Perhaps my favorite anecdote I’ve ever heard about current Wild Chief Amateur Scout and NHL Hall of Fame defenseman Guy Lapointe came from former referee Kerry Fraser. Fraser remembered during his rookie season trying to endear himself to the players and he saw Lapointe cross checking and he skated up to the big defenseman and said, “Serge, Serge…you can’t do that.” Lapointe was not happy at being misidentified as teammate (and Hall of Fame defenseman) Serge Savard and he scolded Fraser by saying “I’m Guy you %ucking idiot.” Fraser left thoroughly humiliated and Lapointe would get him back the next game as he snuck in and found Fraser’s skates prior to their game and had them sharpened the wrong way so when he stepped onto the ice the skates went in opposite directions and he fell. A smiling Lapointe asked Fraser, “I got them sharpened for you, how do you like them?” Fraser was not about to let Lapointe have anymore satisfaction smiled and said they were ‘perfect, just the way he liked them.’ Today the Canadiens retire Lapointe’s #5 jersey which had already been retired as the number for Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion. As a member of the Canadiens epic dynasty of the 1970’s, its a well-deserved and long awaited honor I am sure he’ll treasure for the rest of his life as his name joins the other Habs’ legends whose numbers are already hanging in the rafters of Bell Centre.
Tonight’s match up pits two teams who had strong starts that have been stalling lately. Both clubs have high expectations from rabid fanbases and it is not interested in excuses. Injuries, a tough schedule will not grant these clubs much sympathy. That’s only appropriate in the NHL’s City of Champions that one would set its standards so high. With the added visibility of Hockey Night in Canada should make for a spirited game. Will the Wild end their 3-game losing streak tonight with a victory over Les Glorieux?
1st Period Thoughts: The Canadiens would set up the first quality chance of the game as some hard work by David Desharnais fed a puck back out to the point that was hammered on goal on a slap shot by Andrei Markov that was gloved by Darcy Kuemper. Minnesota’s first quality scoring chance came from its 2nd line of Jason Pominville, Mikael Granlund and Thomas Vanek as the former Gopher’s star drew Canadiens’ defenders towards him before feeding a pass into the high slot to Pominville who ripped a shot that missed wide. Moments after that the Wild’s 4th line would create two terrific chances as Kyle Brodziak set up Justin Fontaine for a quick redirect that was fought off by Carey Price and then Fontaine gathered up the loose puck and dished it to Brodziak who ripped a shot wide of the mark. The Wild were doing a pretty good job of avoiding that pinching defenseman the Canadiens like to send in as they used short passes to break out of the defensive zone. However, at times the Wild were passing the puck too much instead of taking advantage of the time and space they were being given and just taking it up the ice. Minnesota would go on the penalty kill as Mikko Koivu was tagged for holding. After anxiously giving up a blast from the point by P.K. Subban that Kuemper stopped, the Wild would negate the man advantage with some great hustle as Erik Haula blocked a pass and then forced Markov to tackle him. Minnesota would try to use a speedier group with the ice a bit more open 4-on-4, and they’d keep Montreal bottled up in its own end. On the shortened power play, which was rather static, no one seemed to want to shoot the puck until finally Koivu would try to skate out front for a chance but no one was able to pounce on the rebound and Minnesota would come up empty. A few minutes later the line of Granlund, Vanek and Pominville would create a fantastic opportunity as Pominville won a race for a loose puck near the wall and he’d send it to Vanek who swung a pass to Granlund who just got a piece of it but it went right to the stick of Marco Scandella who nearly cashed in from in close only to be denied by a sprawling Price. The Wild started to ramp up their pressure by activating their defense as Jonas Brodin would move in and fire a sharp angle shot as Minnesota crashed the crease but unfortunately the Wild couldn’t cash in. The pressure would draw a penalty in its aftermath as Brendan Gallagher was called for hooking. On the power play the Wild were again static and stagnant with their puck / player movement which made it easy for the Canadiens’ penalty killers to defend. All the Wild were able to create were a few weak shots from the point and another power play bit the dust with nothing to show for it. As the penalty expired, the Wild had their best scoring chance of the period as Nino Niederreiter raced into the Montreal zone and he rifled a slap shot off the post and out. The period would end with Minnesota out shooting Montreal 12-7 and for the most part I was pleased with their effort. Minnesota was winning most of the races to the puck as well as most of the battles along the boards but it wasn’t translating into a lot of prime scoring opportunities. Still the team was very solid defensively and it was a decent road period. It’d be nice to see the Wild give Niederreiter a chance on the power play.
2nd Period Thoughts: The period would start with the Canadiens setting up Subban for another rocket from the point that missed wide. Shortly after that the Wild dodged a bit of a bullet as Kuemper would misplay the puck from behind his net and that nearly turned into a costly turnover but fortunately for Minnesota P.A. Parenteau wasn’t able to control the puck enough to get a shot on the open net. Minnesota would try to use its defense more to get the rush going as Marco Scandella floated a pass towards the Montreal goal that just failed to connect with Jason Pominville and then Scandella’s rebound attempt was thwarted by Price. The Canadiens were trying to get their forecheck working but Minnesota was collapsing down well and even as Jiri Sekac charged the Wild crease, the Wild defenseman tied up their men allowing Kuemper to cover up the puck for a whistle. The aggressive posture of the Canadiens encouraged the Wild to counter with the stretch pass and Ryan Suter made a terrific long feed to Justin Fontaine who had a step on a Montreal defender but all he could managed was a weak shot on goal that was dismissed easily by Price. A turnover near the blueline by Mathew Dumba where he made a soft play off the boards and then foolishly dove to try to hold the zone would turn into a rush up the ice by the Canadiens where Alex Galchenyuk fed a pass over to Gallagher who wound up and blasted a slap shot by Kuemper to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. A poor decision by Dumba and a soft goal for Kuemper. Minnesota would try to regroup and answer back, but Montreal was content to sit back and defend and wait for their opportunity to counter attack. The Wild’s 4th line would try to spark their club with a good shift that saw them control the zone with some strong play along the boards but unfortunately they couldn’t get many pucks through the Canadiens’ defense. Yet their effort would get the Wild to start moving its feet more and the Pominville, Vanek and Granlund line would pick up from where the 4th line left off. With good hustle and lethargic defensive coverage by the Habs, the line seemed to be one step ahead of the Canadiens as they stole the puck in the neutral zone where they beared down on Price in a 3-on-1 as Vanek made a perfect saucer feed to Pominville who tapped it home to tie the game at 1-1. With the sellout crowd unhappy with their team’s effort the Canadiens tried to rally back but it was the Wild who circled the wagons well near their goaltender and were able to keep Montreal at bey. Yet for only so long, as a failed clearing attempt by Folin was swept up by the young defenseman who then coughed up a puck again in his own zone which led to a quick shot by Lars Eller that beat a well-screened Kuemper to make it 2-1 with under a minute left in the period. It was a painful goal after the Wild made a nice recovery in the period. Both goals created by bad turnovers by it its young defenseman who are both not quite ready for prime time. The Wild need to seriously consider sending either Folin or Dumba because both are becoming liabilities on the ice.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota was looking for the equalizer right away, but some bad passing squandered some potential opportunities. The Canadiens started to use its forecheck as its best defense, keeping Minnesota bottled up in its own end, wasting valuable time trying to get the puck back. The Canadiens would make Minnesota’s situation that much more difficult as their 3rd line would jam a puck home as Brandon Prust sent a puck towards the crease that Keumper stopped but he was unable to cover it up before it was tapped home by Sekac to make it 3-1. The goal would be reviewed but it was obvious the puck crossed the line before the net came off its moorings. The Wild had to open up their game to try to claw their way back into it. Yet at the critical time needed to shoot they chose to pass as the Wild had a 3-on-2 but instead of shooting Granlund passed the puck back to no one which turned into a rush the opposite direction. David Desharnais would turn deep along the wall and swing a pass to Parenteau that he shoveled on goal that was kicked by the skate of Suter trying to help out his goalie but Kuemper kicked it back out right to the stick of Max Pacioretty for an easy goal to make it 4-1. The Wild looked disorganized and uninspired after Pacioretty’s goal. The Canadiens kept attacking and the Wild was just going through the motions as Keumper stayed busy as Montreal tried to pad its stats. Minnesota was getting outworked in their own end, and the execution just wasn’t there as the bad passes abounded and the Wild started using its 3rd and 4th lines more and its top two lines less and less. Nathan Beaulieu dropped the gloves with Stephane Veilleux but even this didn’t work out as Veilleux stepped on a stick and fell before he could throw any punches as Beaulieu kept firing jabs to a helpless player. Its sort of appropriate the game would end in such pathetic fashion, 4-1.
Kuemper was ok, stopping 27 shots in the loss. While I think the Gallagher goal was one he should’ve stopped for the most part it was tough to blame him for any of the other Canadiens’ tallies. Defensively, he was betrayed by bad turnovers. The team’s young defenseman Christian Folin and Mathew Dumba continue to provide a plethora of giveaways that grossly outweigh the positive things they do on the ice. After Dumba’s foolish turnover that led to Gallagher’s go-ahead goal, he was basically benched. That put the team a defenseman down and they probably should’ve done the same to Folin whose indecisive play with the puck led to Eller’s goal that really put the game out of reach. I know the team wants to advance their development, but it also needs to keep the present season in mind.
Offensively, the Wild got another mediocre effort from its top 6, and now they’ve become a one-goal hockey team. The Wild tied the Canadiens with 31 shots on goal, but the quality of those chances were pretty poor. At critical points in the game the Wild opted for one extra pass that squandered potential chances to get back into the game. Some players seem to be really fighting it, confidence-wise. Mikael Granlund’s decision to pass the puck that became an easy turnover that led to Pacioretty’s tally. Much the same can be said of Charlie Coyle who is often guilty of overhandling the puck but he needs to start pulling the trigger instead of always trying to be a set up man.
The Wild have never had much luck playing in Montreal. The Wild were actually in this game longer than most of their games played in Bell Centre but the truth is they were playing a team that was also frustrated and questioning itself. At the end of the day, the team self-destructed in a way we haven’t seen since their game against the Rangers. A 3-game losing streak has pushed the Wild to near the bottom of the Central Division and Western Conference standings. Last season, the Wild almost seemed to play better as it dealt with injuries as it simplified its game and it was rewarded for it. This time the team seems to be waiting for someone to make a big play instead of just working hard, keeping it simple and not carrying whether a goal is ugly or not. Beggars can’t be choosers, its time the team take that keep it simple approach.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster was as follows: Mikael Granlund, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, Justin Fontaine, Ryan Carter, Kyle Brodziak, Stephane Veilleux, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Keith Ballard, Christian Folin and Mathew Dumba. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Jonathon Blum and Nate Prosser and were the healthy scratches while Zach Parise is out of the line up with a concussion.
~ The 3 Stars of the game were: 1st Star Jiri Sekac, 2nd Star Lars Eller, 3rd Star Carey Price
~ Attendance was 21,287 at Bell Centre.
~ The State of Hockey News would like to congratulate Guy Lapointe on having his #5 retired this evening at Bell Centre.
Wild Prospect Report:
G – Stephen Michalek (Harvard, ECAC) ~ We haven’t talked much about Wild goaltending prospects because they haven’t done anything of note until now. Michalek stopped all 14 shots he faced as the Crimson rolled to a 4-0 victory over RPI. He followed that up with a 42 saves performance on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie against the Dutchman. He is 1-0-2 on the season.
C – Pavel Jenys (Sudbury, OHL) ~ The lanky Czech-born center is a bright spot on what has been a season of struggle for the Sudbury Wolves after being routed 9-2 on Friday at the hands of the Barrie Colts. The Brno, Czech Republic-native had an assist and was a -4 on the night. Jenys has 4 goals, 14 points, 13 PIM’s and is a -10 in 18 games this season.
C – Reid Duke (Brandon, WHL) ~ The speedy center had an active night on Friday as he chipped in 3 assists and 2 PIM’s in the Wheat Kings 6-2 win over Saskatoon. Two of those helpers were primary assists. Duke has 5 goals, 13 points, 16 PIM’s and is a +7 in 14 games played this season.
C – Adam Gilmour (Boston College, H-East) ~ The tall center had a primary assist on Boston College’s opening goal last night, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles fell 5-3 to arch-rival Boston University. Gilmour has 2 goals, 6 points and 8 PIM’s in 8 games this season.
RW – Alex Tuch (Boston College, H-East) ~ The 6’4″ power forward contributed a helper in Eagles’ 5-3 loss to Boston University on Friday. Tuch is 3rd on the team in scoring with 2 goals, 6 points, 6 PIM’s in 8 games.
RW – Lou Nanne (RPI, ECAC) ~ The former Edina star chipped in assist in the Engineers 2-1 win over Dartmouth Saturday night. Nanne leads RPI in scoring with 3 goals, 6 points and 6 PIM’s in 10 games.
C – Avery Peterson (Nebraska-Omaha, NCHC) ~Peterson had a big night on Saturday for the Mavericks, registering two goals and an assist in their 4-3 win over Ohio State. 2014’s Mr. Hockey has 4 goals, 6 points and 2 PIM’s in 8 games.
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