Every now and then you’ll see an infamous scene from the 1976 film Network, where the character Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch declares, “You’ve got to say I’m a human being goddammit! My Life has value! So I want you to get up now, I want you to all get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it and stick your head out and yell I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore! Things have got to change. But first you’ve gotta get mad.” I think its safe to say that many Minnesota Wild fans are pretty mad at this point in the season. With the team sitting in 14th in the Western Conference you could say most fans are feeling as though the season has slipped away. A few weeks ago, Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher had promised changes if the team’s fortunes did not improve soon. Well the future has continued to slide towards the abyss that is near the bottom of the league’s standings but no changes have taken place. I don’t think you can call keeping Jared Spurgeon in the lineup as a serious shakeup to your roster. Do I expect to see him unload tons of players in a matter of a few days but if you’re going to promise changes then don’t deliver on your ultimatum it sort of makes fans tune you out as a source of change. I know it would not be a fun gig to have to tell some player you’re going to move them over the holidays. Yet this is a business and being “nice” doesn’t always help the team. Last year the team was “nice” to veteran Owen Nolan around the trade deadline and abiding by his wish not to be dealt despite some interest from other clubs and the result was a missed opportunities to acquire at least another draft pick or two. Ultimately the Wild decided not to re-sign Nolan so what did being “nice” get the team?
If the team is sort of mailing it in already with the hope of scoring a top draft pick, then announce it as such and let the firesale begin. Don’t hold onto any asset that you can get rid of via trade to avoid being seen as “cold” just make the move and let the controlled demolition begin. Teams love to trot out the Penguins, Blackhawks and Capitals as success stories of building through the draft. However, what is often ignored is that their success at the draft came through being terrible for quite a while allowing them to accumulate the picks necessary for a turn around. If you have a few disastrous drafts (cough like the Wild have had cough) and that can really slow down your rebuild. Are Wild fans prepared for the pain of multiple seasons if the turnaround can take place? That’s a tough question I doubt many fans are ready to answer just yet. Obviously Minnesota has some obstacles as the team is more or less loaded with most of its contracts until 2012 (insert end of the world joke here). So that will make moving players a bit more difficult. Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy. So will the Wild give Chuck Fletcher a reason to hesitate by winning on the road in Calgary or will they make him want to get out his cellphone and start working the other 29 GM’s of the league looking for interested parties in to make some trades?
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The Flames had the first threatening chance of the game as Calgary was able to get the forecheck going early as Robyn Regehr stepped up to hold the zone where he wound up and fired a shot that was deflected by Olli Jokinen just wide of the mark. Minnesota would answer back with its 2nd line that managed to create a few quality scoring chances as Pierre-Marc Bouchard wound up and blasted a shot that was blocked by a diving Mark Giordano. Moments after that it was Bouchard with another excellent chance from in close that was steered wide by Miikka Kiprusoff. Minnesota was skating well, as Matt Cullen made a nice move to elude Giordano and he drove to the net and he fired a wrist shot that was knocked down by Kiprusoff and he’d gather up the rebound but was unable to pull the trigger and the puck would drift out to Clayton Stoner who hammered a slap shot wide of the goal. The Flames tried to counter attack and Minnesota was hustling well but would make a bad mental mistake when Kyle Brodziak cleared the puck into the crowd. On the power play, the Wild were challenging well with good active sticks and was able to create a number of clearing attempts early. The Flames would finally set up and Jarome Iginla would be robbed by a nice leg pad save by Niklas Backstrom. Minnesota would earn the big early penalty kill, and the game would have tremendous pace. The Flames would go back to their forecheck, using their big bodied forwards like David Moss, Tim Jackman and Tim Kostopoulos and their strategy was working with Jackman chipping a shot that caught a piece of Backstrom’s shoulder and the puck just rolled wide of the goal. Minnesota would try to establish some offense of their own as Bouchard found some space but his attempt to thread a centering pass to Martin Havlat but it was intercepted by Giordano who tried to mount a rush of his own only to be thwarted by a nice play by Brent Burns. The Wild continued to attack and Havlat was set up for a one timer that was blocked away by a diving Regehr, and as Minnesota gathered up a puck they’d set up Nick Schultz for a shot that would be blocked aside by Kiprusoff. Minnesota continued to provide pressure as Patrick O’Sullivan who skated down low behind the Calgary goal before turning and flinging a shot towards the crease that was knocked down by Cullen who shoveled a quick shot that was blocked away by Kiprusoff. The Flames were still taking their chances, as Olli Jokinen fired a wrist shot from a sharp angle that was deflected up into the netting behind the goal by Backstrom. The Wild had a great chance from its top line of Mikko Koivu, Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Brunette as Kobasew won a battle for the puck along the boards and Koivu would help pick up the biscuit once it got loose and Koivu fired a shot on goal that was blocked by Kiprusoff but Minnesota would gather up the puck as Koivu outworked Jay Bouwmeester and Minnesota maintained possession. The Wild continued to work and on another close in chance Brunette tried to swat the puck out of the air for a shot on goal but his bid would go wide. Calgary would put its big body line back out and again the Wild struggled to just clear the zone and the first period would end with both teams scoreless, with the Flames having 8 to 6 lead in shots on goal.
The Flames would try to start the 2nd period with its big line, as Jokinen set up Kostopoulos for a chance at point-blank range that was stonewalled by Backstrom. Minnesota would put out its 2nd line and thanks to some nifty stick work by Marek Zidlicky he was able to get the puck out of the zone to outlet a pass to Bouchard who carried it into the Calgary zone where he dished it to Havlat who flung a high wrist shot that was tracked down by Zidlicky who gave a small pass to Brodziak who blasted a slap shot wide of the goal. The Wild were moving their feet well, at least at the start as they were playing fast and physical as Cal Clutterbuck lit up Ryan Pardy. Rene Bourque would try to return the favor a few minutes later on a hit to Clutterbuck that should’ve been an interference penalty. The Flames would finally have some speed through the neutral zone where Jarome Iginla set up Alex Tanguay for a quick wrist shot that was gloved out of the air by Backstrom. Calgary would start to take control a bit as Minnesota struggled to deal with the Flames physical play but the Wild were able to circle the wagons near its crease. The Flames next shift was much the same, causing Minnesota to chase as Jarome Iginla used his 6’2″ frame to protect the puck before helping work the puck out to the point where a shot by Giordano would deflect on goal that was directed to the corner by Backstrom. In a strange play, just prior to a faceoff Tim Kostopoulos would be angry at a slight shoulder bump by Clutterbuck and he’d stop on the blade of Clutterbuck’s stick breaking it. Minnesota would put out its top line who created two nice scoring chances, the first one coming off a point shot by Burns that was re-directed just wide by Brunette, and the Wild would gather up the puck and Brunette set up Chuck Kobasew who sort of fanned on what should’ve been a point-blank range opportunity. The Wild were continuing to try to create some scoring opportunities but the Flames were doing a great job of blocking shots but Minnesota persisted as Pierre-Marc Bouchard showed great hustle as he charged down low to win a race for a puck before sending pass into the slot with no one there to receive it. Minnesota would get a bit of a break as Bourque caught the stick of Greg Zanon to his face and the Flames Niklas Hagman decided to take a level of revenge by slashing Zidlicky for an obvious penalty. The Flames were pressuring well early on the power play, sending two forwards in to the Wild zone to harass the puck carrier the full length of the ice and once in the zone they were denying time and space. However their aggressiveness would be used against them as Mikko Koivu did a nice job of moving quickly through the neutral zone, walking around Bouwmeester before sliding a pass cross-ice to Antti Miettinen for the easy tap in power play goal, 1-0 Wild. The Flames tried to answer back but Minnesota was moving its feet well and working well to get into passing lanes, as Clayton Stoner reached down to deny a potential one-timer for Iginla. The Flames were really starting to pour it on, but Minnesota was backchecking well and preventing the Flames from having unfettered access to the high scoring areas of the ice. Minnesota would counter attack with some good work of its own in the Calgary zone and Brunette would slide a cross-ice pass to Brent Burns who uncorked a slap shot that was deftly re-directed by Koivu by a surprised Kiprusoff giving the Wild a 2-0 lead with just under a minute left in the period. With the sellout crowd now so quiet you could hear a pin drop the Flames tried to get a late goal but Minnesota was able to get into the shooting lanes and the period would end with the Wild still holding on to a two-goal lead.
Minnesota looked a little passive to start the 3rd while the Flames looked poised and wiating to pounce as the Wild were very content in just dump the puck deep and go for a quick line change. The passive play of Minnesota was inviting the Flames to attack, but they would earn some relief when Kostopoulos tripped up Clayton Stoner. The aggressive pressure of the Flames made it tough for the Wild to get their power play set up but Minnesota didn’t appear to mind all that much as the were more worried about making a costly mistake. As soon as Calgary killed off he Wild power play they’d go on the attack with their bid bodied line with Kostopoulos trying to center a pass towards the top of the crease but Minnesota’s Greg Zanon would sweep it away out of danger. The Wild were challenging the Flames in the neutral zone, making it difficult for Calgary to have much flow offensively. It wasn’t pretty hockey but it was better than just sitting back near your own blueline and just waiting for the Flames to strike. The Flames would go back to the big bodied line and they were able to create some havoc by getting their big frames near the Wild crease and a few point shots from Jay Bouwmeester. Minnesota would counter attack and a nice play by Mikko Koivu who dropped it back to Brent Burns who passed it back to Nick Schultz who gave it back to Koivu who threaded a perfect cross-ice pass to Kobasew who drilled a one-timer by Kiprusoff to give the Wild a huge 3-0 lead. The Flames’ captain, Jarome Iginla tried to answer right back as he drove the net as his shot would ramp up the paddle of Backstrom and to the corner. You could hear a few boo’s from the Saddledome crowd as Minnesota was thwarting Calgary’s attempts to mount a rush. Calgary would go back to its big body line of Jackman, Moss and Kostopoulos who again were able to dominate with some great puck possession but were unable to put a real threatening shot on goal. Minnesota would try to help their effort with some offense of its own and Patrick O’Sullivan had a few chances that Kiprusoff would steer aside. With under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Wild were content to defend their lead and just lift the puck into Calgary’s end. The Flames big bodied line would have Calgary’s best scoring chance of the game to this point when Jackman fired a wrist shot that pinballed off a skate and on goal as Backstrom fell to the ice trying to guard the post as David Moss furiously tried to jam the puck through but to no avail and Minnesota would hold its 3-0 lead. Jackman would try to goad Clutterbuck into a fight with a good shove but Clutterbuck just chirped instead of retaliating. The Flames were continuing their assault as Niklas Hagman made an ice move to set up a shot for Alex Tanguay that Backstrom struggled with and the puck would fall to the ice near his crease before it was carried out of harm’s way by an alert play by Matt Cullen. Calgary persisted and after an initial chance by Bourque came up empty, the former Wisconsin Badger picked up his rebound skated behind the Wild goal where he passed it out to the point to Cory Sarich who stepped into a slap shot that was stopped by Backstrom but he couldnt’ control the rebound before it was shoveled home by Matt Stajan to cut Minnesota’s lead to two, 3-1. With the Saddledome crowd back into the game, the Wild coaching staff tried to kill some of the momentum as Head Coach Todd Richards called a timeout. The Flames would put their big bodied line out there but Minnesota would win the battles along the boards and prevent the formidable forechecking group from creating any offensive pressure. The Flames would pull Kiprusoff with about 1:45 left to play and Minnesota would stay in a tight box near its crease as the Wild manage to intercept a centering pass but unfortunately their clearing attempt by Clutterbuck would draw an icing call. The Flames bench would call a timeout to talk things over, and this gave Minnesota a much-needed breather. Calgary had a quick shot off the faceoff as Bourque blasted a snap shot wide. It was a shooting gallery out there late as Giordano blistered a slap shot off the post and Backstrom was sprawling all over the crease as he stoned Iginla from in close. Minnesota would be able to win some key faceoffs down the stretch and the Wild would prevail 3-1.
Niklas Backstrom was rock solid, making 28 saves in the victory. He was coming up with some great saves off re-directed shots and plenty of traffic near his crease. He made the saves to keep the Calgary crowd out of the game until the final few minutes and prevented the Flames from having much momentum. Defensively the Wild did a nice job of sweeping away the rebounds and preventing the Flames from having the 2nd chance opportunities. The Wild were also very solid on the penalty kill and staying disciplined helped as well to allow the team to have its legs intact in the critical portions of the game late. Minnesota also was making the necessary sacrifices with their body as they blocked 19 shots.
Offensively the Wild didn’t create a lot of shots, but they also showed some great execution at the right times on all 3 of its goals. Minnesota’s offense would step up to prevent from just sitting and watching in its defensive zone was a victory into itself. Too many times when the Wild get the lead they sit back and just watch the opponent execute, but tonight they were taking their chances and at least challenging the Flames all over the ice and they were able to frustrate Calgary. Koivu’s goal with 52 seconds left in the 2nd period was huge, it gave Minnesota that extra bit of insurance and it really was demoralizing to the Flames. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had a terrific game, in the set up role and while he still isn’t going into the corners but he has been able to draw defenders and create some more space for Martin Havlat and his presence does give the Wild two scoring lines. 16 shots is not a lot, but add into that the 16 shots the Flames blocked and you have a pretty respectable amount of attempts.
The Wild can relax a bit tomorrow before taking on the Flames on Monday night. The Wild must be prepared to see more of the Flames ‘Big Body’ line of Tom Kostopoulos, Tim Jackman and David Moss; they easily were Calgary’s best overall line tonight and I expect Brent Sutter to use them quite a bit to start Monday’s game. However if I was Todd Richards I’m not sure I’d make too many changes to the Wild lineup. Adding a tough guy like Brad Staubitz may be tempting to have an answer for guys like Kostopoulos or Jackman taking liberties with Wild players but I think keeping Minnesota fast should be paramount. With a speedier lineup the Wild can forecheck and counter attack and that is really what allowed the Wild to drive the Flames crazy all game long. Richards felt the team managed the game well, and earning a lead played a significant role in the outcome of the game. While there is certainly a lot of good feelings to go around after a win like this, the Wild are at a point in the season where it needs to have a repeat effort like this Monday night.
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, John Madden, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cullen, Eric Nystrom, Patrick O’Sullivan, Cal Clutterbuck, Chuck Kobasew, Clayton Stoner, Marek Zidlicky, Nick Schultz, Jared Spurgeon, Greg Zanon and Brent Burns. Jose Theodore backed up Niklas Backstrom. Cam Barker and Brad Staubitz were the healthy scratches and Guillaume Latendresse is still recovering from the surgeries he received in November.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Mikko Koivu, 2nd Star Mark Giordano, 3rd Star Niklas Backstrom
~ Attendance for tonight’s game at the ScotiaBank Saddledome was 19,289, funny I saw a few fans dressed as seats there.
~ The Houston Aeros have traveled up to Manitoba for a 2-game series, and in first game the Aeros had a good start but the Moose (formerly the Minnesota Moose in their IHL days) stormed back and beat the Houston 5-3. Houston got on the scoreboard early as Cody Almond fired a wrister that beat Eddie Lack to give the Aeros a 1-0 lead but Manitoba would strike back when former Clarkson standout Shawn Weller lit the lamp on the power play behind Matthew Hackett to tie the game with about 8 minutes left to play in the 1st period. The Aeros would re-take the lead when Almond connected on a power play of his own to give Houston a 2-1 lead going into the 2nd. Brandon Buck would scored about a minute into the 2nd to give Houston a 3-1 lead but everything else would fall apart from here. The Moose would tie the game with two goals in quick succession in the last 5 minutes of the 2nd period from Guillaume Desbiens and Mark Flood. Manitoba would just pour on the pressure, and simply overwhelmed the Aeros and Hackett who found themselves under siege until Joel Perrault gave the Moose the lead with a power play goal with around 10 minutes left in the 3rd. The Aeros tried to counter attack but couldn’t manage to solve Lack again and Kevin Connauton delivered the nail in the coffin with an empty netter to give Manitoba a 5-3 victory. Hackett had 25 saves in the loss. In their 2nd game of the series, the game would be a defensive battle as both teams could not manage to solve the other’s goaltender through 2 periods of play. The fists were certainly flying as Carson McMillan dropped the gloves with Stefan Schneider and McMillan cleaned up rather nicely beating down Schneider with ease. This prompted two simultaneous fights just 2 minutes later when Drew Bagnall squared off with Travis Ramsey and Cody Almond went toe-to-toe with Josh Aspelind. With the Moose’s honor restored into better fights (even though they were more or less pretty even) the game would go back to its defensive battle. Just 3:25 into the first the Moose finally managed to light the lamp with Sergei Shirokov would bang home a rebound by Anton Khudobin and that was all that was needed to earn a 1-0 victory. Khudobin stopped 19 of 20 in the loss.
Wild Prospect Report:
LW – Brett Bulmer ~ Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2010-11 Stats: 33GP 12G 13A = 25pts 50 PIM’s -8
Brett Bulmer has to be feeling pretty good right now, coming off of a 4-point night (1 goal, 3 assists) after he and the Kelowna Rockets rolled to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen. Bulmer is the 3rd leading scorer on the Rockets, and while his totals seem fairly modest he is starting to show signs of being a budding power forward again after a slow start. The 6’3″, 215lbs left winger has a nasty side but so far channeling him to use it consistently has been the biggest challenge. Most fans and experts agree that Bulmer is at his best when he’s throwing his body around, as it seems to spark his offensive game as well. So far Bulmer is just 1 goal and 15 points behind his total from a season ago. The Prince George, British Columbia-native has a little while to wait before his next game as players return home for the Holidays before resuming play on December 28th against the Everett Silvertips.
LW – Johan Larsson ~ Brynas IF Gavle (SEL)
2010-11 Stats: 24GP 0G 2A = 2pts 10 PIM’s
Johan Larsson is having the sort of a season of adjustment you’d expect from an 18-year old making the jump to playing against men in the Swedish Elite League. The feisty 5’10” 198lbs winger is the type of player you hate to play against but love having on your team. He simply does not stop, he keeps battling, keeps his feet moving and will throw his body against any opposing player over and over again. Wild fans who have the ability to tune into the World Junior Championships that take place over the holidays will have a chance to watch Larsson at work when he plays for Team Sweden. Larsson’s game may remind you parts of Tomas Holmstrom in his preference to camp out near the crease and part Cal Clutterbuck for his penchant towards delivering hits.
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