Don’t get too comfortable. That is the great lesson of the trade deadline for 2012 where players seemed to feel a bit more ambushed than usual as deals were made by their respective clubs. Finnish defensive forward Sami Pahlsson was traded from the sad sack Columbus Blue Jackets to the last year’s Stanley Cup runner up in the Vancouver Canucks, you’d think he would be overjoyed right? Wrong. As I heard him talk to reporters as part of TSN‘s Trade Centre event, Pahlsson seemed almost dejected or at the very least bewildered. The same sort of feeling could be said for now former Wild defenseman Nick Schultz as he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for Bloomington, Minnesota-native Tom Gilbert. Schultz, the last member of the ‘original’ Wild players was drafted in 2000, 33rd Overall holds the record for most games played as a member of the franchise at 743 games. The Strasbourg, Saskatchewan-native told the Minneapolis Star Tribune‘s Michael Russo, “I hadn’t heard anything until Russo brought it up to me last night actually, it’s always a possibility. I’ve been here a long time. I’ve been through a lot of times where my name’s come up and nothing has happened. Today it happened, so just kind of deal with it, it’s been fun. This is a great place to play, great fans, great people. I’ve had great memories here, great guys on the team. It’s tough to go. This is all I know.” For the most part you could say that Schultz handled the news pretty well especially when you consider Schultz heard about the trade from members of the media first and not the Wild, but how did his teammates take the news? Not so much. The Minnesota locker room was dead quiet, as Wild players came to grips with the departure of a player who literally had ‘always been there.’ Minnesota wasn’t done just yet as the team shipped out Greg Zanon to the Boston Bruins for Steven Kampfer. Zanon had been rumored to being shopped for a while and in the last year of his contract his trade is not all that surprising. The team also lost tough guy Brad Staubitz as he was claimed off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens who the Wild play on Thursday. Suffice it to say, it was a big day of change for the Wild.
Two newest members of the Wild (Gilbert, Kampfer)
So what does it all mean? The Wild got younger, with Kampfer being just 23 and Gilbert being 29 where Schultz was 30 and Zanon at 31 and cheaper on its blueline. Minnesota now has a scant $6.19 million committed next season to its defense as Gilbert, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Nate Prosser being signed into the 2012-13 season, the rest are set to become free agents (Justin Falk is an RFA while Clayton Stoner, Mike Lundin and Kurtis Foster are UFA’s). To put that in perspective Brent Burns (at $6.6 million) is making more by himself than the $6.19 million committed next year so far. That means the team will have lots of room to sign free agents for its blueline this summer (Ryan Suter perhaps)? When you considered the team has shipped out 3 defenseman in the last 4 days it will be very interesting how these new faces do tonight. Minnesota certainly has now gone through a massive change in culture in its locker room, so will they be able to refocus and earn a win tonight against the Kings or will they play like a team in mourning?
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1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota had great energy to start the game as they were able to direct a series of shots on goal as they were moving well. The first one off the stick of Kyle Brodziak and moments after that it was Marco Scandella who blistered a slap shot wide of the goal. Despite the pressure it was Los Angeles striking first as a point shot by Slava Voynov that was deflected off the glove of Justin Williams that skittered and bounced along the ice that beat Niklas Backstrom 5-hole to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. The goal stunned the Wild and for the next few minutes they seemed out of sync and sitting back on their heels. The Kings would continue to attack with Minnesota playing so passively and Dustin Penner walked around Tom Gilbert as he set up Jarrett Stoll for a close in chance but Backstrom was just able fight off as the Wild were able to touch it up for a whistle. On the Kings’ power play the Wild stayed in a tight box near their crease forcing Los Angeles to stay along the perimeter. Los Angeles would settle for a few shots taken from the near the faceoff dots as they hoped to use two forwards to screen Backstrom but they’d miss wide and Minnesota would escape unscathed. Minnesota would come out of the power play and were still looking hesitant and passive and the Kings were able to keep the Wild bottled up in their own zone. This time spent playing rope-a-dope was just begging for disaster, and Los Angeles would add to their lead. After chasing around their own zone for nearly a solid minute as Los Angeles prevented Minnesota from even crossing the red line, as Marco Scandella was stripped of the puck by Anze Kopitar who threaded a pass out front to Dwight King who redirected it by Backstrom, 2-0 Kings. Minnesota finally was able to get out of its zone and it was Nick Palmieri motoring into the Los Angles zone after taking a pass from Dany Heatley and he fired a wrist shot that was steered aside by Jonathan Bernier. A few minutes later, the Wild wasn’t making their cause any easier as Kurtis Foster took a lazy hooking penalty as he held up Brad Richardson to give the Kings their 2nd power play of the game. The Kings’ power play moved the puck very effectively, making some beautiful passes as Kopitar set up Drew Doughty for a heavy one-timer he fanned just wide of the goal. Minnesota’s penalty killers tried to maintain a tight diamond in front of their goaltender but the Kings had another great chance as Mike Richards flung a wrist shot that was stopped by Backstrom and Justin Falk was able to sweep the puck away to Matt Cullen who cleared the zone. The Wild killed off the penalty but really struggled to get much going offensively. Although if it was going to happen, the one player who seemed to have some jump and drive was youngster Nick Palmieri who used his speed and his frame to take the puck to the net and Minnesota had a small flurry near the Kings’ crease but Heatley couldn’t pull the trigger. The Kings renewed their assault and some absolutely rancid defensive coverage would result in Los Angeles taking a 3-0 lead. Los Angeles entered the zone with little difficulty as Dustin Brown drew a defender and Niklas Backstrom’s attention towards him and Brown fed a backhand pass to Anze Kopitar who was behind Justin Falk for an easy empty net goal. It was a pathetic half-hearted effort by the Wild (especially Falk) and the crowd let the home team hear it with a pretty loud chorus of boo’s. After another minute of play, the Wild would create a few shots but the period would end with them down 3-0 and hearing another loud refrain of boo’s from a very dissatisfied (justifiably so) home crowd. Ouch, and ugly.
2nd Period Thoughts: Minnesota would have good energy to start the 2nd period, forechecking well but inexplicably after the first minute or two the Wild backed off. The Wild were unable to do much of anything offensively beyond its line of Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Cullen and Nick Palmieri who seemed to be the only line that seemed willing to go on the attack. The rest of the lines were doing a lot of standing, watching and reaching. The only other line that had anything resembling assertiveness was the 4th line of Warren Peters, Jed Ortmeyer, and Stephane Veilleux. It was another terrible period defensively as Minnesota’s defense looked disorganized and hesitant which is just about the worst combination you can have. Minnesota had a chance on the power play as Matt Cullen kind of dove to draw a call on Dwight King. On the power play the Wild moved the puck reasonably well as Dany Heatley set up Setoguchi for a few one timers that were stonewalled by Bernier. Unfortunately, as the 2nd unit got onto the ice, it was Erik Christensen demonstrating he cares as much about playing hockey right now as a DMV worker cares that they get a real good picture of you for their driver’s license. Christensen would cough up the puck and kill off the rest of the power play with his hesitant play. For any momentum the Wild created on the power play, it was submarined by a terrible shift where Minnesota found itself outworked by the Kings and Alec Martinez flung a wrist shot that glanced off the skate of Christensen and by Backstrom to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead to another serenade of boo’s. It was a weak play defensively by Nate Prosser that allowed Jordan Nolan to stand near the Wild’s crease without much difficulty and Backstrom dropped blindly hoping to get into the way but it wasn’t soon enough. I couldn’t help but notice that if Nolan wasn’t able to jam home the rebound by Backstrom, Brad Richardson likely would’ve had a good chance as Kurtis Foster was playing as kitten-like as ever as he gently nudged Richardson who was waiting dutifully on the back side of the play. Minnesota tried to claw its way back into the game as play near the blueline had Clutterbuck and Voynov fall down and the puck was gathered up by Matt Cullen who raced up the ice in a 2-on-1, and a hustling Tom Gilbert quickly made it a 3-on-1. As they crossed the blueline, Palmieri made a bee line for the Kings crease and Cullen would drop a pass back to Gilbert who skated into the high slot where he ripped a wrist shot that was gloved and held onto by Bernier who stepped way out to challenge the shot. A few minutes after that, Foster tried to use his big shot as he skated into the Wild zone where he hammered a slap shot that was snagged out of the air by Foster. Adding to the frustration was a questionable coincidental minor as Warren Peters appeared to have drawn a tripping call on Voynov only to find out Peters was going to be given 2 minutes for diving. Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo gave an explicative-filled protest to NHL referee Eric Furlatt but to no avail. The final seconds of the period expired and Minnesota again felt the pain of boo’s from the home crowd who was not overly impressed by the effort. Somehow, the Wild were out shooting the Kings 20-13 but where it actually matters they were trailing 4-0. Defensively the Wild are a complete mess, lots of blown assignments.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota was sitting back in a very passive 1-2-2 with virtually no forecheck to speak of other than a forward sent in real late. We would see a rare fight for Marco Scandella who squared off with Jordan Nolan. The two would circle a bit at center ice with Scandella crouching a bit before firing right handed hooks as a few landed on Nolan to little effect. Nolan clearly had more experience dropping the gloves and he’d switch hands and Scandella didn’t really know what to do as he started taking a series of jabs to the face as the Wild defenseman tried to extend his arms to gain a little distance as he weathered the barrage before finally deciding it was time to just wrestle. The stronger Nolan would oblige and really twist his body as he wrangled Scandella to the ice. This was just a small sign of the amount of frustration building in the Wild and a few minutes later Cal Clutterbuck would take a stupid roughing penalty after he gave a bit of a punch to Dustin Brown after he barely bumped him near the Kings’ bench that drew the ire of both clubs. The Kings did not really care to do much of anything on the power play, just killing time was more than a fair reward for them. Minnesota tired to go back on the attack after another killed off Kings’ power play but the Wild just didn’t seem to have the horses to sustain much offensively. The Wild were attempting long stretch passes as they hoped to catch the Kings’ sleeping defensively but they didn’t have much luck. Minnesota was trying to enter the zone and then work a play near the blueline to move it a little deeper but the Kings were retreating well and the Wild always found them amidst a few L.A. players. The Wild were able to generate a few long-range shots but they had few or no one moving towards the crease to do much else and when they did have some bodies near the blue paint Bernier was absorbing the rebounds effectively. Minnesota would get a gift of a power play when Mike Richards was called for hooking, but it was 2 minutes of futility as the Wild sort of had the look of a team just going through the motions. There was not alot of urgency to shoot the puck and just establishing themselves in the offensive zone was appeared to be a near impossible task. The power play would uneventfully pass by, and I am still not sure why the Wild are giving Erik Christensen time on the power play. A few minutes after that Justin Williams was tagged with a slashing call and the Wild went back on the man advantage. Even when the Wild did manage to almost set up in the zone, the defenseman couldn’t keep control and the man advantage sputtered once again. The Wild finally set up a big blast for Gilbert that drew a nice rebound but Erik Christensen who was still inexplicably earning power play time, was too busy covering the wall to be in position to pounce on the potential opportunity. Another power play would come up empty and mercifully the ‘one minute remaining’ announcement was heard over the Public Address system. As the final 10 seconds evaporated the team was serenaded with a long sustained boo from the crowd who wondered why the heck did they have to pay to watch that. I know I would’ve felt ripped off had I bought a ticket.
Niklas Backstrom wasn’t to blame for this loss, while I am sure many will criticize the first goal he gave up which did change the whole emotional tone of the game anyone could’ve been beaten on a strange bounce of the puck like that. Backstrom was more or less on his own tonight as the defensive coverage went from non-existent to poor. The Kings are the most offensively anemic team in the NHL, but you wouldn’tve known it with the prime opportunities Minnesota’s defense was giving them. The weak, non-physical effort by defensemen Nate Prosser, Kurtis Foster typified the evening. I am sure Tom Gilbert was probably wondering what he got himself into.
Offensively was where the real let down took place. The 1st line was virtually invisible apart from a few plays between Heatley and Setoguchi. Kyle Brodziak was just floating through shifts and was not the hard working blue collar player that really made him stand out in the first place (and earning him a contract extension in the process). The 3rd line of Darroll Powe, Nick Johnson and Erik Christensen was also a nightmare. It didn’t provide much energy, did absolutely nothing offensively and if I have to watch Christensen float through another shift I think I am going to slam my head through my computer screen (no, not really). I have no idea why the team kept sending out Christensen on the power play; other than a move by Yeo to send a message to his top line players to say that if they won’t be more assertive he’ll find guys who will be but Christensen was terrible. Hesitant, cautious play at a time when you need to be aggressive and pressing a little more to pounce on loose pucks. Also, what the heck happened to Johnson? He looked lost out there not on a line with Brodziak. The only Wild line that had any sort of spark offensively was the 2nd line of Cullen, Clutterbuck and Palmieri who had his second good game in a row. I like his effort and assertiveness a lot although I’d encourage him to shoot even more. Bernier had 26 saves but he wasn’t super human, we just made him look that way.
Mike Yeo loves to use the word response or respond in his post-game interviews, well there you have it Mike. This group just played like a crying and pouting little baby after someone stole their bottle. Not a lot a push back, and please do not call Scandella’s ill-advised fight pushback. It was far too little and far too late to matter. This team had a good start, a goal was scored and this team shrank back into defensive hockey, but the only problem was they were not moving their feet. They were almost falling over themselves in their own zone and the Kings were given an easy 2 points. It was a pure shame Wild fans shelled out money for this. Perhaps the coup de grace of the night was provided by the Wild releasing the true nature of wounded team captain Mikko Koivu’s injury. Apparently its an aggravated shoulder injury that will keep him out for the next two weeks. As they say misery loves company and this ‘news’ will certainly match the mood of the Wild locker room. Although I agree with Yeo when he talks about how adversity will reveal the character of this team. At least so far, the character isn’t looking so hot right now. Hopefully they actually come ready to play on Thursday night.
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Matt Cullen, Nick Palmieri, Cal Clutterbuck, Erik Christensen, Warren Peters, Jed Ortmeyer, Darroll Powe, Kyle Brodziak, Nick Johnson, Stephane Veilleux, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Nate Prosser, Kurtis Foster, Justin Falk and Tom Gilbert. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Matt Kassian was the lone healthy scratch for the Wild.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by the fans were: 1st Star Jonathan Bernier, 2nd Star Anze Kopitar, 3rd Star Matt Cullen (really, a Wild player got a star, for what reason?)
~ Attendance was 17,317 at Xcel Energy Center.
~ Tom Gilbert wore #77 for the Wild, the last player to wear that number for Minnesota was Lubomir Sekeras.
Houston Aeros Report:
Aeros Head Coach John Torchetti leads practice
Record: (26-17-3-9) 5th Western Conference
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #14 Jon DiSalvatore ~ 19G 24A = 43pts
2. #37 Justin Fontaine ~ 11G 27A = 38pts
3. #22 Jeff Taffe ~ 12G 22A = 34pts
4. #13 Kris Foucault ~ 10G 16A = 26pts
5. #20 Chad Rau ~ 8G 16A = 24pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #2 Benn Olson ~ 74 PIM’s
2. #4 Drew Bagnall ~ 68 PIM’s
3. #26 David McIntyre ~ 62 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Matt Hackett (17-13-4) 2.41GAA .917%SP
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (6-5-4) 2.37GAA .922%SP
The Houston Aeros are in good shape to make the AHL playoffs as they currently sit in 5th place in the always tough Western Conference. Aeros Head Coach John Torchetti is finally starting to get his team back together after lengthy call ups by the Wild and hopefully this can propel Houston to the next level. Like the Wild, the Aeros are not loaded full of firepower but they play a responsible game that emphasizes good team defense and hustle. Team Captain Jon DiSalvatore leads the team offensively but continues to provide good leadership for the Wild’s young players. Rookie pro Justin Fontaine has come back from his 2 game suspension due to an inappropriate comment he made on Twitter and has been consistent as a set up man in his return. Fellow rookie Kris Foucault has had a reasonable season thus far, where he has shown off his ability to provide offense in clutch moments just as he did for the Calgary Hitmen. Jeff Taffe who was brought to the team to give it a scorer is coming off a 2-goal game against Texas on Saturday night. Speaking of Saturday night, the Aeros cruised to a 5-2 win with a very inspired 3-point performance from Chad Rau who had a little extra jump in his skates all game long. Defensively the Aeros have had great contributions from rookie pro Chay Genoway, as well as veteran Drew Bagnall who brings leadership and toughness. In the crease Matt Hackett continues to be among the best goaltenders in the AHL and rookie pro Darcy Kuemper has also performed pretty well for the Aeros. Houston’s next game is this Saturday against the San Antonio Rampage.
Wild Prospect Report:
Kelowna Rockets’ Brett Bulmer
LW ~ Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, WHL) – The workhorse can’t always do it by himself, and that certainly was true in Sunday afternoon’s 2-1 loss at the hands of the Calgary Hitmen. Bulmer’s goal wasn’t enough to spark his team to a victory. The Prince George-native’s goal was his 29th of the season.
F ~ Mario Lucia (Penticton, BCHL) – The Penticton Vees had a rare close game, but they still managed to prevail 2-1 in overtime. Despite the low score by the Vees high standards, Lucia still ended up finding his way onto the scoresheet as set up Travis St. Denis’ game winning goal in overtime. Lucia had another assist on Sunday’s afternoon game against the Prince George Spruce Kings giving him 36 goals and 84 points in 50 games.
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