Some Off Season Wild Notes

Well, let’s face it. It’s the off season.

We’re on day ten of Kovie Watch 2010, with no signs of anything happening anytime soon and free agency news has slowed to a trickle. So what’s a hockey fan to do?

Make news out of nothing? We’re not in that business here.

So, let’s just take a look at some of the goings on around the Wild.

Modano Interested in Wild?

Well, it’s amazing how much difference a few weeks makes.

First, the Dallas Stars decided that they don’t want to let Mike Modano “Brett Farve” them until the season starts. Then, the rampant speculation starts in Minnesota.

Let’s be honest with ourselves here. For whatever reason, Wild fans have some sort of sick obsession with Minnesota hockey players.

For whatever reason, anytime anyone with ties to Minnesota is available, fans start frothing at the mouth and when Modano became available the sharks began circling.

Immediately, however, all of the speculation was squashed.

It wasn’t the right fit. The Wild were in the running for a number-two center and Modano, at this stage in his career, isn’t that.

But, what do you know. The Wild suddenly want some insurance in case James Sheppard doesn’t step up his game or in case Casey Wellman isn’t ready to play in the NHL.

But, is this the right way for the Wild to go?

If Modano is willing to take a lesser roll with the team, then yes it is.

Modano still has a little bit of tread left on the tires, but he isn’t a top-six forward at this stage in his career—at least, he wasn’t with the Stars.

What signing Modano would do is give the Wild some insurance up the middle.

So, say Matt Cullen doesn’t fit with G-Lat and Havlat. Or Sheppard doesn’t step up to the challenge of making the team. Or they feel that Wellman would be best served to be in the AHL. Well, then they’ve got Modano, who is one heck of a contingency plan.

Cap Situation

As of right now, the Wild find themselves in an interesting situation in net.

They have about $3.5 million in cap space with Josh Harding left to sign in order to fill out their roster.

So, that means that they’ll likely have about $1 to $1.5 million left over once that happens.

So what does this mean? Are we done?

Like Russo, I tend to think not. I can’t imagine that the Wild wouldn’t be looking for another defenseman.

It sounds like Fletcher might be thinking the same thing, as there are rumblings that the Wild have had talks with Willie Mitchell.

The problem with that is that Mitchell will likely command more than the Wild have left, so someone will have to go.

But who?

Right now, the obvious candidate is James Sheppard, but there are others that wouldn’t surprise me, especially at forward.

The most likely forward other than Sheppard, however, is Antti Miettinen. Mittens has performed admirably on the team’s first line, but he just doesn’t seem to fit anywhere on the team. In each situation, there seems to be a player who could potentially do the job better than he.

Combine that with his size, or lack thereof, and you can see that he could very well be shopped around this season.

What Does Endras Signing Mean?

Well, in the short run, nothing.

Dennis Endras will go ply his trade overseas again and likely will then come to the team next season.

What the signing of Endras does do, however, is create competition among the Wild’s goaltenders.

Next season, it’s going to be Matthew Hackett and Anton Khudobin in Houston, with Darcy Keumper likely heading back to Red Deer.

The season after, however? The Wild are going to have a four-way battle to see who will be taking over in the back up role for either Josh Harding or Niklas Backstrom.

Now, I say Harding or Backstrom, because I don’t know that Fletcher and Richards have ruled out the possibility of moving Nik if it comes to that.

Harding is younger and has shown some significant signs of improvement over the last couple seasons.

Backstrom, though he has gotten a bit of a bad rap for his performance last season, is still Backstrom. He’s nowhere near as bad as he looked at times last season and, in my opinion, is still a top-ten goalie in this league.

So, the signing of Endras is both a depth move as well as one to spark something in the goaltenders and make them work for their jobs—both of which are good things to be sure.

For more of Blake’s work, you can follow him at the Bleacher Report and Hockey Primetime, as well as on his Twitter feed.

Post-Game Thoughts

So…We lost 4-1…BUT, we actually didn’t play too bad. 

We limited their chances and, were it not for a couple defensive gaffes, we might have been able to force overtime.  One goal was an empty netter and two of the remaining three were one timers where Backstrom didn’t have much of a chance on because he was moving laterally from down low to face a shooter that was up high – this is one of the hardest shots for a goalie to stop because they have to change both their positioning AND their angle.  The d-men have got to break up those passes to help Backs out, and they just didn’t tonight. 

Here are some thoughts: 

* Burnsie is starting to look like the old Burnsie again.  He got chances, he created plays, he played physical and he wasn’t a huge liability in the defensive zone.  A funky bounce got him caught pinching on Heatley’s beautiful goal and he just flat out gave Mitchell too much space on his goal, but he played much better than his minus-4 would indicate. 

* I’m always the first to jump to Backstrom’s defense, and I don’t think there was much that he could have done on all three of San Jose’s goals last night, but the Wild needed him to come up with a big save in the third and he couldn’t do it.  He made a couple really nice saves, and the goal in the third was by no means his fault…But that’s the biggest difference this season from last is that last season, he came up with the big save(s) when the team needed him to.  This season, for whatever reason, it’s just not there right now. 

* You could definitely tell that Wellman was a rookie last night.  He definitely didn’t play his best game.  He was all over the place (not really in a good way) and there were a few times where he extended his shifts when he really shouldn’t have.  It’ll come, and he’s got a ton of promise, but he’s got a lot to learn yet. 

* Latendresse continues to just be absolutely amazing.  He scored the lone goal last night and, honestly, if he doesn’t have an A on his chest sometime in the next couple years there’s something wrong.  You can tell that he’s getting more and more comfortable with the team and with the coaching staff because he’s much more vocal on the bench and on the ice now.  The thing that I love most about him?  He doesn’t have any flashy goal celebrations.  He pumps his fist, then he waits for his teammates to get there.  None of this jumping into the boards crap, no skating past the guy that fed him the puck to pretend he’s shooting an arrow off of his stick…He just wants to celebrate with his teammates.  THAT is why he’s going to be a successful player for us for years to come. 

* Clutterbuck was absolutely invisible last night.  I don’t know if he even got a hit…That’s how invisible he was. 

* The Wild need to find a consistent finisher to play with Koivu and Brunette.  Miettinen is good, but he looks lost out there with those two at times.  They need a Bertuzzi-like power forward to play with them (Bertuzzi back when he actually was a force to be reckoned with, not now)…Someone who can get to the tight areas on the ice.  The Sharks clamped down last night, but there were small openings around the net…We just need a player willing to get into those small openings and get the puck. 

* Richards was mixing and matching lines so much last night that I thought Lemaire was back behind the bench.  He was trying ANYTHING to get some offense going.  At one point, he even stuck Sheppard in on the first line between Bruno and Miettinen and put Koivu between Wellman and Nolan. 

* While we’re not mathematically eliminated, it’s going to be pretty darn hard for us to make the playoffs.  Essentially, we have to win out and even then we still aren’t guaranteed a spot.  The good news is, though, that we’ve got a very young team and next year will look a lot better.

Gameday Thread – Game 51 – Red Wings @ Wild

Well, here we are.  The first game of a three-game homestand – possibly the most important homestand of the season…Or, at least, since the last one. 

I’ve got a few housekeeping matters to talk about before I get to the preview…But I promise, its coming. 

First off, thanks to everyone who sent mailbag questions in.  It got a pretty good response for a first time and I swear the answers are forthcoming.  I’m still working on the responses, but it will be up early next week for sure and my Early Off Season preview of the defensemen will be as well. 

Now…On to the shameless plugging (then I swear, to the preview.) 

Shameless Plug #1: Check out my article on what I think the Wild’s trade deadline strategy should be, leading up to March 3.  It’s on Bleacher Report and I think you’ll like it, or at least appreciate the commentary. 

Shameless Plug #2: As always, Hockey Primetime will be offering Trade Deadline coverage on the day of.  We’ll be starting our coverage at about 8:30 am CST, and hope to have our regulars (J.P. Hoornstra, Sam P. Woo and Justin Bourne), as well as a guest or two.  It will be on Hockey Primetime, but you will also be able to see feeds of it here and at Bourne’s Blog, most likely. 

Shameless Plug #3: Finally, check out one of the new Friends of Wild Nation, Stadium Journey.  Along with it being a website reviewing sports stadiums and their surrounding areas, it will feature my review of the Xcel Energy Center (SPOILER ALERT: I really like it) soon. 

Alright.  Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, it’s down to business. 

I’ve got good news and bad news. 

First, the good news.  The Wild’s Great Eight will be hitting the ice tonight for the first time since Nov. 18. 

That’s right folks.  Burnsie is back. 

Mike Russo reported that, in his first practice back with the team, he could be heard just about everywhere in the arena and let me tell you, that’s a good sign. 

Burns has struggled this season and struggled in a large, large way.  In 21 games, he had just two goals and ten points and was a staggering minus-11. 

But, during that time, Burnsie just didn’t look like himself.  Most notably, he just didn’t look like he was having any fun. (Thanks to Wild Nationite Rick for that insight, which I completely agree with.)

I know what you’re thinking right now.  Brent Burns?  Not having fun?  Get out of town! 

The fact is, though, that it was true and it was very evident in his play.  The question tonight, however, is which Brent Burns do we get back?  The Brent Burns that tried to do absolutely everything on the ice and, as such, was one of our worst players?  Or the Brent Burns that caught the eye of Team Canada over the last two seasons? 

Based off of the accounts of his practices back, I’m betting on the latter. 

Now, onto the bad news.  I don’t want to alarm anyone, but we’re playing the Detroit Red Wings tonight. 

Sure, they’re riddled with injuries.  But they’re still the Red Wings.  You remember them.  The team that sports a 21-5-5 record against our Minnesota Wild all time. 

But, there is good news in the bad news.  This is a wholly different Wild team than the Wings have ever faced.  A different system, a different tempo…Different everything.  Also, the Wings are struggling through injuries.  Not to say that I’m glad these players are injured (I’d never wish harm to any player not named Matt Cooke), just to say that this is a Red Wings team that isn’t at full strength. 

Oh yeah.  And both teams are looking to break three-game losing streaks. 

Lineup(s)

Well, you all heard the news over the last few days.  We said bye-bye to Sykora and Earl has remained with the team thus far, so we’ll likely see the same lineup that we’ve seen over the past few games. (Unless Fletcher decides to make a trade with Detroit.  Sykora for Zetterberg?  I like it!) 

I would expect that Derek Boogaard will be a casualty, though, against a not-so-pugilistic, quick Detroit squad. 

Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Earl-Ebbett-Sheppard 

On defense, he’s back, he’s back, Lord Almighty he’s back!  The return of Brent Burns essentially means that John Scott is back sitting next to Pierre-Marc Bouchard in the press box and Clayton Stoner will likely be moved to the IR. 

Schultz-Johnsson
Zanon-Zidlicky
Burns-Hnidy 

And, drumroll please, between the pipes for the Wild will be Josh Harding.  Whether it’s a message being sent to Niklas Backstrom that he needs to play better or it’s giving him a rest or even rewarding Harding for his solid play, the youngster will get the nod in the crease tonight. 

What to Watch For

Let’s just put it this way.  Whenever the Wild play the Red Wings, I’m not optimistic about our chances. 

Bearing that in mind, the Wild are now running a system that is strikingly similar to Detroit’s and, if they’re going to win tonight, need to beat the Wings at their own game – namely, shoot, shoot, shoot. 

The Red Wings pepper goalies.  They are averaging almost 33 shots per game, almost five shots more than the Wild, and even put up a 40-spot on the Capitals in their last game, despite losing 3-2. 

With Minnesota’s defensive struggles of late, it seems to me that the best defense would be a good offense. 

The key to that good offense will start with the team’s top two lines.  There is no doubt that the offensive catalyst for this team has been the line of Latendresse, Brodziak and Havlat.  The three-headed beast of HavLatziak (Cut me some slack.  It’s easier than typing all three names.) has been one of the team’s top lines over the last handful of games. 

The line that really needs to get into the game early, however, is the AMA line of Koivu, Brunette and Miettinen.  These three have struggled together of late, and it took moving Mittens to the third line to spark him into action. 

The biggest problem with this line, however, is that they are as defensively proficient as they are offensively.  This means that, essentially, they will likely draw the brunt of the matchup against Detroit’s top line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Bertuzzi.  (Rest assured, you will know when Big Bert is on the ice.  We Minnesotans may move on, but we never forget.  The boo birds will be out in force.) 

Also, keep an eye on Brent Burns.  Since his injury, the Wild’s powerplay has been absolutely dreadful.  While Burns likely won’t log a great deal of minutes tonight, (I’d wager between 15-17), you can bet your sweet bippy that he’ll be at the point of every single one of the Wild’s powerplay. 

Key(s) to the Game

First and foremost, defense. 

Josh Harding is going to get peppered tonight.  He’s going to see a black piece of vulcanized rubber tossed at him so much that he might have nightmares about it. 

The key to this, however, is the quality of these shots.  The Wild did a great job of limiting the quality shots against the Blues and Harding rewarded them with a spectacular performance.  Conversely, the Wild did a terrible job of limiting the quality shots against the Coyotes and Stars and Backstrom was hung out to dry more often than a fifteen-year-old dress shirt. 

If the Wild can limit the quality shots that the Red Wings get, they’ll have a very good chance at stopping a struggling Red Wing team.  If they can’t, however, it’s going to be a long, long night for Harding and a long, long night for the fans in attendance. 

Also, for the love of God…Can we please score first?  Is that really too much to ask? 

I would almost sacrifice a win just to see the Wild ahead 1-0 at some point during this game.  Almost. 

The fact is that the Wild have come out flat more times than not.  In their past three games, they have not scored a single goal before the five minute mark of the second period. 

That simply is not the hallmark of winning hockey. 

Heck.  I’d even settle for not falling into a two-goal deficit. 

We’ve proven that we can finish the game with energy.  Now it’s time to prove that we can start the game with energy. 

The puck drops tonight at 7pm CST and is televised on KSTC, Channel 45. 

Also, if you’re going to the Wild’s skills competition on Sunday, keep an eye out for me.  I’ll be the bearded guy wearing the white Wild jersey autographed by Doc Emerick and possibly an Atlanta Thrashers hat. (No…I haven’t planned my wardrobe out that far in advance.  I swear.)  

In any event, feel free to stop and say hi if you see me.

Gameday Thread – Game 30 – Wild @ Coyotes

The Wild roll into Phoenix tonight riding high. 

They are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, including the fact that they are currently on a five-game winning streak. 

But tonight, they will face off against the resurgent Phoenix Coyotes—a team that has persevered through their managerial hardships this season to be firmly planted in the playoff picture in the Western Conference in sixth place, just two points behind their division rival Los Angeles Kings and just six points in front of their quarry for tonight’s game. 

It’s possible that these two teams could be two of the hottest teams in the NHL at the moment. 

The Wild have won their last five and have scored at least five goals in four of them (though one of the five-goal games was the team’s shootout victory over Anaheim on Friday). 

While the Wild have been hot offensively, the Coyotes have been hot in their own end, giving up two or less goals in each of their previous five games, starting with their 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. 

In the previous meeting this season between the two teams, the ‘Yotes skated away victorious with the 3-2 victory as Scottie Upshall rudely ruined the celebration of Antti Miettinen’s tying goal with one of his own just 19 ticks later. 

This is a different Wild team than the one that suited up against Phoenix on November 18, however.  They are playing with confidence and poise and are looking the best that they have looked all season long. 

Lineups
As was the case on Friday, I don’t have any information for the ‘Yotes lineup, but here are the likely lines for the Wild according to team scribe Glen Andresen. 

Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Nolan-Belanger-Kobasew
Latendresse-Brodziak-Clutterbuck
Havlat-Ebbett-Sheppard 

According to Andresen and Mike Russo, of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, team bowling ball Cal Clutterbuck is still feeling some of the effects of the flu that kept him out of Saturday’s game against Nashville, but he is feeling much better than he was.  If he is able to go (and the odds are pretty good that, if he’s with the team, he’ll go), look for James Sheppard to get the nod over enforcer extraordinaire Derek Boogaard, as Sheppard played a great game against Nashville and got his first tally of the season.  

In fact, for those Sheppard detractors out there (we know who you are), the Shepster has a goal and two assists in his last five games, with a plus-two rating and 11 shots on goal.  Now I know he’s been having a bad season, but with those stats?  Come on…Let’s start fresh and see what he can do at wing.  What do you say? 

On defense, you can likely expect more of the same with Jaime “Why Can’t He Spell His First Name Right” Sifers getting the nod over John Scott. 

Zanon-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Hnidy-Sifers

In nets, you’ll see Niklas Backstrom for the Wild after getting an off night against Nashville. 

What to Watch For
The let down. 

With two teams riding as high as the Wild and the Coyotes, eventually a let down is inevitable.  Both teams have been playing fantastic hockey over the last few games and both teams are “due,” so to speak. 

The problem that arises with being “due,” is that it’s much easier for a hot defensive team to force their opponent to lay an egg than the other way around. 

I’ll be perfectly blunt.  The Wild have not been that hot defensive team over the last five games.  While the Coyotes come in with a paltry 1.80 goals against over their last five, the Wild sport a robust 3.20 goals against average over their last five.  Their last five have also included a lot of battling from behind—something that will take its toll on any team. 

Both teams also distribute their scoring well. 

What will be important is to see who has players that step up. 

Over the last few games, it has been the Wild’s first line of Brunette, Koivu and Miettinen that have done the stepping up.  This line will likely be drawing a bulk of Phoenix’s defensive attention tonight and will, quite simply, need to be effective.  The good news for Minnesota, however, is that their bottom three lines are starting to be equally as effective. 

In Nashville, Sheppard and Martin Havlat both played their best games of the season and the team continued to get strong play from newcomers Andrew Ebbett and G-Lat. 

For Phoenix, it will hinge largely on the play of Ilya Bryzgalov, who has been spectacular this season.  With a 1.79 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage (not to mention his three shutouts), Bryz has been on fire this season and the Wild will have to find a way to cool him off. 

Key(s) to the Game
Shoot.  Shoot early and shoot often.  From anywhere and everywhere. 

When playing a hot goalie, this is probably your best strategy.  Pepper him with shots and eventually you’ll start to see some cracks in the armor. 

This is exactly what the Wild have to do in order to break down the defenses of Mr. Bryzgalov. 

The team is extremely familiar with him from his time in Anaheim and they know exactly what they are getting with him in net—they just need to get to him.  The more shots they can get on net, the better off they will be. 

Don’t give up the lead. 

The Wild have been scored on first in eight of their last nine games.  Against a solid defensive team like the Coyotes, this is a trend that needs to stop. 

While the Wild have a team that has confidence while playing from behind, the Coyotes have a team that has confidence while playing with the lead.  It is paramount that the Wild get out to a fast start in this game.  If they don’t and allow a couple early goals, it may not be as easy to come from behind. 

If the Coyotes score first, this game might be all but in the bag because Phoenix can do what they do best.  Shut down and play mistake-free hockey. 

The puck drops tonight at 8 pm CST and is televised on Fox Sports.

Gameday Thread – Game 28 – Ducks @ Wild

The good news has been few and far between this season for the Wild; however, they will try to make it four wins in a row tonight as the Anaheim Ducks roll into town for the third meeting between the two teams. 

Each team has won on their home ice thus far in the season series, with the Wild taking the first game in dramatic fashion, coming from three goals behind in the third period to win the game in overtime and the Ducks returning the favor with a 3-2 victory in Anaheim just eight days later.     

The Water Fowl are just one point behind the Wild in the Western Conference standings, but have dropped their last two games and have struggled for most of this season. 

Part of those struggles have been because of their goaltending.  The usually spectacular tandem of Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastian Giguere have both been putting up pedestrian numbers this season—Giguere with a .918 save percentage and a 2.61 goals-against average and Hiller with .909 and 3.09 respectively. 

The Wild, meanwhile, are riding a three game winning streak and are 4-0-1 in their last five games, with their current winning ways pulling them to a 12-12-3 record after starting the season 3-9-0. 

A large part of the Wild’s new winning ways is the fresh lease on life that new acquisitions Andrew Ebbett and Guillaume Latendresse have.  Ebbett and G-Lat were both castoffs from their prior teams and have found stability with the Wild, each playing a humungous part in the team’s five-game point streak.  On top of that, captain Mikko Koivu has five points in his last three games. 

Probable Lineup(s)
While I have no information for the Ducklings, the Wild should be rolling the same offensive lines as they did against Nashville: 

Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Nolan-Belanger-Kobasew
Latendresse-Brodziak-Clutterbuck
Havlat-Ebbett-Boogaard 

The fact that Martin Havlat has been shifted to the team’s fourth line speaks to just how well this team is playing right now.  If he wants to move up, he’s going to need to start showing something to the coaching staff.  His assist in Wednesday’s game is a good start, but he needs to start showing that he can be the Martin Havlat that led the Blackhawks in points despite playing second-line minutes last season before he can expect to start being shifted up the lineup again. 

On defense, the Wild will again look much the same with the exception of John Scott being shifted in for Jamie Sifers against a big, physical team of Duckies. 

Zanon-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Hnidy-Scott 

That Zanon and Zidlicky are the team’s first defensive pairing speaks to just how well these two are playing right now.  Despite his blunder in the first period against Nashville, which led to a Jason Arnott goal, Zidlicky is playing some of the best hockey of his career right now.  He’s becoming more responsible on defense, along with being encouraged to jump up into the play on offense.  He still has one of the best shots on the Wild and is now feeling comfortable enough to be able to pinch up to use it, but still be able to maintain his defensive responsibilities. 

In nets, it looks like we’ll be seeing Niklas Backstrom again, thought it wouldn’t surprise me if the team opted for Harding as a late switch. 

What to Watch For
Keep an eye out for Corey Perry in this one.  Perry is always dangerous but should be even more so tonight as he will be looking to get back on the scoresheet after having his 19-game point streak snapped last night against Dallas. 

Despite being shutout in the game last night, Perry has 12 points in his last ten games. 

The Quackers will need Perry in this one, as they have dropped seven straight on the road and I would just like to mention that, by pointing that seemingly inane statistic out, I have just doomed the Wild to a night of failure. 

Also, keep an eye out for the Wild’s special teams—most notably, if you can spot them. 

The Wild’s powerplay started out strong this season, but with the losses of Brent Burns, Petr Sykora and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, as well as absences from Martin Havlat and Antti Miettinen, their powerplay has fizzled as of late, dropping to 19.3%. 

The Mallards are an aggressive team and prone to taking penalties, so don’t be surprised if the Wild’s powerplay unit gets their fair share of action in tonight’s game. 

Hopefully, however, that is a good thing for the Wild. 

Keys to the Game
The Wild need to stay out of the box. 

Against a team as aggressive as the Web-Footed Birds (give me a break…I’m running out of fresh names to call the Ducks) are, it is easy to let yourself fall into the same trap and take retaliation penalties.  The Wild need to avoid this at all costs. 

More penalties means more time that the Wild can expect to see the unit of Perry, Getzlaf and Ryan and the less time they spend on the ice, the better for the Wild. 

Injuries will also play a part. 

The Ducks are missing Teemu Selanne, Kyle Calder, Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Carter, while the Wild are still missing Burns, Bouchard and Sykora. 

My Predictions
And now I’ll make a few predictions destined to be very, very far from the mark. 

First, the Wild will continue their win streak with a 4-3 victory (strike number two against the team in this blog alone). 

Second, the newcomers will continue their strong play.  Both Latendresse and Ebbett have provided some much needed scoring punch to the lineup and will continue to do so. 

Third, Martin Havlat will start getting back on track.  I know this one might be a stretch but, come on…The guy’s due.

There you have it, folks.  My extremely unscientific and possibly biased view of tonight’s game. 

The puck drops at the X tonight at 7 pm CST.

Wild Fall to Bruins 2-1 in Shootout

Finish, finish, finish.

No, I’m not talking about the Finnish trio of Niklas Backstrom, Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen.

Instead, I’m talking about the Wild’s lack of finishing skills.

Once again, on Wednesday night, the Wild were stymied by the “hot hand” in net as the team failed to score more than two goals for the eleventh time in 23 games.  Despite outshooting the Bruins by a margin of 29-16, the only goal that the Wild could muster was newcomer Andrew Ebbett’s tip-in goal just over halfway through the second period.

Ebbett managed to impress early and often in this one, as his speed and his skill shone through as he centered the team’s best line of the evening, playing pivot to Owen Nolan and James Sheppard.

After being placed on waivers twice so far in this young season, once by Anaheim and once by Chicago, Ebbett tipped an Owen Nolan shot past Rask to tie the game at one.

This is the second time this month that the Wild has failed to capitalize on a big win after a long layoff – the first being the month’s first game against Vancouver.

In addition to their injury problems, which have been well documented, the Wild skated a man down in Wednesday’s game due to a late illness to Miettinen, making him a late scratch.

You wouldn’t have guessed that the Wild were a man down on the evening by their effort, however.  The team came out strong and controlled play, not allowing the Bruins to have a shot on goal until 6:30 of the first period.

The Bruins made the shot count, however, as Byron Bitz tipped a shot from the point by Derek Morris past Backstrom to give them the early lead.

Despite tying it in the second, the Wild could never quite get the edge on the Bruins and the game went to an extra frame for the third time in the last six games and, just as in the other two, the Wild suddenly became inept in the shootout.

The story of the game, however, was the play of Tuukka Rask who was starting his fifth straight game in the absence of the injured Tim Thomas.  Rask stopped 28 shots in all, including five in overtime (one of which was a marvelous chance by Mikko Koivu at point-blank range) and three of four shootout chances.  With the victory,  Rask improved to 7-2-1 in the season, while Backstrom fell to 8-9-3 on the season with the loss.

The Wild play again at 1 pm CST against the Colorado Avalance on Nov. 27.

Wild Notes: James Sheppard once again played a strong game at wing, getting his second assist in two games and giving him a season-high two-game point streak. … Guillaume Latendresse, the player the Wild received in exchange for Benoit Pouliot, is currently unavailable to the team due to work visa issues.  The team hopes that the issues will be resolved in time for the team’s annual day-after-Thanksgiving matinee on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche. … Pierre-Marc Bouchard met briefly with Boston’s Patrice Bergeron Wednesday morning.  Bergeron, who has missed large parts of the last two seasons with concussions, had advice and some encouragement for Bouchard.  Bouchard has only played in one game this season due to a concussion. … After starting the season with just one goal and two assists in 11 games, Owen Nolan has five goals and three assists in his last 12 games. … Wednesday’s game was Shane Hnidy’s 499^th career game. … In addition to Miettinen being sidelined due to injury, the Wild were missing Martin Havlat, Brent Burns, Petr Sykora and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, all due to injuries.

Opening Day Eve — What’s Under the Tree?

It’s Opening Night Eve for the Wild, and it’s looking a lot like Christmas Eve.  We’ve got the presents sitting underneath the tree, wrapped up beautifully with a bow on the top, and we’re left spending all day anticipating what they’re going to turn into. 

I’m going to be brutally honest here.  I’m a Minnesota sports fan.  I’m bitterly used to disappointment. 

But this season, for whatever reason, I’m cautiously optimistic.

For whatever reason, I’m cautiously optimistic that the small box sitting to the side of the tree might be keys to a new car as opposed to a set of cuff links.  I’m cautiously optimistic that the shirt-sized box might just be a couple new video games as opposed to a dress shirt. 

There is a lot of cause for both optimism and trepidation this season with the Wild.  The team’s average age is roughly 28 years old.  Consider, though, that they have gray beards Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan on the roster, and you start to see the picture.  We have an exceedingly young team.  Seven of our players are 25 or younger and all of those seven players will play a large role as to whether or not our team succeeds.  

That said, here are some of my predictions for the Wild this season. 

Breakout Player: James Sheppard.  Shep is finally in a role where he will get to play the type of game he’s comfortable with.  He has no more excuses and he has had a very impressive pre-season.  Playing on a line with Antti Miettinen and Cal Clutterbuck, they have found a little chemistry and Sheppard finally looks like he’s comfortable in his role with the team.  He is definitely capable of putting up big numbers, but I would say that anything less than a 20-goal, 50-point season would be considered a disappointment for this youngster this season. 

Biggest Surprise: Benoit Pouliot.  A few weeks back, I posted an article ragging on Benny Poo, saying that it was time for the team to cut bait.  I’ve reconsidered my stance since then, and I think that Pouliot could thrive for us under the right circumstances.  He still takes shifts off every once in a while and he still has a lot that he needs to work on and to learn to be an effective, every day player in this league, but the flashes he has shown this pre-season have been far bigger flashes than in previous years.  He could be poised to try to make an impact on the team, especially knowing that it is likely do-or-die time for him. 

Best Addition(s): Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy.  I know what you’re thinking.  “But Blake, what about Martin Havlat?  What about Petr Sykora?”  Don’t get me wrong.  Havlat and Sykora are going to do great things with this team this season.  They’re huge additions and they’re going to help us in many different ways.  But Zanon and Hnidy give us a blueline that is distinctly different than it was last season.  Last season, our blueline was a point machine.  Behind Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron, our blueline could put up points like nothing else.  But our defensemen lacked grit and in a big way.  Adding Zanon and Hnidy, along with keeping Scott and Sifers on the roster, should give us some much needed grit on our blueline and help protect Niklas Backstrom a bit more. 

Key to Success: Staying healthy.  This may sound like a no-brainer, but the injury bug has hit Minnesota hard over the last few years.  This pre season was no different.  This is definitely a team that can make some noise if they stay healthy.  If they don’t, however, we could be looking at a frustrating season much like last year.  A healthy Martin Havlat and Petry Sykora should easily replace the void (or lack thereof) left by Marian Gaborik’s departure.  Our full line up is certainly capable of beating any team in the league — it’s just a matter of staying healthy now. 

Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune has predicted that the Wild will miss the playoffs this season, finishing much as they did last season, and it’s hard to fault him on that.  The top five spots in the West are fairly easy to predict — it’s the bottom three in the playoff picture that will cause problems.  Anyone in the bottom of the conference (yes, even Phoenix) is capable of making a push for the playoffs.  I’m not going to waver with my prediction that the Wild will make the playoffs this season and, while I think that the Northwest will be a close division again, I think that the Wild are going to be firmly entrenched in second in our division. 

But it’s almost time to drop the puck on this season for the Wild.  Christmas Day for Wild fans is almost here!

Wild Signs and Waives Hilbert; Game Notes

Unless there is a new rule in the NHL, you can’t place tryout players on waivers. 

So I guess that means that Andy Hilbert has officially been signed to a two-way contract by the Minnesota Wild, as was the rumor. 

I really like this move by Fletcher, as it gives the Wild a veteran that it can turn to if a mid-season call up is needed.  As I mentioned before, Hilbert is a pretty vanilla player, but the good thing about him is that he does everything good enough to compete in the NHL.  The problem has been that he doesn’t necessarily do anything well enough to stand out. 

That said, in the form of a call up, he could be a pretty useful player. 

Richards has talked a lot about the team’s “compete factor,” and Hilbert definitely has that.  He’ll play his rear end off each and every night for you, so he’s got that going for him…Which is good. 

Some thoughts on last night’s shootout victory: 

• My God does the Wild have a potent shootout line up.  Last night, they ran with Koivu, Havlat, Sykora and Miettinen as their top four.  That leaves Burns, Bouchard, Sheppard, Nolan, Brunette and Zidlicky left before it even starts to get remotely sticky.  A nice luxury to have in the era of the post-overtime skills competition.
• Wild fans can rest easy.  Backstrom played much, much better than the 4 goals allowed last night signified.  I’d say that this was more of the 34-save performance than the giving up 4-goals kind.  He was absolutely dazzling at times.  The first goal, however, was the kind that has become Steady Nik’s kryptonite over the past few years.  A deflection off of the stick of our own player.  He could have and probably should have had it, but he just misjudged it.  It happens, and hopefully it will happen a lot less with players blocking shots with their bodies as opposed to their sticks.
• Braydon Coburn sure picked the wrong person to piss off last night.  I don’t quite want to quote Chris Tucker, but he sure got knocked down a few pegs by Cowboy.
• Clutterbuck had yet another fantastic game.  I’d look for this guy to have a huge season this year, as Richards absolutely loves him and he’s really earning a lot more looks.
• Sheppard had another steady night.  He’s poised for a breakout season (finally!) and he should impress this year.
• Our D looks really rough.  Zanon and Hnidy were really the only ones who looked comfortable out there.  I wouldn’t worry, though.  We’ve still got a world class defensive unit…They’ll come around. 

Look back here in the coming days for a preview of our season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets this weekend!

Wild Sign Sykora

So the worst kept secret in the NHL (or at least one of them this pre-season) has come to pass.

The Wild signed right wing Petr Sykora to a one-year, $1.6M contract today effectively ending his tryout the day after it began.

“I’m shocked,” Sykora sarcastically told reporters.  “I guess my practice yesterday made them sign me.”

All joking aside, this is a fantastic move for the Wild and one that gives them a legitimate second-line scoring threat.  No offense to Cal Clutterbuck or Antti Miettinen, but Sykora has proven season after season (10-straight, in fact) that he is a capable 20 goal scorer.  You’ve got to expect that Sykora will play on the second line centered by playmaker extraordinaire, Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Sykora’s signing brings up a couple questions now, though.

First, where do the fringe players fit in?

The Wild had a few players that they were giving nice, long looks to in camp to try to win their way on the squad and Sykora has now effectively taken one of the few spots available.  This means that the jobs of Andy Hilbert (who was at camp on a tryout), Colton Gillies, Danny Irmen and Petr Kalus just got a lot more difficult.

Essentially, the signing leaves the team with approximately $800k remaining in cap room and GM Cliff Fletcher wanting to leave more room than that for call ups due to injuries.  What this adds up to is either a) players who otherwise might have made the squad now won’t or b) there’s going to be some trading going on in the weeks leading up to the season.

If the case is option B, who are the most likely casualties?

Immediately, you’d have to look to Eric Belanger.  The Wild now have the luxury of having too many centers (what a difference a year makes) and, ultimately, Belanger doesn’t really seem like he fits into the current team’s plans.  While Belanger is no stranger to these rumors, he has fit in quite well on the Wild and I, for one, would be sad to see him go.  He’s a solid checking line center that works hard each and every night and takes extreme pride in what he does.

Finally, who moves off the second line?

Initially, in practice this season, the team’s second line has been Miettinen, Clutterbuck and Bouchard.  Bouchard is set at center from the looks of things, so that leaves it between the two wings — Miettinen and Clutterbuck. 

Personally, I think that Miettinen makes more sense to have on the second line.  I think that Clutterbuck could benefit greatly from being Owen Nolan’s linemate for a season and Miettinen has a little bit more refined of an offensive game than Clutterbuck does at this point in his career.

It’s obviously a conundrum for coach Todd Richards to sort out but, quite honestly, it’s one that the Wild should be happy to have.

That’s it for today, but tomorrow is game two of the pre-season, so keep your eyes peeled for another gameday thread!

The Dreaded Season Preview

Camp is just around the corner.

I was going to get ambitious and do a full 30-team preview of this season…But that will be covered by our father site, Hockey Primetime, so I’ll leave that to them.

Meanwhile, the Wild have been linked to both Alex Tanguay and Mike Comrie in the rumor mill.  The Tanguay rumors have since been substantiated, but the Comrie rumors are still just that — rumors.  With Tanguay, if the Wild are to sign him, they will likely have to unload some salary via a trade.  Despite the fact that Tanguay will likely be looking at a pay cut from last season’s salary, the Wild still would need to make some moves to fit him under the cap.

Comrie is an entirely different animal.  He’s been spotty, at best, throughout his NHL career, but when he’s on, he’s a terrific talent.  It’s just a matter of whether or not he’s on.  He can put up numbers when he’s on, but when he’s off he can be horrible.  That said, he could be a bargain that the Wild could use.

In any event, the Wild are mostly done with their off season and moving towards the pre-season.  With that in mind, here is our season preview, here at Wild Nation.

Key Additions: RW – Martin Havlat, C – Kyle Brodziak, D – Shane Hnidy, D – Greg Zanon

Key Losses: RW – Marian Gaborik, LW – Stephane Veilleux, D – Kurtis Foster, D – Marc-Andre Bergeron, D – Martin Skoula

Overview: This off season saw the Wild receive a complete make over.  The only thing that was missing was Ty Pennington standing outside of the Xcel Energy Center, shouting “Move that bus!”  Immediately after the season ended, the only head coach in team history, Jacques Lemaire, stepped down leaving an enormous void for the team to fill.  A short time later, owner Craig Leipold decided that it was time for the team to switch directions and let General Manager Doug Risebrough go as well.  The General Manager search was punctuated by the hiring of wunderkind GM-in-training Chuck Fletcher signing on the dotted line.  The Wild got their man, now it’s time for the team to put the rubber to the road and see what they can accomplish.

Coaching: One of Fletcher’s first moves was to bring in Todd Richards as coach for the team.  Richards was, honestly, the team’s first choice and an easy hire for Fletcher to make.  The difficult part will be once the season starts.  With coaching candidates such as Peter Laviolette and Guy Carbonneau that were passed up for Richards, he will be expected to pay dividends immediately.  Having promised an aggressive, up-tempo style of play, Richards will be expected to get the most out of players like Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard, who struggled mightily in Jacques Lemaire’s system.  Truthfully, I have never thought that Lemaire’s system was the problem with these players — but that will be put to the test this season.  The biggest problem for Richards is going to be experience.  He is going into the season with the prospect of facing the lion’s share of their games against their division rivals, most who have coaches that have a good amount of experience winning at the NHL level.  As Dan Bylsma and Bruce Boudreau have both proven, that isn’t necessarily worth anything more than the paper it’s printed on.  At the same time, however, a new face coming into a new team could pose problems for Richards early.  Look for him to rely heavily on the experience of Mike Ramsay behind the bench early on in the season.  Grade: C+ 

Forwards: This season is going to see the Wild look drastically different up front.  Not necessarily because of the loss of Marian Gaborik (Wild fans were plenty used to not seeing him on the ice during his tenure with the team), but because of the changes that could come with a new coach.  The undersized Bouchard may no longer be relegated to the wing and may get a chance to play his natural position once again.  James Sheppard will likely get an increased role in the team, as will resident bowling ball, Cal Clutterbuck.  The team will roll into camp with seven players on the camp roster that can legitimately play center — something that is quite odd for a team that has struggled at depth at that position.  If a second-line center is not acquired before camp, look for Bouchard to fill that role.  Either way, though, the team is lacking a sixth legitimate top-six forward.  This isn’t to say that they don’t have players that have the talent to step up into that role, but the players that they have that are capable don’t have the best track record at doing so.  Where the team really excels is in their bottom-six forwards.  Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak, Eric Belanger and Antti Miettinen are all experienced checking forwards and can all be part of a line that is capable of shutting the other team down.  Factor in tough guy Derek Boogaard and prospects Pouliot, Sheppard and Colton Gillies and you have a bottom-six that could be pretty imposing to play against.  Overall, the team is certainly not top heavy at forward and will likely look to their role players to again play a significant part of their scoring.  The addition of a healthy Havlat will likely help the team significantly but, unless another top-six forward is acquired, the fans of Minnesota could again be looking at a low-scoring season.  Grade: B-

Defense: This could, yet again, be the team’s strong suit.  They have defensemen that are capable of stepping up and joining the rush in Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky, but now have four defensemen that are more than capable in a stay-at-home role, including two that will be given increased offensive responsibilities as well.  Nick Schultz is one of the most under rated defensive defensemen in the game and, under Richards’ new system, I would look for him to flourish and have a tremendous year.  Schultz has the tools to be a fantastic two-way defenseman and now will get to use his offensive tools a little more, as Fletcher has asked him to take more of an offensive responsibility as well.  Kim Johnsson is a former 40-point scorer on the blueline that will likely be given all of the tools to return to that stature.  After concussion problems sidelined him with the Flyers, the Wild took a chance on him and got one of their more reliable defensemen over the past few years.  The biggest change in the blueline, however, is the sandpaper added through Greg Zanon, Shane Hnidy and John Scott.  These three will likely share minutes as the fifth and sixth defensemen for the team and add a great deal of grit to the line up.  All three love to hit and all three are solid, stay-at-home defensemen that can be paired with either Burns or Zidlicky to give the Wild a presence behind them when they pinch in.  As for Burns and Zidlicky, a new system gives them the opportunity to showcase their offensive abilities.  Burns had a rough season last year, switching back and forth between wing and defense and struggling with injuries and fans can expect him to rebound this season.  As for Zidlicky, you can expect more of the same.  Poor decisions punctuated by fantastic offensive moments.  Zidlicky will likely find himself paired with either Johnsson or Schultz most of the time and will be looked at to contribute heavily on the powerplay.  Overall, I feel that this is still one of the strengths of the team and the addition of the grit will easily make them better.  Despite playing in a new system, expect stalwart defensemen Johnsson, Burns and Schultz to continue to practice what they learned under the tutelage of Jacques Lemaire and don’t expect this unit to give up many chances.  Grade: A-

Goaltending: Let’s get one thing out of the way right now.  Niklas Backstrom is actually this good.  The system certainly helped him but, when he’s on, he’s one of the top five goalies in the league — easily.  Last season, Backstrom was one of the biggest reasons why the Wild were even in the playoff hunt and this season it will likely be the same story if they are to be there again.  He will likely face a few more quality chances per game, but I wouldn’t expect that to change the results much.  Behind him, barring a trade will be Josh Harding.  For Wild fans, that is great news.  Harding was slated to be the Wild’s heir apparent in net before the emergence of Backstrom, and he has evolved into quite the goaltender.  This is again a case of the Wild having a 1A and 1B goaltender, as Harding can easily slide in and the Wild won’t miss a beat.  If Harding is traded, the Wild picked up New York Islanders folk hero, Wade Dubielewicz as an insurance policy.  While Dubie is nowhere near the goaltender that Harding is, he is more than a sufficient back up and has proven that he is capable of winning games at the NHL level.  Overall, goaltending will again be the strongest part of the team and will again be the backbone of any playoff push that the Wild hopes to make this season.  Grade: A+

Line Combinations: This will likely be changed throughout the season, but here is what I would expect the Wild’s line combos to look like:

Forward
Andrew Brunette/Mikko Koivu/Martin Havlat
Owen Nolan/Pierre-Marc Bouchard/Cal Clutterbuck
Antti Miettinen/James Sheppard/Colton Gillies
Derek Boogaard/Eric Belanger/Kyle Brodziak

Extras: Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot

Defense
Brent Burns/Nick Schultz
Marek Zidlicky/Kim Johnsson
Greg Zanon/Shane Hnidy

Extra: John Scott

Goaltending
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding

Captain: One of the biggest question marks this season is “who will the captain be?”  The odds on favorite, most likely, is Mikko Koivu.  He captained the team for most of last season and emerged as both a leader on the ice and in the locker room.

If I’m Richards, however, I look to one person and one person only.  The man they call Cowboy — Owen Nolan.

Nolan is one of the most respected and feared veterans in the league and commands respect wherever he goes.  Giving him the ‘C’ will give legitimacy to what is, once again, a young team searching for their identity and sends a message to all of the players in the locker room:

This is the standard expected of you.

The team was abysmal without Nolan on the ice last season and his dedication to the team shone through in the way he carried himself.  He is to this team what Wes Walz was when he was playing.  He is the type of player that will lead this team regardless of whether or not he has the ‘C.’

So why not make it official?  Slap the ‘C’ on number 11’s chest and watch it all unfold.

Expected Finish: Honestly, this is my expectation.  If the team is healthy (Havlat, Burns, Nolan etc.), this team is a playoff team.  They were a few points from the playoffs last season without their top scorer — there’s no reason to think that they can’t make it this season if they’re healthy.  To go one step farther…If this team is healthy, they can win the division.  Vancouver failed to improve this off season, while Calgary got better on the back end, but worse up front.  The two powers of this division are ripe for the picking and, the Wild are the best team for the job.  Realistically, I think this team can have a shot at the division crown once again — but things will have to go their way.  On this one, though, I’ll split the difference.  2^nd in the Northwest, 6^th in the West.

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