Hopefully fans across the State of Hockey can move on from the disappointment that was not selecting ‘Johnny Football’ Manziel at this year’s NFL draft. While Manziel’s NFL career has to begin and his success or failure will determine how Vikings fans cope with the decision to pass on him with the 9th Overall selection will make for interesting banter for some time (especially if he does well in Cleveland). Yet, for a Wild fan like myself, the thought of the Vikings drafting a project player in UCLA’s outside linebacker Anthony Barr at 9th Overall sort of reminded me of the Wild drafting Brent Burns. Burns was a player who was seen as raw but highly athletic and had the potential to be molded to fit as either a forward or defenseman. While Burns’ athleticism continues to be the reason for his success he has struggled to solidify himself at either position. So does that make Burns a success or a bit of a failure? Burns had been showing some excellent potential on the Wild’s blueline before the club decided to trade him for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and the 28th Overall draft pick that became Zack Phillips.
The team has since traded Setoguchi to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2nd round pick which it packaged away to Buffalo in the deal that brought in Matt Moulson. Charlie Coyle has had a reasonable playoffs but has cooled off since the 1st round series against Colorado but the comparisons to the Wild and Vikings seem to meet with Zack Phillips. Phillips’ selection reminds me a lot of the Vikings’ pick of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Phillips is a skilled centerman with great hands and on-ice vision, but has skating issues (which were well known and documented before we drafted him) that has made it difficult for him to really shine as a professional. Meanwhile, Bridgewater is said to have some great skills but some question his arm strength and accuracy; which were a big reason why Vikings fans soured on Christian Ponder. So did Vikings fans just witness their club make another monumental mistake at QB? Either way, it doesn’t matter now. Minnesota has another huge game that could swing momentum in a big way no matter the outcome. The Blackhawks media has decried the Wild as boring, funny we’ve never heard that before. Can the ‘boring’ Wild ambush the Blackhawks again or will Chicago put themselves in prime position to finish the series?
1st Period Thoughts: The Wild certainly had lot of energy after its extended break in this series; and they were not waiting to attack Chicago by generating speed through the neutral zone. Both clubs were backchecking well and by the time they’d enter the opposing zone, time and space were virtually non-existent. Not a lot of shots were making their way to either Ilya Bryzgalov or Corey Crawford. One player who had a big impact right from his first shift was Matt Cooke. Cooke looked energized and he was a wrecking ball right away taking runs at Blackhawks’ players. The crowd fed off the energy of Cooke’s physical play and that in turn seemed to amp up the team. Erik Haula was also turning on the jets early as he nearly was able to redirect a nice diagonal pass by Justin Fontaine. The Wild was not perfect however, a poorly timed line change helped part the ‘Red Sea’ for Duncan Keith who looked to scoot in off the rush only to be thwarted by an alert play by Mikko Koivu who raced off the Minnesota bench to make the big defensive play. However, Minnesota’s defense was playing pretty smart. Not opting to chip the puck off the glass and boards, and thus able to avoid committing a bunch of needless turnovers by simply making short tape-to-tape passes to elude the Blackhawks forecheck and move the puck up the ice to Wild forwards. The Wild would take the lead as Matt Cooke would deliver a hit to Ben Smith and then steal a puck away from Michal Roszival and then dropping a pass back to Justin Fontaine who was waiting just beneath the right faceoff dot and he’d snipe a shot high glove side to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The crowd was roaring as Minnesota’s pressure continued and Chicago was clearly feeling it as Jeremy Morin sat in the box for slashing Ryan Suter. On the power play the Wild moved the puck well but Chicago was happy to let the Wild stay to the perimeter. The Wild were perhaps a little too selective as to when they pulled the trigger and they’d come up empty on the man advantage. Minnesota continued to dominate the play with great hustle, forcing turnovers and keeping Chicago bottled up in its own zone. The Wild’s Mikko Koivu would get tagged with a holding the stick penalty and Chicago would go on the power play. However if it wasn’t for the indicator on the screen you’d never know they had a power play as Minnesota’s aggressive puck pressure never allowed Chicago to get settled and they spent most of their time on the man advantage just trying to get the puck deep in their own end. Zach Parise, Matt Cooke, Erik Haula and Cody McCormick did an outstanding job at challenging Chicago’s puck movers and this led to some easy clears of the zone and Minnesota suffocated the Blackhawks’ power play. Unfortunately, as the Wild kept applying pressure they’d get caught, as Clayton Stoner did allowing Chicago to go on the attack. Patrick Sharp would enter the Wild zone with speed and he’d let go a sharp angle shot taken from just beneath the right faceoff dot that snuck through 5-hole on Bryzgalov to tie the game at 1-1 with just 38.5 seconds left in the period. It was a yogurt soft goal as Bryzgalov didn’t have to really worry about any other Blackhawks’ player and all he had to do was hold the post and cover the 5-hole to make what should’ve been an easy save. The goal helped sour what was a tremendous period for the Wild where they dominated most of the play. I thought Minnesota had great energy from all over and their speed was giving Chicago lots of problems.
2nd Period Thoughts: The 2nd period started with lots of energy as Minnesota was again buzzing early and Chicago was again on its heels. The Wild nearly cashed in right away as Heatley’s redirect just missed wide of Crawford. Chicago started to use the long stretch pass to catch the Wild’s defense off guard but they’d go offsides 3 times in quick succession as they disagreed with the calls. Minnesota would continue to attack early and through sheer persistence they’d re-take the lead as the top line of Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund would cycle the puck down low, as Parise was stonewalled on a close-in chance by Crawford but the Wild would pick up the puck and work it over to Ryan Suter who then slid it out front where it was knocked away but Pominville would bank a shot off the leg of the Chicago goalie and in. 2-1 Minnesota. The goal re-energized the Xcel Energy crowd as Minnesota kept denying time and space with good backchecking as Matt Cooke delivered a hit to Ben Smith and then dished a puck towards the slot that was gathered up by Haula all alone on Crawford but he couldn’t slip a shot through the Chicago netminder. Chicago would tie the game a few minutes later as they’d work a puck deep and then back out to the point where Brent Seabrook let loose with a low-lying shot that was redirected by Michal Handzus that beat Bryzgalov 5-hole. 2-2 now. The Wild would not wait long for an answer as Minnesota would strike with less than minute later as Nino Niederreiter got a little space as he flew into the Chicago zone and he’d fire a laser of a wrist shot by Crawford to make it 3-2 Minnesota. It was shades of Game 7 in Colorado on this bullet of a wrister by the Swiss-born winger. The energy from Niederreiter’s tally got the Wild going again as the top line would come dangerously close from extending Minnesota’s lead as Granlund made a power move on goal that had Crawford doing the splits to make the save before Parise seemed to jam it home. The play would be reviewed, but it would be ruled the officials blew the whistle before it was jammed home. Chicago would then have a golden opportunity as Suter would fan on the shot and Patrick Sharp raced in on the breakaway where he was stopped by the stretched leg pad of Bryzgalov to a rousing ovation by the home crowd. Minnesota would draw a delay of game penalty as Smith sent a puck into the stands. Unfortunately the Wild couldn’t do anything with the man advantage. Minnesota started with its 2nd power play unit of Fontaine, Coyle, Heatley, Spurgeon and Suter and they got little to nothing going. The 1st unit wasn’t much better as poor decisions made for easy opportunities to clear the zone by the Blackhawks and they’d get nothing accomplished on the power play. The successful kill seemed to give Chicago some energy as they’d start to assert itself a bit more. Bryzgalov would helped curb some of the momentum Chicago was trying to build by making some good saves. Minnesota would resume its assault and Parise would track down the puck before feeding a pass out to Pominville for a quick shot that was fought off by Crawford and its effort was starting to bother Chicago and Brandon Bollig would hit Keith Ballard from behind earning him a 2-minute trip to the penalty box for boarding. Ballard would leave for the locker room a bit early as he was probably being tested for a possible concussion. On the power play the Wild took a simpler approach, making a few passes before directing pucks on goal. The Wild would end up negating their man advantage as Jared Spurgeon seemed to bring an elbow up into the face of Marcus Kruger who fell awkwardly as he tried to avoid it, hurting his knee in the process as he’d limp back to the Chicago bench. Spurgeon would sit and the ice would open up 4-0n-4. The Wild at times were guilty of being a little too fancy with the puck and Chicago nearly capitalized as Marian Hossa raced down the ice and he’d hammer a shot on goal that was trapped by Bryzgalov’s 5-hole to keep Minnesota’s one-goal lead intact. It was another solid period for the Wild who had great responses to some soft goals scored by Chicago. The Wild need to stay aggressive and not just sit back to defend its lead. Expect Chicago to really pour it on in the 3rd. Minnesota will have to match that intensity level.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota had outstanding energy to start the period as they would put Chicago on its heels and they’d draw an early penalty as Duncan Keith hooked Matt Cooke. The Wild were unable to get much accomplished on the man advantage as poor passing and a lack of movement made it easy for the Blackhawks to deny shooting and passing lanes. Another opportunity missed; but Minnesota would draw another power play as Roszival closed his hand on the puck for a delay of game penalty. It would be a costly lapse of discipline as Minnesota would strike early on the man advantage as Koivu threaded a diagonal pass from the point would be be partially deflected and picked up by Jared Spurgeon who fired it home behind Crawford to give the Wild a 4-2 lead. It was a huge goal for the Wild who had had so many opportunities on the man advantage amount to little or nothing. After the goal, with the crowd chanting “Crawford, Crawford” at every opportunity the Wild kept up their energy level as they were being physical at the right time to cause turnovers and then were quick to transition to offense. At times Minnesota was trying to be a little fancy with its passes and thwarting its own opportunities but the Wild were controlling the pace, and emotional tone of the game with their speed, tight checking which made it very difficult for Chicago to get anything going offensively. You could see the frustration on the faces of Chicago players who were having a hard time coping with Minnesota’s tenacious effort. The Blackhawks would finally work the cycle down low as they set up Morin for two chances that were stonewalled by great leg pad saves by Bryzgalov. Chicago would pull Crawford with about 2 minutes left in the period. Minnesota’s effort continued to be strong with a prolonged standing ovation as the Wild pressured well through the neutral zone and dumping it deep into the Chicago end. Chicago would take a timeout with a little under a minute left to go. Chicago would only continued to be frustrated by Minnesota’s excellent defensive effort as they sealed a 4-2 victory tying the series at 2-2.
Ilya Bryzgalov rebounded nicely after giving up two soft goals, stopping 17 shots in the victory. He came up with some huge saves down the stretch to keep Chicago at bey when they were trying to answer back late in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Defensively the Wild did a very good at coming back to the defensive zone to help deny time and space from Chicago’s forwards and prevent them from having much in the way of rebound opportunities. I thought Minnesota’s defenseman did a superb job at negating the forecheck with smart little passes to avoid the Chicago forecheck and transitioning into offensive pressure. I thought Marco Scandella, Spurgeon and Ballard did a great job at this. Losing Ballard hurts; as he has been a source of stability since joining the team in Game 3 of this series. It will be interesting to see if he’s out long term or if he can come back in Game 5.
I love the way the Wild were attacking the Blackhawks in this game. Virtually every line was doing what they could to generate pressure by gaining speed through the neutral zone and putting a tough defensive team like Chicago is, on its heels. The 3rd line of Haula, Fontaine and Cooke are pesky and I felt they were a terrific source of energy and made things happen offensively. The other lines fed off that and the top line of Parise, Granlund and Pominville are really starting to get their game going as well. The power play gave the Wild the insurance goal and its good to see different players finding ways to contribute each game. While I am not trying to slam Matt Moulson, I think the Wild might be better without him as replacing him with Cooke (who had a dynamite game) makes Minnesota a faster club and something that Chicago is really struggling with right now. Niederreiter is giving Minnesota another sniper-like option that I think the Wild could utilize on the power play.
Minnesota needs to now use this same energy and effort in Chicago. The Blackhawks are really feeling the pressure. Very few expected Chicago to have all that much difficulty in this series. Now the Blackhawks; if you watched Jonathan Toews’ post game interview sound like a team on the ropes. That doesn’t happen to a defending Stanley Cup Champion all that easily. The Wild have Chicago worried and Minnesota would be wise to make this an up-tempo speed game as much as they can. I love the vibe of the team right now; and tonight Minnesota had answers for Chicago’s goals and that is the sign of a confident team. Its time to put the foot to the throat and keep Chicago reeling. I am sure Wild majority owner Craig Leipold is happy over the fact his squad earned him another home game and the nice revenues that come with it. Either way, its a great time to be a Wild fan right now!
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville, Zach Parise, Matt Cooke, Kyle Brodziak, Justin Fontaine, Danu Heatley, Erik Haula, Cody McCormick, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Keith Ballard and Clayton Stoner. John Curry backed up Ilya Bryzgalov. Jake Dowell, Stephane Veilleux, Carson McMillan, Mike Rupp, Matt Moulson, Steven Kampfer, Jonathon Blum and Nate Prosser were the scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Wild.com were: 1st Star Jared Spurgeon, 2nd Star Marco Scandella, 3rd Star Matt Cooke
~ Attendance was 19,405 at Xcel Energy Center.
Wild Prospect Report:
D – Mathew Dumba (Portland, WHL) ~ The Edmonton Oil Kings rallied in the 3rd period to cut the Winterhawks series lead to 2-1 after a 3-2 win on Tuesday night. Dumba scored just a little under 3 minutes into the 1st period but it wasn’t enough in the losing effort. The Calgary, Alberta-native has 6 goals, 15 points and is a +23 in 19 playoff games this season. Update: Edmonton has rallied back nicely as they’ve won the last 3 games to now hold a 3-2 series lead after a 3-2 win on Friday night. Dumba had a goal and 4 PIM’s in the loss.
RW – Zack Mitchell (Guelph, OHL) ~ Guelph stormed back from a 3-2 deficit in the 3rd period to score twice on their way to a 4-3 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in the OHL Finals. Zack Mitchell continues to be a workhorse on the scoresheet for the Storm, chipping in a goal and an assist in the win and then another 3 helpers on Wednesday. The right-hand shooting winger has 12 goals, 32 points and is a +22 in 20 playoff games this season. Update: Mitchell and the Guelph Storm are the OHL Champions, and they will advance to the Memorial Cup. The Caledon, Ontario-native had an assist in the Storm’s 4-3 series clinching victory.
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