Wild v. Blue Jackets – Sat Oct 25th – View from my Recliner
What was a relatively uneventful game turned into great drama in the last 15 seconds tonite v. Columbus. Wild win 2-1. The ‘Jackets appeared to tie the game with 15 seconds to go on a deflection by F Rick Nash, but the goal was disallowed by the NHL War Room in Toronto, ruling that Nash’s stick was above the crossbar when he deflected the puck. Columbus players and coach Ken Hitchcock went ballistic, and Coach Jacques was had a look of absolute surprise. The final definitive view came towards the end of the stoppage on FSN – an ice-level view showed without a doubt that Nash’s stick was above the crossbar, and the correct call was made. Sorry Nashie. Now go try and pick a fight with Antti Miettinen. Even the FSN broadcasters were screwed up. They could not believe the goal was disallowed. Darby Hendrickson, who played in the NHL for however many seasons, afterwards said that above the shoulders is a high stick disallowed goal…but I am clearly smarter than FSN. I know that the crossbar is the benchmark. Seriously…sometimes FSN…well, I digress. Mike Greenlay clarified later.

Wild F Owen Nolan gets the game winner on his 1st goal as a member of the Wild, and F Pierre Marc-Bouchard got his 1st of the season. The Wild had some stretches of great puck control and seemed to have a ton of space before Columbus put a man on the puck. But, they need to finish. Puck control and fancy-pants passing is great, but it doesn’t do anything for the scoreboard.

Wild G Niklas Backstrom kept the Wild in this game. He played a very strong game. I really thought we’d see Josh Harding tonite, but more Backstrom. Will Harding play at all this season?

Tonite was the 2nd game in a row that the Wild let a team back in after leading comfortably. That was a problem last year that I thought would go away with Demitra and Rolston leaving. Apparently not.

Wrap
So the Wild stay undefeated in regulation. Owen Nolan gets his 1st Wild goal. The penalty kill stayed at 100%. FSN voices Dan Terhaar and Mike Greenlay look like muppets demonstrating fights on-ice after the game. I DVRed the Hockey Night in Canada games from NHL Network tonite, so tomorrow I have more hockey to watch. Beauty!

Next on the Docket – Blackhawks @ Wild – Mon Oct 27th
Wild v. Blackhawks are the national game Monday on Versus in HD. Make sure you watch. No “what channel is Versus” jokes, please. This is a great opportunity to get national perspective on our team and to watch superstars of tomorrow Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes. Unless the Wild can figure out how to bury the puck more often, I think the Hawks win, 3-2.