Wild @ Stars – Wed Oct 29th – View from my Recliner
Watched tonite’s game while pounding away on the work laptop, editing Word docs that were slow to respond through the VPN connection. Blah. That’s really how the game felt too. Blah.

Wild were seemingly out of it from the get go, with Stars F Brendan Morrow scoring from a sharp angle just 13 seconds into the game. Wild D Marc-Andre Bergeron tied it with a laser shot on the powerplay, and then it was all downhill. Stars F Brad Richards created a goal for Steve Ott by forechecking, Brad Richards scored thanks to a fortuitous bounce that put the puck on his stick with a wide-open net, and Virginia MN native Matt Niskanen scored in the 2nd with a nasty wrister. Wild F Andrew Brunette finished the scoring in the 3rd with another powerplay goal.

Wild G Niklas Backstrom was pulled after the 1st period, giving Josh Harding his 1st minutes of the season. Took long enough for Coach Jacques to put him into a game. It will be interesting to see who gets the start tonite v. Les Habitants.

Jots

• The Wild finally gave up a goal on the powerplay.
• The Wild have not won in Dallas since March 2003.
• Disappointing game given it was the first test against a playoff-proven team.

Next on the Docket - Wild v. Canadiens - Thurs Oct 30
It's the big Koivu v. Koivu matchup. They're both captains. They're both centers. They will match up in the faceoff circle. Who will win? I gotta go with the older brother here. Montreal is a good team. Canadiens 4 Wild 1

As a side note, there's a nice story on Mikko Koivu on NHL.com today.