Pre-Season Gameday Thread: @ St. Louis

I decided to forego the roster update last night because there was a birthday in the Benzel household, with my daughter turning 3 years old yesterday, so we’ll just combine the game thread and the roster into one today.

Anyway, it sounds like we’re going to get a good look at a lot of the youngsters that are vying for a roster spot on opening day, tonight so here it is, per Russo:

Coach Mike Yeo today opted to keep most of the familiar faces in Minnesota. Instead, here are the lines and defensive pairings against the Blues (note, Niklas Backstrom and Matt Hackett will play in net)

FORWARDS

Kris Foucault-Zack Phillips-Brett Bulmer
Jeff Taffe-Warren Peters-Jed Ortmeyer
Colton Gilles-Eric Nystrom-Brad Staubitz
Jarod Palmer-Taylor Peters-Carson McMillan

DEFENSE

Marco Scandella-Nate Prosser
Justin Falk-Jordan Hendry
Tyler Cuma-Chay Genoway

Jeff Penner and David McIntyre will be brought along as extras.

So, basically what we have here is a chance for a lot of the youngsters to step up and impress. Forwards Cody Almond and Casey Wellman and defenseman Mike Lundin are all on the shelf right now with injuries, so there are some spots that could be won and some second looks that could be given after tonight’s game.

Also, we’ll get a look at the line of Gillies/Nystrom/Staubitz, which could very well be the team’s fourth line by the time the season starts.

To me, the most intriguing lines/defensive pairings are that of Foucault/Phillips/Bulmer and Cuma/Genoway. Foucault, Phillips and Bulmer are three of the Wild’s more impressive offensive talents in their system, so don’t be surprised if they get a lot of ice time and a lot of power play time tonight. As for Cuma and Genoway, Cuma might be one of the dark horses to make the squad this season while this will be our first look at Genoway this pre-season, so it will be interesting to see how the pairing fares.

Per Blues.com, this is the line up the Wild’s youngsters will be facing tonight:

TONIGHT’S LINEUP*
1 – Brian Elliott
10 – Andy McDonald
15 – Jamie Langenbrunner
18 – Jonathan Cheechoo
20 – Alexander Steen
22 – Kevin Shattenkirk
28 – Carlo Colaiacovo
32 – Chris Porter
36 – Matt D’Agostini
37 – Derek Nesbitt
39 – Philip McRae
41 – Jaroslav Halak
42 – David Backes
44 – Jason Arnott
46 – Roman Polak
54 – Anthony Nigro
55 – Danny Syvret
56 – Brett Ponich
58 – David Shields
59 – Anthony Peluso
63 – Mark Cundari
70 – Ryan Tesink
74 – T.J. Oshie
76 – Brett Sonne
84 – Tyler Shattock

Just look at all of those regulars.

So, basically, Wild fans. Don’t jump off the ledge if the Wild or goaltender Niklas Backstrom have a less than stellar showing tonight.

This also means that the Wild’s youth and fringe players will have a perfect chance to show that they have what it takes to be able to compete at an NHL level, because there will be a lot of NHLer’s looking at them from the other bench.

So, some discussion questions for you:

How will the Wild’s youth fare tonight against a fairly experienced roster?

Will Niklas Backstrom look like the Backstrom who was a Vezina Trophy finalist, or the Backstrom who has struggled at times the past two seasons?

Where will the Wild’s scoring come tonight, with mostly youth and fringe players playing?

Can Minnesota’s inexperienced defensive unit hold their own against a fairly experienced stable of forwards?

Will Zack Phillips (my dark horse roster pick), Kris Foucault, Brett Bulmer or Jarod Palmer emerge as surprise front runners to make the roster on opening day?

Will Jordan Hendry rebound from a less than stellar performance last game?

The puck drops at 7 pm tonight and is not televised. You can listen to the game here or on your radio at KFAN 100.3 FM.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Around the NHL: 8/4/11

It’s time for another look around the NHL, and there certainly were some big stories to go down over the last couple of days.

Before I forget, keep it tuned here tomorrow for a big announcement in lieu of our look around the State of Hockey. I don’t think it’s one that you guys are going to want to miss.

Anywho, here we go!

* * * * *

Weber Awarded One-Year, $7.5M Arbitration Deal
You can file this one under the “Oh Crap” category for anyone remotely associated with the Nashville Predators franchise.

Basically, the Preds have the next two years (this, plus what will likely amount to another one-year deal next season) to convince Weber to stay.

That could mean a few different things, but the common thought is that it means that they have to show him they’re serious about contending for a Stanley Cup.

The team’s GM, David Poile, was very diplomatic about the signing, congratulating Weber and stating that the deal was reflective of his value to both the Predators and the NHL, but if you read between the lines you could see the nervousness that Poile was feeling.

The fact that Weber didn’t lock himself into a long-term contract with the Preds is obviously disconcerting for the franchise and

speaks to the direction that the team’s captain feels the franchise is taking.

In other words, as was pointed out by Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy, he doesn’t seem to think that the team is capable of winning a Stanley Cup and, as we’re pointing out here, one can hardly blame him.

There are certain requirements that one assumes a team will exhibit if they’re serious about winning a Stanley Cup – namely, going out and acquiring big-name players.

The Predators, meanwhile, have been content with acquiring big-name players who have been on the downside of their careers, while building from within. Now, admittedly, the future is bright for players like Colin Wilson, Blake Geoffrion and Cal O’Reilly, but those aren’t the sexy signings that are going to make people think, “Hey, this team could win the Cup!”

Nashville has long been a defense-first franchise that spreads out the scoring. Heck, they only had two players that hit the 50 point barrier last season and only two that cracked 20 goals. The season before was the same story.

This is a team that has prided itself on building from within and they have a strong core of players that have come from within (Weber, Suter, Rinne), but the common thought is that there’s no way that they’re going to be able to keep all three.

You’ve got to have impact players to win in the NHL, and Nashville undoubtedly has three in Weber, Suter and Rinne. The problem is that these three impact players will want to be surrounded by impact players on the offensive side of the puck, which means that the Preds are going to have to dish out some money for a big name scorer, which means that these three are either going to have to agree to a pay cut (which one would imagine they would do if it meant contending for a Cup) or that Nashville is going to have to make the difficult decision as to which of them to keep.

And based on the facts surrounding the Weber arbitration hearing, there’s a very good chance that Weber might not be a part of the team’s long-term plan.

* * * * *

David Perron Not Ready for Action?
The Blues were hit with some terrible news this week, as young superstar David Perron might not be recovered from a concussion that he received on November 4 of last season.

In fact, no one seems to be sure when Perron will be available to return to the Blues which shows just how unpredictable concussions can be.

Perron hasn’t played since getting sidelined by the blindside hit by Joe Thornton (who, incidentally, missed all of two games because of the hit) and hasn’t even done any hockey related activities since.

The club is thankfully taking a cautious approach to the situation with Perron, but given what we know about concussions (which isn’t a lot), is it realistic to expect him back on the ice any time soon, or even that he will be the same player once (or if) he does return?

Returning from a concussion is a difficult prospect in any sport, let alone a sport where your brain has the potential of being jostled whenever you touch the puck (or don’t, in the case of some players). So little is known about head injuries like this that the topic gets even murkier when you consider that the symptoms didn’t present themselves right away either.

Quite frankly, the circumstances surrounding this issue mean that the team needs to take this as slow as humanly possible. The severity of this injury leads me to believe that Perron needs to be kept away from any physical exertion until at least a few weeks after the symptoms subside.

I get that we’re talking about a guy’s career here and that he’s likely going to be chomping at the bit to get back to work after this long of a layoff, but we’re also talking about a guy’s long-term health; maybe even about his life.

At 23, Perron is still young. He still has a long career in front of him; however, he needs to be cautious in returning because, with as much of a depressing situation he is in right now with this lingering injury, it would be even more depressing if his career or life were cut short because he rushed back from it.

Gameday Thread – Game 54 – Wild @ Blues

The Wild roll into St. Louis just two points out of the final playoff spot and to say that this is a must win for Minnesota would not be an understatement. The Wild struggled last season in St. Louis, losing both games in the Blues’ barn and being outscored 4-1 during those two games and they’re going to have to find a way to reverse those fortunes tonight.

* * * * *

NHL.com Preview

It’s not a preview, but…Youngblood’s blog from yesterday

Jeremy Rutherford’s preview article

And his matchup article

* * * * *

Goaltending. That’s what this game is going to boil down to.

I could talk all day about how the Wild have to get on the board first. How they have to limit the Blues’ special teams chances. How they have to not get drawn into the chippy game that their tilts against St. Louis have tended to become. {Incidentally, how awesome would a playoff series between these two squads be? I feel like these two are just one playoff meeting away from truly hating one another.}

I could talk all day about that, but what it boils down to is going to be goaltending.

Both Backstrom and Theodore have struggled in St. Louis (and against the Blues, for that matter) of late and those are the two choices that the Wild are faced with. Theo will get the nod in tonight’s game, with Backs getting the nod tomorrow, but the Wild simply have to make sure that their goalies are protected – that they don’t have a ton of traffic out front, that they’re limiting the Blues’ chances and they’re giving Theo ample opportunities to see the puck before it gets to him.

Likewise, the Wild need to do all of this if they want to get to Jaroslav Halak.

If they can do this, things are going to go their way tonight.

The key player for the Wild tonight is going to be Matt Cullen. Cullen has nine points (2G, 7A) during his last eight games, during which Minnesota has gone 7-1-0 and he’s doing exactly what the Wild wanted him to do – flying around the ice and creating plays. Martin Havlat also has six points (4G, 2A) in his last seven games and Pierre-Marc Bouchard has eight (3G, 5A) in his last nine. It’s safe to say that these three are starting to mesh quite nicely with one another.

This is a huge game for the Wild and a must win, as I said earlier. The Wild sit two back from Calgary in the eighth spot and three from Anaheim in the seventh. The problem is that the two teams that they are chasing are just as hot as they are, making every game unbelievably important.

There is a silver lining, however.

Minnesota has at least two games in hand on every team from fourth to eighth in the West, including three on Calgary (who is two points ahead) and Phoenix (who is four). If Minnesota can keep playing like they’re playing now, they’ve got a very good shot at playing in the post season again this year.

The puck drops tonight at 7 p.m. CST and will be televised on KSTC.

Gameday Thread: Pre-Season Game 2: Minnesota @ St. Louis

One game down for the Wild this pre-season and it would be safe to say that the game was an unmitigated disaster. After a quick goal, the Wild didn’t capitalize on any of their scoring chances and the game just went downhill from there.

Mental errors, defensive lapses, turnovers – you name it, the Wild did it.

So, in tonight’s game, they will attempt to rectify the mistakes that they made on Wednesday, but this time they will have a much more prospect-oriented roster.

The Skinny

Minnesota Wild		St. Louis Blues
0-1-0 (0 pts.)	Record	1-1-0 (2 pts.)
1	Goals For	6
5	Goals Against	4
0/4 (0%)	PP%	3/13 (23%)
4/7 (57%)	PK%	8/8 (100%)

Okay. It’s been one game, and a very, very poor one at that.

It’s not panic time in Minnesota. We lost a single practice game, plain and simple. But, there were some troubling trends within that game.

Niklas Backstrom looked very rusty (as he has throughout camp thus far) and the team didn’t really do much of anything to protect him. The Blues got good look after good look, most of which came from blunders in our own zone.

If the Wild can get their own zone figured out, they should be just fine but, as with last season, the deficiencies in the Wild’s defensive zone are becoming very clear.

Lineup(s)

Per Mike Russo:

The first two lines tonight will be Guillaume Latendresse-Matt Cullen-Casey Wellman and Eric Nystrom-Kyle Brodziak and Antti Miettinen.

The other two forward lines will consist of Cody Almond, Brett Bulmer, Colton Gillies, Matt Kassian, Carson McMillan and Warren Peters.

The D pairs will be Greg Zanon-Marek Zidlicky; Cam Barker-Nate Prosser; Tyler Cuma-Clayton Stoner.

Josh Harding for 2 periods; Matt Hackett for 1.

Per J.P. Rutherford:

Forward
David Perron-David Backes-Brad Boyes
Alex Steen-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen
Chris Porter-T.J. Hensick-Nicholas Drazenovic
Anthony Nigro-Brett Sonne-Cody Beach

Defense
Carlo Coliacovo-Tyson Strachan
Ian Cole-Roman Polak
Eric Brewer-Mark Cundari

Goalie
Ty Conklin
Ben Bishop

Key(s) to the Game

The biggest key to tonight’s game is going to be how the defense responds to their poor performance on Wednesday.

Both Cam Barker and Clayton Stoner will be in the line up again to attempt to redeem themselves from their poor performance and we’ll get our first look this season at Greg Zanon, Marek Zidlicky, Nate Prosser and Tyler Cuma.

If the Wild can limit their mistakes, especially in their own zone, they’ll be much more competitive in this one. If they can’t, it’s going to be another rough night.

The puck drops tonight at 7 p.m. Central and the game will be broadcast on Ch. 45.

Gameday Thread – Pre Season Game 1: St. Louis @ Minnesota

Wow. It’s hard to believe it’s the pre-season already.

Game one starts tonight (technically, I’m up waaaaaay too late again) and this is the first of what will be many gameday threads this season, so here we go.

The Skinny

St. Louis Blues		Minnesota Wild
40-32-10 (90 pts.)	Record	38-36-8 (84 pts.)
225	Goals For	219
223	Goals Against	246
17.21%	Powerplay Pct	19.09%
86.84%	Penalty Kill Pct	82.68%

Okay, so these are last season’s stats, but that’s what we’re going to be looking at for the pre-season games.

There’s not much analysis to put in here, since this is the pre-season, but the bottom line is this. The Wild had a hard time scoring last season while they also had a hard time stopping other teams from scoring. All that boils down to the fact that it’s going to be very interesting to see how they come out this time.

Line-Up(s)

Per Mike Russo, here’s who the Wild will be skating out in the game:

Andrew Brunette/Mikko Koivu/Antti Miettinen
Guillaume Latendresse/Matt Cullen/Martin Havlat
Chuck Kobasew/John Madden/Cal Clutterbuck
Robbie Earl/Cody Almond/Brad Staubitz

Nick Schultz/Brent Burns
Clayton Stoner/Cam Barker
Marco Scandella/Justin Falk

Niklas Backstrom (2 periods)
Anton Khudobin (1 period)

And per Mike Russo, from Jeremy Rutherford, here are some of the ones heading to Minnesota from St. Louis:

David Backes, Brad Boyes, David Perron, Eric Brewer, Alex Steen, Ty Conklin, Ben Bishop and Philip McRae.

Key(s) to the Game

The biggest key to this game is going to be chemistry.

The Wild are going to be skating as many of their regulars as they can to get ready for their trip to Finland, as well as auditioning a few players.

The biggest piece to the puzzle is going to be seeing if Cullen fits between Latendresse and Havlat. If this happens, it’s going to be a large step in the right direction for this franchise.

As far as the auditions, Scandella and Falk are going to be in competition for the seventh d-man job and Almond and Earl are gunning for roster spots as well. Both Falk and Earl have been having impressive thus far in camp and this is going to be a great chance for them to prove that they can shine in game situations.

The puck drops on this one in St. Paul at 7 pm Central.

Wild Nation’s Ridiculously Early Season Previews: The Central Division

Well, here we are. The Eastern Conference is down and just three divisions and the playoff picture are left to go, so let’s delve into the Western Conference picture, shall we?

The Western Conference has been the more competitive of the two conferences in term of depth over the last few seasons and this season should be no different. The core of this depth has come from the Central division. Last season, three of the five teams made the playoffs, while one more was on the bubble and there’s no doubt that there’s at four teams that could be challenging for the playoffs this season.

So let’s get started.

Chicago Blackhawks – There is no doubt that the Blackhawks are going to be a much, much different team than the one that won the Stanley Cup last season.

Gone are role players like Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien who have been replaced by Fernando Pisani and a handful of players who have been developing in Rockford. This is both troubling for Blackhawks fans and intriguing as well. Jack Skille, Jake Dowell and Bryan Bickell will finally get their chance in the big leagues, as will Viktor Stalberg.

The good news for their forward corps, however, is that returning are their core players like Toews, Hossa, Kane and Sharp. With those players to guide their incoming youngsters, the Hawks should still be in good hands next season.

On defense, the team has added big defenseman John Scott who will add some toughness in the absence of Ben Eager. While the contract of Niklas Hjalmarsson may be questionable, there’s no doubt that their top-four are as good as any in the league and the potential addition of Nick Leddy to the group is encouraging indeed.

Their biggest question lies between the pipes. With the decision to walk away from Antti Niemi and sign Marty Turco, the ‘Hawks have also made a statement that they are confident that it was not the young Finn who led them to the promised land.

While Turco’s record in big games is more than questionable, there is no doubt that he has both the drive to succeed, as well as the talent to be a successful goaltender in Chicago.

Columbus Blue Jackets – The Blue Jackets find themselves in a precarious position.

They are just one season removed from their first playoff appearance in team history, yet there is an air of uncertainty surrounding this team that is undeniable. In fact, questions are abounding when it comes to the Jackets.

Is Steve Mason a true franchise goaltender? Can Nikita Filatov find himself in the NHL? Can Rick Nash truly be dominant player without a top center?

If the answer to two of the three of those questions is yes, then you could very well see the Stanley Cup Playoffs return to Ohio.

The problem is, however, is that there is no certainty that the answer to any of these three questions is yes.

Mason started to find his game again at the end of the season, while Filatov may find himself much more suited to the style of Scott Arneil than of Ken Hitchcock, but the fact remains that Nash does not have that one player on his line that can complement him and help him become the dominant player that we saw in the Olympics.

The addition of Ethan Moreau makes the team tougher to play against, to be sure, but it does nothing to help their top-six forwards.

Unfortunately for Jackets fans, it would appear that this team is again going to be on the outside looking in unless things turn around very, very quickly. There are significant needs that the team has that were not addressed in either the draft or free agency, most notably help on defense. These needs must be addressed before the team can take any significant steps forward so, they may be looking at another lottery pick.

Detroit Red Wings – So, how do the Detroit Red Wings follow up an admittedly disappointing season?

Well, how about signing a future hall-of-famer, a gritty defenseman and getting back one of their top young players from the KHL?

Their forward corps now have Jiri Hudler back in the fold as well as newcomer Mike Modano, who will serve as a depth center and also get some powerplay time, most likely. But on top of that, they will have a healthy and rested forward unit that is one of the most potent in the NHL.

Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom will be back healthy and the return of Hudler will likely spell a resurgence for the team’s two superstars in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and that can only mean bad things for the rest of the league.

On defense, Ruslan Salei joins an already solid defensive unit and will provide them with some added grit. He, along with Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall will ensure that opposing forwards keep their heads up.

Led, once again, by Nicklas Lidstrom, the Wings blueline will be one of the toughest to play against in the league and Salei’s hardnosed style will only add to that and their defense should only solidify Jimmy Howard’s place in net with the squad.

Howard had a breakout season with the Wings last year and the Calder Trophy nominee unseated Chris Osgood in the starting role. He held the Wings together through the injuries last season and was the sole reason that the team was able to not only make the playoffs but claw their way as far up as they did. Howard will have a lot to prove in order to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump but he is in the best situation possible to be able to do so.

When you look at the Wings, they are a team that is poised and ready to be a competitive team in the Stanley Cup race once again and could easily find themselves as the frontrunner to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup finals again.

Nashville Predators – To be perfectly honest, Nashville is like the bad cold of the Central Division. When it comes down to it, there’s no reason they should be there but you simply can’t get rid of them.

The Preds are about $13 million under the salary cap heading into this season with 15 forwards under contract, but just five defensemen and one goaltender. As always, however, it should be expected that those positions will be filled from within.

Chet Pickard will likely get a good, long look as the team’s back up goaltender while it could be expected that Ryan Ellis or Cody Franson will get a look as the team’s sixth and seventh defensemen.

But overall, this is a Predators team that is looking like they could match up very well with the rest of the division.

Matthew Lombardi joins an underrated forward unit and Colin Wilson will find himself in an increased role as well, after the departure of Jason Arnott. The top six, while not flashy, are both reliable and clutch and their young players of Wilson and Patric Hornqvist are continuing to improve. Throw in the addition of Sergei Kostitsyn, who will have a renewed lease on life after a change of scenery, hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow former-Montreal Canadiens underachiever, Guillaume Latendresse and some solid role players like Joel Ward and Jerred Smithson round out the group.

On defense, they still have their solid top-two of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. These two will anchor a defensive unit that could use some work, but is very promising.

With veteran Francis Boullion, youngsters Ryan Parent (who is looking for a new lease on life in Nashville as well) and Kevin Klein will round out a defensive unit that will look much different by the time the season starts.

In net, they have Pekka Rinne, who will look to improve on a pedestrian season last year. Without Dan Ellis looking over his shoulders, however, the starting job is Rinne’s to lose and the team’s hope is that the certainty of his job will elevate his play.

The Predators are likely going to be a bubble team this year, as they have been the past few seasons, but that shouldn’t be a problem for a team that is used to that tag being saddled on them.

St. Louis Blues – Last season was admittedly disappointing for the Blues, who had come in with high hopes of contending, or at least winning a playoff series.

The young Blues team faltered early on and, after the firing of Andy Murray and hiring of Davis Payne, began to find the fire that had made them a force to be reckoned with in the West.

This season will be one of change for the Blues, though it shouldn’t make them any less deadly. Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk are both gone, leading to a youth movement for the team. This will lead to increased ice time for players like David Perron, David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, all of whom will look to improve on their performances from last season.

The fate of the Blues likely lies in how these four perform. With the subtractions of Tkachuk and Kariya, their forward unit is significantly younger and has lost two of their more prominent leaders. That means that these four, as well as players like Brad Boyes and Andy McDonald will have to step up and fill the void both in leadership and in point production if this team is to be successful.

On the back end, the team has their potent young duo of Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo (who will likely finally crack the lineup for good this season). These two will be the cornerstones of a defensive unit that is as offensively talented as it is gritty, making for a potent combination.

Behind this defensive unit is the hero of the Montreal Canadiens, Jaroslav Halak. Halak proved in the playoffs that he is capable of bearing the load of a franchise and is really the first solid goaltender that the team has had in a few years. Behind him will be perennial solid back up, Ty Conklin, who will fill in admirably when needed and the duo will provide one of the more solid goaltending tandems in the West.

There is no doubt that the Blues are a bubble team, but there’s no doubt that Davis Payne has this team playing the way that he wants them to and heading in the right direction.

Predictions

1) Detroit Red Wings
2) Chicago Blackhawks
3) Nashville Predators
4) St. Louis Blues
5) Columbus Blue Jackets

It breaks down like this. The Red Wings and Blackhawks will most likely be back in the playoffs this season. As with the last couple seasons, one of the last spots in the West could be determined by who finishes third or fourth in the division, lending hope to Predators and Blues fans. Finally, Columbus will find themselves looking at the lottery once again; however, their future continues to look up under Scott Howson.

Up Next: The Northwest Division

Gameday Thread – Game 48 – Wild @ Blues

Wow.  That’s honestly all I can say about the Wild’s recent homestand. 

Wow. 

They start with an inspired performance against the Calgary Flames, defeating the Northwest leaders 4-1.  Following that up, they took on the team many consider to be the class of the NHL and pulled out the biggest comeback in team history, coming from four goals down in the third period to win 6-5 in a shootout. 

In a homestand where they played two division leaders, the defending Stanley Cup champions and one of the hottest teams in the NHL, those two games in and of themselves would have made it a successful stand. 

The Wild didn’t stop there, however, as Guillaume Latendresse and Niklas Backstrom picked the team up on their shoulders and carried them to victory over the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-3 victory. 

Then there was Wednesday night’s game. 

If I were to be thinking of a byline for it, it would most certainly be “Rivalry Renewed.” 

Despite being badly outshot through two periods (26-16), Minnesota came out in the third even with the Canucks and put the pedal to the floor, scoring three goals in the first ten minutes of the period to propel them to victory. 

The victory not only was big in the sense that they had laid to rest the monkey on their back that was the Vancouver Canucks this season, but there was also a tangible reward from this game—Minnesota is now just two points out of the eighth playoff spot. 

That fact alone makes tonight’s game a very big night indeed for the surging Wild. 

Lineup(s) 

It’s been well documented that Todd Richards doesn’t like to mess with a winning formula, and that’s what he’s gotten here.  That doesn’t bode well for James Sheppard and Petr Sykora, who have become pressbox staples as of late.  Here’s likely what we’re looking at for the Wild’s forwards: 

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

While the exclusion of Sheppard and Sykora may not make sense to many (myself included), you can’t fault Richards for wanting to stick with what works.  Boogaard has earned Richards’ trust in a way that he never had been able to with Jacques Lemaire and, surprisingly, the team is 9-2-2 with Robbie Earl in the lineup. 

The one question mark that I have in all of this is Ebbett.  Since coming back from injury, his ice time has steadily decreased and his confidence looks just about shot.  It’s not to say that he’s been playing poorly—just that he hasn’t played with the same jump that Wild fans saw from him when he was initially claimed off of waivers by the team. 

While scratching him might not be the answer to his woes, wouldn’t one be inclined to think that it might warrant giving Sheppard or Sykora a look in his stead? 

Meanwhile, on defense, Clayton Stoner still has his tweaked groin and Richards has said that he’s going to keep him out until it is 100%, so the same lineup will be on the ice against a Blues team that is playing with a renewed physicality. 

Zidlicky-Zanon
Schultz-Johnsson
Scott-Hnidy 

I have to say, I’m anxiously awaiting the returns of Stoner and Brent Burns.  While Hnidy has been serviceable on the blue line, the last few games he has looked like a pylon on the ice.  His mobility seems to be less than it was early in the season and he, quite frankly, isn’t always getting the job done like he once was. 

Scott, meanwhile, gives the Wild the added size and physical presence but for everything he has in size, it is found equally lacking in his mobility.  He is solid defensively, but against quicker teams he is going to be victimized and St. Louis is definitely that. 

In nets, Richards has an interesting quandary on his hands for tonight’s game.  Josh Harding is the rested goaltender (Backstrom faced 31 shots in Wednesday night’s tilt), but Backstrom is the hot hand, having stopped 64 of 69 shots over his last two games and being a large reason why the Wild won both games. 

While I would expect Richards to go with Harding in this game, Harding is 3-1-0 in his career against St. Louis, with a .924 save percentage and a 1.88 goals-against average, it is conceivable that Richards could continue to ride the hot hand and stick Backstrom in net again. 

What to Watch For 

I’ll say this about these two teams.  They like physical play. 

St. Louis has ratcheted up their physical play since Davis Payne took over as their head coach (they are 2-2-1 in that span) and seen the results of it against Columbus, while Minnesota has their notorious spark plug, Cal Clutterbuck, as well as noted enforcers Derek Boogaard and John Scott in the lineup. 

Add in the fact that David Backes is dead set on fighting Olympians, and we may very well have an interesting tilt or two on our hands in this one. 

This looks to be a very intense game, with one team on the verge of sliding into a playoff spot and another looking to turn their season around.  I would expect a playoff-type atmosphere in St. Louis tonight and I would look for this game to get chippy in a hurry. 

Keeping that in mind, the Wild have scored at least four goals in their last four games.  This is a team that may very well finally be finding their offensive stride due, in large part, to the play of Latendresse, Brodziak and Havlat. 

Everyone and their mother knows that the Wild’s big line is the “AMA line.”  But if the Wild can continue to generate offense with their second line?  Watch out, because they could get dangerous in a hurry. 

Latendresse and Brodziak both have career-high point streaks going, while Havlat’s point streak was broken on Wednesday.  This line is going to need to continue to produce for Minnesota, and all indications are that they are more than capable. 

Key(s) to the Game 

Minnesota has to set the tone of the game early. 

They are on the tail end of back-to-back games and starting a three game road swing against three teams that they have had struggles against recently (some, Phoenix, more recently than others). 

The Blues are going to come out and bang early and often.  They’re going to get into the Wild’s face and try to force the team into dumb mistakes.  The Wild need to do the same. 

What is even more important for Minnesota, however, is protecting their goaltender. 

They need to limit the quality scoring chances that St. Louis gets—at least as much as they are able to.  They need to force the puck to the outside and not give up many prime chances, as St. Louis definitely has players that can bury the puck. 

St. Louis is a team that, if you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile and, coming off of a big, emotional win against the Canucks, the Wild can’t afford to give them that inch. 

The puck drops tonight at 7pm CST and is televised on Fox Sports North.

Gameday Thread: Pre Season Game 4 – Blues @ Wild

Well, we’re in the wake of an extremely big announcement, with Wayne Gretzky stepping down as the Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of the Phoenix Coyotes. 

That said, there’s still hockey being played tonight people!

The St. Louis Blues march into Minnesota tonight as one of the last two stateside exhibition games and, hopefully, we’ll see a little more competitive Wild team tonight than we did in the first go around. 

Lineups
Per Mike Russo today:

Tonight’s lineup looks to be (by sight): Hilbert, Nolan, Irmen, Burns, Miettinen, Smith, Havlat, Sheppard, Clutterbuck, Johnsson, Schultz, Zanon, Belanger, Brodziak, Earl, Scott, Sifers, Kassian and and and and I’m looking, hang on, Gillies. 

You’ll notice that’s too many forwards. Brodziak’s wearing white with Koivu and Brunette, so Brodziak might be getting his first exhibition game off. 

Backstrom in goal for 60 is the plan. Harding backing up.

 Still nothing announced for the Blues, but I’ll keep you updated as I hear anything. 

What to Watch For
Pugilism galore. 

The last game between these two teams saw fists flying early and often and, with Scott and Kassian both in the line up for tonight’s game, it should be much of the same. 

On the same token, though, look for a much more competitive game from the Wild this time around.  The team will have many more regulars in the line up tonight and should be a lot more competitive. 

In terms of players trying to make the team, the ones with the best shot that are playing tonight are Hilbert, Irmen, Scott, Sifers and Gillies. 

But… 

With the news that enforcer Derek Boogaard is out indefinitely with a concussion, John Scott is likely nearly a lock to make the opening day roster.  If that is the case, I’d look for Irmen and Gillies to both be on the opening day roster as well. 

Also, Backstrom is likely playing 60 minutes tonight and has yet to give up a goal this pre-season.  This should be his first real test tonight, so it will be interesting to see how he does in a full game of action. 

Keys to the Game
Staying healthy.  The Wild are one of the many teams this pre-season that have been victimized by the injury bug and they are saying it’s due, in large part, to soft ice.  While the ice at the X has always been among the league’s best, this season it has been the culprit of a few tweaked “lower bodies.” 

At least it’s not a game of hackey sack. 

In any event, look for the fringe players to be playing more of what their role might be in the regular season were they to make the team tonight.  Also, keep an eye on special teams for the Wild, as Richards has been trying to drill his philosophy into their heads over the last couple days.

Game Recap: Wild Fall to St. Louis 3-1

Despite outshooting the St. Louis Blues by a margin of 34-21 the Minnesota Wild were unable to skate away with a victory on Tuesday night, falling by a score of 3-1.

The Wild, skating just nine skaters with any significant NHL experience, were outmatched by the Blues for most of the night despite the shots margin.

The Blues made the most of their scoring opportunities, however, with Paul Kariya and Chris Porter notching goals 29 seconds apart to lead them to victory.

“We didn’t have the players that they had, the experience that they had in certain positions, but we competed,” Coach Todd Richards told reporters after the game.  “I’m real proud of that.”

Richards also admitted that it was an exhibition game for the coaches as well, needing to work off a little rust behind the bench.  He had high praise for veteran defensemen Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy, as well as the game of Wild holdover John Scott.

He had some pointed words for Benoit Pouliot, however.

“Pouliot has flashes that really excite you as a coach and there’s still some things that we need to fix to make him better.”

The difference, however, seems to be that Richards is willing to work with Pouliot to fix those deficiencies in his game, while former coach Jacques Lemaire was not.

In all, the game went much as it was expected to go, with the Wild only having a handful of players with any experience at the NHL level at all.  The players that are expected to be regulars did show some flashes, however, as Kyle Brodziak won 13 of 16 draws (an area in which the Wild desperately need help) and had six shots.

The Wild’s next game is this Friday, at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Gameday Thread: Pre-Season Game 1 – Wild @ Blues

Just one more indication that it is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

Wild Nation’s first Official Gameday thread.

Sure, it’s pre-season, but it’s hockey.  Why not get excited?

Tonight, after an extended layoff, the Wild will hit the ice for their first game under the new coach, under the new system and under the new management.  After a few days of scrimmages and practices, as well as the announcement that sniper Petr Sykora will be trying out for the team, the Wild will face the St. Louis Blues in their first test of the pre-season.

Lineups

Per Mike Russo, here is what the Wild’s line up will look like tonight:

Forwards: Brodziak, DiSalvatore, Gillies, Hilbert, Irmen, Kalus, Kassian, Milroy, Pouliot, Sheppard, Smith, Weller

Defensemen: Falk, Fraser, Hnidy, Noreau, Scandella, Scott, Zanon

Goalies: Khudobin, Hackett

 And, per Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch:

I don’t have the lineup yet, but goalie Chris Mason will start Tuesday’s preseason game against Minnesota. 

UPDATED – 2:50 PM

Forwards
Paul Kariya-Patrik Berglund-Brad Boyes
Andy McDonald-David Backes-David Perron
Chris Porter-Derek Armstrong-Aaron Palushaj
Ryan Reaves-Yan Stastny-Cam Janssen

Defense
Erik Johnson-Steve Wagner
Darryl Sydor-Alex Pietrangelo
Brendan Bell-Mike Weaver

Goalies
Chris Mason
Ben Bishop

From those line ups, this game could get ugly in a hurry.

What to Watch For
If it wasn’t already apparent by looking at the roster, tonight will be all about checking out the players trying to make the team.  At forward, Brodziak and Sheppard are likely the only two locks playing and, on defense it’s looking like Hnidy, Scott and Zanon will be the only sure bets.

The players to watch tonight for the Wild?  Benoit Pouliot and Colton Gillies.  These two are widely thought to be the two youngsters with the best shot at making the big squad right out of camp (though with the addition of Sykora, it’s been made that much more difficult for both) and both have looked good in the first couple days of camp.  They are likely the top tier of players shooting to make the squad, followed immediately by Danny Irmen, Craig Weller, Petr Kalus, Duncan Milroy and Andy Hilbert.

To be honest, making the squad for any of these players is going to be a very long shot, as the team already has twelve forwards that are pretty well entrenched in their line up.

On the defensive side, this will be the first look we get at newcomers Shane Hnidy and Greg Zanon.  The defensive side of things is also much similar to the offensive side.  Snidy, Scott and Zanon are pretty much locks for the squad.  This, combined with our top-four d-men, leaves little room for a young defenseman to make it.

Keys to the Game
This one won’t be a biggie, seeing as how it’s the pre-season and the first game, at that, but it’s going to be interesting to see how the holdovers from last season’s team react to Richards’ system on the fly.  The team will be holding practice before flying out today, but it’s going to be an interesting test of this team’s ability to retain all that has been thrown at them over the last few days.

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