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.
The Minnesota Wild Season in Review Part 5 of 5: Looking Ahead
Well, it’s taken a lot longer than I’d expected, but here we are—part five of my five part season in review.
I’ve looked at the season on a whole, the forwards, the defense, the goaltenders, the management and now it’s time to take a look ahead to what this off season could bring.
The Wild have a long shopping list for this off season and not a whole lot of money to shop with. They currently have 17 players under contract and have restricted free agents Guillaume Latendresse and Josh Harding yet to sign.
Their shopping list will likely include another defenseman and at least one more forward, but likely two, just to be safe.
So, let’s look at what the team needs, shall we?
The first need that the team will try to address, for sure, will be another stay-at-home, shutdown defenseman. With six defensemen under contract and approximately $16.6 million allotted to these defensemen it’s hard to believe that the Wild will go out and spend on a top-flight free agent blueliner.
What I can see, however, is the Wild spending anywhere between one and two million on a defenseman that is reliable, but not flashy—someone that they can pair with their more aggressive, offensive defensemen.
The problem is that there aren’t too many players available with that description for that price tag.
Possible Targets: Milan Jurcina, Brett Lebda, Kurtis Foster
Another need that the team desperately needs is a second line center.
The Wild do already have someone within their organization that they are hoping will fit this bill in Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
The big question about Butch, however, is his health. While he has been cleared to begin light exercising, Bouchard is still experiencing many post-concussion symptoms.
With that being the case, I would expect the Wild to pursue a center looking to spend between two and four million on him.
With the impending departure of Mike Modano from Dallas, there are a few that are hoping for a nostalgic end to the former North Star’s career. In my opinion, that would be a huge mistake for the Wild.
While Modano would be a significant upgrade from James Sheppard, the fact remains that he’s 41 years old and his production has decreased significantly over the past few seasons.
What they do need, however, is a gritty, skilled center to play on their second line between Latendresse and Martin Havlat.
Possible Targets: Matthew Lombardi, Mike Comrie, Brendan Morrison, Chris Higgins
Another player that the Wild will likely look towards is a gritty forward to replace the likes of Andrew Ebbett, Owen Nolan and Derek Boogaard, all of whom will likely leave in free agency.
This is one thing that there are a lot of in this year’s free agent market.
They won’t have to pay a lot for these players, but these players are going to be invaluable to the Wild in the future and General Manager Chuck Fletcher knows this.
With the trade for Brad Staubitz, Fletcher has gotten some of this toughness but judging from how both the Ducks and the Penguins were built, and make no mistake that those teams had his finger prints all over them, he’s not done with this.
Possible Targets: Adam Burish, Raffi Torres, Colby Armstrong, Evgeny Artyukhin
Finally, I’d look for the Wild to take a shot at trying to acquire another top-six forward; probably a winger.
It won’t be any flashy signing like Ilya Kovalchuk, unless Fletcher can work some serious cap magic, but there is a definite need for a player that can score consistently to play alongside Andrew Brunette and Mikko Koivu on the team’s first line.
Again, I would expect the team to go after someone in the two to four million dollar range for this, as it’s going to need to make sense both economically as well as for the team on a whole.
Possible Targets: Marek Svatos, Alexander Frolov, Slava Kozlov, Alexei Ponikarovsky
Whatever the Wild does, there is going to be a sense of excitement surrounding the team come July 1.
It’s Christmas in July for NHL fans and fans in Minnesota are hoping that the Wild come out on top.
Since Hindsight is 20/20, We’re Looking Ahead
It’s not quite official yet, Wild Nation-ites, but it’s all but that.
The Wild will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.
The is still an infinitesimal chance that they could pull it out, but it would involve the Wild coming out and putting together a 5-0 stretch run combined with every single team that they’re chasing tanking.
In other words:
It ain’t gonna happen.
Chuck Fletcher has a long, arduous road ahead of him too, because the cold hard facts have laid out a pretty rocky looking off season, so let’s play some fact and fiction here, shall we?
FACT: Minnesota has approximately $48.2 million tied up in 18 players for next season.
FACT: Minnesota has definite needs to be addressed at forward and not a whole lot of roster spaces or money to do so.
FICTION: The Wild will be able to address their need for a scoring threat in free agency.
FICTION: There are a number of free agents that could fill the Wild’s needs.
Now, before you get all up in arms about this, let’s think this through rationally.
You can cross Ilya Kovalchuk off your wish list. It ain’t gonna happen unless Fletcher can work some sort of cap magic. Kovie wants the league maximum and the Wild don’t even have league maximum type of space.
Patrick Marleau is an intriguing option, but he’s been playing on a line with Jumbo Joe and Heater for most season. It would be a risk and I don’t know that it would necessarily be a risk worth taking.
Alexander Frolov? I don’t know that we want another underachieving European forward.
Tomas Plekanec? If he doesn’t re-sign with Montreal, their entire ownership will likely be run out of town.
Ray Whitney? Not at 37. Olli Jokinen? No thanks. Chris Higgins? Not a chance.
You get the picture.
But, looking forward to 2011, there’s more potential there.
Brad Richards, Joe Thornton, Alexander Semin, Simon Gagne, Martin St. Louis, Patrice Bergeron, Tim Connolly and Michael Ryder are all players that should at least be intriguing for Wild fans.
Will all of them get to free agency?
Probably not. But there’s a good chance that a few might.
So this off season is likely going to be filled with the Wild filling out their roster with role players — players that aren’t going to set the world on fire, but that aren’t going to be bad pick ups either.
This off season, though, I think could be telling of how quickly the Wild will be built into the mold of what Fletcher wants.
Below is a list of what I imagine will be keys to the Wild’s off season:
- Re-sign Guillaume Latendresse.
- Say what you will about his performance this season, but Latendresse has proven that he’s a valuable player. He’s managed to shake just about every single knock that Montreal fans have had against him and has been our best player since coming over in the trade. The problem with this is that you don’t know what player you’re going to be signing. Will you be getting the Guillaume Latendresse that was benched or skated on the fourth line in Montreal, or will you be getting his super-powered alter ego, The Tenderness, who has lit the lamp more times in one season than anyone to wear a Wild sweater not named Gaborik or Rolston? It is conceivable that he’s got contract year-itis, but it’s also possible that the pressure being lifted off of his shoulders is doing wonders for his career. Listening to him talk, I’d say it’s the latter of the two. To be safe, though, I can’t see the Wild signing him to longer than a two-year deal with the promise of more talks to come if he keeps it up.
- Lock Mikko Koivu up long-term.
- This is a no-brainer. While Koivu may never be a 100+ point player (though he could be with the right line mates), he is the heart and soul of this franchise. I would like to see him signed to a Datsyuk-ian or Zetterberg-ian contract, meaning the rest of his career for a reasonable cap hit.
- Hit the trade market
- You’ve no doubt gathered by now that I just don’t believe that vast improvements through the free agent market this season are going to happen. I’m not saying that it’s an impossibility — just more of an improbability. Where the Wild are going to make an impact this off season is the same place that they made an impact this season. The trade market.
Now I know that neither of these three are a huge revelation to anyone. Latendresse are our two top players this season and Fletcher has shown a penchant to making good trades this season. But I’d like to stay on that last one for just a moment.
Trades are going to be made. Plain and simple.
And, given the performance of the team down the stretch, I’d say there aren’t many players that are safe. In fact, I’ll list all the players that I think might be safe from trade.
Mikko Koivu
Guillaume Latendresse
Martin Havlat
Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Cal Clutterbuck
Casey Wellman
Brent Burns
Cam Barker
Greg Zanon
Josh Harding
Now, let me be clear. There are two names on there that are on there due to injury status and not for any other reason. Bouchard and Harding’s stock has got to be at an all-time low, which is one big reason why I think we’ll see Harding back in Minnesota next season.
At forward, Koivu and Latendresse are fairly obvious. Havlat, despite his horrible start to the season, has been pretty good in the new year, with 11 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 36 games with a minus-four rating and even then Fletcher wouldn’t trade his big free agency pick up this early in the game…Plus, you know, no movement clause. Clutterbuck is, well, Clutterbuck. There’s no way that Fletcher is going to trade Wellman after winning out over 21 other teams. Burns has played his way onto this list over the last couple weeks. Barker was the centerpiece of the Johnsson trade and there’s no way that he’s going to be traded after giving up so much and Zanon…Well…Yeah.
This is to say that, if you don’t see your favorite player on this list you might want to at least prepare yourself for the idea that he’s not going to be wearing the Iron Range Red next season.
I’m not saying that everyone but these ten will be gone. Far from it. There are quite a few players in the organization that I think it would take a killer deal for the Wild to agree to trade (Backstrom and Schultz being two of these), but that being said…I truly don’t think that there are many players that Fletcher wouldn’t listen to offers for.
Overall, the prognosis could be good for Minnesota next season. The team has, legitimately, five top-four defensemen (Burns, Schultz, Barker, Zidlicky and Zanon) and one more that could turn into one if he’s healthy (Stoner). They have one world class goaltender (Backstrom) who will be coming off of a down season (can you say incentive?) and potentially another (Harding) who will be looking to increase his value for his UFA day. Then, at forward they’ll be getting Butch back (God-willing), will have a full season with The Tenderness, and have a young core with a bunch more experience.
They might not be the best team in the league, but they’re a team that 1) is struggling through an injury-riddled season and 2) have had a few players who have not contributed to the extent that they were expected to.
Do we have significant holes?
Without a doubt. But we also have enough on our roster to overcome these holes and become a potentially dangerous team.
While they admit it or not, the Wild management is certainly undertaking some semblance of a rebuild. Our former general manager (who will not be named in this blog) did his best to make sure that his predecessor wouldn’t have an easy job ahead of him, but you can see signs that the organization is headed in the right direction.
Hopefully they have a roadmap so they don’t get lost along the way.
Gameday Thread – Game 53 – Wings @ Wild
UPDATE: So the blogosphere is flip-flopping as much as John Kerry on tonight’s starting goalie. First it was Backstrom, then it was Harding, then it was Backstrom again, now it might be Harding. I’m just going to go ahead and say that no one but the coach has any stinking idea who will start tonight (but, between the two, my guess will be Backstrom). Also, the Wild assigned Petr Sykora to Houston and have reportedly reached an agreement with his agent to mutually terminate his contract, pending league approval.
There’s no doubt that the Wild this season have been about as consistent as a schizophrenic on speed and have left many of their loyal fanbase in desperate need of some sort of emotional therapy.
Bearing that in mind, consider this blog right here your own personal “truth zone.” I promise that I won’t try to sugarcoat things for you and I promise that I’ll try to remain optimistic about the Wild’s chances this season.
Realistically, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
Martin Havlat has finally caught fire and is playing like the player we thought we were getting at the season’s onset. Mikko Koivu is on pace for yet another career season. Guillaume Latendresse is playing like a man possessed for the Wild, having scored 13 goals and 19 points in just 27 games with the team.
Have I mentioned that we’ve gotten Brent Burns back, and he’s actually playing Brent Burns hockey? Or that Robbie Earl is scoring a goal in about every third game and truly looking like he belongs? Or that this could quite possibly be the most closely knit Wild team that I’ve seen in quite some time?
There is, indeed, light on the horizon for the boys in Iron Range Red.
The problem is that we’re not on the horizon yet. We’re in the here and now.
It would be easy to go into some long rant about how this game is a must win, how it would do wonders for the team’s confidence, how a solid game from Backstrom would be great for his confidence.
All of the above holds true.
But we’ll just put it this way.
We’re sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference, just five points from the final playoff spot. Just five points behind the very team that we play tonight.
A regulation win tonight puts us three points behind them (for those who, like myself, are mathematically challenged).
Right now, Hockey Reference has the Wild listed as having a 14% chance of making the playoffs. Hardly a foregone conclusion, but also there is hope.
The problem, for the Wild, lies behind the fact that they are having to play catch up.
The teams that they’re chasing?
Well, the Sharks have won five straight, the Avs six, the Kings three – you get the point.
The good news is that the teams that they are most likely to catch are either struggling or in a flat-out free fall.
The team tonight gets lumped in with the former.
While everyone in Detroit is remaining optimistic that this is a team that could do damage in the playoffs, if healthy (and let’s be honest, they really could), the fact is that they are currently decimated by injuries – something that the Wild need to take advantage of tonight.
Lineup(s)
To be honest, I’m not quite sure how the lines will roll out for the Wild past the top two, but here’s my best guess, otherwise known what I would do were I the one making the lineups:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Earl
Sheppard-Ebbett-Clutterbuck
Now, I know what you’re asking. Clutterbuck on the fourth line? You’re demoting Cal for Robbie Earl? WTF mate!?
Am I crazy? There’s a good chance. But here’s my thoughts. Robbie Earl has five goals this season. Hardly Ovechkin-esque numbers, right? But his shooting percentage? 41.7%. He has five goals on 12 shots. To me, that deserves a shot at playing with the big boys.
Meanwhile, Clutterbuck has not been playing his best over the last few games. By no means do I think he deserves a demotion to the eight minutes a game that Earl has been averaging, but I do think that Earl deserves a promotion to more than eight minutes per-game, to see what he can do.
On defense, it’s likely going to be more of the same:
Zidlicky-Zanon
Johnsson-Schultz
Burns-Hnidy
Look for Burns’s icetime to start increasing, however. He’s going to start getting more and more icetime as his level of conditioning continues to improve and the Wild need him to do just that, especially in a game like tonight’s against an extremely tough opponent.
In net, we’ll get Backstrom despite him getting his “maintenance” day yesterday. Don’t kid yourselves. He’s struggling, but he’s still our number one and he needs to play his way out of this slump, no matter how painful it is to watch.
What to Watch For
Seriously. Robbie Earl.
Why? The Wild is 10-3-2 with him in the lineup and 9-0-1 in his last ten.
Whatever it is that Robbie brings to this team when he’s suited up, it’s infectious. The team has, on a whole, played better with him in the lineup. His speed and grit help this team a great deal and he’s just the type of sparkplug that the Wild need in their lineup.
Also, keep an eye on Guillaume Latendresse.
After his hot streak got him named the third star of the week a couple weeks ago, he has been silent in his last three games.
The good news with G-Lat is twofold.
First, he usually comes out of his shell quite nicely after a scoreless streak. (Six game scoreless streak, followed by four goals in four games. Four game scoreless streak, followed by seven goals and 12 points in seven games.)
Second, even when he’s not scoring he can be an energizer and a difference maker. How? He’s averaging 2.5 shots per game since joining the Wild and 3.5 in his last ten games, and he has turned into a forechecking and checking machine since joining the Wild.
Finally, Niklas Backstrom.
Namely, which Nik will we get? Will we get the one who stoned Columbus for 59:30? Or will we get the one that saw a bad bounce break his shutout and get flustered into giving up one more.
My guess is that he will come out like a man possessed as he did against Columbus. He knows that the hasn’t been playing his best and he knows that the team needs him desperately. Backs will be ready tonight.
But will the Wild?
Key(s) to the Game
The Wild need to come out strong early.
They simply cannot afford to fall into another hole against a good team.
Jimmy Howard is proving that he is the man in net for Detroit and the Wild need to get to him early, as much for their confidence as his.
The Wild tend to score in bunches, so if they can get an early goal, there’s a good chance that their jump will continue and they might be able to extend their lead.
But they cannot afford to fall behind. If they fall behind to Detroit, especially by more than one goal, they will be in deep, deep trouble.
The Wild also NEED to limit the Wings’ scoring chances.
Detroit likes to shoot. Scratch that. They LOVE to shoot.
The Wild have got to protect Backstrom and get in shooting lanes. If they can prevent the Wings from getting a dearth of solid scoring opportunities, they will be able to stay in the game. But another shooting gallery, like happened in the teams’ last meeting?
It could be a long game.
Finally, the Wild need to, need to, need to stop the Wings’ top line. Let Dan Cleary beat you. Let Drew Miller beat you. Let Ville Leino beat you. But, for the love of God, do NOT let Bertuzzi or Datsyuk or Zetterberg beat you. The three of them account for 28% of Detroit’s points and 30% of Detroit’s goal production.
This isn’t saying that the three players I mentioned, or any of the Wings’ other players can’t beat you. But shutting down the Berzettersyuk line gives you a much better chance.
The puck drops tonight at 7pm and it is televised on FSN! For those following me on Twitter, I’ll hopefully be posting updates on there as we go (though they will definitely not rival those of Mike Russo). You can follow me on Twitter at @WildNation!
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 43 – Wild @ ‘Hawks
If anyone needed a break, it was the Minnesota Wild.
After a hot December that saw them tally ten victories (a team record for the month), the team proceeded to lose three games in five days, looking like a very tired team for the majority of those games.
But a two-day break in the Windy City and the presence of their fathers has the team rejuvenated and ready for action against the team that is arguably the best in the league—the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild have an extremely daunting task in front of them, as their loss on Saturday to the New Jersey Devils kicked off a month of January in which nine of the team’s 14 games are against teams that are currently in playoff contention and three more are against teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
In other words, January will be a good measuring stick for just how good this Wild team actually is.
The good news for the Wild is that Brent Burns has made this trip with the team and, though he didn’t practice, he is getting closer and closer every day to returning.
What’s more is that, by all accounts, the Wild held one of their hardest working practices of the season yesterday—in large part because of the presence of their fathers. The speculation following practice was that the Wild would have heard it afterwards if they didn’t, and I suspect the same will go for tonight’s game.
As for tonight’s game, the Wild will be facing a Blackhawks team that has won three straight and eight of their last ten. In fact, there’s not much that has not been going right for the ‘Hawks this season.
Lineup(s)
I haven’t heard of what the lines might or might not be for the Wild but; the injuries have been talked about. While Burns travelled, he is still out with a concussion. In addition, the Wild might be down one of their more important players and team leaders in Owen Nolan, who is questionable for tonight’s game. Assuming that Nolan doesn’t go, here’s my attempt at the forward lines:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Ebbett-Havlat
Clutterbuck-Belanger-Sykora
Boogaard-Brodziak-Sheppard
I think that, in the case of these lines, you could easily see James Sheppard and Cal Clutterbuck switch spots. First, because Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak have some absolutely sick chemistry with one another and second, because Sheppard is more of a playmaking-type player—something that could be important to getting sniper Petr Sykora rolling after returning from his concussion.
In addition, don’t be surprised if Sykora gets some shifts on Martin Havlat’s opposite wing, with Belanger in between them. The three were showing some fantastic chemistry before Sykora went down and it took the Wild a while to find some other players that fit with Havlat. That said, Havlat is riding a four-game points streak and has five goals and 15 points in his last 15 games, most of which has come playing with Andrew Ebbett and Guillaume Latendresse.
On the other hand, if Nolan is able to go tonight, I’d expect the casualty to be Derek Boogaard due, in large part, to his lack of mobility.
As for defense, I doubt you’ll see much of a change there. Clayton Stoner has recovered from his tweaked groin and continues to gain the confidence of the coaching staff. While he’s cooled off from his “call up” hot streak, Stoner has continued to play solid, physical defense—something that has endeared him to the coaching staff and the fans.
In addition, against the ‘Hawks quick forward group, I’d be surprised if the Wild rolled out John Scott who, as with Boogaard, isn’t the most mobile member of the team.
Zanon-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Stoner-Hnidy
In nets, expect to see Josh Harding who will give Niklas Backstrom a much needed break following performances that have seen him give up three goals in six of his last seven games.
Especially in his last few games, Backstrom simply looked tired and, because of this, I would expect Harding to be in the cage tonight regardless of the score—especially with an ever-important divisional match up coming tomorrow night.
What to Watch For
Keep an eye on the Wild’s defense tonight. Against both Los Angeles and New Jersey, they didn’t give their goaltenders much help and that will need to change in a big way against Chicago’s high octane offense.
As was mentioned earlier, the Wild’s fathers are on this trip and I would expect the team (and the defense especially) to play a solid, blue collared, hockey game—lots of hitting, lots of good positioning and lots of hard work.
For the Wild, keep an eye on the usual suspects—Havlat, Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette.
These three players have been three of the Wild’s hottest players of late, with Koivu picking up the Wild on his shoulders and shouldering much of their offensive load.
The dark horse for the Wild, however, is defenseman Marek Zidlicky.
While ‘Z’ has driven Wild fans crazy with his play in his own zone, he has certainly come into his own this season and is playing much better defense than he did last season. His pairing with Greg Zanon has turned into the Wild’s top defensive unit and he is showing that he is a true asset moving the puck.
In his last five games, Zidlicky has six assists and is a plus-one. He has had the hot passing hand and his ability to break the puck out will be crucial to the Wild’s transition game.
Key(s) to the Game
Which leads me into the first key to the game.
The Wild need to, need to, need to get their transition game going early. They are simply not going to get a whole lot of quality chances against the Blackhawks team and are going to be pressured early and often.
The Blackhawks give up just over 24 shots per game, while taking around 33. For the Wild to win, they are going to need to take advantage of the ‘Hawks aggressiveness and catch them pinching. If they can do that, they can get quality chances against this team. If they can’t, though, they might not be seeing too many of their pucks hitting the net.
Anyone who watched the Winter Classic can tell you that a solid transition game can change the tempo and the momentum of the game and that a solid transition game can win the game.
My second key to the game is discipline.
The Wild need to a) hope that Chicago remains disciplined and b) remain disciplined themselves.
The reason I say this is twofold. The Wild’s powerplay, of late, has largely been a momentum killer for the team. Much of this likely has to do with the loss of Brent Burns on the blueline but, on a whole, the Wild’s powerplay has been ineffective.
For the ‘Hawks, however, their powerplay has been buzzing of late, having converted at least one opportunity in each of its last seven games. The team is 8-for-25 during that time—an impressive 32% clip.
Finally, it is paramount in this game that the Wild get out to a good start. This is a very potent offensive team that they are playing and stumbling out of the gates could very well lose the game for them.
Minnesota has not started well for most of the season and it is very important that they get their legs under them early. They need to slow down Chicago with physical play and they need to grind it out with them, plain and simple.
The puck drops tonight at 7pm CST on Versus.
Reminder: I’ll be answering my first Wild Nation mailbag here next week. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to send them to blake.benzel@hockeyprimetime.com. So far, I’ve gotten just one response, but I’m confident that I have more than one reader, so be sure to send in your questions.
Gameday Thread – Game 39 – Wild @ Kings
It’s amazing how much difference a couple months time makes.
After a 3-9-0 start, the Wild were looking to be in the running for the Taylor Hall Sweepstakes. The turnaround that the team has made the season, however, has been nothing short of miraculous.
After their horrific start, the Wild are 16-7-3 and were 9-4-0 during the month of December and now are just four points back from the odds on favorite to win the Northwest Division this season, the Calgary Flames, and third place in the division.
More importantly, they are just four points back from a playoff spot.
The combination of new blood being injected into the system and the old blood learning the new system has proven to be a potent mix and the team is looking poised for a solid run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing out last season.
They come into Los Angeles tonight with a record number of wins for the month of December and are looking to increase on that total against a very good and very surprising Los Angeles Kings team.
The Kings are third in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference despite slumping of late. A testament to how good the Pacific Division has gotten, the Kings dropped from first in the division to third after a stretch of two losses and eight games off in between.
Lineups
The Wild will be short one of their top checking players, as Chuck Kobasew is going to be on the shelf for about 4-to-6 weeks with a sprained MCL. While his injury will certainly hurt the team, it is possible that it may have opened up a spot for Petr Sykora to return to the lineup sooner than hoped.
Sykora is travelling with the team on their two-game road swing but has not yet gotten approval to play. If that changes, though, the Wild could see a big addition to their lineup.
Barring Sykora’s return, though, here are the forward lines for the Wild as predicted by Wild.com:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Nolan-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Latendresse-Ebbett-Havlat
Sheppard-Brodziak-Boogaard
Now, while Belanger’s line is listed as the team’s second line here, it’s important to note that the Kings will likely see a large dose of Ebbett’s line early and often. They have been one of the hotter lines on the team since Latendresse and Ebbett have both gotten healthy and that could bode well for the Wild. In addition, the injury to Kobasew might just give Sheppard yet another chance to prove himself. He’s played much better of late, but he needs to step his game up another level if he wants to continue to find playing time as players begin returning from injury.
On defense, Clayton Stoner has been an absolute revelation for the Wild and looks to have stolen John Scott’s spot from him. In his five games since being called up, Stoner has a pair of assists, an even rating, a couple fights and is averaging just under 13 minutes per game. His solid skating ability and his willingness to throw his body around has quickly endeared him to Wild fans.
Wild.com lists the defensive pairings as follows:
Zanon-Zidlicky
Stoner-Johnsson
Hnidy-Schultz
The one thing that I like the most about these pairings is that it gives the Wild a 100% legitimate shutdown pairing in Hnidy and Schultz. But what’s more is that the defensively responsible Stoner and Zanon give both Zidlicky and Johnsson chances to step up into the play a little bit more often—something that benefitted the Wild in their 4-3 defeat of the Blues on Saturday.
There was a break between the games, so in net we’re most likely going to see Niklas Backstrom again. Backstrom has been absolutely fantastic in his last eight games, with six wins and a 1.87 goals-against average.
What to Watch For
The Wild have forward on their team that is white hot right now, and he’s not who you’d think.
Guillaume Latendresse has notched four goals in his last four games and six in 13 games with the Wild. In addition, in those 13 games, the Wild is 11-2-0 and is 4-0-0 when he scores a goal.
You don’t believe me? Do the math yourself.
G-Lat has quickly become an important cog in the Wild’s offense and is continuing to get more and more ice time with Minnesota.
The other key is going to be Martin Havlat. He was largely invisible on Saturday night against St. Louis, but has really snapped out of his early season slump with nine points in his last eight games with a plus-six rating.
He is going to be very important to the continued success of the Wild and the continued success of both Latendresse and Ebbett. He has shown great chemistry with both and this looks to be as bona fide a second line as the Wild has had all season long.
If these three start clicking in a game, watch out…It can be scary good.
Key(s) to the Game
Shoot the puck.
Both teams have great records when outshooting their opponents and tonight should be no different.
For the Wild, LA’s Jonathan Quick is a goalie that thrives on confidence. If they can get to him early, they can have success. But Quick gets better as the game goes on and as he gets more confidence, so hitting him early and often will be paramount for a Wild win.
For the Wild, stopping Anze Kopitar will also be a huge task. Kopitar is one of two Kings players in double digits for goals this season and is the only one who is active (Jarrett Stoll is out with a groin injury). If the Wild can stop Kopitar, they’re that much closer to stopping the Kings.
Kopitar, however, is not the only player that the Wild need to focus on. Ryan Smyth quickly asserted his presence in the Kings’ lineup this season before getting injured and has since returned to the lineup and will provide a huge boost for a Kings team playing without Stoll and Justin Williams.
The puck drops tonight at 9:30 CST and will be broadcast on Fox Sports North.
Gameday Thread – Game 34 – Wild @ Habs
Well, well, well. Look who’s back in Montreal.
That’s right, Wild Nation faithful. Guillaume Latendresse is returning to Montreal tonight to help the Wild dispatch his former team.
While the game will likely be much more than just G-Lat versus the Montreal Canadiens, it is certainly a storyline that bears observation.
Since arriving in Minnesota, Latendresse has been nothing short of marvelous. He has played with a physical edge, he has shown a tireless work ethic and he has produced. Since arriving in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, G-Lat has notched three goals and an assist in 10 games, not to mention a shootout goal against the Anaheim Ducks.
The bottom line is that, suddenly he has had the weight of the world lifted off of his shoulders — and it shows.
But tonight the young power forward heads home again, hoping to rub some salt in the wound against his former team.
Lineups
While I have not heard anything of yet regarding the Wild’s lineup for tonight’s game, I can’t imagine much changing for tonight’s game, though Andrew Ebbett has traveled with the team and may see action in either tonight’s or Saturday’s game. Were I setting the lineups, though, here’s what it would look like:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Kobasew-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Earl-Ebbett-Sheppard
This is a quick, undersized lineup that the Wild are facing tonight and it is a lineup that has a wealth of skill on it. The biggest mistake the Wild could make, in my opinion, would be to put Derek Boogaard on the ice tonight. Boogaard has not been able to catch a break over the last few games and, against Vancouver especially, his reputation has worked against him. In a game that will likely be up tempo, it will be important for the Wild to put their best foot forward, so to speak.
Zidlicky-Zanon
Schultz-Johnsson
Hnidy-Stoner
There aren’t many changes here, but I’ll be honest — I want to see what Clayton Stoner can do. He was called up just before the road trip and he’s played very, very well in Houston so far this season. The likelihood that John Scott would play anymore than 10-12 minutes in this game is very small, so I don’t see the harm in giving Stoner a shot and getting him in his first NHL action.
Backstrom
‘Nuff said.
What to Watch For
I already mentioned the return of Latendresse to Montreal, but to me, this is one of the less intriguing storylines of the evening.
What is more intriguing is the match up between two teams that are seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Wild are coming off of a hard-fought win against the Columbus Blue Jackets and have lost just two games in their last 10. The Habs, on the other hand, have struggled mightily as of late, losing four straight and just three of their last 10 games.
The biggest thing to watch in this game will be special teams, however. The Wild’s powerplay that started out so strong this season has faltered, with the team going zero for their last 19 opportunities with the man advantage. Against a strong penalty killing team in the Habs, that isn’t going to be an easy stat to change. Montreal sits at an 84% penalty kill, good for 8th in the NHL.
The Wild is a surging team, however. Their play has been much improved from their 3-9-0 start and they are slowly clawing their way back up the standings. As it stands today, they are just four points from the 8th place Detroit Red Wings and three behind the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks.
A successful road swing in Eastern Canada could go a long way towards pushing farther up the standings.
Keys to the Game
How will G-Lat respond?
The line of Latendresse, Brodziak and Havlat have been absolutely scintillating over the last couple games. Havlat has six points in three games and has had a hand in six of the team’s last seven goals. He has finally found linemates that he has chemistry with and the line is clicking.
But, the pressure of Montreal had gotten to Latendresse before. Will it get to him again tonight?
I, for one, don’t think so.
In Montreal, he was cast out to the fourth line. His minutes cut and his confidence was shattered. He has said himself that the fact that Richards thinks enough of him to play him consistently has helped and right now his confidence has got to be sky high.
With a coach that trusts him enough to play him and is willing to give him every opportunity to succeed, G-Lat is starting to come into his own and is starting to apply everything that he has learned in his young career.
The Wild also need to continue their trend of shooting, shooting and shooting some more.
In games that they outshoot their opponents in, the Wild are 9-5-2 this season, compared to the Habs record of 8-11-2 when being outshot. Minnesota needs to keep Carey Price busy all night long. While Price is certainly a solid tender, he has not shown the elite level of play that he showed during his rookie season consistently and getting into his head will be paramount for the Wild’s success.
The puck drops tonight from the Bell Centre at 6 pm CST and is televised on Fox Sports.
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.
