Ducks beat Wild 3-2

This is just getting painful to watch.

The Wild just can’t seem to get things going offensively, despite all of their offensive weapons, and fell to the Ducks last night 3-2. A large part of that is because, despite getting a good amount of shots, the Wild just can’t sustain any offensive pressure in the zone because, as Russo intimated in his post last night, the Wild are dumping great, but when it comes to chasing, they need some work.

It isn’t even that the Wild aren’t forechecking either. They are. In fact, a lot of times they have a very strong forecheck but they’re not using it to their advantage. When you’re playing a dump and chase style (which, I assure you, isn’t the way that Yeo wants the Wild to play), the chase is dependant on using your forecheck to get behind the defense and get the puck. Instead, the Wild seem to be dumping it, then expecting someone else to chase it.

Again, let me stress that this isn’t the way that the Wild want to play. They want to be a puck possession team. To me, dump and chase has always been the most ridiculous style of play. You’ve worked hard on defense to gain the puck, just to chip it in and chase after it once you hit the blue line? It just doesn’t make sense.

Now, there are some teams that are better suited for it. There are some teams that it works for. This team, it doesn’t.

Now, I’m sure that this isn’t the style of game that Yeo would like the Wild to play, but if it’s going to be something that the Wild continue to revert to (and, let’s be fair, every team dumps and chases at some point), it’s something they have to work on in order to do it well enough so that it’s a benefit to the team, not just a planned turnover.

If they Wild are going to revert back to this strategy at points during the game, then using it to get in behind the team’s defense needs to be indelibly seared into their memory.

When I was back in high school, I was on the basketball team. After one particularly disheartening loss (read: we got curb stomped), our coach decided to teach us a little about hustle. In the drill in question, we lined up in two lines on the baseline, coach rolled the ball towards center court, and one person from each line went, for lack of a better expression, balls out trying to get to the ball first. We got court burns, we were exhausted, we were all hurt in some way, shape or form but, most importantly, we got better. That’s exactly what the Wild needs to do. They need to separate the forwards and defensemen, dump the puck in deep and let them hit it out down low trying to come out with the puck. People are going to get pissed, punches could be thrown, but let’s be honest here. If the Wild aren’t pissed off with the start that they’ve had, they’re not paying attention.

Burning Questions

Can the Wild close out a game? This is kind of a moot point, because the Wild didn’t really have the opportunity to close the game, but I will say that the Wild just folded mentally in the last few minutes of the third period when they were within one. At that point in the game, you just can’t take careless penalties, and that’s exactly what they did. I don’t care how unintentional the delay of game penalty was, you can’t take that penalty at that point in the game. You just can’t.

Will Guillaume Latendresse be successful on the fourth line? No, he wasn’t. In fact, in his 13 odd minutes of ice time, he was largely ineffective. Now, that could be because of lingering after effects of his injury or that could be because he was playing on the fourth line. Two things really stuck with me about this game and it was that Latendresse wasn’t the offensive force he has been this season because, well, he was rarely able to get time in the offensive zone and that, if Cal Clutterbuck is getting more power play time than Bouchard, Latendresse and Setoguchi, something’s wrong. I love me some Clutterbuck, but a top-six forward he is not.

Cal Clutterbuck on the first line? Will he succeed? Yes and no. I’m hesitant to call him a huge success on the first line, but he did create some chances. The problem is, though, that he doesn’t really have much of a net presence. Just because a player is physical doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to hold their own consistently in front of the net. Clutterbuck used his body to create chances for others tonight but, to me, it just seemed like the whole square peg in a round hole scenario for Minnesota.

Can Cullen get back on the scoresheet? Yup. The second line was one of the Wild’s top lines and Cullen got a power-play goal that pulled the Wild within one.

Three Stars

1)      Teemu Selanne – Selanne was just a force all night long, no question about it. He had assists on all threeAnaheim goals and just dominated the offensive zone.

2)      Corey Perry – Perry was his typical “Wild killer” self, getting under people’s skins and scoring goals while he was at it. He scored the first goal and that really set the tone for the game.

3)      Ryan Getzlaf – No “homer” star predictions here. Getzlaf got the game winner for the Ducks and, like Perry and Selanne, was a force for the Ducks.

Around the NHL: 8/23/11

Sorry about the lack of posts the last few days. It was a bit of an extended weekend in preparation for a season where there won’t likely be many extended weekends.

Before we get into taking a trip around the NHL, we’ve got some housekeeping to take care of. First, starting around mid-September, the mailbag on Monday will be interspersed with a fantasy hockey blog (namely, one following the Wild Nation Hockey League). There will be some advice in there along the way, but a lot of it will be a chronicle of my quest for the Cup.

Second, there haven’t yet been any responses for the Wild Nation contest we’re having here. If you’re interested, make sure you get your submissions in soon, as the deadline is September 1.

And now, on to the NHL.

* * * * *

Top Free Agents Remain
The feeding frenzy that typically occurs over the first handful of days in free agency is long gone. For the most part, teams are happy with their rosters and are now looking ahead towards training camp, their rosters in place with maybe one or two spots open for roster battles amongst their youngsters.

So where does that leave players like Chris Campoli or Sergei Samsonov?

Unfortunately, it might mean a tryout contract or a stint in the KHL.

It’s strange that Campoli, a big ticket player at last season’s trade deadline, now finds himself on the outside looking in. Same with Samsonov, a skilled but highly streaky player, and veterans like Bryan McCabe of John Madden, but it’s starting to look like that’s the cost of doing business in the NHL these days.

{Authors Note: I’m leaving Teemu Selanne off this list because we all know that, if he plays again, it’s going to be for Anaheim.}

Fans of the other 29 teams shouldn't get their hopes up. He'll be a Duck.

Teams just simply aren’t looking for bargain bin veterans anymore. They’re not looking for a 36 or 37 year old who can come in and be a leader in their locker room and provide some experienced minutes as a third-pairing defenseman or a fourth-line forward.

By this point in the season, if they wanted that type of player, they’ve gotten them.

What teams are now looking for is youth and they’re looking within their own organizations to do it, because that’s how the NHL is trending these days.

Just look at this year’s free agency market and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The big spenders went after Brad Richards.

Don’t get me wrong. Brad Richards is a good player and he’ll undoubtedly be an invaluable one for both the Rangers and Marian Gaborik. But most looked at the free agent crop this season and decided that it just wasn’t worth the money.

That’s the view a lot of teams are taking these days.

Sure, the big ticket free agents are going to get theirs but, in these hard economic times, teams aren’t as willing to overpay for third-liners or for second and third-pairing defensemen as they once were.

Instead, they’re looking within their own organization to fill their holes and that’s become both a great thing and a bad thing for the NHL.

It’s great, in that it energizes the fans. Speaking as a fan, I can tell you that nothing is more excited than undiscovered potential.

When you get a free agent, you already have an idea of what they’re going to do with the team. In terms of the Wild, when they signed Matt Cullen, we knew he would get around 40 points, play on the point on the power play and play in a third-line role. When they signed Greg Zanon, we knew he would block shots and play great defense.

What we Wild fans didn’t know, last season, was that Clayton Stoner would emerge to be a terrific shut-down defenseman, or that Jared Spurgeon would get a call up to the big squad and just not let go of the role.

When you’ve got spots open for a roster battle, it’s electric and it makes for a great pre-season. The team showcases those players and you get to see a lot of players that you wouldn’t otherwise see a lot of. It’s just plain fun to watch.

On the downside, though, you’ve got players who still have some tread left on the tires relegated to the AHL or the KHL or other European leagues.

These established veterans are forced to search for tryout contracts where they have to impress ten times more than the rookies that they are competing with for these jobs because, let’s be honest, the rookies contracts are going to be cheaper.

That shift in culture is going to leave a lot of useful players like McCabe and Madden out in the cold. It’s even starting to take its toll on mid-range players like Samsonov and Campoli (the problem with those being that they may not be adjusting their contract demands to meet the stark reality that they might not be as valued as they think they are).

On the business side and the fan side, it’s a great thing. You don’t have to say to yourself quite as often, “Why the hell did we just spend $3 million on so and so.”

But there’s a human side to the equation too, and it’s leaving a lot of players who still have a lot left in them without jobs and that’s a hard pill to swallow.

* * * * *

Just one for today. I’ll be profiling Mikael Granlund tomorrow in our prospect profile (which will probably be up either tonight or later tomorrow night) and I’ll have some more pictures from the Octagon Camp for you tomorrow as well.

Also, starting next week, we’re going to start profiling our current roster, reacquainting you with the ones you know, familiarizing you with the ones you don’t and getting you amped for what’s looking to be an exciting season this year.

Gameday Thread – Game 28 – Ducks @ Wild

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zanon-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Hnidy-Scott 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Injuries will also play a part. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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