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 59 – ‘Yotes @ Wild
It seems like forever since I’ve written one of these, so I may be a bit rusty, but bear with me — this could be a game that you’re going to want to watch if you’re a Wild fan.
Over the last couple years the Wild have, to use a Mike Milbury-ism, been the Coyotes’ daddy. Prior to this season, the Wild were a stunning 9-1-0 against the Glendale Canines, and were firmly in control of the match up.
Funny how an off season can change things.
With new coaches, the two teams began to take on different styles of play and the Coyotes were no longer the doormat that the Wild were used to.
Long story short, this season has been a largely different story in the series, with the Coyotes taking the first three games of the season series by a combined score of 11-6.
Soooooooo, what does this mean exactly?
Well, this means one of two things. Either the Coyotes will continue their dominance of the boys in Iron Range Red tonight or, gosh darnit, the Wild are due.
The Wild come into this game five points out of playoff contention with 24 games to play. Not insurmountable odds, but a harrowing task indeed. They also come into this game having gotten 42 of their 62 points at the Xcel Energy Center—where tonight’s game is being played.
A look in the infirmary shows that the Wild are slowly but surely starting to get healthy again. Niklas Backstrom could return to action tonight and Andrew Brunette, who has sat out the team’s last two practices for maintenance issues, will be a go tonight. “Sherriff” Shane Hnidy is going to be a game time decision tonight, as he missed practice yesterday with an illness, and Anton Khudobin will likely be the second goaltender in place of Josh Harding.
Lineup(s)
With the M*A*S*H unit that has been the Wild’s lineup this season, it’s hard to tell who might be in, but after last game’s physical tone I would expect Richards to counter with a physical lineup tonight.
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Boogaard-Ebbett-Earl
The physical lineup means that James Sheppard will again be sitting up in the press box, observing.
Now I don’t like to speculate too often, but one has got to wonder if Sheppard will be shopped around much like Benoit Pouliot was. Contrary to his stats, Sheppard is a talented player—he just seems to need a fresh start. I doubt that the return for Shep would be all that great right now, but he could be a useful piece to add on to a deal.
On defense, I’m guessing that Hnidy will be ready to go, as he’s what is commonly referred to as a warrior, so our defense shouldn’t change.
Zanon-Zidlicky
Johnsson-Schultz
Burns-Hnidy
And finally, the six-million dollar question. Who starts in net?
I’m gonna go with my gut on this one and say that Khudobin starts with Backstrom backing up. I say this for two reasons. One, Backstrom has sit out the last six games and should get a little more than just a few practices before he is tossed to the wolves and two, why not ride the hot hand? Khudobin has two wins (one in relief) in his NHL career and has given up just one goal. That could earn him another shot.
What to Watch For
The last meeting between these two teams ended with some fairly heated exchanges and what looked to be some bad blood.
Now, with Minnesota on the outside looking in and Phoenix playing extremely good hockey right now, I’d look for this to carry over. The Wild will need a spark at the start of this game and will look to come out with energy and with physical play and, let’s be honest, in terms of this stuff a lot of hockey player have long memories.
As far as Phoenix is concerned, keep an eye on Matthew Lombardi.
Lombardi had his first career five-point game on Monday night and is riding high after being moved from center to wing. Playing with Robert Lang and Shane Doan, look for him to continue to be an integral part of their offense.
For Minnesota, they need to find a way to get to Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryz has historically not had a whole lot of success against Minnesota, but this season has played lights out against the Wild.
Minnesota needs to figure out how to recapture their success against Bryz and against the Coyotes to gain any sort of momentum. These last three games of their homestand are incredibly crucial to the direction of the team after the Olympic break, as they will have exactly two days to decide which direction they will take in regards to the trade deadline.
Minnesota has not seriously flirted with the playoffs yet this season, but a strong last three games could put them in the position to do so and influence general manager Chuck Fletcher’s moves going forward.
Key(s) to the Game
Honestly? Open the scoring before the second period. If Minnesota can do that, they’re already part-way towards success against Phoenix.
Getting on the board early and getting their confidence will be key against a Phoenix team that has not given them much to be confident about this season.
Past that, just coming out and playing a solid, physical game.
Minnesota is proving this season that they have a team that is capable of throwing their bodies around and are starting to turn into a very difficult team to play against.
They’re playing against a Coyotes team that is riding high, and they need to be that difficult team to play against. Play physical, send a message to Phoenix that they won’t be pushed around.
It’s that simple. If they can dictate the tempo by playing physical, they can come away with a victory in this one.
The puck drops at 7pm CST and is broadcast on Fox Sports North.
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!
Game 51 Post Mortem
Well, it’s official.
Niklas Backstrom is pissed off, and he all but said so to the Star-Tribune following last night’s shootout loss to Detroit.
“You look at the goals, we’re giving too much to the other team,” Backstrom said. “It seems we’re in the same spot we were at the beginning of the year, that we haven’t improved on a lot of things. We are 50 games deep. That’s frustrating. It seems every night the same things cost us the game.”
So wait.
You’re telling me that the team hasn’t yet realized that defense is a problem?
Is there anyone that didn’t see that last month?
But the big news to come from last night’s game is the injury to Josh Harding. No word has been released yet on how serious the injury is, or how long the young netminder will be out, but any injury is bad news for the Wild at this point – especially with Niklas Backstrom’s confession that his confidence is wavering.
On the upside, though, Backstrom was solid last night. He gave up two goals on 18 shots and made some big saves in the breakaway competition at the end of the game. While it wasn’t quite enough to get the win, he did show signs of righting the ship.
What’s most troubling about last night’s loss, however, is that the Wild got off to another horrific start. In ten games this month, the Wild have mustered just six first period goals – a troubling statistic, to be sure.
In fact, in the four games since their two goal “outburst” in the first period against Vancouver, Minnesota hasn’t scored a first period goal.
What is encouraging, however, is that Minnesota scratched an important point out of a game that, by all rights, shouldn’t have gone to a shootout. They dug deep and came back from two goals down – again.
On top of that, Brent Burns returned to the ice to play a little over 13 minutes of ice time – a return that Head Coach Todd Richards graded as “decent.”
He played 13 minutes, 36 seconds, and coach Todd Richards called his return “decent.” Burns, who missed in the fifth round of the shootout, was on for two goals against and will receive some video work, Richards said.
Essentially, what the Wild can take away from last night’s contest is this:
It wasn’t a failure, but it certainly wasn’t a success either.
Wild Nation’s Three Stars
1) Drew Miller – The unheralded of the Miller brothers (you know, the other being the one who’s won a few games this season for Buffalo) had a phenomenal game. One goal on one shot, plus the shootout winner.
2) Shane Hnidy – The Wild d-man had his first two-point game of his career, assisting on both tying Wild goals. All that in just ten minutes of ice time.
3) Todd Bertuzzi – Big Bert continued his resurgence with the Wings, scoring his 14th of the year in the first and notching just over 23 minutes in ice time against the team and fans that hate him so.
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.
Harding’s Stock Continues to Fall as Struggles Continue
In sports, there’s always a steep learning curve.
Whether it be a pitcher learning a new pitch, or a quarterback learning a new offense, there are going to be growing pains.
Josh Harding’s season for the Minnesota Wild, this season, has been no different.
After a brief cup of coffee in the NHL following the lockout, Harding was heir apparent to Manny Fernandez in net for the Wild. He even notched a shutout in his three-game stint with the big club.
But something unexpected happened the following season.
Intent on driving the team to the playoffs, General Manager Doug Risebrough signed an unknown goaltender by the name of Niklas Backstrom—or, at least, unknown in American circles.
Backstrom was signed with the intent of providing some goaltending depth for the Wild, giving them a solid third-string goalie in the event that Fernandez went down with an injury. He had put up stellar numbers for Karpat Oulu in the Finnish Elite League, but was never drafted into the NHL.
The backup job was essentially Harding’s to lose and, unfortunately for the young Saskatchewan-native, Backstrom’s strong pre-season showing, coupled with an injury to Harding, caused him to do just that.
Harding put on a fantastic display down in the AHL, which ultimately led to his call up following the injury to Manny Fernandez.
Finally. A chance to win back the spot that was rightfully his.
The only problem was that he ran into one of the most impressive streaks in recent memory, as Backstrom compiled a 1.97 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage over 41 games.
But, the good news for Harding was that he was officially the back up.
He was in the NHL.
Flash forward to this last off season. Harding was coming off of a fantastic season, despite his record. He finished the season prior with just three victories, but with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
A restricted free agent, he was thought to be one of the team’s most valuable assets and was the focus of many a trade rumor involving the Wild.
But General Manager Chuck Fletcher realized that the team was in a transition period. He was confident in Backstrom’s ability to thrive in a system other than the defensive style that Jacques Lemaire coached, but he also realized the need to have a back up goaltender that was familiar with the players in front of him.
He also realized that, despite what fans of the Wild thought, Harding’s trade value was not necessarily as high as it could have been due in large part to a lack of exposure.
So Harding was signed to a one-year deal and Fletcher and Head Coach Todd Richards made a decision to try to get Harding more exposure, realizing that his value as a tradable asset would only grow as the season progressed.
Harding came out for his first game of the season against the Kings on Oct. 8 and was anyone but the goalie that had showcased his talents in the backup role over the past few seasons. Six goals on 23 shots later, Harding left the ice, crestfallen—his confidence shattered.
Eight days later, he had a chance at redemption. Minnesota rolled into Edmonton a struggling team in need of a spark. A change in net was thought to give them just that.
Five goals on 19 shots later, Harding left the ice much the same as he did eight days earlier.
Suddenly, Harding’s stock was not quite as sky high as once though.
Everyone had assumed that Niklas Backstrom was a product of Lemaire’s system—that he was the one who would struggle this season.
To be fair, Backstrom has had his share of struggles as well. But they are not nearly as much as those of Josh Harding.
All of a sudden, with a more open system, Harding’s shortcomings are becoming more and more apparent.
Harding has struggled, this season, with his rebound control and with his propensity to use the butterfly position as a crutch, dropping down to his knees far too often.
In Lemaire’s system, these were things that were manageable. He could afford to give up the occasional rebound because of the fact that he was largely insulated by a collapsing defensive zone system. Defensemen were almost always there to direct the rebounds to the corners—a task that he should have been doing himself.
He was able to get away with dropping down into the butterfly more often because the shots were coming from farther out. He could take away the bottom of the net and utilize his quick hands to snag or redirect the puck.
But now, in Richards’ system, he no longer has these luxuries. While the Wild aren’t necessarily giving up more scoring chances than last season, they are giving up more quality scoring chances. Harding can no longer afford to give up juicy rebounds into the slot, because the defense might not always be there to bail him out. He can no longer afford to use the butterfly position as a crutch, because the shots are not always coming from the perimeter anymore.
In recent games, it is easy to see that Harding is starting to grasp these things but, with the Wild chasing a playoff spot, he simply won’t get the playing time that he needs to shake this anytime soon.
In back-to-back wins against Colorado and Nashville, Harding played solid hockey. He looked confident and stood tall in net.
But against Vancouver, a game after which he was diagnosed with the flu, he reverted to his old habits. He dropped to his knees far too often. He gave up far too many rebounds.
He continues to struggle, with the Wild firmly entrenched in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot and, as such, the player that was once thought of as the Wild’s most valuable asset has now slipped into a position where it’s debatable as to whether or not he is even tradable.
His stock is steadily slipping and his shaky play has led many to question if he is even capable of being a starting goaltender in the NHL.
Goaltending is a position of confidence and, right now, Harding has none. The only way that he will get his confidence back and increase his stock is through playing time. Unfortunately for him, with the Wild battling for the playoffs, increased playing time for their backup seems highly unlikely.
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 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.
