Hockey is just a game. No offense to my readers, but whether the Wild win or lose is nothing in comparison to the sacrifice and dedication of the brave men and women who have defended our nation both past and present. Today is a day we take a moment and honor those sacrifices so that we can enjoy things like hockey and having the freedom to offer our opinions on it. The State of Hockey News would like to take a moment and thank all of the servicemen and servicewomen, past and present who have given us the freedoms and way of life we enjoy. Please join us and thanking the members of our armed forces for all they’ve done and continue to do.
The Wild come to New Jersey riding a 3-game losing streak, with an anxious fan base wondering if this team can turn it around. Meanwhile, the Devils are in a similar situation also having lost their last 4 games. That should make for two motivated and frustrated clubs hoping to end their respective losing streak. Which team will end their slide in the standings tonight?
1st Period Thoughts: The Wild were hustling well to start the period, working well along the boards and trying to work the puck in close right from the start. Time and space was tough to come by as both clubs were backchecking well. The Devils were pinching with their defenseman to hold the zone and the Wild used short passes to evade the forecheck and then looked for the long outlet pass trying to catch New Jersey by surprise. A long pass by Mikael Granlund found Jason Pominville for a partial breakaway but a tired Pominville could only poke a shot towards the goal that missed well wide. The Devils tried to strike back as Dainus Zubrus found Stephen Gionta all alone and his heavy snap shot was blocked away by Darcy Kuemper. The Wild get their cycle going as Pominville, Granlund and Thomas Vanek were able to get the Devils chasing a bit as Vanek tried to feed a pass out near the top of the crease towards Granlund but he was tied up at the last minute by Damon Severson before he could get a shot off. The Devils would get the first power play of the game as Marco Scandella hauled down Patrik Elias as he was breaking towards the net. Minnesota’s penalty kill was tremendous as their puck pressure drew some early turnovers allowing the Wild to clear the zone with relative ease. With about half of the Devil’s man advantage killed off, the Wild would show good tenacity in their own zone as they bodied New Jersey off the puck to finish off the rest of their power play. The Devils would then give Minnesota a power play of their own as former Gophers defenseman Seth Helgeson tripped up Nino Niederreiter. On the power play the Wild had a great first opportunity as some quick movement would result in a one-timer by Ryan Suter that was deflected on goal by Vanek that Cory Schneider fought off and his rebound would trickle out to Jason Pominville who tried to lift a forehand shot but couldn’t get it over Schneider’s leg pad. The rest of the power play was mostly ineffective and the Wild came up empty yet again, facing the worst penalty kill unit in the league. Soon after the failed power play the Devils would take another penalty as Michael Ryder hooked Granlund. The Wild would again have a good early chance on the man advantage as they worked the puck down low and Mikko Koivu would skate towards the crease and try to lift a puck over Schneider who came up with the save and unfortunately the Wild were unable to get to the rebound. That really was as close as the Wild would come to scoring on the man advantage as the team had major difficulties with its zone entries and never could really get set up to create another scoring chance. The period would end, with Minnesota out shooting the Devils 6-5 but I really felt the Wild were still playing far below their best game. Too much passing, not nearly enough pucks being sent on goal to test Cory Schneider. Although on the bright side I thought the Wild’s bottom 3 defenseman; Keith Ballard, Nate Prosser and Jonathon Blum played reasonably well. The tie game benefits the Devils more than the Wild. Hopefully they have a better effort in the 2nd, because the Wild looked tired and rusty, and after having an extra day off there is no excuse for that.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild did not get out to a good start to the 2nd as Scandella would take his 2nd trip to the penalty box as he was called for interference . On the penalty kill the Wild again applied good puck pressure making life difficult for the Devils’ point men as they cleared the zone. New Jersey’s lone quality chance on the power play came off the stick of a diagonal feed by Mike Cammalleri that drew a rebound from Kuemper and Elias would shovel it just wide of the mark and Minnesota escaped unscathed. The Wild tried to answer back with a chance of their own as Mikko Koivu set up Jason Zucker for an open shot as he tee’d up a slap shot from in close as Schneider blocked it aside. The missed opportunity would be paid with more misfortune as the Devils found the back of the net as Helgesen got off a low lying shot that skipped off the ice before it was redirected further by the stick of Tuomo Ruutu and by a surprised Kuemper. 1-0 New Jersey. The pattern of teasing the Wild only to boomerang into pain continued a few minutes later as Mikael Granlund fired a shot off the face off that rang off the crossbar and then off the back of Schneider and was rolling towards the goal line before it was saved by the Devils’ goalie. The Devils would counter attack and after a few failed clearing attempts by the Wild, Jaromir Jagr moved in and fired a wrist shot that Kuemper stopped but he couldn’t control the rebound and Cammalleri swung a shot that went off the skate of Jonathon Blum and in. 2-0 Devils. The Wild would try to answer back with some excellent scoring chances as Pominville set up Vanek on a short break away but his backhander would be stonewalled by Schneider. Moments after that, the line of Koivu, Coyle and Zucker combined for a great chance as Coyle fed a pass out front that Coyle waved at. Nate Prosser would sneak down low as he pounced on the loose puck but was denied by a sprawling save by Schneider. The failed chance made one worry if it was going to boomerang once again in the Devils’ favor. A late tripping penalty on Jonathon Blum (should’ve been on Kuemper) seemed to be confirmation of more Wild misfortune coming. The Wild’s penalty killers were again solid and Minnesota would go into the 2nd intermission just trailing by two. It was a frustrating period for the Wild who seem to have 3-4 forwards that are really trying and lot of guys waiting for someone to step up with a big play.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild would kill the remaining 4 seconds of Blum’s penalty. Once back at even strength the Wild went on the attack and they’d draw an early penalty as Steve Bernier would be called for cross checking. The Wild did very little with the man advantage as a point shot by Suter was redirected by Vanek wide of the mark. Then Minnesota would negate their own penalty as Charlie Coyle would get frustrated off his own faceoff loss and he’d high stick Jacob Josefson in the face earning him a double minor for high sticking. This would give the Devils a long power play. Ironically the team would get an offensive spark from its penalty kill as Ryan Carter chased down a puck in the Devils zone and he swung a quick shot on goal that snuck by Schneider as it went off his leg pad and in. It was a simple but smart play by Carter, but whether it would lead to a rally was hard to say. Either way, 2-1 game now. The Wild would kill off the rest of the power play as the home crowd seemed to be stunned by Carter’s shorthanded tally. Just a few minutes after killing off the long Devils’ power play, the Wild would go back on the penalty kill as Dainus Zubrus had a pretty dive. Yet it was only Koivu that would be called for tripping and Minnesota went back on the kill. On the penalty kill the Wild completely frustrated the Devils, with good play along the boards and hustle to take away passing lanes. The Wild would gain momentum as they got the big kill, and the Wild would draw a penalty of their own as Jason Zucker was tripped up by Josefson. On the power play the Wild were keeping it simple and doing all they could to get pucks on net quickly and with regularity. Coyle would set up Granlund on a nice feed from beneath the goal line but the Finnish wunderkind couldn’t manage to get it through Schneider. The Wild just couldn’t seem to create the friendly deflection as they tried again and again. Minnesota was juggling its lines hoping some combination would catch fire. Vanek would find himself set up on another partial break away and instead of pulling the trigger he’d pass it across to Erik Haula who was stonewalled by a fine post-to-post save by Schneider. A few minutes later, Vanek would set up Kyle Brodziak for a chance on the door step that was paddled away by Schneider before the Brodziak slid into the goal. The Devils would counter attack and Jagr would set up Cammalleri for a quick shot that he rang off the post. Minnesota was playing desperate and when you do that you sometimes make poor decisions. This time it was Scandella who had broken his stick decided to kick at a puck in the middle of a line change instead of just heading to the bench giving Minnesota a ‘too many men’ penalty. The Wild would take their timeout to discuss strategy with just over 50 seconds left in regulation. It wasn’t meant to be as the Wild sent the puck deep and pulled Kuemper for an extra attacker and the Devils quickly countered and Travis Zajac sealed it with an empty netter, 3-1 New Jersey.
Darcy Kuemper was just reasonable, making 20 saves in the loss. He kept the game close enough for the Wild to have a chance and that’s all you can really ask. Defensively I felt the Wild were much better with Prosser and Blum, as they were not nearly as turnover prone. The Wild’s lone silver lining of the evening not only shut down the Devils power play but also tallied the shorthanded goal that nearly sparked a rally for the team. One player who had a really rough night was Marco Scandella who is simply trying to do too much out there. He needs to simplify his game, as his erratic play cost the Wild with 6 PIM’s.
Offensively the team had 3-4 players really working hard and lots of guys just going through the motions. The Head Coach won’t call them out but I will. Charlie Coyle has to pick up his game and I don’t care if he’s lacking confidence or not but he’s got to take his chances to shoot the puck. Thomas Vanek had some nice feeds but he too needs to be more of a factor in shots on goal. Especially with Zach Parise out of the lineup, Vanek should not settle for anything less than 5-6 shots on goal per game. 3 isn’t going to get it done. Mikael Granlund probably should’ve had a goal tonight with his shot off the crossbar, but he too needs to be more of a factor offensively as he was last year in Parise’s absence. Nino Niederreiter is the last player I’m going to call out as he too seemed to be waiting for someone else to make a play instead of doing what he normally does and take the initiative to create some space with some speed and then rifle a shot on goal. The Wild cannot afford passengers in its line up. The team has also partially abandoned its puck possession game, and that has led to a lot of one-and-done rushes up the ice. I am glad to see Ryan Carter awarded for his hard work with his shorthanded goal and that is the result of playing a simple game. His teammates would be wise to copy it.
The truth is, the Wild lost to an opponent who was playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back, having lost the night before and riding a 4-game losing streak. The Wild could’ve probably taken this game if it would’ve buried some of its early chances which would’ve sent the Devils’ confidence spiraling once again. Instead they finish the period tied and then the Wild relax and give up two in the 2nd after failing on some prime scoring chances of their own. Predictably, Mike Yeo was pretty despondent after the game when he told reporters, “I think we’ve forgotten how hard you have to work to win in this league. Collectively we all need to be better.” He added, “we’re giving them goals, we’re the ones that are going to get us out of this.” Very true, and with the Wild’s season in a tailspin having lost its last 4 games its sort of ironic with all the negativity swirling around the team that the Buffalo Sabres come to town. Last season the Wild reversed their fortunes in a game against a sad-sack Buffalo squad that may have spared Yeo his job. In my opinion, the Wild better be ready for a tough game because they all are tough with the way this team is playing right now.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild’s lineup was the following: Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, Justin Fontaine, Ryan Carter, Stephane Veilleux, Kyle Brodziak, Ryan Suter, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin, Keith Ballard, Nate Prosser and Jonathon Blum. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Mathew Dumba and Christian Folin were the healthy scratches. Zach Parise is still recovering from concussion symptoms.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Cory Schneider, 2nd Mike Cammalleri, 3rd Star Jaromir Jagr
~ Attendance was 14,256 at Prudential Center.
Iowa Wild Report:
Record: 2-10 Last in the Western Conference
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #10 Jordan Schroeder ~ 4G 7A = 11pts
2. #29 Marc Hagel ~ 5G 2A = 7pts
3. #36 Michael Keranen ~ 3G 4A = 7pts
4. #4 Tyler Graovac ~ 1G 6A = 7pts
5. #27 Brett Sutter ~ 1G 6A = 7pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #41 Stu Bickel ~ 30 PIM’s
2. #39 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 26 PIM’s
3. #13 Kurt Gogol ~ 21 PIM’s
Top Goaltender:
1. #31 Johan Gustafsson (2-6-0) 3.70GAA .884%SP
Recent Score: Iowa 1, Chicago 5
It is getting ugly in Iowa. The Wild have the least points (4) of any team in the AHL. In their most recent game against Chicago on Sunday you could see a similar story unfold. The team finds itself down early as the Wolves scored twice in the first as Chris Butler and Rob Bordson scored. The Wild tried to rally back in the second but could seem to find a way to solve Jordan Binnington. The Wild would give goals to Shane Harper and Bordson’s 2nd goal on the power play to give the Wolves a commanding 4-0 lead. Late in the 2nd period the Wild had a long 5-on-3 power play but thanks to some shot blocking and a few missed shots they’d come up empty. Iowa would finally light the lamp with a little under 3 minutes left to play as Zack Mitchell tapped home a puck on the power play to cut the Wolves’ lead to 5-1. The Wolves would add one last goal with just two seconds left to seal a 5-1 victory. Johan Gustafsson had 26 saves in the loss. The loss also prompted the club to fire Head Coach Kurt Kleinendorst and replace him with John Torchetti. John Torchetti was the Houston Aeros bench boss from 2011-13.
Wild Prospect Report:
D – Louie Belpedio (Miami, NCHC) ~ The dynamic defenseman is just part of the Red Hawks’ resurgence, but at least he’s contributing as he chipped in a goal in Miami’s 5-1 win over Colorado College on Saturday night. Belpedio has 3 goals, 4 points and 2 PIM’s in 10 games.
D – Dylan Labbe (Shawinigan, QMJHL) ~ The Cataractes blueliner had a solid day on Sunday where he added a goal and two assists and two hits in Shawingan’s 5-1 win over Chicoutimi. Labbe has 4 goals, 12 points, 15 PIM’s and is a +1 in 19 games this season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
