Game #40: Minnesota Wild vs Phoenix Coyotes, Saturday December 31, 2011 at 5:00pm (CST), Xcel Energy Center [GAME PREVIEW]

Forgive me for not creating an overly eloquent segue into the last game of 2011.  The Wild have had an eventful year (more on that a bit later) but this early evening they get a chance to decide how they want that year to end.  With the Phoenix Coyotes in town, do they want it to end with some good positive momentum and a two-game winning streak or do they wish to stumble and lose a game they’re more than capable of winning?  Minnesota is coming off an emotional 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, a team it no longer has to play for the duration of the regular season to a classic trap game against a club that thrives in that capacity.  Phoenix Head Coach Dave Tippett‘s trapping and stifling style suffocates opponents and then frustrates you with hard working goals.  Led by 38-year old veteran Ray Whitney and team captain Shane Doan the Coyotes embrace the role of spoiler about as well as any team in the NHL.  The Coyotes’ Cinderella type advances to the post-season have never gone beyond the 1st round but are proof this is a team you cannot take too lightly.  Luckily for Minnesota, goaltender Mike Smith is out with a groin injury and the Wild must capitalize on the Coyotes misfortune, much the same way clubs like Vancouver, Calgary, Colorado took advantage of Minnesota’s injury situation. 

Minnesota ended an 8-game losing streak in Thursday night’s win and there were a couple of basic elements that led to its success.  Most notably, was the fact the team’s quick responses to goals by the Edmonton Oilers; especially once the Wild got a two-goal lead they were able to re-establish that quickly after the Oilers cut it to one.  This ultimately bought the Wild enough space to eek out a victory.  Secondly, was the fact the team got some meaningful secondary scoring as Jarod Palmer (who was just placed on injured reserve today after an injury he sustained in Thursday’s game) and Pierre-Marc Bouchard combined for goals just 21 seconds apart to break the game open for Minnesota. This took a lot of pressure off the team’s 1st line which really seemed to be the only line capable of producing goals over the 8-game losing streak.  Two players who will again be crucial to the Wild’s success are team captain Mikko Koivu and sniper Dany Heatley who now leads the team in goals with 12.  Defensively, the Wild played better as a group even though it did have some gaffes.  It will also be interesting to see what the team does with enforcer Matt Kassian who seemed to add an extra spark to a club in desperate need of it after his two successive beat downs of Oilers’ tough guy Darcy Hordichuk.  The closest thing the Coyotes have to an enforcer is the NHL’s Twitter king, Paul Bissonette who I think would oblige Kassian but he may find himself being as quickly demolished as Hordichuk was.  As Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo said in his post-game interview Thursday, the team must put its last game behind it and re-focus itself for a battle this evening.  It will have to play just as hard if expects to finish the night with two points. 

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If you look around at places like Yahoo!, or ESPN you see plenty of articles that have you re-examine the Top 10 Movies of 2011, or the Biggest Product Failures of 2011 but you get the point.  So in that capacity I offer you the Top 10 Wild events of 2011.  Please tell me if you think I got the most important Wild events of 2011 correct and if I got it wrong, tell me what 10 events would you include on your list.  Enjoy! 
 
The Top 10 Wild events of 2011

10.  Optional Practices and excuses erode confidence in Todd Richards ~ People in the State of Hockey had high hopes for Crystal, Minnesota-native Todd Richards when he arrived in the spring of 2009.  He had rave reviews from Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher, Pittsburgh’s GM Ray Shero and even the Wild’s Greg Zanon who gave Richards a lot of credit for his coaching when Zanon was a Nashville farmhand.  He promised the team would play an up-tempo game, but it was painfully obvious the roster was not ideal for that style of play and pretty soon they were playing a more conservative trapping style of play.  The only thing consistent about the Wild during Richards’ tenure was that the team was incredibly inconsistent.  The effort changed drastically from game to game and the mistakes that hurt Richards’ during his first year, for example his inability to put the proper match ups out on the ice dogged him into his 2nd calling into question whether he was learning from his mistakes.  Wild fans understood this was Richards’ first go around as an NHL head coach, but the progress expected wasn’t occurring.  Over time the team seemed to steadily get worse and the efforts more lethargic.  Richards claimed he had tried to crack the whip, giving his team a bag skate to try to jolt them out of their mediocrity but the message obviously was no longer effective.  Pretty soon, Richards himself gave up trying to really explain it by simply saying he’d “watch the tape” when asked if the team dogged it that night, or he’d make excuses.  Worst of all, after a particularly poor effort in a home game against Ottawa, Richards did the unthinkable.  He gave the team an optional practice.  This really drew the ire of many fans, as it seemed to be such a weak response to what was a pathetic effort by a team that just had 4 days off before the game in question.  To many fans, it was a sign that he had given up.  I think at this point the writing was on the wall, it simply became a question of when will the axe fall? 

9.  The emergence of Jared Spurgeon ~ Jared Spurgeon was a true surprise of the 2010-11 season, but it was 2nd half of the season where Spurgeon really started to show he was more than just a roster fill in as a 6th-7th defenseman but actually a player with some real potential.  It was during the 2nd half that Spurgeon’s confidence would grow and soon he became an invaluable member of the Wild defense.  He was now an integral member of the power play and penalty kill, and at a generously listed 5’8″ 160lbs this was no small feat.  His excellent mobility and good first pass were nice, but it was his incredible poise and calmness under pressure that made the 21-year old blueliner really stand out.  With the off-season moves, Spurgeon’s importance to the team increased and by the start of the season he was on the club’s top pairing with fellow youngster Marco Scandella.  Not too shabby for a guy who was an New York Islanders throw away. 

8.  Injuries pile up, call ups abound in 2011-12 ~ Every team deals with injuries over the course of a season, some more than others.  How teams deal with those injuries can often determine the contenders from the pretenders.  One of the items most experts noted prior to the 2011-12 season was that the Wild needed to stay healthy because there was a perception the team did not have a lot of depth.  That depth has been tested and then some.  Throughout the first half the injuries have been numerous so the team has had to rely upon a lot of call ups from its American Hockey League affiliate in Houston.  The list of names called up says it all.  Cody Almond, Chad Rau, Nate Prosser, Kris Fredheim, Jarod Palmer, Jeff Taffe, Jon DiSalvatore, Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters, Casey Wellman, David McIntyre, Matt Hackett and the most famous call up of them all in 51-year old adult league goaltender Paul Deutsch.  For many of the guys on this list, they were called up on more than one occasion which gives you an idea of just how banged up the Wild have been through the first half but early on it was remarkable how seamlessly these players worked in the lineup.  Many of these guys of course played for Mike Yeo when he was the bench boss of the Aeros last year, so these were players Yeo not only trusted but understood what they were capable of.  It is also a credit to current Aeros Head Coach John Torchetti that Houston continues to be a reliable source of talent for the big club to draw from.  Injuries finally caught up to the Wild in mid-to-late December as they went on an 8-game winless streak but this team will still need Houston’s help if it wishes to reach the NHL post season. 

7.  Matt Cullen, Cal Clutterbuck & Kyle Brodziak lead the way early in 2011-12 season ~ Prior to the season all the talk was about what the Wild could expect from newcomers Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley.  The experts chimed in that the Wild’s success was going to lean heavily on whether Setoguchi and Heatley could deliver the goals that so eluded the team in previous years since the departure of Marian Gaborik.  Yet when the season started Setoguchi and Heatley did not exactly set the place on fire; the Wild were earning victories instead from the clutch scoring of Matt Cullen.  Cullen seemed to have an extra gear in his game and his confidence was very apparent as he was creating scoring chances on a consistent basis and this was important while Minnesota’s top line slowly gained momentum.  When Cullen finally started to cool off, another surprising offensive force emerged in Kyle Brodziak who will Minnesota to victory on more than one occasion.  His goals were usually not all that pretty unlike the game winning shootout goal you see in the picture, most were from determination and hard work to jam the puck by the goalie.  Another key contributor was the feisty hard-hitting winger Cal Clutterbuck who has far more skill than he is generally given credit for.  Clutterbuck has been an offensive weapon on the penalty kill, leading the league with 4 shorthanded goals.  The last time the Wild had a real dangerous threat shorthanded was when we had Wes Walz.  With Guillaume Latendresse, another important offensive producer on the shelf with lingering concussion issues it was that much more important for Minnesota to get goals from another source and Cullen, Brodziak and Clutterbuck have done just that. 

6.  Wild trade Martin Havlat for Dany Heatley ~ With the team hosting the draft there was an unusual level of excitement going into the summer of 2011.  After the draft was over, there was lots of anticipation built up after its trade (which we will mention later) but there was still debate over whether it was a sign the team was rebuilding.  Roughly a week after the draft Minnesota pulled off a blockbuster deal by shipping enigmatic winger Martin Havlat to San Jose for Dany Heatley.  Some believe the two deals with San Jose should be grouped together but I do not think so; since the acquisition of Heatley was a game changer.  While Heatley has not exploded for a ton of goals this year, he got many fans to start talking about the team again.  This may seem like a strange anecdote, but normally there is not a whole lot of hockey discussion during the summer.  You have the draft and free agency a week later but usually at that point you simply focus on your summer and wait for September training camp to arrive.  The trade for Heatley had Wild fans talking hockey quite actively well into mid-to-late July.  Whether it was debate over how many goals we could expect or what the line combinations would be, how well would he work with Mikko Koivu, etc.  You see, this is why I think it is its own distinct event for its effect on the fans.  The trade which we will mention earlier was important but it wasn’t quite enough to get fans to really talk, but this deal had fans coming back to the message boards.  People who had left for years (since the departure of Gaborik) returned to want to talk about the direction of the team.  Simply put, the Heatley deal created a lot of buzz; so much so the normal stand offish local sports media even found themselves compelled to cover a hockey story in mid-July and that’s saying something in a state that loves its fishing, and its Minnesota Twins during the summer. 

5.  Minnesota hosts the 2011 NHL Entry Draft ~ It had been since 1989 since Minnesota last hosted the NHL Entry Draft, and after a miserable 2010-11 season it was an event many hockey fans across the State of Hockey anxiously waited for.  For another group of fans from Winnipeg it sort of was their official ‘welcome back’ party.  I made sure I cleared my schedule, picked up some tickets and went to the draft and I must say it was a remarkable experience.  Sitting in posh seats to the right of the draft stage, I got to watch the tables of the league’s 30 teams feverishly network and conference about what they wanted to do.  It was at this point I realized I was witnessing history to a degree.  While the Wild’s selections made at the draft may never amount to much (or maybe they will) someone selected will likely be a star player in the league for years to come and I could say I was there when that player effectively entered the league.  For those of you that were not there or have never attended a draft I’d say its like the stock market meets the lottery.  The flurry of activity below at the draft tables, and then the anxious anticipation of what name was about to be announced made it fun.  The Wild only helped add to the fun by making a big trade which I will talk about later.  For the Minnesota Wild and the city of St. Paul it was a chance to market itself to the league (cough Winter Classic cough) and I thought they did a wonderful job.  It certainly was an experience I will never forget, especially having draftees like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mika Zibanejad all with a few feet of me watching the draft, excited to see who gets picked next.  I will admit the Wild’s selections (especially in the 1st round) did not thrill me, I still had fun and I think that’s all any fan can really ask for. 

4.  Wild trade Brent Burns at the NHL Draft ~ Now to that trade I’ve mentioned a few times.  I’ll set the scene for you.  I am at the draft sitting in Club level (that’s where my tickets placed me) and the Wild just picked Jonas Brodin with the 10th Overall pick.  I am not impressed and am downright annoyed the team ignored its most glaring need in my opinion which was acquiring a speedy, goal-scoring forward.  Soon after the selection was made, my friend Bruce said, “well I guess they’re going to trade (Brent) Burns now.”  Bruce’s words would prove to be prophetic.  After Brodin was picked, you saw many fans leaving the Xcel Energy Center thinking the drama was over; as Minnesota had made its one 1st round selection and so they headed home to enjoy a nice warm summer evening.  Those that left at that moment would miss out on one of the most sweeping trades in franchise history.  Watch it for yourself. 

Perhaps you can hear this from the crowd’s reaction to the trade, but it was a mix of jubilation and horror all at the same time.  If you looked around you saw smiles from some and others holding their face as if they watched someone get ran over by a bus.  As you heard in NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman‘s statement, the Wild dealt Burns and a 2nd round pick for speedy scorer Devin Setoguchi, promising prospect Charlie Coyle and a 1st round pick (28th Overall) that turned out to be Zack Phillips.  The scary thing about this event is we still don’t have enough time to really declare a ‘winner’ or a ‘loser’ just yet.  The Wild certainly miss the dynamic offensive ability Brent Burns is capable of, but many fans across Minnesota thought the team was going to lose him unless we offered him a massive overpayment.  So instead of waiting and then watching him just walk away ala Marian Gaborik the team pulled the trigger.  I think most fans, regardless if Setoguchi, Coyle and Phillips really turn into something special understood why the move was made.  Burns has not exactly been overpowering so far in San Jose, but neither has Setoguchi so right now all we can do is wait and hope that we got the better end of the deal.  However, this is definitely a trade that will be talked about and debated for years in the State of Hockey.     

3.  Minnesota’s surprising start to 2011-12 season, in 1st place in the NHL as of Dec. 1st ~ Prior to the start of the season if you read what the experts were saying about the Wild the general consensus was this, don’t expect much.  From the Hockey News‘ who picked Minnesota to finish in 11th in the Western Conference or USAToday who said the Wild would finish dead last it was obvious their off season moves did little to impress or sway the experts into believing Minnesota had a chance to qualify for the post-season.  I sometimes wonder what must have been going through USAToday‘s Kevin Allen‘s mind as the Wild got out to a tremendous start with a very anemic offense but some of the best goaltending in the league.  As the Wild’s fast start vaulted them to the top of the standings by as early as November I’m sure they thought it wouldn’t last very long.  But what happened?  The team had the best month in franchise history and by the time December rolled around the Wild were not just 1st in the Western Conference but the entire NHL!  Its tough to read, but from Minneapolis Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo‘s Blackberry you can see the Wild atop the league standings as of December 1st.  The NHL, and especially NHL Network and NHL.com worked hard to ignore the truth throughout much of November.  Eventually, injuries would cause the Wild to lose this coveted spot, but it took an 8-game losing streak to make it happen because Minnesota had such a significant lead.  Minnesota still finds itself very much in the playoff picture and history has shown it has a very good chance at qualifying for the playoffs.  Very few, myself included did not think that was possible. 

2.  NHL announces a new Conference Structure ~ On December 5th, 2011 the NHL made a historic announcement that for the start of the 2012-13 season it was going to abolish its current structure with 6 divisions and convert to one with just 4 conferences with 7 or 8 teams in them respectively and that it had been approved by the NHL Board of Governors.  As of this moment, the NHLPA still has not agreed to this change, but its widely expected they will approve it.  This means that this is the last season the Wild will play in the Northwest Division to which the team has called home over the last 11 seasons.  As one can see by the league’s new plan, the Wild will no longer have to travel outside of the Central timezone to face divisional / conference foes.  As a person who has been writing about the Wild for 6 seasons now, I welcome not having to stay up late or later whenever the Wild played a road game with a team in its division.  The 9:30PM starts in Vancouver were particularly annoying.  However, the new conference will be quite challenging with power house Original 6 clubs the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks anchoring it.  Yet the geographic proximity should ratchet up the intensity and instill a greater feeling of rivalry.  Any Wild fan could see this after the first time the team traveled to Winnipeg to play the Jets just how raucous this could potentially be.  The change will also make travel far easier for the teams of the league (except maybe for Florida and Tampa Bay) and the less fatigue of the players should only add to the speed and energy of the games. 

1.  Wild fire Todd Richards, and hire Mike Yeo as the new Head Coach ~ It did not take long for that axe I previously mentioned to fall.  Shortly after the club’s last game against the Dallas Stars, where the Wild eliminated them from the playoffs in one last great effort for Todd Richards the club announced his termination as the team’s bench boss.  This began a debate on who would be the next Wild’s coach.  There were a few front runners, former Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock and former Oilers’ Head Coach Craig MacTavish seemed to be the most likely candidates.  Afterall, Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher had missed badly by going with an unproven ‘new face’ type of coach in Todd Richards he would go with an established NHL Head Coach, right?!?!  Wrong, and the team did not have to go far to find another ‘new face.’  Chuck Fletcher rolled the dice on another ‘new face’ by moving then Houston Aeros Head Coach Mike Yeo to be the Wild’s 3rd coach in franchise history.  Yeo, had surprised many with how quickly he managed to instill a new, aggressive culture with the Aeros leading them all the way to the Calder Cup Finals.  With an infectious and confident spirit Yeo was tabbed with the same challenge with the Wild; a team that has missed the playoffs the last 3 seasons in a row.  The Wild were not about to have Mike Yeo be some mystery man, so with a clever piece of marketing the team tried to introduce their new team, their promising prospect pool, and most importantly its new coach in a 6-part video series called Becoming Wild.  The video series played after random Twins games from mid-July to mid-September were a brilliant way to sell Yeo, and the team’s new message.  You got to see Yeo behind the scenes, in his confidence, his intense character as well as his sense of humor endeared him to fans in way that the monotone cliche’ loving Todd Richards never had.  With the team’s fast start, as well as his very candid Jacques Lemaire-like responses in post-game interviews have brought him instant credibility and its obvious there has been a culture change in the Wild locker room and so far Wild fans are liking what they’re seeing.   

Injury Report:

Minnesota:    Devin Setoguchi (left ankle), Jared Spurgeon (lower body) , Guillaume Latendresse (concussion), Clayton Stoner (groin), Casey Wellman (wrist) 

Phoenix:  Kurt Sauer (post concussion syndrome), Mike Smith (groin), Boyd Gordon (lower body), Martin Hanzal (facial laceration)    

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