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

Whoa nelly, where to start? Guess I'll start with the prediction I made that tonight's game would be a grinding defensive game. So much for my Nostradamus-ness. The Wild came back from a 4-1 deficit to win tonight, 5-4 in OT.

I really enjoy games against Edmonton. Coach McTavish is always crabby about something, and Dwayne Roloson is always crying about something. Makes for great drama. Tonight's game had plenty of drama.

5w-30
Let's start with Edmonton's goals. They were pretty weak. The Wild gave up a shorthanded goal early, Burnsie and Skoula combined for a weak defensive effort letting a pass get through for a goal, Parrish was called for a phantom penalty that led to a goal, and Backstrom misplayed a puck behind the net to set up a gimmie. I was tempted to channel-surf, but I didn't. Glad I didn't.

Heart
After the Oil's 4th goal, the Wild really poured it on. Some of the most spirited play I've seen from this team, very similar to the comeback a couple weeks ago v. Nashville. They were diving to keep pucks in the zone and really swarming around the puck and crashing the net. Backstrom also got stronger in net. It was fun to watch.

Johnnson continued his recent desire to be part of the offense with his 2nd goal of the year. The rest of the goals were hard working, crash the net goals. Rolston, Gabby with a nice feed from Parrish, and Burns to tie it, then Nummelin in OT on the PP. The Nummelin goal was completely set up by PMB's stickhandling and a beauty quick feed to Nummelin. Unfortunately, Terhar ruined the moment on the broadcast by saying "Hello-o-o Nummelin" in the Seinfeld voice. At any rate, the Wild showed for the second time this year they can come back from a big deficit. And Jaques Lemaire showed elation on the bench.

Jots

• The Oil had three players back in the lineup for the first time in extended periods due to injury. Fernando Pisani missed 26 games and took two penalties in the 1st period. Sheldon Souray missed 25 games. Ethan Moreau hadn't played since the 7th game of last season, and got an assist on Edmonton's 2nd goal.
• 2 more PP goals tonight.
• McTavish's post-game comments ripped the officiating, including Pavel Demitra's "dangerous dangerous" check that sent an Oiler into the boards, Sean Hill's "drill" to the head that wasn't called, and the penalty called on Steve Staios on Gabby in the OT.
• Roloson raised his arms and spazzed out after at least two of the Wild's goals, and Flippered over after Nummelin's game winner. It's fun to watch him freak out.
• Petteri Nummelin is short, but he's still taller than Kevin Gorg.
  

Next on the Docket - Monday 12-31 v. San Jose @ Xcel
I'll be viewing Monday's game from section 216. For the Wild to win, they have to keep it low-scoring. The Sharks have much more firepower than the Oilers, and they won't come back from a 3-goal hole. Wild 2 SJ 1