Central) it's paramount that the Wild take as many points as possible from the Avs.
Saturday 11/30 - Wild at Colorado
After Friday's game both teams will board flights and head out to Denver for the second half of this weekend series. While it's sure to be exhausting for the players, it's an incredible amount of fun for us fans. Any bad blood that arises during Friday's meeting is certain to continue the next night, setting the Wild and Avs, rivals for years in the Northwest Division, up for a new chapter in a long rivalry.
The Big Picture
Having watched the Wild start hot nearly every season I was fully prepared for them to begin struggling on this Canadian road trip. While the Montreal game left me with that here-we-go-again feeling, my optimism was renewed with comeback victories in Ottawa & Winnipeg.
I've been skeptical that the Wild can actually keep pace with the Blues & Blackhawks, but those two victories lead me to believe that this Wild team is different from previous versions. I've said that many times before and I've been wrong, but I feel good about this group. Four tough games over the next seven days will tell us a lot about where this year's version stacks up.
Until next Monday...
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