Cliches go with professional sports like peanut butter and jelly or steak and eggs. Its just natural and quite common. Athletes, coaches and upper management officials do not hesitate to trot out these tried and tired remarks whenever it suits them to sum up a losing streak, the poor play of (insert athlete here) or what is needed to be done to turn their fortunes around. Cliches are so overused, I must admit I often tune out during player or coach interviews that take place during intermissions or halftime as they’re often nothing more than bland discussion of a few lame cliches about what their team needs to do next. It is always refreshing to hear a player or coach avoid those easy ways out, and offer up a candid and honest answer. That can occasionally be uncomfortable for an interviewer, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks could relate after he was shredded by Rangers’ Head Coach John Tortorella. Want some good hockey quotes over the years? How about this gem by former St. Paul Saints (WHA) bench boss and current NHL broadcaster Harry Neale? “I know my players don’t like my practises, but that’s ok because I don’t like their games.” Or how about this nugget by Minnesota hockey legend John Marriucci to the U.S. Olympic team after a poor practice, “Every day you guys look worse and worse. And today you played like tomorrow.” And lastly this quote from ‘Mr. Hockey’ himself, Gordie Howe, “All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.” It certainly is tough to argue with that.
So what will the players, coaches and fans be saying after tonight’s game against the up and coming Los Angeles Kings? The Kings have had the Wild’s number the last few seasons. In many ways they play a style of game that the Wild wish to play, up-tempo with a strong and physical forecheck. With its plethora of fast young forwards and very well rounded blueline that can both overwhelm you with offense and stifle you defensively. This may not be the ideal way to start a 5-game homestand, but its the hand the Wild have been dealt. And to quote Todd Bertuzzi after the infamous incident involving Steve Moore, “It is what it is.” We shall see which Wild team shows up tonight; the one that provides lots of glowing commentary or your lineup of regular excuses for failure.
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The game started out with some physicaliy early as Eric Nystrom delivered a big hit early, but the Kings would counter attack as big blast from the point by former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell. Minnesota answered back with some good offensive pressure of its own as the Wild nearly got on the scoreboard with some great work near the crease culminating in a blast by Nick Schultz that didn’t miss by much as Jonathan Quick defended his crease. Los Angeles would respond immediately and they nearly capitalized on a pretty play between Brad Richardson who dished a pass to Dustin Brown who was shoved to the ice by Clayton Stoner just before he could pull the trigger on a shot taken from near the right post but his desperation move would earn him a penalty. The Wild’s penalty kill was very solid in shutting down the Kings’ power play by using good active sticks and taking away the shooting lanes and forcing Los Angeles to the perimeter. When the Kings did manage to fire a shot on goal, Niklas Backstrom was there to absorb the biscuit and fore a whistle. Minnesota would give up another close-in chance as Jarrett Stoll nearly cashed in only to be denied by a toe save by Backstrom. The action was back and forth and Minnesota would light the lamp first as some an excellent hustle by Cal Clutterbuck would allow for him to chip a pass back to Clayton Stoner who hammered a shot from the point that Quick stopped but John Madden was near the crease to pounce on the rebound as he lifted it over the sprawling Kings goaltender to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later the Wild would add to its lead after Mikko Koivu worked the puck along the boards, passing it out to the point where Nick Schultz stepped into a slap shot that beat Quick cleanly to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead. Minnesota would follow up its goal with its energy line who continued to deliver the hits to the Kings and Kyle Clifford did not like a hit he recieved from Brad Staubitz and he vainly tried to goad the Wild tough-guy into a fight that he would not accept and ended up earning a roughing penalty instead. The Wild’s power play struggled early, as the Kings nearly cashed in on a shorthanded goal as Michal Handzus set up new teammate Alexei Ponikarovsky who found some space behind the Wild defense as he raced in on a breakaway before being stonewalled by Backstrom. Minnesota would re-group and Brent Burns would dangle around a few Kings’ defenders before rifling a wrist shot that was shut down by Quick before it was cleared out of the Los Angeles zone. The Kings would again take advantage of Minnesota pinching a little too much and they would have another 2-on-1 as Handzus’ pass was stopped by a diving play by Marek Zidlicky and Los Angeles would kill off the man advantage. The Wild would struggle as the Kigns used its collection of bid bodied forwards to create some havoc along the boards and they’d draw an interference penalty on Burns. On their 2nd power play the Wild looked fatigued and simply seemed content to let Jack Johnson take his best shot from the point as a series of his blasts missed wide of the mark. Some of the shots would get uncomfortably close but none found space behind Niklas Backstrom and Minnesota would escape unscathed on the man advantage. The Kings would go right back on the attck, and Minnesota would get lazy and again find themselves in penalty trouble as Koivu gets tagged with a tripping minor giving Los Angeles yet another power play. The Los Angeles would again attempt to work the puck to the point where Jack Johnson would unload slappers on goal and Backstrom was up to the task and stop him, but the Kings would work the puck to Stoll who ripped a wicked wrister underneath the crossbar to cut the Wild lead to one, 2-1. Minnesota would earn a little sympathy as Nick Schultz drew a holding call on Ponikarovsky; however the man advantage would be very short, just 8 seconds as Guillaume Latendresse would “hook” Anze Kopitar who fell down by a hook that normally wouldn’t knock over a feather. With both teams at 4-on-4 neither was able to get an advantage and the Wild would carry a 2-1 lead into the 2nd period.
The 2nd period would start with both teams at 4-on-4 as Anze Kopitar used his frame to protect the puck before delivering a pass to Jack Johnson who wasted little time blasting a shot on goal that was stopped by Backstrom but the rebound was picked up by Dustin Brown who turned and fired a shot that was absorbed by Backstrom. The Kings were winning the races tot he loose pucks and the Wild were chasing all over its own zone as they struggled against the strong Los Angeles forecheck. Los Angeles was firing long range shots that were not really dangerous but they always had someone following the puck to the goal waiting for a rebound. The puck control of the Kings was impressive, as Los Angeles led charge after charge driving shots on goal and looking for rebounds as Minnesota’s defense was having great difficulty from keeping the white and purple clad team from the Wild crease. It was sort of like a game of Battleship where their attempts were getting closer and closer and you knew it was just a matter of time before they struck. You could see a look of concern beginning to grow on Wild Head Coach Todd Richards‘ face. In a short interview given to Versus Richards indicated he felt his team was creating their own problems. I have to agree. The Wild’s positioning was poor as they were nearly running into each other in their own zone and this nearly led to a Ryan Smyth goal that was deflected up into the netting by Backstrom who could now sue his teammates for a lack of support. With the game beginning to look like a prolonged Los Angeles power play the Wild finally got out of their zone as they attempted to get out of their zone Eric Nystrom was up ended by Kopitar that led to a chorus of boo’s from the Xcel Energy Center. Just moments later, the Wild would earn a long and surprising power play after the Kings’ captain Dustin Brown was tagged with an elbowing major and a game misconduct for a hit he gave Antti Miettinen as he pulled the trigger on a slapper during a rare Minnesota 3-on-2. It was an interesting call, but the correct one. This would give the Wild a long 5-minute power play. Minnesota would work the puck down low to Brunette who tried to whack a shot by Quick but he stopped him with leg pad save. The Wild continued to look for the bang-bang play as Mikko Koivu moved in fired a shot that Quick stopped and the puck would rebound back out to the slot where Brent Burns ripped a shot wide of the mark failing to take advantage of a sprawling Kings goalie. The Kings penalty kill was working well to take away the passing and shooting lanes, and challenging the Wild puck carriers and this was making life difficult for the Minnesota power play. Los Angeles was still winning the races to the puck despite being a man down and the Wild power play looked out of sync. In the closing seconds of the power play you could hear a few boo’s from the crowd as they realized the Wild missed on a giant opportunity to pace themselves from the Kings who had to feel some momentum after surviving that 5-minute ordeal with any more damage to their cause. Soon after the failed Wild power play, karma would visit the State of Hockey as Brad Staubitz was tagged with an interference penalty as Kyle Clifford smirked as he made his way to the sin bin and the Wild enforcer would exchange a few words with the youngster before he got there. The Kings were sharp on the power play and they nearly cashed in as Andrei Loktionov shoveling a shot that went off the side of the goal before it was cleared the length of the ice. Minnesota’s defense was doing a good job of helping their goaltender by clearing away the the nasty rebounds that loomed dangerously near the Wild crease. A perfect example of what could happen if the Wild were not vigilant came moments later as a long range shot by Hudson, Wisconsin-native Davis Drewiske caromed off the back boards and out to Justin Williams who flung a quick shot that caught the right post and out. A few moments later the Wild would try to counter attack, attempting to take advantage of the Kigns penchant for sending a 3rd man in on the forecheck and they nearly caught them as Mikko Koivu worked a pass to Nick Schultz who was attempting to help out before he was leveled in the slot by Matt Greene. The Wild’s 2nd line would finalyl create some offensive pressure as Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat set up Matt Cullen who ripped a shot just high over the Kings net, banging the post as he skated by. They tried to gather up the loose puck but were unable to get another shot on goal as Los Angeles went back on the attack. A strange play by Justin Williams would have Minnesota’s defense scrambling as the puck worked its way out to a wide open Ryan Smyth who basically had an open net to shoot at but his shot was deflected away by a desperate play by Latendresse who somehow managed to make the giant save with the blade of his stick. Minnesota would get flagged with a boarding call on Eric Nystrom. With Minnesota a man down they would challenge the Kings who continued to move well and they managed to draw another Wild penalty, a hooking call on Mikko Koivu to get a long 5-on-3. Los Angeles would take advantage of the opportunity as Anze Kopitar tied up John Madden on the faceoff and the puck would be drawn back to Jack Johnson who wound up and uncorked a slapper that Backstrom stopped and the rebound would flutter out to Kopitar who snapped a quick shot just above the arm of the sprawling Wild goaltender to tie the game 2-2. The goal was very timely as it gave the Kings nearly full 5-on-4 power play to work with to start the 3rd period.
Both teams would exhibit alot of energy to start the 3rd period as Minnesota was moving its feet well and forced the Kings into an early penalty to negate the Los Angeles power play as Jack Johnson was called for tripping up Mikko Koivu. The teams were trading hits, and the overall pace of the game began to resemble the first period as the action seemed to go from end to end. A nice little sequence by Martin Havlat nearly turned into a goal for Guillaume Latendresse who missed wide on the pretty set up. The Wild was showing a willingness to battle along the boards as you could sense as though they were challenged during the 2nd intermission to pick up their physical play. A shift that typified this perfectly was a hard working effort by the 4th line of Staubitz, Chuck Kobasew and Kyle Brodziak who followed up a blocked Brodziak wrist shot by taking the puck to the net where Quick pounced to cover up the biscuit with a collection of Wild forwards battlign near his crease. The Kings were taking their chances, where they did their best to create traffic in front of Backstrom as they attempted long range shots and Backstrom made a few saves at the last second. Eric Nystrom would give the fans of Xcel Energy Center to gasp a bit as he got a little behind the Kings defense where he dangled around one defender before pushing a backhand shot that was steered aside by Quick. A few minutes later, Cal Clutterbuck nearly went end to end as he raced into the Kings zone where he blasted a slapper that missed wide but he followed up the shot and got to the net with a quick rebound chance that Quick closed down. The Kings would attempt to answer back with some good hustle from Brad Richardson who fired a shot that was stopped but he kept jamming at it while Backstrom covered up for a whistle. Minnesota was looking to create scoring chances whenever the opportunity presented itself as the top line was able to create a few shooting opportunities that never made it on goal as Miettinen and Koivu unloaded slap shots high and wide of the goal. The play would get a little sloppy as both teams were looking for a cheap goal as they were just flipping pucks deep into the zone hoping to get a lucky bounce to set up a nice scoring chance. Minnesota would take its timeout with just 17 seconds left to give some of its players a rest for the final few moments of regulation. Wild assistant coach Rick Wilson would lead the teaching for this moment of the game. The lesson did not work too well as Jarrett Stoll won the faceoff cleanly from John Madden and he ended up pulling the trigger on a quick wrist shot that was deflected up into the netting. The Wild would get a little lucky since they brought the faceoff out of the Wild’s zone and Minnesota would win the draw and the final seconds would evaporate sending the game to overtime.
With a point earned in the standings the Wild would start with Miettinen, Koivu, Schultz and Burns for the start of overtime. Minnesota would again find itself chasing the Kings as Jack Johnson blasted a shot on goal that was stopped by Backstrom. The Wild was trying to stickhandle too much and thus it was depriving itself of potential scoring chances as the Kings appeared to have more jump in their skates. Perhaps the best scoring chance of overtime for the Wild was a heavy wrister by Cullen which was blocked aside by Quick, and the Kings countered with Ryan Smyth who hammered a shot on goal that floated up into the air and behind Backstrom that he turned and stopped it just before it could cross the goal line. The boo’s were out as the Wild wasted away the last 20 seconds of overtime, content to play for a shootout.
In the shootout the Wild elected to have the Kings shoot first. The Kings’ first shooter was Anze Kopitar and the slick skating Slovenian moved in wide right and he put a quick deke on Backstrom before beating him 5-hole with a sneaky backhand to give Los Angeles the early shootout lead. Minnesota’s first shooter was Mikko Koivu, and he would take a similar wide right approach as he’d pull of a wicked forehand to backhand deke as he lifted a shot over the sprawling Kings goalie to tie the shootout at 1-1. The next shooter had a bit of a bizarre thing happen to him as the review of Koivu’s goal would delay Jack Johnson’s attempt. The former Shattuck-St. Mary’s star would race in with speed where he fired a wrist shot that was denied by Backstrom with his blocker. Minnesota’s next shooter was Matt Cullen who started out with speed but nearly slowed to a stop before rifiling a wrist shot by Quick stick side to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. The Kings next shooter was Jarret Stoll who raced in and he unloaded a wicked wrister that went underneath the crossbar and in to tie the shootout at two apiece. The Wild’s next shooter with a chance to win the game was Marek Zidlicky and the Wild defenseman moved in where he tried to fire a wrister by Quick who got just a piece of it with his glove to steer it wide keeping the Kings in the game. The Kings’ next shooter was Justin Williams, who would take a wide left approach before firing a wrist shot that was missed wide right. This gave Wild another chance to win the game and Minnesota went with Brent Burns. The fast moving defenseman did not show much refinement as he skated to about even with the faceoff dots before blasting heavy wrist high and wide of the goal, it was a pathetic attempt. Los Angeles’ next shooter was Michal Handzus and the savvy veteran moved in, lured Backstrom into an ill-advised poke check and he quickly deked around it for an easy goal with the forehand to give the Kings a 3-2 shootout lead. This put all the pressure on Antti Miettinen to keep the Wild in the game, and he’d skate in where he’d attempt a backhand to forehand deke but he was unable to wrap the puck by the outstretched leg pad of Jonathan Quick and Minnesota would fall 3-2.
This one really hurt, as Niklas Backstrom was fairly solid making 32 saves in the shootout loss. While one could possibly criticise him for his struggles in the shootout he kept Minnesota in the game when for the most part they were dominated by the Kings. Defensively the Wild did provide some good support to deny the Kings from having too many 2nd chance opportunities but they were not very good at breaking up the cycle resulting in Los Angeles operating with near impunity in the Minnesota zone. The ability of the Kings to consistently win races for the loose pucks and along the boards and this is what got the Wild into penalty trouble. Those penalties allowed the Kings to get the equalizer and the Wild need to realize they can’t put a talented team on the power play time after time.
Offensively the Wild did not cash in on its opportunities, most notably a 5:00 power play. The power play which had been a huge trump card for the Wild appears to have dried up. It lacked creaitivity, flow and was terribly inconsistent and never seemed to put the Kings on their heels. They were able to control the Wild’s shooting and passing lanes which allowed Jonathan Quick a clear view of the puck. Minnesota still struggled to do much of anything 5-on-5 and for whatever reason seemed to abandon their formula which worked early to set up scoring chances off a blast from the point. After going up 2-0, the Kings simply appeared to want it more outshooting the Wild nearly 2-to-1 and it looked as though Minnesota was holding on as early as the latter half of the 1st period.
The Wild cannot expect to have many leads on quality teams like the Kings, and to blow an opportunity to beat them and earn two points hurts big time. The Wild must make this homestand count and while earning a mercy point may offer some consolation, Minnesota must really feel as though they let one get away from them. It won’t get any easier as they face the high powered Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Matt Cullen, Martin Havlat, Eric Nystrom, Cal Clutterbuck, John Madden, Chuck Kobasew, Brad Staubitz, Guillaume Latendresse, Brent Burns, Greg Zanon, Justin Falk, Clayton Stoner, Nick Schultz and Marek Zidlicky. Jose Theodore backed up Niklas Backstrom between the pipes for the Wild. Cam Barker and Chuck Kobasew are out with nagging injuries while Pierre-Marc Bouchard has finally been given permission to skate in team scrimmages where they are allowed to hit so his return seems imminent.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let’s Play Hockey were: 1st Star Michal Handzus, 2nd Star Niklas Backstrom, 3rd Star Anze Kopitar
~ Attendance for tonight’s game was 17,094, meaning the Wild have had only one sellout this season thus far. Ouch.
~ The State of Hockey News would like to congratulate former Wild draft pick Kyle Wilson who scored his first NHL goal tonight with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Oakville, Ontario-native was selected by Minnesota in the 9th round of the 2004 Entry Draft. The Wild decided not to sign him after his 4-year college career at Colgate University came to an end. Great move Wild!
Houston Aeros Report:
Current Record: 7GP (2-4-1) 5 pts Last place in West Division
It has not been a great start for new Aeros Head Coach Mike Yeo as Houston quickly finds itself mired in last place in the West Division. After a good initial start, breakdowns and a lack of offense has conspired to regulate it near the bottom of the American Hockey League for a 2nd straight season thus far. It is also clear that the fans in Houston are starting to tire of the Aeros’ losing ways and are starting to blame the management of the Minnesota Wild who owns the club for not providing enough offensive workhorses to put a winner on the ice. You can get a taste of the Aeros’ fans ire about this season right here.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hki/aeros/7251406.html
Its tough to argue against their frustration but that is the life of being a minor league fan. It doesn’t matter what sport; if it has a minor league system it is unusual for high performing guys to stick around all that long especially if the main club is struggling because they will be looking to the farm team for answers first. Should the Wild have added a “ringer” to carry the scoring while the kids developed? Maybe, but so far in the Wild’s history that hasn’t shown itself to help Minnesota all that much. When the team was led by AHL scoring machines Jean-Guy Trudel, Erik Westrum, Kirby Law, Hnat Domenichelli, and Corey Locke what prospects really took their game to another level? Patrick O’Sullivan and that really is about it and he never skated in a single regular season game for the Wild. The fact of the matter is if the young players are going to develop they’re going to have be given an opportunity to play. Some of these young players like Joel Broda and Casey Wellman are showing some reasonable offensive potential. They may not be the super offensive workhorses but they’ll never be if they play behind veterans all of the time. The point of sending young players to the minors is so they’ll develop with an increased amount of ice time than they’d recieve with the Wild. Here are how the top scorers and goaltenders shakedown for the Aeros.
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #62 Jean-Michel Daoust ~ 2G 3A = 5pts
2. #23 Petr Kalus ~ 3G 1A = 4pts
3. #12 Cody Almond ~ 0G 4A = 4pts
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Matthew Hackett (2-2-0) 2.96GAA .906%SP
2. #30 Anton Khudobin (0-3-0) 2.31GAA .926%SP
In their most recent game, the Aeros squandered a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd period as they were ambushed 3-2 by the Lake Erie Monsters Sunday afternoon. Growing pains are part of having a young team, but without question Wild fans will be hoping to see those late-game letdowns eliminated by season’s end. Coach Mike Yeo will likely be judged by Wild fans mostly over how well he is able to develop prospects like Colton Gillies, Marco Scandella, Nate Prosser, Casey Wellman, Cody Almond and Matt Hackett more than wins and losses.
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