Just a great game @ the X tonight. Wild come back from 2 goals down not once, but twice, tie it up with a minute left in the game, take it to the shootout sudden death round, and get their 4th win in a row, 5th in the last 6 games, and have at least a point in their last 6.

The #1 line was just excellent tonight. Koivu 2 goals, Miettenin 2 goals (plus a SO goal), Brunette 3 assists. That’s exactly what the Wild need in order to contend.

Now I’m not going to get all gushy and predict Stanley Cup here, so here is the question…is the team’s recent play the real deal? They’re scoring more. They’re winning faceoffs like crazy. The ridiculous defensive lapses have all but vanished.

Could our Wild squad have a shot at the playoffs?

Ok, calm down. Gotta keep it rolling. They’ve shown flashes a couple times this season, and have gone into the tank only to lose 3 in a row. And they’re going to have to win in regulation eventually. But right now I’m not going to be picky. 2 weeks ago I made no time to watch the Wild. Now there’s reason to pay attention.

Props to Todd Richards for hanging in there, and to Chuck Fletcher for making some moves that seem to have sparked the squad. Shout out to tonight’s crowd at the X, representing with a loud ovation for Mikko’s individual effort to kill the Duck’s PP in OT, for standing for most of the OT and SO, and for being a force again.

Perhaps this winter won’t be as cold as we had expected.

Tonight the Wild looked a liiiiitle bit better than they have over the last couple weeks. They got to practice the powerplay alot as well, and that certainly helped. The Wild had 8 powerplay opportunities while Colorado had 3, and both regulation Wild goals came on the powerplay .They scored the lone goal in the shootout to get the extra point and just like that we’ve doubled our win total for the season! We’re comin!

Mikko Koivu
Mikko Koivu, in his first game as the first real Wild captain, had a very strong game. He scored the tying goal in the 3rd on a redirected puck in front of the net, and he scored the game winner in the shootout. However, I will not call him “Captain Koivu” as FSN play-by-play guy Dan Terhaar chose to do. Ugh.

Niklas Backstrom
Backy was great again, making 35 saves plus 3 in the shootout. He is the constant on this team, again not flashy but there when you need him.

2nd Period Still Ugly
The Wild dominated the 1st period with the help of Avalanche penalties. But in the 2nd they reverted to the team we saw on the west coast. The Avs outshot the Wild 18-4 in the 2nd when we saw sloppy defensive play, poor breakouts, and an inability to clear for long stretches. Wild D Brent Burns looked especially lost as he ineffectively tried to clear the puck, regained it, then turned it over inside the defensive zone, which led directly to the Avs go ahead goal. Gotta tighten that up.

Busted Glass
It seemed the loudest cheer of the night from the “Team of 18,000” came when an Avalance player knocked Wild D Nick Schultz into the glass at the scorers table just before the end of regulation and the glass shattered into at least 1,394,238 pieces. It was a little comical to see the official timekeeper shield himself from the wreckage while stopping the clock. Good work sir.

Third Jersey
I really like the new sweaters. It was awesome to see the boys in green again, and I think the script lettering on the front is striking. Also, I like that they are 1-0 in them.

Next
Wild hop a plane for a quick rodie to St. Louis on Friday, 7PM No TV (FSN FAIL) The Blues look improved over last season, but they don’t exactly instill fear into my heart.The Wild should show some pride, play a “good road game” and get their first road win of the year.

ETC
Congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies for putting away the Dodgers tonight to advance to the World Series. Assuming it’s Phillies v. Yankees, I’m all about a Phils repeat.

It's been a long couple weeks since the Wild have played at Xcel Energy Center. A long west coast road trip resulted in a no wins and 5 losses, giving the Wild a depressing record of 1-6. It sucks being a fan of that team. I'm not going to rehash that 0-5 trip - that's been done at nauseum. Let's look at why things will turn around soon for our favorite hockey team.

Back Home
Gotta start somewhere, and the X is the last (only) place they won a game. It's only for one game and they're back out to St. Louis, but then they come back here Saturday. The long road trip is over and at least they get some familiarity with their surroundings. Should impart a better state of mind.

Third Jersey Debut
The Wild will wear their new green third jersey for the first time tonight. Some teams rack up wins in their alternate jerseys and this is obviously purely coincidence, but if it makes the day feel like a special occasion and amps the team up a bit more I'll bite.

More Work on the System
Veteran Wild F Andrew Brunette was on KFAN with Lavelle E. Neil this morning, and they talked a bit about learning the new system. Bruno is always pretty candid in media interviews and he sounded sincere in speaking to the difficulty in going to a new system that is pretty much the exact opposite of what most of the team is used to playing. He said it in a way that makes me believe it's more than just an excuse, that there truly are growing pains of learning Todd Richards' system. He said he feels like each day they get a bit better, and if it's working well they will be a hard forechecking team. It's gotta click eventually.

Healing
Another factor Bruno touched on was injuries. Not so much that the injuries have resulted in the losses, but that they've contributed to the learning curve on the new system. A good portion of the team (including Bruno and Koivu) missed most of the preseason with injuries, and now you have Havlat and Sykora missing games. Havlat may play tonight and Sykora sounds close, and out of nowhere Cal Clutterbuck skated with the team today, so things are looking up.

On a downside to the injury thing, Pierre Marc Bouchard was placed on extended injury reserve or some goofy thing. He has concussion symptoms that won't go away. Some people have speculated that his career could be in question. That would be sad - PMB is a good kid.

Chuck Kobasew
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher made a deal with Boston for Chuck Kobasew, a tough winger. He might not be the key to making this team competitive, but he has scored 20+ goals the last two seasons, and the Wild need goal scorers. Fletch gave up a good prospect, but you gotta give up something to get something. Would Doug Reisbrough have made that trade?

The Official Face of the Franchise
Finally, the Wild have a permanent captain. They gave F Mikko Koivu the C for good, even though it has been unofficially his team for the last year or so. Mikko was the fan choice. Richards said he exibits all the characteristics of a good leader. During the presser announcing the move he spoke to the media in a way I haven't ever really heard him speak. You could hear the responsibility in his tone. He said the important thing was that "the older guys" supported him in that role and that he wouldn't change how he plays or how he acts in the clubhouse, but I envision him taking the role and running with it. Some people step up more when others give you more responsibility and I think Mikko, typically thought of as a quiet leader, will excell in this spot.

It's going to get better folks.

The Strib’s Wild beat writer Mike Russo wrote an article about the Wild captaincy today. So this post may feel like I’m piggybacking…but the planning for this post started a couple weeks ago. One of the first things that popped into my scattered brain when Todd Richards was named coach was the captaincy. Finally, it seemed we may abolish Jacques Lemaire’s rotating captaincy. So, I set out to take the pulse of the Wild fans in my life. Here are the questions I asked and the results:

Should the Wild go with 1 captain all season?
The answer to this question was a unanimous “Yes.” The rotating captaincy has run it’s course.

Who Should Start the Season as Captain?
Almost unanimously, Mikko Koivu is the fan’s choice captain the Wild in this year of transition. Nick Schultz got one vote. Pavol Demitra also received a vote, but that was after a few beers and it was later determined that this voter meant Mikko Koivu.

Outcry for Koivu to be named permanent captain started last season, so this is no surprise. Wild fans have handed the “face of the franchise” tag over to Koivu. Women want him. Men want to be him. He’s on the brink of superstardom in Minny.

Who should be the Alternates?
There was a little more variety on the alternates. A very little. By the numbers, it’s Brent Burns and Nick Schultz with Andrew Brunette on standby for injury purposes.

The Official Word
Here are the Wild 2009-2010 captains based on the fan vote:

C: Mikko Koivu
 

A: Brent Burns

A: Nick Schultz

Do you agree with this captaincy group? How would you change it up? Do you think Todd Richards will go this route? Post your thoughts in the comments!

Marian Gaborik checked the rest of the way out of Minnesota on the first day of free agency, ultimately signing not with Vancouver as rumors persisted, but with the New York Rangers – the team he had his 5-goal game against. Yeah, good luck with that. MSG is where overpaid individual stars go to get injured and underachieve.

But this left Chuck Fletcher with a big hole. With all of his injury and attitude issues, obviously Gabby was the biggest talent. What would Doug Reisbrough have done? Likely nothing. But the new guy looking to make a name found someone interested in playing in Minnesota. Someone who needed a place to play after his team signed Marian Hossa. A guy who is a frequent Twitterer (@martinhavlat). Marty Havlat was probably the Hawk’s most talented player until the new kids arrived in the last couple years. He scores in pretty ways. He now has needed playoff experience, reaching the West Finals last season with the Hawks and scoring 5 goals during their run. And the biggest thing that makes him better than Gaborik in my eyes…he wants to be in “Minny.”

He may not have the same speed or talent, but I believe a team attitude will be so much more valuable to the Wild in this season and even more in the next few seasons. On a line with Mikko Koivu – there’s a lot of potential. I gotta believe he’s a 30-goal scorer if he stays healthy (yes, there’s injury baggage here too).

The Wild also went hard at Mikko Koivu’s older brother Saku. He did not sign with them, instead signing with the Anaheim Ducks. Sounds like the biggest reason he didn’t sign was he didn’t want to interfere with what Mikko has going on here. Mikko has turned into the #1 leader on this team and Saku apparently wanted to stay out of the limelight – allow Mikko to run the team. Pretty noble thing, but unfortunately it leaves the Wild a little short at center (pun intended, if Pierre-Marc Bouchard sees alot of time at the position). We will need to watch how that plays out.

Overall the team is improved personnel-wise over last season. It’ll take some time for them to gel, and possibly one more signing next summer, but I like the direction so far.

Coming next: Step 4 – Finally Roll Out an Alternate Jersey

Wild @ Sharks – Thurs Mar 5 – View from the Couch
I sure didn’t see that coming. Tonite the Wild were dominated for almost two periods v. San Jose. Down 3-0, the Wild get goals from F Mikko Koivu (or D Marc-Andre Bergeron) and F Pierre-Marc Bouchard late in the 2nd and a backhanded dump in from center ice by D Marek Zidlicky that bounced through Sharks G Brian Boucher to get to overtime. A point is nice, but two are better, and F Mikko Koivu knocked in a stray puck off a rush by D Brent Burns with only 13 seconds left in the OT, and the Wild break their 4-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, the final 4-3.

Love the Cele
How great was Mikko’s reaction after the game winner? Jumping up and down like he just won the cup, you could tell an anvil-sized weight was just lifted off him and this team. After the game on FS North he talked about the spirit of the team, mentioning that Owen Nolan was on the bench, and I quote, “puking,” and still playing, and that was a great sign for the team.

Mikko strapping the team to his back Kirby Puckett style is great to see. “We’ll see you tomorrow night!”

Jots

• I can not overemphasize the emotional swing of this game. Just from my own standpoint, I went from fast-forwarding through another snoozefest and getting all crabby about dropping further into the playoff black hole, to watching intently and jumping up when Mikko scored the winner. Now it’s “Ain’t no stoppin’ us now!”
• PMB needs to keep scoring. His goal tonight was nice – a little head bob before firing a wrister. He is a guy that is disappointing big time this season, but turn it on now and who cares Butch!
• Thank you to SJ for not playing G Evgeni Nabokov tonight. I have to believe that Nabokov does not let this game get to OT.
• Wild D Kurtis Foster, who broke his fibula just under a year ago at HP Pavilion v. SJ on a touch-up icing play and is ready to make his season debut after surgery and rehab, had the option to play tonight. He chose to wait, no doubt the ghosts of what happened a year ago entering his mind.
• Closed-Circuit to Wild GM Doug Reisbrough, you’re right, we didn’t need Olli Jokinen. He only scored 2 goals in his debut tonight for Calgary v. Philly. And while we truly didn’t need D Jordan Leopold, he also scored a goal. This is what happens when you make trades DR…

The Fight to…Make the Playoffs
Lady Luck smiled on the Wild tonight. Dallas led LA 3-0 as well, and LA closed the gap and got a fluky goal as well to tie it, this one with 15 seconds left. They eventually get the W in OT, so the Wild remain in 11th place but only one point out of that last playoff spot. Don’t write off this season just yet.

Next
Wild go to Los Angeles to take on the Kings Saturday afternoon (3 PM CST). They CAN NOT waste this spirited effort by losing to the Kings. CAN NOT!

Stars @ Wild – Wed Nov 26 – View from the Kitchen on the Laptop
Remember when…remember when if the Wild were up a goal or two in the 3rd period they were unbeatable? I miss the good old days. I don’t much enjoy feeling like a game is well in hand and then having to deal with a loss.

Wild had a 3-1 lead tonite v. Dallas, at home, but after two disallowed goals at the expense of Mikko Koivu, Dallas scored a couple non-descript goals, and eventually took the lead. The Wild played a very good game. They pretty much owned Dallas G Marty Turco, who looked shaky all nite. One of Koivu’s disallowed goals was just a shot that hit the crossbar and never went in, but the 2nd disallowed goal was after Turco had knocked the net off its moorings after “stumbling.” Seemed like after the 2nd disallowed goal the Wild lost all momentum, and they didn’t mount much after until a flurry with 15 seconds to go. They hit a post and had several point-blank choices as time expired.

Mikko Koivu played a very strong game tonite. He hit a post, hit a crossbar, and had the disallowed goal on the dislodged net. Didn’t much notice former Wild F Mark Parrish for Dallas. Didn’t much notice former Stars F Antti Miettinen for the Wild. Apparently Miettinen was a fluke earlier in the year.

Very disappointing loss after controlling the game against a struggling Stars team. And Dallas continues to be a mystery the Wild can not solve.

Next on the Docket – Lightning @ Wild – Fri Nov 28
Wes Walz day! The Wild will be honoring Wes Walz, who is an assistant coach for the Lightning, prior to the game Friday afternoon. Should be festive. Sort of bittersweet for me, because for the last I don’t know how many years me or someone in the family has been in the building for the day-after-Thanksgiving game, but we will not be going this year. Oh well. At least it’s scheduled to be in HD on FS North. Wild should be able to rebound after tonite’s disappointing loss. They have been very successful against the Eastern Conference so far this season, especially against the Southeast Division. Wild 2 Lightning 1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wild @ Penguins – Tues Nov 18 – View from my Recliner
If I hear another announcer say “Goligoski” as long as I live I may throw up in my mouth and I can not be trusted to keep it there. 

How’s that for a pleasant opening?

I don’t know what it is about that name, but it makes me cringe. For those that don’t know, Alex Gologoski is a former UMTC Gopher that apparently is now in his rookie season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And tonite on Vs I think they said his name about 30 times. Perhaps it’s my hatred of Gopher hockey and hearing the MN media (think Wally Shaver) say his name a half-a-million times. Maybe it’s jealousy and envy…how bout if my UMD Bulldogs picked up some talent and actually won a game in the WCHA this season? (As a side note, I’m packing up the family for UND v. UMD @ the DECC Saturday. More on that later in the week.)

Ok ok, on to tonite’s game. One word…Niklas Backstrom. He was absolutely stellar tonite for the Wizzy, in a 2-1 shootout win over the Pens. For the most part the Wild did a great job bottling up Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Jordan Stall, and the rest of Pittsburgh’s high-flying offense (don’t forget Pascal Dupuis). But when the powder blue 3rd-jersey-wearing Pens got scoring chances, Backstrom made every big save. He was very calm and positionally sound throughout the nite, made big save after big save, and got the Wild to the shootout, and then made stops on Petr Sykora, Goligoski (blech), and Sidney Crosby in the shootout. Last season I made posts about how Backstrom wasn’t that great and letting in soft goals and biting it in the shootout. This year, exact opposite. He has been unbeatable in the shootout and is clearly the Wild’s MVP so far in this young season.

Matt Cooke, the former Vancouver Canuck and Wild fan-favorite-to-hate, scored the lone goal on Backstrom on a loose puck right in front of the Wild cage minder, just 10 seconds after Penguins F Mike Zigomanis scored for the Wild. Wait…huh? Yes…Zigomanis (apparently the NHL faceoff leader) won a defensive zone faceoff against Wild F Mikko Koivu, but the puck bounced straight in on Pens G Dany Sabourin, who let the puck trickle through his five hole for the Wild’s only goal of regulation. Koivu got credit for the goal. Really…scoring is that bad for the Wild right now. In the shootout, Wild D Marek Zidlicky scored the only goal the Wild would need on a nifty move, the Wild escape with 2 points, and that’s the important thing.

This is the type of game the Wild must play to be successful. It is a replay of the early years of Wild hockey, where they play strong defensively, keep the scoring low, and hope to get a few bounces. I’m not saying the Wild were an offensive juggernaut the last couple years, but right now they need to be VERY defensive because there just is no scoring in this lineup right now with no Marian Gaborik. And if the national media calls it a trapping system again I’ll probably have a Goligoski reaction.

Next on the Docket – Canucks @ Wild – Thurs Nov 20
Wild return home to continue a nice long stretch of home games, and they will renew the rivalry with Vancouver. They played a very competitive, intense, and hard-checking game in Vancouver a couple weeks ago, but came out on the losing end, I believe by 1 goal. I would expect the same Thursday, except I’m looking for a win this time. Wild 3 Canucks 1

Wild v. Canadiens – Thurs Oct 30 – View from All Over the House
We’ve seen a couple things play out in the Wild’s last 2 games. One is that against stiffer competition, the Wild are pretty much overmatched in the scoring department. Two is that a Wild team without Marian Gaborik is pretty punchless. Eric Belanger has reverted to invisible Eric Belanger, and Antti Miettinen can not pick up the slack for the goals the Wild will lose when Gabby is not part of this team.

Wild lose tonite to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. One would say they didn’t lose too badly, that it was a close game. But if you watched the game, you saw no flow from the Wild offense for the majority of the game. They spent pretty much the entire 2nd period on the powerplay, including significant 5-on-3 time, and did not sniff a goal. Passes were not crisp, players were overskating the puck, and Montreal played a stellar penalty kill strategy. The Wild could not work the puck into the slot, so all the shots came from Bergeron or other defensemen from the point and would not get thru to Canadiens G Carey Price. The Wild had a total of 10 powerplay opportunities, and came up snake-eyes. The lone Wild goal came 1:30 into the game from Brent Burns, who was playing forward tonite with Owen Nolan out again with another “lower body” injury. Josh Harding got the start tonite, and he finished with 19 saves giving up 2 goals. The 1st goal was a little weak, but all in all he played a decent game.

The most exciting part of tonite’s game was at the end of the game, with about 20 seconds to play, there was a scrum in front of the Montreal net. The Wild’s Koivu was all up in the fracas, throwing gloved-fists and losing his helmet. The Canadien’s Koivu was on the ice as well, and he got into it with Wild F Andrew Brunette. If they’da let it go, it would have been interesting to see how it would play out if Koivu and Koivu met in the pile. Koivu v. Koivu droppin’ the gloves? Mikko is a bit of a crazy if he gets riled up…it coulda happened!

Then as he went back out on the ice for the final 20 seconds, he had Martin Skoula’s #41 helmet on. I thought it was pretty comical.

The Wild’s performance in the last 2 games has me worried for the games this season against the upper-tier teams in the NHL. It’s one thing to beat Atlanta and Tampa Bay, but the Wild have lost to Buffalo, Dallas, and Montreal – three good teams – and they haven’t looked particularly competent in any of those losses.

Next on the Docket – Wild @ Coyotes – Sat Nov 1
Phoenix is last in the Western Conference with 8 points so far this season, but tonite they beat the Penguins 4-1. This is a game the Wild need to get back on track. Wild 3 ‘Yotes 0 That’s right, I’m callin’ a shutout!

Closed Circuit to Kirsten
I hope you’re happy!!!

Wild @ Panthers – 10-16-08 – View from My Kitchen (Then My Recliner)
Quite an impressive victory for the Wizzy tonite, a 6-2 shellacking of the Florida Panthers. I watched tonite’s game while I made dinner, then on the DVR after dinner. So I didn’t get a gauge for the flow in the 1st 2 periods, but I did see the goals. And again some of them were downright pretty. Who is this offensive juggernaut that we figured was going to struggle to score goals?

Wild Goals
1st period goal from Andrew Brunette, 2nd period goals from Kim Johnsson, Antti Miettinen, and Benoit Pouliot, and 3rd period goals from Mikko Koivu and a another from Miettinen. The only bunk goal was Johnsson’s goal…his soft shot from the blueline bounced off a couple skates on its way past Panther G Thomas Vokoun. The Wild powerplay goals were pretty tick-tack passing plays, and Koivu was unconscious tonite, finishing off a nite full of beauty passes with a wicked wrister through a screen for the final goal.

Jots

• The Wild scored 3 goals on the powerplay.
• Mikko Koivu had 4 assists to go with his 1 goal for a 5 point nite.
• Antti Miettinen now has 5 goals in 3 games. 
• Wild G Niklas Backstrom played his 3rd solid game of the season, making 24 saves en route to the win.
• Oh yeah, Gabby is hurt.

Next on the Docket – Wild @ Lightning – Sat 10-18-08
The Wild are off to another fast start. They went 5-0 before losing last season, and the year before they went 6-0. But they have to lose eventually right? We get to see Barry Melrose and former Wild F Wes Walz behind the bench for the Bolts, and Melrose is the kind of guy that is smart enough to tap into Wes for some insider secrets. The Bolts are winless so far, so I’ve got to read all that karma into a win for the Lightning, 4-1.

Wild @ Avalanche - Western Conference Quarterfinals Game 3 - View from the Couch
The hockey gods sure have a sense of humor. If you recall, about a month ago Kurtis Foster was run into the boards on an icing play that resulted in a broken femur for Foster, ending his season and putting the Wild shorthanded on D for the playoffs. After that play, the outcry from Minny, me included, was that we needed no-tough icing. The other leagues have no-touch icing, and how many icings are actually negated by an offensive player beating the defensive player to the puck? Well, tonite the sentiment around the State of Hockey is undoubtedly, "I love touch-up icing!!!"

It started out as a tight checking game tonite. The Wild had plenty of opportunities through 2 periods tonite but could not get anything past Avalanche G Jose Theodore. I liked the chances they got, but I gotta say Theodore was the difference early...and that would turn into a theme as the night rolled on. Granted the Wild took too many penalties that tired out their depleted defensive corps, but when they had offensive time they put some good shots on net. The only goal in the first 2 periods was by our old buddy Andrew Brunette, and the Avs took a 1-0 lead into the 3rd.

Once again apparently the Wild felt they didn't need to score until the 3rd. With around 12 minutes to go, Todd Fedoruk tossed the puck deep, got his own dump in off the boards and tossed it out front, where Mikko Koivu was crashing the net to knock it past Theodore. Great goal. I love Todd Fedoruk.

Then, enigma #1 Brian Rolston appeared on a pretty short-handed goal, assisted by Pavol Demitra on a 2-on-1. Honestly, before this kill started, I said, out loud, we're gonna get a shortie. I'm a great prognosticating mind. Demo put on a great deke from inside the Wild's blueline to start the break. He got around the Avalanche defenseman who was trying to keep the puck in the zone, then went in with Rolston, faked the shot and waited just long enough for the lone D for Colorado to slide out of the way, then dished it to Rolston who had an open net to shoot at, and Rolston made sure he didn't miss.

But it wouldn't be that easy. The Wild couldn't clear the zone shortly after the goal and Joe Sakic scores with about 5 minutes left to tie the game and ignite the Pepsi Center crowd. Things were complicated on that goal. Aaron Voros launched Brunette into Niklas Backstrom, so he pretty much had no chance to make a save on Sakic's shot.

The Wild put on some great pressure in the final 30 seconds, Mikko Koivu was an absolute stud and drew a tripping penalty with 8 seconds left in the 3rd. Time expired, and no surprise that we go to overtime. More free hockey to burn out our tired defense.

And Theodore kept it up in OT. He stopped Gabby point blank, then Demo on a 2-on-1 with PMB. The Wild absolutely dominated the overtime, but as time went on it seemed like this game could go forever. Finally, just seconds after the Wild telecast showed Andrew Brunette end Patrick Roy's career in '03, the puck took a funny carom on a would-be icing on the Wild. Colorado D Jeff Finger apparently had his eyes closed and went behind the net while the puck bounced to the side of the net. Brian Rolston got to the puck 1st to negate the icing, then passed to enigma #2 Pierre-Marc Bouchard in the slot, and PMB fired a wrister top-shelf to finally beat Theodore. Wild win, 3-2, and the dog wakes up because I'm jumping around the family room.

I'd be remiss not to mention the game Backstrom had. He played very solidly tonite, stopping 44 shots. I was really surprised he had that many saves. Throughout the game I thought the Wild were outshooting the Avs. Props to Backstrom for keeping the Wild in the game. Also, although he didn't score, enigma #3 Marian Gaborik had a TON of chances. That bodes well for the next couple games.

Oh, and Mikko Koivu is a stud.

Fun with Numbers
That's an oxymoron, but chew on this:

• The last 5 Wild/Avs games this season have gone to OT.
• The last 5 Wild/Avs playoff games have gone to OT.
• The last 6 Wild/Avs playoff games finished with a 3-2 final.

Fight to Bring the Cup to St. Paul
Wild now up 2-1 in this 1st round series. They have 2 wins out of the 16 necessary to win the cup. I know, I know, one series at a time...ok, they need 2 more wins to win this series.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Avalanche - Tues 4-15-08
Gotta do it all over again tomorrow nite for game 4. FSN has my back with Twins v. Tigers then Wild v. Avalanche, both in HD. So you can guess what I'll be doing tomorrow evening. The way this series rolls you gotta think the Avs will win, but I'm going with the Wild. I think they gain alot of momentum, The Three Enigmas are starting to roll, and there is karma coming to set up game 5 at Xcel with the potential to wrap up the series. Wild 3 Avs 2

Avalanche @ Wild - Western Conference Quarterfinals Game 2 - View from All Over My Living Room
Don't know where to start. So many emotional swings. In a game that had more drama than game 1, the Wild beat Colorado 3-2 in another overtime thriller. Keith Carney scored the winner off an Avs skate just over a minute into OT. It was a great goal for the old guy; you gotta feel good for him.

It was a frustrating game through 2 periods. It was either an excellent forecheck or just Wild jitters that gave them trouble getting out of their own zone. They seemed to get caught up in the emotion in the 1st, after some bodies went flying, a stick went flying into the stands, they were caught watching Peter Forsberg skate through the slot and wrist one by Niklas Backstrom (Martin Skoula had an opportunity to get it off his stick but he didn't go for it). In the 2nd, Mikko Koivu/Aaron Voros and Marian Gaborik hit 2 posts 15 seconds within each other, and the puck hopped Pavol Demitra's stick just as the period expired.

But the Wild were able to carry a powerplay and the momentum into the 3rd, and Demo tied it on a nice slapper from the left circle. Play went back and forth until the 18:30 mark, where Koivu fired one from just inside the blue line to give the Wild the lead. The crowd was bonkers. I was bonkers. Looked like we were going to Denver tied at 1. The Avalanche brought the pressure tho, and Kin Johnsson had to hook Ryan Smyth with a minute to go. On a 6 on 4 powerplay with the goalie pulled, the Avs were able to tie it on one that seemed to have eyes deflecting off Milan Hedjuk. So we go to OT.

Fittingly, it was a great forecheck that got the Wild the opportunity to win it. Brian Rolston, Mikko Koivu, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard were able to turn the puck over in the offensive zone. Koivu kept the puck while fending off Joe Sakic, and fed it to PMB on the sideboards. PMB tried to center to Rolston, but it deflected back to the sideboards, where Carney had pinched. He fired towards the net, and it deflected off Ruslan Salei's skate, and the Xcel Energy Center crowd goes home ecstatic - and I breathe again.

Jots

• I don't know if it was jitters, bad ice, or what, but the Wild just seemed to be clutching their sticks a bit too much. They would overskate the puck, fan on shots, pass too hard. Trying a bit too hard to win the game with one fantastic play.
• Man the D looks tired. Carney and Burns looked like they were going to pass out in their post game interviews.
• Niklas Backstrom was absolutely stellar in net tonite. He stopped a handful of glorious scoring chances and was positionally sound all nite. I couldn't count how many times the D came up and gave him a tap on the pads for bailing them out.
• Mikko Koivu is a stud.
• Peter Forsberg is really hitting stride. Gotta find a way to shut him down, and Brent Burns' xtra work on him in the 2nd was a nice start.
• I do not like Wild play-by-play guy Dan Terhaar as a play-by-play guy, but his voice cracking on the game winning call was classic. If the Wild win the Cup, I will hang a poster-size print of him on my wall...right next to all my other Wild prints. I think it would look great right between the 8x10s of me with the Cup and my wife with Matt Johnson.
• Great job to FSN-HD tonite. The game was visually pretty and it added a ton to the game experience at home tonite.
• I almost forgot to mention the karma I experienced tonite. After the 2nd period, in frustration, I switched jerseys - from the green to the white - and it paid off. Needless to say I'll be wearing the white Monday.

Fight to Bring the Cup to St. Paul
The win ties the series 1-1, with the series now shifting to Denver. We're now 15 wins from Lord Stanley's arrival. And there will officially be a game 5 in this series. Sweet for me and whoever winds up going with me.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Avalanche - Mon 4-14-08
Hoping the Wild can carry a little momentum into the next game. The extra day off should be good for resting our tired D-men, as well as a banged up Branko Radivojevic. Ever the optimist (at least before the game starts) I say Wild 2 Avs 1.

Canucks @ Wild - 3-28-08 - View from Section 216
I'm dead tired right now. Spent alot of energy at the Wild game tonite and the sore throat I woke up with this morning will most likely be a full-blown deal tomorrow. But it was well worth it.

Wild win 4-0 tonite over a Vancouver team that looks like they have nothing left. The Wild played an excellent game, dominating for all 3 periods. They scored 2 on the powerplay, another just as the powerplay expired, and there were fisticuffs in the 3rd. The Canucks continued to be the thugs that Minnesota fans love to hate.

Goals
1st period goals from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Mikko Koivu, and 2nd period goals from Brent Burns and Todd Fedoruk. All very nice goals, Koivu's was very pretty. He snuck out from behind the goal line and slipped it through G Roberto Luongo's 5 hole. Fedoruk's goal was on a 2 on 1 with Marian Gaborik, where Gabby set Fridge up with a late pass.

Fights
It was relatively calm in the 1st and 2nd, but all heck broke loose in the 3rd. Derek Boogaard went with someone, can't remember who, but he took care of bidness. Then, after Canuck Alexe Burrows apparently speared PMB, so PMB gave him a two-handed slash to the back of his leg. That got the two teams together, and PMB and Burrows fought, along with Brent Burns absolutely pummeling Nathan McIver. I mean just laying into him. Everyone else paired off, and it took a good 10 minutes to settle everyone down and sort out the penalties. During the stoppage, the Xcel crowd turned in a quality"Let's go Wi-ld" chant. It was a nicely riled up crowd that enjoyed Friday nite at the X.

Jots

• Niklas Backstrom gets his 4th shutout of the season. The D was very good in front of him, blocking shots and clearing rebounds in a timely manner.
• Sean Hill was very solid again tonite. He made a couple great plays on D to stop scoring chances and also had an assist.
• The new tough-guy philosophy seems to be paying off so far. I said to my wife on the walk down the stairs that the Wild certainly haven't had a team like this before, that would welcome the physical play and had multiple players that don't back down from fights.
• Gabby looked very good tonite. the 2 on 1 with Fridge, a breakaway in the 2nd, drew a penalty in the 1st, another 2 on 1 in the 3rd, and a couple nice shots. He didn't score, but the chances were there.
• Was good to chase Luongo out of the nets, but can you blame the guy for not being focused? His wife just had their first child yesterday.
• At the end of the day, Vancouver is in 9th and out of the playoffs thanks to a tiebreaker held by Nashville. The production crew at the X didn't waste time putting that up on the scoreboard either.

 
Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Wild now with 93 points, Calgary with 90, but Calgary now has 2 games in hand. They play Edmonton tomorrow nite in Calgary. Colorado came back to beat Edmonton in OT tonite, so they are now at 88 points, 5 back of the Wild.

The Wild are 1 point away from clinching a playoff birth.

Next on the Docket - Avalanche @ Wild - Sun 3-30-08
Can the Wild continue their solid play? They look to be on a nice roll, and I think this one is going to last into the playoffs. This game is scheduled for FSN in HD, so plan on a good lookin W. Wild 3 Avs 2

Kings @ Wild - 3-15-08 - View from the Recliner
Tonite the Wild and more specifically a Wild goaltender did something I've been calling for for a long time...went out and shut a team out. Wild win 2-0 over the Kings tonite. Niklas Backstrom didn't have to be great...I actually can't remember any standout saves, but the important thing is he didn't let in any soft goals and kept the rebounds to an acceptable level. The Wild got an important win over a bad team. They had to work for it, but they put in the work and got the W, and 2 points to tie Colorado for the NW division lead.

Goals came from Brian Rolston and Marian Gaborik. Mikko Koivu was strong, and I thought new call up and much maligned Benoit Pouliot had an excellent game. He was quick, on the puck, and had a few very nice physical plays to knock players off the puck. Maybe getting his face pounded into the ice a couple weeks ago gave him new perspective.

The Wild continued to ride this scoring draught into at least mediocre success. They've got at least 1 point in their last 4 at a time they're not scoring and everyone in Minnesota thinks the world is coming to an end. If it turns around they will be in good position. We're about to hit that stretch of games against the NW that will tell the story. 10 games left, 9 of them against the NW division.

Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Colorado lost to New Jersey 4-2 so the Wild are back into a tie with the Avs for 1st. Calgary was off, so they're now 2 points back. Oh and Vancouver won too, so they're 2 points back. Seriously...who knows who's going to win this thing?

Fight to Stay in the Playoffs
Nashville won today so the Wild are up 4 points on the final playoff spot.

Next on the Docket - Avalanche @ Wild - 3-17-08
This game is not important at all...just because the teams are tied for 1st with 10 games remaining doesn't mean much... Wild 3 Avs 1

Devils @ Wild - 3-13-06 - A View from the Couch
In my earlier post today, I mentioned I had a very positive outlook on tonite's game. Sun shining gave way to birds singing, snow melting, and in theory, a Wild victory, righting the sinking ship. Those birds kept singing until 7 minutes left in the 3rd period. They completely fell asleep when Jamie Langenbrunner easily deked Niklas Backstrom (that's different) to win the shootout and the game for the Devils.

Wild did play a pretty good game tonite. Great 1st period resulted in a 2-0 lead. Bad 2nd period allowed NJ to tie the game, and then Koivu to stickhandle nicely to set up Gabby for his 1st goal in like 85 games. Good 3rd period up until Backstrom was scored on from a bad angle again. This time it was sort of on a hockey move instead of a shot from 15 feet out and behind the goal line, but still a save he should have made. He shouldn't have followed Danius Zubrus to the front of the net, because he never went there. I don't know what to make of the OT. Wild dominated after the ugly minute-long power play, but didn't ever shoot the puck. Skoula and PMB combined for like 30 seconds of skating around the offensive zone, never getting a shot at Martaaay Brodeur. That was frustrating. And of course, the shootout was bad for the Wild. They could not score a goal and Backstrom was beat 3 times, even though only one of the goals went in. Langenbrunner's winning goal was fitting, given he had like 100 friends and family in from Cloquet, and that I have always liked him as a player, and that earlier in the game I called him old. Oh, and he almost caused me to break my TV. I childishly threw my goal light remote on the floor and it bounced up and hit the TV. No damage tho. (What, you don't have a goal light?)

I guess it's positive. They had alot of great scoring opportunities tonite and Brodeur either got lucky or made the good save. The team sounded pretty upbeat in the postgame interviews. Stephane Veilleux and Mikko Koivu both were encouraged that they played a good game, and that if they keep playing that way things will go their way. I hope they're right.

Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
At time of this post, Colorado has a 5-1 lead on Edmonton in the 3rd, so they'll be in 1st by 2 pts at the end of the day.  Atlanta miraculously came back on Calgary to win 6-4, so the Wild and Calgary are tied for 2nd. Vancouver could pull into that same tie for 2nd if they beat Phoenix, but right now it is 1-0 Coyotes at the 2nd intermission. C'mon 'Yotes!

Seen in the Crowd
Props to a couple of my co-workers, Kristie and Karen, who got alot of high-definition face time tonite on FSN behind the Wild bench. One of the highlights was during the break before the shootout...they seemed to be mimicking the coaches writing out the shootout lineup. Beauty work!

Next on the Docket - Kings @ Wild - Sat 3-15-08
We'll see if the last 2 shootout losses against good teams really were good for the Wild's psyche against the lowly Kings. I'd like to see Josh Harding in net. I expect a win. Wild 4 Kings 1

Wild @ Oilers - 2-14-08 - A View from My Couch
Today at work we had a strengths workshop, and we were given bracelets to wear to help remember not to be negative or complain. So I'm going with resilliance in this game. Wild win 5-4 in the shootout.

What a goofy game. I absolutely ran the gammut of emotions. I felt fortunate because Stephane Velliux scored twice and it looked promising to get a W. Frustration of a late 2nd and early 3rd period goals by Vancouver to tie. Anger that Vancouver scored a 3rd goal to take the lead. Apathy until surprise that Kurtis Foster scored against G Roberto Luongo to tie it at 3. Extreeme fired-upness on Gabby's pretty pretty goal to take the 4-3. Are-you-kidding-meness after Vancouver tied it with 3 minutes left. Ok, I'm making up words. But if Roger Clemens can do it...

At the end, it was relief. Relief that the game was over, that the Wild had picked up 2 very important points, thanks to Mikko Koivu's game-winning shootout goal. Amidst the boos from the GM Place crowd, Koivu perservered and ended the game. The Wizzy sure can make Luongo look bad.

Happy B-Day Gabby
FSN had a nice feature in the 2nd intermission about the milestones Marian Gaborik has had in his years with the Wild. He then celebrated his 26th birthday with an awesome individual effort to give the Wild a short-lived lead. He cut parallel to the goal line in between 2 or 3 Canucks, flipped the puck in the air, let it bounce, and caught his "pass" and fired a quick wrister that surprised Luongo. I liked it...alot.

The Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
The Wild pick up 2 points, Calgary was off, and Colorado lost to St. Louis. It was a good nite, although now Calgary has a game in hand. That give us 4-points over the Flame and 5-points over the 'Lanche. However, with the point tonight, the Canuck sortof keeps pace; they're 6 points back. The Wild have 24 games left.

I wanted to do a magic number bit, but it appears they are way complicated in hockey, thanks to the 2-1-0 scoring system.

Next on the Docket - Predators @ Wild - Sun 2-17-08
Aaaah, the boys will be back home for 2. Sunday has the Preds, then we get the Canucks again. The Preds are in the playoff meatgrinder, currenly in the playoffs by 2 points. They will be in town on the 2nd nite of a back-to-back with the Wild getting 2 nites off. Advantage Wild. I also hope to see Josh Harding in net. Wild 3 Preds 1

Wild @ Canucks - 01-21-08 - A View from my Recliner behind my Laptop
Doing some work tonight during tonite's game, so I would look up when I heard Terharr get whooped up about something. It appears once again I am a motivator, as Brian Rolston scored a goal after I called him out in my last game recap. Clearly the team reads my blog and posts it on the bulletin board in the locker room.

Pretty entertaining game tonite. Even though it wasn't particularly high-scoring, it was particularly back and forth with alot of scoring chances both ways. It was high-intensity too, with the crowd into it after PMB's go-ahead goal in the 2nd, upset about a high-sticking non-call on Burns right before it. But my favorite was Koivu's goal in the 3rd to put it out of reach. As he skates by the Canuck bench he let out a loud yell into their ears, quite possibly releasing some frustration from the Ohlund hit that put him on the disabled list. Honorable mention to PMB's empty net goal about 5 seconds after the Canucks got it to a one goal game with 30 seconds left. Quieted the crowd quite nicely.

Everyone played a good intense game tonite. I really can't think of anyone that I would call out from this one. The goals came from Brian Rolston, two from Pierre Marc-Bouchard, and Mikko Koivu - three guys that need to keep scoring for the Wild to put a run together post All-Star break. They were strong defensively too, clearing out most rebounds from in front of Backstrom.

Jots

• The Canucks still have not won this year when trailing after two periods
• Nicklas Backstrom still has not lost when leading after two.
• The Wild started the day 7th in the Western Conference, just three points from 9th. After tonight, we're back up to 3rd in the conference, but only 5 points ahead of 3 teams tied for 9th. Sure would be nice to win these next two before the All-Star break.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Flames Tues 1-22-08
The Wild travel to Calgary tomorrow for the second of this back-to-back. The Wild have done pretty well in the second night of back-to-backs this season, and they've got some revenge to exact on the Flames from last week's shootout loss. I'm going to ride that train to a Wild win. If only there was no Jerome Iginla...Wild 4 Flames 3