Wild @ Canucks – Tues Mar 3 – View from the Couch
Another ridiculous loss for the Wizzy tonight. After jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st period, they give up 4 unanswered to lose 4-2. A disastrous 2nd period where the puck was seemingly in the Wild zone for the entire period. The Wild dropped in to a defensive style from which they never emerged, and two Canuck goals 28 seconds apart tied it then gave VAN the lead for good.

Wild goals came from Dan Fritsche and Marek Zidlicky. The bulk of VAN’s scoring was especially painful…two from pain in Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s posterior Alex Burrows and one from former Wild F Pavol Demitra. Hurts extra hard.

The Wild have now lost 4 in a row and are in absolute free fall.

Mikko Koivu is March Captain
Duh. MAKE him THE THE PERMANENT CAPTAIN!

The Fight to…Make the Playoffs
This was a big loss. Since this was a late game we know where we stand…11th place in the Western Conference, 3 points out of a playoff spot. With 20 games to play obviously the Wild are not out of it, but they’ve got to turn this ship around in a big hurry.

Next
The big west coast road swing continues Thursday in San Jose. Things just don’t get any easier.

Wild @ Canucks - Sat 11-8 - View from my Recliner


Tonite I'm testing out blogging from my iPhone so please excuse any typos. So far, meh. Apparently Blogger's editor doesn't work with iPhone so I have to post it in HTML, which isn't a big deal but it is time-consuming to switch between the keyboard layouts. We'll see. On to the game.

Wild lose to the Canucks tonite 2-0. The game was actually pretty entertaining even tho the Wild could not get anything by Canuck G Roberto Luongo. It was a hard-hitting affair. Several Wild players were finishing checks in a way you don't typically see from the Wizzy. They also peppered Luongo through most of the game, and especially in the 3rd period. Luongo was exceptional, making a handful of saves when it seemed the Wild were set up to tie the game at 1. But late in the 3rd one of the Sedin twins found the other Sedin and that Sedin scored to ice the win for Vancouver. Anyone know what Backstrom was trying to do on that play? Because he basically fell over.

Oh I'm sure most of you saw that former Wild F Mark Parrish had a hat trick in his 1st game for the Dallas Stars. My cousin on TX basically gave me play by play. His quote was "Parrish is a beast!" =) Good for Parrish tho. He's a class act.

Not much else from here. Mostly because I've been working on typing this for a half hour and all I've got is one tiny paragraph. If anyone knows of any good blogging apps for iPhone please let me know!

Wild @ Canucks - 3-21-08 - View from the Couch
What a great game! I absolutely loved the game the Wild played tonite. It was even better than the game they played against Colorado on Sunday. 2-1 win over the Canucks, in regulation even, so Vancouver gets nothing! You lose!

From the start this game was intense, physical, and there was a ton of chances. Brian Rolston got a PP goal in the 2nd on a shot that deflected off our old friend Willie Mitchell and Branko Radivojevic connected in the 3rd of a great pass from Pavol Demitra about a millisecond after I yelled "Demo, why don't you ever shoot!"

What was great about this game was the Wild didn't stop pushing all game. They kept up the forecheck even after getting the lead. They also had a great offensive game. It wasn't the old "let's cycle the puck behind the net for 2 minutes and not get a shot on goal" game we saw over the past few weeks. It seems this team has finally figured out that they need to play tough and that the playoffs are not just a given.

Jots

• Niklas Backstrom played I think his best game all season. That save he had in the 3rd where he stuck out the right pad was the best save I've ever seen him make. It made me stand up and say "Really? He actually made a game-saving save!" Even tho it was still 2-0 at that point.
• Benoit Pouliot. He played an awesome game tonite. Hope he gets rewarded with a goal soon, because he has been working very hard since he was called up. Bout time we get to see why the Wild drafted him with a 1st round pick.
• How fun was it to see Brent Burns and Willie Mitchell jawing at each other in the 1st?
• How come the guys who do the graphics for KSTC don't know how to spell Rolston? Every time the scrollie on the top of the screen says "Ralston."
• The strategy to play Sean Hill, Derek Boogaard, and Todd Fedoruk at the same time seemed to pay off. The physicality seemed to help the intensity for this game. Good on ya Jacques.
• I think I better throw at least a little negativity in this post...Keith Carney's penalty in the 3rd was a terrible penalty to take. Wild had all the momentum, but you could see that they were running around a bit in the defensive zone. Carney was slow so he pushed a guy down, and the Canucks scored, what, 10 seconds into the PP? But contrary to most of the season prior, the team stepped up the intensity from there on out.
• Can't wait for the rematch at the X next Friday. Last game I have tickets for this season!

Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Wild pick up 2 pts, Canucks get none. None of the other NW teams played tonite, so the Wild are 3 pts up on Calgary and Vancouver and Colorado is 5 pts back. Calgary still has a game in hand, so tomorrow nite's game in Calgary is the next most important game of the season.

The Wild are also now 9 points up on 9th-place Nashville. With 7 games left, the most points Nashville can earn is 14. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Flames - Sat 3-22-08
Oh boy, where to go on this one. I think I need to reign in all this positivity. Wild don't ever win in Calgary, they spent alot of energy and emotion on this one, and it's going too well right now for them to actually win this one. Flames 4 Wild 1

Canucks @ Wild - 2-19-08 - A Delayed View from My Recliner
I'm tired, so this will be short and to the point. Wild give up another 3rd peirod lead and lose 3-2 in OT. They were outshot by almost double, but scored 2 power play goals to get the lead. Then they gave up that lead and Daniel Sedin scored with 1:42 left in the OT. Disappointing to give up the W, but lucky to get a point in this one.

Jots

• Congrats to Mark Parrish and his wife. Their first child was born this morning, a girl. Parrish played in tonight's game, and I have no idea how he could possibly concentrate on hockey. My mind would not be on hockey. Closed-circuit to those I work with - I will not be in the office the day my first child is born.
• Eric Belanger finally broke his 13-game scoring draught. He knocked in a rebound on the PP. His reaction and the reaction from Rolston and the others on the ice was of "there you go buddy, you're back now." It is obviously on his mind. During the post-game show Marney Gellnar asked him about his goal and if it will break him out of his draught, and he said "Thanks for reminding me." Keep on keepin on 25.
• Wild G Niklas Backstrom had a strong game. He made a couple excellent acrobatic stops tonite, which are not his style. I don't fault him on any of the 3 Canuck goals
• Alot of jawing back and forth between both teams. Mikko Koivu was especially vocal as he has been v. Vancouver since he got back. He clearly gets fired up to play the Canucks after the slash earlier this year.
• Absolutely excellent puck possession by the Wild on the PP to close out regulation. They had all the motmentum but couldn't get the game winner. Many times the Wild worked hard to keep the puck in the zone and Canucks G Roberto Luongo made great saves to get Vancouver into OT. If only they could have gotten one by him.
• Make sure you read the post prior to this one for a recap of Buffalo v. St. Cloud Tech. It was a heckuva game.

The Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Vancouver picks up 2 points, Wild gets 1 for getting to OT. Calgary beat Phoenix 4-1. Colorado was off, so the Wild's lead in the Northwest drops to 5 over Vancouver and Calgary and expands to 8 over Colorado. The Avs are dangerously close to dropping out of the Western Conference playoff picture all together.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Blackhawks - Wed 2-20-08
2nd games of back-to-backs are always dicey but the Wizzy have been pretty good in them this season. The 'Hawks will also be on the 2nd of a back to back, losing to St. Louis tonite 5-1. Wild will need to need to score a few to beat them. Maybe they should try outshooting them. Wild 4 'Hawks 3

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