Expectations can be tough to deal with. Whether its expectations from the workplace, your peers or your family it can really feel like a great weight on one’s shoulders as you try to live up to those standards. Often times, the closer in relation those are with those expectations that one feels the pressure that much more. Because, afterall if you don’t care about that entity or people with those expectations what real pressure is there? The Sharks certainly are familiar with this feeling after spending nearly a half decade among the top clubs in the Western Conference but constantly coming up short. Last year’s inability to finish a 3-0 series lead against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference semifinals made this summer one of the toughest ever, causing the team to shuffle up its team leadership and putting their coach and general manager on the hot seat.
The Wild are no strangers to pressure either as the State of Hockey expects the team improve on last year’s finish in the Western Conference semi-finals at the hands of the Blackhawks. Minnesota fans feel the team is getting closer to being a real contender and they will not accept a poor effort. The fans are not close to being hostile towards their team although the vitriol spent on blogs and message boards regarding the teams power play would be that much worse if the team were struggling. So can the Wild follow up a character win against the Bruins with another against the Sharks?
1st Period Thoughts: The Wild had a high quality chance early as Jason Zucker swung a nice backhand pass from beneath the goal line right to the crease where Charlie Coyle tried to jam a shot through Antti Niemi who was able to make the save at point-blank range. Both teams seemed to have a lot of calmness with the puck, and not forcing plays as they both tried to test one another for weaknesses. The Sharks were not finding a lot of time or space to exploit as the Wild were doing all they could to challenge and contest shots. Minnesota would have another great chance as Marco Scandella found Kyle Brodziak on a long pass that gave him a breakaway. He would move in and get Niemi to drop with a little shoulder fake but unfortunately for the Wild and Brodziak he was unable to lift his backhander over the outstretched leg pad of the Finnish-born goalie. As if on cue the Sharks would counter with a great chance of their own as Jason Demers ripped a shot on goal that found the back of the net but was immediately waived off by NHL referee Brad Meier after he said Logan Couture made contact with Darcy Kuemper. The Sharks bench wanted an explanation, and I have to admit the contact didn’t look that bad that it warranted a call. Minnesota got very lucky with the call. San Jose would go back to work and a great pass by Couture set up Marleau right on the doorstep but he was stopped by a brilliant save by Kuemper. The 2nd line would go back on the attack and Jason Zucker would use his speed to create a little space as he let go of a backhander that Niemi stopped but he’d leave a rebound that Mikko Koivu pounced on but Niemi held on to keep the game scoreless. With both clubs trading chances you wondered who was going to draw first blood. Justin Falk would get held up by Adam Burish earning him a trip to the sin bin and the Wild with their first power play of the game. It did not start well as Jason Pominville coughed up the puck as Logan Couture swept up the biscuit racing towards the Wild’s end as Couture got a quick wrist shot that was stoned by Kuemper and then he made another great stop of Couture’s rebound try. The Wild would regroup and Minnesota would try to get set up and Coyle would thread a pass to Nino Niederreiter who was camped out near the blue paint and Niemi came up with another fine save. Towards the end of the power play, Mathew Dumba would try to fire a puck deep into the zone but it’d hit the leg of Brent Burns and fire back out into the neutral zone giving Patrick Marleau a breakaway and he’d race in on Kuemper and again the Wild goaltender came up with two great saves to bail out his team. Shortly after the failed power play (0-for-27), the Wild would take its first penalty of the game as Ryan Suter was tagged with an interference penalty. The Sharks potent power play would go to work and one thing was apparent right away. This team has far more player movement and they were able to create shooting lanes to exploit and some of those long range shots came dangerously close to ending up in the back of the Wild’s net. The Wild’s penalty kill may have been giving up the initial shot from the point but they did a fine job of not allowing the Sharks to have anything in the way of 2nd chances and Minnesota would escape unscathed. The Sharks would finally put a puck behind Kuemper as Mirco Mueller sent a pass towards the crease that deflected off the stick of Zach Parise and by the Wild goaltender who was sort of occupied by Chris Tierny. It was Mueller’s first NHL goal, keeping a long tradition of the Wild making special moments for rookies of other teams alive. Minnesota would try to answer back, as Mikko Koivu set up Jared Spurgeon for a shot from just inside the right faceoff circle that would be deflected up and over the goal by Niemi. Another bad defensive breakdown turned into a 2-on-1 between the Sharks’ Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Thornton was patient as he made a perfect cross-ice feed to Pavelski who unloaded a one-timer that rang off the crossbar and out. The Wild had to feel lucky to have only been down by one going into the 2nd. I thought Minnesota was looking skittish early in this game and the Sharks were taking advantage of it. I thought Dumba was a disaster, really struggling at either end. The other player I was really disappointed in was Thomas Vanek, who I felt continued to look weak and uninspired on the ice. A great example was on the power play as Mikael Granlund tried to set him up for a wide open shot and he made a paltry effort to battle through a stick check. He has to try to the point he still gets a shot on goal or compels the official to call a penalty. The Wild out shot San Jose 15-10 and won 20-out-of-25 draws but I still felt the Sharks had more high quality chances.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild had problems with the Sharks’ superior team size early on as they were chasing San Jose in their zone as Burns was looking for his 5th goal of the season. The Wild tried to counter the Sharks physical play with their 4th line, but Stephane Veilleux would earn a charging penalty for try to make a leaping check at rookie Barclay Goodrow. The Wild would pay for Veilleux’s lack of discipline as a failed chance to clear the zone as Burns knocked the puck off the stick of Suter and right to Tommy Wingels who fired a quick shot that snuck underneath the arm to make it 2-0 Sharks. The Wild didn’t seem to have any pushback, as Minnesota appeared to just go through the motions. Minnesota would get a little spark from its 2nd line of Zucker, Coyle and Koivu as Zucker would take a puck down low and he’d pass it out front where it was sort of shoveled on goal by Koivu and the puck would trickle through Niemi to cut the Sharks’ lead to one, 2-1. The goal would get Minnesota’s legs moving and they’d start to cause some more trouble in the San Jose zone. The top line of Parise, Granlund and Jason Pominville would finally have an meaningful shift, cycling the puck and setting each other up for a plethora of shots as Niemi found himself under siege. Suddenly the Wild’s forecheck was better and they were defending with more tenacity. A few minutes later the 4th line nearly struck for another goal as Ryan Carter found a little space and rifled a shot on goal that Niemi struggled with but he was able to reset well enough to stop Justin Fontaine‘s rebound chance. The game would become more of a defensive chess match as they waited patiently for the other to make a mistake. The 2nd line would go back on the attack and Mikko Koivu show some more assertiveness as he took a short pass of his skate and kicked it to his stick and he kind of lifted a forehand shot up into the air and then tried to knock it out of mid-air but he’d miss and the puck would be swept out of danger on a decent creative play by the Wild captain. The period would end with the Wild trailing by one, but Minnesota really dominated the latter half of the 2nd out shooting the Sharks 19-5. The team needs some more from its 1st and 3rd lines right now.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota would create an excellent chance right off the initial draw to start the period as Jason Zucker races in and winds up and blisters a slap shot off the post just 23 seconds into the 3rd. The Wild tried to follow it up with some more offensive pressure but a Wild point shot is blocked by their own player and quickly becomes a 2-on-1 the other way between Pavelski and Thornton. This time it was Pavelski feeding Thornton who one-timed a shot that Kuemper blew the angle on, 3-1 Sharks. The Wild would try to regroup and the 4th line would come up with a big goal as Justin Fontaine carried it into the zone where he dropped it back to Vanek who then slid a low lying shot down the slot that was redirected nicely by Kyle Brodziak that found the twine behind Niemi to cut San Jose’s lead back to one, 3-2. You could see Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo keeping the ‘hot’ hands on the ice as much as possible moving from the 2nd line back to the 4th line for a few shifts. The physical play started to intensify as both teams were showing a sense of urgency as they contested each and every shot. Players were dropping down to blocking shots as Thornton stepped in front of a blast by Scandella that left him wincing mightily on the Sharks’ bench. The 4th line would answer a few minutes later as Minnesota broke out of the zone with speed and Thomas Vanek carried the puck into the Sharks end before delivering a perfect backhanded saucer pass to a crashing Brodziak for a tap in equalizer, 3-3. Moments after the goal, Dumba would try to clear a puck and he’d put a puck right into the face of Wingels who would leave for the locker room. Both clubs were retreating quickly back to their own end as they hoped to prevent a game-winner the other way. The officials were also not going to make a call late either as both teams probably could’ve been given some hooking and holding penalties down the stretch. The Sharks were just throwing pucks off the boards hoping to get lucky and they nearly did as Wingels found some space after the puck got caught up in the skates of Justin Falk only to be stopped by a stick save by Kuemper and the game would go to overtime.
Overtime Thoughts: Minnesota had the better of the chances through the first half of the period as Zach Parise would nearly cash in off a nice pass by Suter. The Wild would then get a huge save by Kuemper as he made a statue of liberty like glove on a shot by Marleau off an initial chance by Couture. Just about any shot taken in overtime carries its own momentum of anxiety and a half-blocked Koivu shot bounced along the ice that gave Niemi some trouble. Zach Parise would appear to find a little space but he was tripped up to no call that drew the ire of the sellout crowd. After the play, Parise would get into a shoving match with Joe Thornton. The Sharks’ Brent Burns motor down the ice, flying by Pominville for a close range chance that Kuemper initially stopped before Burns ran into him and the puck slid over the goal line that was waived off by the official. The play would be reviewed and eventually ruled ‘no goal’, I think the key in the decision was the initial call by the referee and then some inconclusive video to see where that puck fell as the net was knocked off its moorings. This would effectively send the game to a shootout. In the closing moments, Koivu would get hit with a late check and after the buzzer went ending overtime. Koivu and Thornton would chirp at one another as they made their way back to their benches.
Shootout Summary: The Wild would elect to shoot first, and they’d send out Zach Parise. Parise would move right down the middle of the ice but he’d he’d push a wrist shot wide left. The Sharks first shooter was Logan Couture who beat Kuemper with a shot that trickled through 5-hole, 1-0 San Jose. The Wild’s next shooter was Mikko Koivu and he’d go from forehand to backhand for his patented move but this time he waited a little longer to dust it off and go top shelf. Either way it was 1-1. Joe Pavelski would be the Sharks’ next shooter and he’d move from the left back to the middle and his wrist shot was pushed wide by Kuemper. Minnesota’s next shooter was Jason Pominville who went from left to right before ripping a wrister glove-side, to give Wild a 2-1 edge. This would put all the pressure on Patrick Marleau to keep the game going for his club and he’d move in with speed but his attempt to beat Kuemper 5-hole was shut down by the Wild goalie to give his club a 4-3 victory.
Darcy Kuemper had a better game, but it wasn’t perfect. He came up with some timely big saves to keep the Wild in it when it couldn’t seem to buy a goal; but still he had a softy that nearly cost the team the game. Kuemper had 25 saves in the win. Defensively the Wild did remarkably well for a group that was playing with a journeyman AHL defenseman and turnover-prone rookie, especially when you factor in the Wild had to shorten their bench even more when Jared Spurgeon went down with an injury. I thought Scandella and Suter really did a fantastic job tonight. I saw more reason to send Dumba down to Iowa, he made a lot of turnovers and I felt whoever was partnered with him really had to hang back to make up for his mistakes. He got way more ice time than he deserved.
Offensively the team keeps finding ways to score goals. (knock on wood) Remember this team had the toughest time scoring 3 goals in a game? That doesn’t seem to be nearly as much of a problem as the club continues to live on having a different hero for each game. No one would’ve forseen Kyle Brodziak netting two goals tonight, and lets give credit to Vanek for some great set ups on those tallies. The team continues to pepper opposing goaltenders with shots on goal, pumping 46 shots on goal this evening. The Wild’s best offensive line tonight was the Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle line as they combined for 16 shots on goal this evening. Koivu was especially assertive this evening with 9 shots on goal. The top line looked a little fatigued this evening (just 5 shots between them), and hopefully they can rest up and be ready for what should be a helluva battle on Saturday against Dallas. The power play again fizzled but that’s nothing new really even though they broke a new franchise record for futility on the man-advantage going 9 consecutive games without a goal.
Another big character win for a Minnesota team that did not play very well in the first period and half of this game. For a second game in a row, the Wild battle back after trailing going into the 3rd period. The team’s lines were jumbled due to the injuries they’ve sustained as so some of the chemistry was a bit discombobulated at times. Yet thanks to some big saves they didn’t lose hope and they battled back to earn a huge 2 points in the standings. Minnesota still has games in hand on most teams in the league and so they are slowly catching up. The Wild have to take some confidence that they can comeback and that trailing in the 3rd isn’t an automatic loss as has been the case in the past. If anything the Wild are proving that this season is very different from the rest (in a good way).
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Thomas Vanek, Nino Niederreiter, Kyle Brodziak, Ryan Carter, Justin Fontaine, Stephane Veilleux, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Nate Prosser, Mathew Dumba and Justin Falk. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Matt Cooke, Jonas Brodin and Erik Haula are out of the lineup nursing injuries.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Kyle Brodziak, 2nd Star Thomas Vanek, 3rd Star Antti Niemi
~ Attendance was 18,633 at Xcel Energy Center.
Iowa Wild Report:
Recent Score: Iowa 4, Milwaukee 2
The Iowa Wild earned their 2nd win of the season in the always tough Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. Iowa got things going early as a shot by Jake Parenteau was redirected by Michael Keranen gave the Wild 1-0 lead. The Admirals would answer a few minutes later as Miikka Salomaki scored his first of the season as he beat Johan Gustafsson with a well screened shot. Iowa would strike twice on the power play in the 2nd period as Marc Hagel took a nice pass from Jonathan Blum to make it 2-1. 3 minutes later it was a pretty tic-tac-toe play by Jordan Schroeder, Tyler Graovac setting up Zack Mitchell for the sweet finish to give Iowa a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd. In the 3rd period, the Admirals would make it interesting as Austin Watson lit the lamp to cut Iowa’s lead to one. Yet down the stretch, Johan Gustafsson came up with a number of huge saves with plenty of traffic near his crease. Danny Syvret would provide the nail in the Admirals’ coffin on a shot taken from his own blueline that found the back of an empty net to seal a 4-2 win. Gustafsson had 37 saves in the victory, the Wild’s 2nd in a row. The Wild’s leading scorer Jordan Schroeder had 2 assists on the night.
Wild Prospect Report:
C – Duke Reid (Brandon, WHL) ~ The Calgary-native continues to find his way onto the scoresheet after the Wheat Kings’ 5-2 victory on Wednesday night. Reid had 2 helpers in their victory and was an impressive +3 by the end of the game. The shift centerman has 4 goals, 12 points, 14 PIM’s and is a +7 in 12 games played this season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
