Game #29: Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings, Thursday December 8, 2011 at 9:30pm (CST), Staples Center [GAME PREVIEW]

Questions, questions everywhere.  It’s not unusual to be peppered with questions on a daily basis.  Sometimes they’re easy yes and no questions and can be answered with little thought.  Others require some research to provide the best possible answer.  And of course, there are the deep philosophical questions in life, some of which are never truly answered.  For the Minnesota Wild, like any professional sports team, there are always questions.  However, I kind of feel like the minute one question is answered in Minnesota, three more pop up.

The biggest question on every one’s mind right now is surrounding the goaltending situation.  The season started out with some nervous questions, as Minnesota didn’t quite get the start at the beginning of the season like they wanted.  I know I watched with nerves watching some of the goals our goaltending duo of Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding let in.  However, the beasts within our goaltenders seemed to be awakened in that home and home with Detroit.  There have been the occasional hiccups, but for the most part, they’ve been a solid pair.  However, the questions have resurfaced, and not by any fault of their creation.  First, Backstrom went down with a tweaked groin in the New Jersey game.  That’s not the worst thing, since both have played well.  To serve as backup, the Wild called up Matt Hackett from the Houston Aeros.  No big deal.  All went well in Anaheim.  Then San Jose happened.  Harding found himself injured after getting hit by Nick Schultz.  It’s bad enough when you have opposing players continually crashing the net, but when you lose a goaltender to injury caused by one of your own players it’s even worse.  So in comes Hackett. I know I felt nervous when this all happened.  Although, color me surprised, when Hackett essentially posted a shutout against the Sharks.  Now, tonight we have a bit of a traffic jam when it comes to goaltending.  Most likely Backstrom will be dressed as will be Hackett, but everything rests on today’s morning skate as to who will start and who will be backup.

Other injuries are causing more questions as well.  Also lost in San Jose was Devin Setoguchi.  At this time, it seems that we won’t see him dressed again until we get back home and he can be fully assessed by the team doctors.  While mysteriously classified as a “lower body injury” he has been sporting a soft cast on his right leg.  I can only hope that it’s simply a pulled muscle or a hyper-extended knee, that all is required is a bit of rest.  Strangely enough though, I’m not particularly worried over this injury.  Why?  Simply because recent call ups Casey Wellman and Cody Almond will simply step in and step up.  Whatever head coach Mike Yeo instilled in them last season on their amazing Calder Cup Finals appearance, it has carried over when they’re with the Wild.  In fact, I’m more nervous when Brad Staubitz is on the ice than one of our call ups is.  Their youthful excitement and understanding of Yeo’s game seems to have rubbed off on their veteran teammates.  While Setoguchi is out right now, it seems we may be getting some other players back, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Lately, Guillaume Latendresse and Marek Zidlicky who are both out with concussions, have begun to skate on their own as well as work out.  With concussions, it is steps like this that start to signal a return.  I know I will greatly welcome back Latendresse, however we’ve played better without Zidlicky than with him.

The only question I want to continue to surround this team is “how do they keep winning?” especially from hockey “experts” around the league.  Anyone who watches this team on a regular basis knows the answer.  In the meantime, it’s quite entertaining to watch those “experts” flailing around trying to come up with an answer.  Their comments and analysis simply prove that they do not know what they are talking about.  And while they’re trying to formulate their answer, we’ll simply sit back and watch this team keep on playing as they have been. 

Injury Report:

Minnesota:   Guillaume Latendresse (concussion), Marek Zidlicky (concussion), Justin Falk (chest), Devin Setoguchi (leg),  Niklas Backstrom (groin) is probable, Josh Harding (neck) is questionable

Los Angeles:  Mike Richards (upper body), Scott Parse (hip), Justin Williams (hand), Willie Mitchell (lower body, Alex Martinez (upper body)    

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