Game #69: Minnesota Wild vs Edmonton Oilers, Tuesday March 16, 2010 at 7:00pm (CDT), Xcel Energy Center [GAME PREVIEW]

Happy St. Urho’s Day!  Okay, only those of you who are of Finnish descent or live in communities with large Finnish populations will know what this is.  It’s the Finnish version of St. Patrick’s Day, and involves wearing the color purple.

Seriously though, with St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow in St. Paul (which boasts a decent sized Irish-American population), I would be shocked if the Wild didn’t don their green third jerseys.  In honor of the festivities, I encourage you to go out and legally download the song “Time to Go” by the Boston-based, folk-punk band the Dropkick Murphys.  They released their latest album today (in time for St. Patrick’s Day), and this song is chock full of hockey references, in particular, the Boston Bruins.  I promise, you won’t be disappointed by this song.

If you were looking for a silver lining in this last part of the regular season, it appears that the Wild for once have pulled off a coup.  As Wild fans, how many times have we watched while our General Manager has attempted to bring in a high-profile player?  We’ve tried to bring in Kristian Huselius, Marian Hossa, Peter Forsberg however to no avail.  For once, the Wild have come out on top.  The icing on the cake however is that the player chose us over the others in the field.

Minnesota was one of twenty-one other teams trying to sign UMass sophomore, Casey Wellman.  The sixth best college scorer (23 goals) travels to Minnesota this morning to sign on the dotted line.  Wild General Manger, Chuck Fletcher, visited the 22-year old center twice.  While one-on-one contact helps people make decisions, it is guaranteed playing time that often becomes the icing on the cake.  Because of the Wild’s overall lack of depth at the center position, Wellman will spend the rest of the regular season in St. Paul.  Getting that guaranteed time with an NHL club, most definitely put the Wild at the front of the pack.  One can also assume that going from hockey-rich Massachusetts to hockey-rich Minnesota helped the California native make his decision as well.  When the paperwork is filed, Wellman will have signed a 2-year deal (the rest of this regular season counts as year one) worth $1.8 million.  It is undecided at this point whether or not he will make his debut tonight against the Oilers.

There could be added benefits to this signing besides adding another body at the center position.  Hopefully, the addition of Wellman sends a powerful message to the often underachieving James Sheppard.  With Sheppard’s return to his natural position of center since the departure of Eric Belanger to the Washington Capitals, he should find some additional competition for his job.  He now has to compete with another young center for his job.  This just could be what the doctor ordered (and coaching staff needed) to push Sheppard to come into his own.

For both teams this evening, it feels like the waiting room at Urgent Care at your local hospital.  Both Minnesota and Edmonton are banged up.  For day-to-day injuries on the Minnesota bench, you have Brent Burns, Derek Boogaard, and Owen Nolan.  Players definitely out will be once again Niklas Backstrom and Shane Hnidy.  With Backstrom out, we will once again get to hear the tips from the bench coming from Josh Harding’s backup, Wade Dubielewicz.  At the very least, it’s great to see and hear an engaged backup goaltender.  For Edmonton, their injury list is just as long.  Their day-to-day injuries include former Wild draft pick, Patrick O’Sullivan as well as Fernando Pisani, however it is extremely doubtful that O’Sullivan will play due to a hand injury.  Their definite injuries are extensive and include Sheldon Souray, Ladislav Smid, J-F Jacques, Ryan Jones (knee, most likely still from Derek Boogaard’s knee-to-knee hit), Nikolai Khabibulin, Ales Hemsky, and Ryan Stone.  With a list like that, you almost fell sorry for the Oilers and their fans.

However, I only said almost.  I don’t feel that sorry for them.  Another must win for the Wild who are on life support.  And since it’s a must win, I am apprehensive.  For those of you heading to Xcel Energy Center, enjoy the festivities.