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In the Hockey News‘ annual People of Power and Influence issue it rates one my least favorite people as the 2nd most powerful and influential member in the sport of hockey. No, I’m not talking about NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, I’m talking about Pittsburgh Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby. Whether I like it or not, Crosby is the ‘face’ of the NHL and while roll my eyes as much as anyone when he gives an exasperated look to an official begging for a penalty he is still the player most widely promoted in commercials and products / merchandise sold. The 11th most influential and powerful person according to the Hockey News‘ list is Wild principal owner Craig Leipold. The short captain the Hockey News referenced (vaguely) his decision to offer the twin deals to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter as an example of his dedication. That’s fine, but maybe its just me but you’d think a person who was listed as the 4th most influential team owner of the NHL you’d think he’d be able to leverage that into Minnesota receiving the honor of a Winter Classic. I guess having the 4th most influential owner is only good enough for a Stadium Series game (sigh).
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Minnesota is at a crossroads in its season. Its starting the 2nd half, sitting at the bottom of their division with far more questions than answers. Yet enough of the serious stuff. Wild fans have been living with that far too long the last 3 weeks or so. This game is on NBC Sports Network, and with Pierre McGuire in his normal place between the benches he’ll no doubt be chirping about Shattuck-St. Mary’s and fans like myself will enjoy the opportunity to have a delicious drink. For me it will be Whipped Pinnacle vodka and orange soda. So can the Wild surprise the heck out of me and earn an upset victory over the Penguins tonight?
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1st Period Thoughts: There’s no better way to start a game than with poor puck possession and being unable to clear the zone. Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but that’s what we got in the very first minute. And all you can hope for is that it doesn’t set the tone for the entire game. Considering how this team hasn’t been able to play a consistent sixty minutes, it’s not a good way to start. Although, they did improve. The Penguins appear to have some of the same problems as the Wild. My concern is that where we can’t convert on our opponents’ mistakes, our opponents have the uncanny ability to do exactly that. Yet again, it’s the fourth line of Minnesota that has come to play. Their sticks are the ones getting in the way of Pittsburgh passes, but they just cannot finish. And just when you think the Wild just might have found their game thanks to an off-kilter Penguins team, Minnesota is unable to clear the zone and Niklas Backstrom is unable to control the rebound and make the move he needs which allows Marcel Goc top open up the scoring for the night. It’s play like this, that makes me feel like I’m listening to a broken record. Same song, different day. What might be the most frustrating part, is that Marc-Andre Fleury is giving up some juicy rebounds himself, yet Minnesota just cannot do anything with them. The other issue is that Minnesota gets down a goal, and it’s as if they shut down. They almost don’t even look like they don’t want it after they give one up. If you think being the average Wild hockey fan right now is tough, just put yourself in a blogger or beat writer’s place. We have to watch these even when we’d rather be rearranging our sock drawer. Then to add insult to injury, all Pittsburgh has to do is pick up a bit on the physical game, and the Wild just cannot compete (or is unwilling to do so). Backstrom would redeem himself momentarily. There was a flurry in front of him, and with a tricky shot, he was able to trap the puck between his skates while lying on his stomach. Yet that feeling of goodwill would be short-lived, as David Perron found the back of the net on a bad rebound combined with Mikko Koivu unable to contain Perron. I will admit, I was a bit dumbfounded to see that Mike Yeo was starting Backstrom tonight. I was sure that John Curry would get the start. And it appears that barring injury, Backstrom will be in the entire night, as Yeo either refuses to or waits to long to pull a struggling goaltender. Lucky us. Yet again, it’s the fourth line looking like they have some fire in their bellies. There’s a problem with morale on a team, when the only ones who look like they want to play are the guys who get the least amount of time. That’s not a recipe for success. The hockey world talks about the concept of “puck luck.” Well trust me my friends, there is no such thing for the Minnesota Wild. Goals on shots that were scored earlier in the season, just aren’t happening. Watching the Penguins give the Wild a lesson in puck possession makes me remember when Minnesota was able to do that blindfolded. Now they just play like they are blindfolded. In the waning seconds of the first period, all I can think is “thank goodness 20 minutes are over.” And to think we have another half of the season to go.
2nd Period Thoughts: If you were hoping for Curry to start the second, you might as well give up that pipe dream. After some questionable decisions by the Wild’s skaters, they would get the puck back into the zone getting several near chances on net. It’s just gotten to the point where it doesn’t even matter who is on the ice, they just can’t get the puck past Fleury. I find that I’m torn between camps. It would be great to fall to some of the top draft picks, yet at the same time, I want to see this team win. The free fall is not fun to watch. Not one minute. Sure, the Wild and Penguins are trading off scoring chances, but when nothing comes of it, I’d rather not watch. Yet just when I start to count this team down and out, Jonas Brodin draws a penalty. Not only were the Wild able to get the puck into the offensive zone, but they were able to control the puck, maintain the zone, and get a much-needed goal from Brodin thanks to a fantastic pass by Nate Prosser. I can’t express just how big that pass by Prosser was, but the fact that Brodin was ready for it, is even more impressive. How many times have we seen our players not be ready. The Wild would then pick up a penalty of their own thanks to a tripping call on Charlie Coyle. It wouldn’t take long for the Penguins to strike back, with a goal by Chris Kunitz. While I have been dreading this game for a while now, I’m just glad that Pierre McGuire isn’t sitting between the benches tonight. If he was slated for this game, we would be hearing nothing except about how Crosby attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s and how J.P. Parise made such a huge impact on that program. So perhaps the hockey gods are looking out for me. Erik Haula would get called for a boarding call, so you find many on tenterhooks wondering if the score would quickly become 4-1 Pittsburgh. The Wild would thankfully kill the penalty. Brian Engblom would interview Yeo during a break in play, and Yeo for the most part is liking what he sees in his team, but that they’ve had their moments where they fall down. Okay Mike, those good moments are mere baby steps. You can start feeling good about your team, when it’s consistent game in and game out. I do have to question why Jordan Schroeder is scratched again tonight. When you play teams like Pittsburgh, having more speed can only be a good thing, especially from a player who is willing to take shots on goal. But alas, it is not to be. So instead, I’ve opted to watch the last four or so minutes without typing anything, as it’s not as if there’s anything I could say that I haven’t already said about this game. However, in the waning seconds of the period, Minnesota would draw it’s second power play due to an interference call on Pittsburgh’s Robert Bortuzzo. There once was a time where it was exciting to start the next period on the power play, but since the powerless play is deeply entrenched these days, I’ll let you come up with your own thoughts on the man advantage while the team is in the locker room.
3rd Period Thoughts: If you had high hopes of the Wild scoring a power play goal, I wouldn’t hold your breath. It appears that Minnesota hasn’t scored a power play goal against the Penguins since 2005. Ouch. That trend would continue as Pittsburgh would kill the penalty. Minnesota would keep trying, however Ryan Suter would get trapped on the ice, and Brandon Sutter would skate hard past him and into the Minnesota zone making the game 4-1 Pittsburgh. Yes, it just keeps getting better and better. For those who are now on draft pick watch, they have to be loving this game as well as the entire downfall. I’m not sure why people are so excited about getting one of the prime spots in the draft lineup. I mean seriously, this is Minnesota we’re speaking of. Remember when we had the #4 pick, the year Pittsburgh drafted Crosby? We picked Benoit Pouliot when we could have had Montreal’s Carey Price or Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar. And those are just a couple of the big names from the first round. It’s amazing who else could have been had from that draft. Considering how badly we need goaltending, imagine with your revisionist history glasses on, how nice it would be to have Price right now. As I’ve been riding on the wayback machine, Elk River, Minnesota’s own Paul Martin would make it 5-1 Penguins. I have to keep asking myself, when do we start having fun? I guess I should just hop aboard the “here comes the better pick” bandwagon, but like I said, I don’t trust our drafting. When you think things couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Kris Letang makes it 6-1 Penguins. It’s that goal that finally forced Mike Yeo to make the goaltending switch. While we’re not getting goaltending helps, it makes you wonder what constitutes as “enough is enough” for Yeo when it comes to goaltenders. And when things get that ridiculous, that’s when the Wild start to score. Justin Fontaine would get the goal thanks to hard work by Haula. A case of way too little, way too late. Lazy, lazy play in their own zone would continue to haunt the Wild, creating a turnover. That turnover would become David Perron’s second goal of the night. So as the fans try to digest a 7-2 loss on the road, you should be prepared for even louder “Fire Yeo” chatter. At this point, nothing is going to make a difference. For me, I think I’m going to get ready to pick a different team for the playoffs. I’m thinking the New York Islanders are looking pretty good right now. Certainly far more interesting.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Justin Fontaine, Jason Zucker, Ryan Carter, Kyle Brodziak, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Cooke, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Erik Haula, Christian Folin, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, and Jared Spurgeon. Nicklas Backstrom started with John Curry serving as back-up.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star, David Perron; 2nd Star, Chris Kunitz; 3rd Star, Zach Sill.
~ Attendance was 18,642 at Consol Energy Center.
Wild Prospect Report:
RW – Chase Lang (Calgary, WHL) ~ It was a game of mixed results for the lanky winger as he had a goal but a costly penalty in the Hitmen’s 5-4 loss to Brandon on Sunday. The penalty led to Brandon’s go ahead goal on an incredible solo rush up the ice by 2015 draft eligible defenseman Ivan Provorov. Lang has 18 goals, 40 points, 29 PIM’s and is a +10 in 38 games.
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