Respect, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘a feeling or understanding that something or someone is important, serious, etc and should be treated in an appropriate way.’ Wild fans expected to see the team treated with some respect after crushing the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-2 on Saturday night. Yet if you watched Hockey Night in Canada‘s late-night highlights show you’d be hard pressed to hear anything about the game. Discussing the miserable Toronto Maple Leafs or the Calgary Flames was far more important. In fact, the HNIC late-night crew of George Stroumboupoulos, Nick Kypreos, Kelly Hrudey, and Elliotte Friedman spent more time discussing how many game-winning goals Kypreos had then the Wild’s game. They didn’t even bother to show the final score or post the statistics as they did with most other games. Apparently the Wild haven’t earned that level of respect yet.
The Wild now head east for a two-game road trip to play against two traditional powers of the Eastern Conference in defending conference champion New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. Maybe if the Wild can pull off two strong road games the team will get a little respect from the Eastern Conference-favoring pundits out there like the HNIC crew. So will the Wild ‘earn’ a little more respect by defeating the New York Rangers?
1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota had good pressure to start the game as Jason Pominville directed a shot on goal taken from beneath the goal line that surprised Henrik Lundqvist but the puck would skitter through the blue paint harmlessly. The Wild’s top line of Pominville, Mikael Granlund, and Zach Parise to cause a little trouble on the forecheck as Granlund set up Pominville for a quick chance but he fanned on the puck. The Rangers were patient, waiting for the right moment to start applying pressure. That moment was when the Wild’s 3rd defensive pairing of Nate Prosser and Mathew Dumba were on the ice as they tried to pressure them into a giveaway. The pairing stayed calm initially and didn’t give into the pressure. Both teams were making things difficult through the neutral zone, not allowing much in the way of clean entries. Even though there was not a lot of flow, the Wild were actually able to create more offensive chances. The Rangers’ did not register their first shot until almost 3 minutes into the game when Martin St. Louis fed a pass over to Lee Stempniak that was snagged out of the air by the glove of Darcy Kuemper. Minnesota would get some excellent forechecking pressure from its 2nd line of Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle as they kept the Rangers bottled up in their own end. Coyle tried to find a small target short side only to have it denied by Lundqvist who hugged the post. The Wild would continue to cause problems for the Rangers on the forecheck and their hustle would draw the first penalty of the game as Justin Fontaine was hauled down by Marc Staal. The Wild had a lot of trouble entering the Rangers’ zone at first, but once they got set up they were able to work the puck over to Pominville for a big shot from the point that missed wide. Minnesota had better movement from its 2nd unit filled with mostly younger players as some hard work ended up resulting in a good chance for Jared Spurgeon but his wrist shot was gloved by Lundqvist and the power play would come up empty again. 0-for-21. The Wild would dodge a few near misses of their own a few minutes later as Mathew Dumba coughed up the puck against Martin St. Louis which turned into two prime chances for Rick Nash from in close. Minnesota counter attacked by pressing the attack with its defenseman as Pominville dropped a pass back to Marco Scandella who rifled a shot on goal that was stopped by Lundqvist but before Pominville could pounce on the rebound he was hooked by Kevin Klein. On the power play, the old men unit was out there first but slow puck movement and some predictable decision-making made it possible for the Rangers’ to break up shooting and passing lanes. Still the Wild’s power play was able to get shots on goal as Scandella blasted a nice diagonal pass from Granlund that was denied by Lundqvist. Minnesota would have a scary moment late in the period as Jonas Brodin was shoved into the boards face first by a dangerous hit from behind by Chris Kreider. Kreider would rightfully be given a 5-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct. Brodin had to be helped off the ice by the Wild’s Head Athletic Trainer Don Fuller. Kreider extended his arms and made contact with his lower back and Brodin fell into the boards awkwardly, on a hit that was completely unnecessary. The Wild had a reasonable 1st period, outshooting the Rangers 13 to 5. I thought Mathew Dumba looked a little suspect with the puck, but I thought Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella both had great period’s at starting the Wild’s attack up the ice efficiently and helping Minnesota overwhelm the Rangers with puck pursuit. You can judge the hit for yourself here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WEMWbNNc2w]2nd Period Thoughts: Minnesota would start the period with 4:45 left in Kreider’s major penalty. Predictably the Wild started with its ‘old man’ group and they were as one would expect, slow and methodical and utterly predictable. The puck movement was slow and they were unable to get much of anything going other than occupying nearly 2-minutes on the ice and getting very little accomplished. Just as the old men were working the puck down low, Zach Parise would fall to the ice for a puck and then get an inadvertent stick to the face thanks to the Wild’s captain who lifted the stick of Marc Staal right into his face. Parise was bleeding profusely from the laceration we couldn’t really see on the TV replay. The Wild still had 3 minutes of power play time and now with the youngsters on the ice, the team was unable to generate much in the way of the shots. Finally with just about 1 minute remaining on the power play, Pominville was stopped at point-blank-range by Lundqvist. Minnesota kept hustling trying to generate another significant scoring opportunity but all they could manage was a weak shot from the point by Spurgeon. Another power play without a goal, 0-for-23. The Wild would finally find the back of the net as Justin Fontaine found a crashing Nate Prosser with a nice diagonal pass that he just managed to tap through the wickets of Lundqvist. 1-0 Wild. With the Rangers still reeling a bit from Prosser’s goal they’d strike again as the Rangers’ defense would get caught out of position and Fontaine fed a pass to Matt Cooke on the doorstep for an easy tap in, 2-0 Wild. With the home crowd more than a little anxious after Minnesota’s two quick goals the Wild continue to apply pressure. Minnesota would nearly cash in again as Nino Niederreiter stole a pass in the neutral zone where he dropped a pass back to Erik Haula who ripped a heavy snap shot just wide of the mark before getting a vicious elbow to the head (well after the shot was taken) by John Moore that had him lying face down on the ice. Moore was given a well-deserved match penalty for elbowing Haula to the head. Wild Head Athletic trainer Don Fuller who had already helped Brodin and Parise to the locker room escorted a dazed Haula off the ice. This gave Minnesota another 5-minute power play. On the power play, the Wild were forced to use a mix of its old and young groups. The result was a slightly more dynamic unit but in the all important area of burying their chances they were just as snakebitten. The Wild had a hard time getting clean looks at the net; beyond a few big slap shots by Pominville that missed wide. Minnesota would call its lone timeout with 1:43 left in the man advantage but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. So despite another 5-minutes on the man advantage they’d come up empty, now 0-for-25 on the power play. Luckily the Wild seemed to pick up their game once they were at even strength. The Rangers would finally get a quality scoring chance as Carl Hagelin found a little space but he’d be stonewalled by a fine glove save by Kuemper. Minnesota would counter attack with its top line as Granlund set up Pominville who fired a laser of a shot by Lundqvist, 3-0 Wild. The Wild would go on the penalty kill for the first time thanks to a little snow shower provided by Nino Niederreiter earning him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Rangers’ power play used some physical play as Rick Nash received a pass and knocked down Jared Spurgeon with ease as he threaded a cross-ice pass to Martin St. Louis who was stoned by a great stop by Kuemper. New York’s power play was reduced for settling for a blast from the point by Stempniak which was dismissed by Kuemper and cleared by Scandella. The Wild killed off the penalty without too much trouble. Minnesota would go back on the attack and again it was the top line causing some trouble as Scandella hammered a shot on goal that was kicked away by a surprised Lundqvist. The period would end with the anxious Madison Square Garden crowd a bit upset at their team and probably the officiating even though the major penalty calls were pretty legit. The Wild outshot the Rangers 11 to 3 in the period. Outstanding periods for Justin Fontaine and Jason Pominville. I thought Vanek looked lethargic and ineffective on the power plays. If we’re not going to use him in a shooting role, why sign him? John Moore better earn a suspension for that pointless hit on Haula, that is precisely the kind of hit to the head the league is trying to phase out altogether. If there is any silver lining is that Zach Parise (sporting a wicked zipper just under the right side of his nose) and Jonas Brodin managed to return to the bench prior to the end of the period.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild seemed content to defend its 3-goal lead to start the 3rd period. Minnesota was just shadowing the Rangers around the ice and inviting them to take the play to them. The passive stance would result in the Rangers’ first goal as Kevin Klein hammered a low-lying shot that fooled Kuemper and it cut the Wild’s lead to two, 3-1. Even after Klein’s goal the Wild seemed very cautious as they advanced the puck up the ice. The top line would finally create a little trouble for the Rangers in the offensive zone as Parise tried to set up Pominville but he couldn’t tap it home. Then moments after that it was Granlund passing a puck back to Parise that was knocked out of the air by Parise and as the puck bounced on the ice Lundqvist was forced to make a save on Parise. The Rangers’ would counter attack and it was Rick Nash potting a goal right in front of the Wild crease. Momentum was clearly tilting in the Rangers’ favor, and the 3rd line would come up with a huge shift in response. After some great hustle by Jason Zucker to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone, they’d cash in as Suter passed it to Niederreiter who pulled the trigger on a quick shot that was redirected by Zucker by Lundqvist to make it 4-2 Wild. The goal took the wind out of the home crowd’s sails and the Wild seemed to resume its control over the Rangers for the time being. The even keel feeling would not last long as the Rangers would cut the lead back to one as some relaxed d-zone coverage created in part due to a poor play of the puck by Kuemper led to Carl Hagelin being left alone in the slot for a quick shot which he rang off the cross bar but Derick Brassard was there to tap home the puck to make it 4-3. The Rangers were sensing blood in the water and were looking to get in on the forecheck and work the puck out front. Yet their aggressive play was providing the Wild with opportunities for Minnesota to counterpunch. After a failed centering pass the Wild raced up the ice in a 2-on-1 between Pominville and Suter. Pominville saucered it across to Suter who deflected a puck on goal that was fought off by Lundqvist. The Rangers were taking any chance they had to direct the puck towards the goal and hoping for a lucky bounce and Kuemper had to stay alert. The Wild were clearly in rope-a-dope, trying to keep its shifts short and working the puck deep whenever they could to force the Rangers to move the puck up the full-length of the ice. One player who was very solid was Marco Scandella who made nice plays with the stick and some solid physical play. Unfortunately, it was all for not, the Rangers were persistent and Anthony Duclair would tie the game on his first NHL goal as he got of a heavy wrist shot that snuck by Kuemper who seemed to be a little off on his angle. 4-4 now, and the Rangers was feeling all the momentum in the world and they’d get the go-ahead goal just about 30 seconds later as a deep dump in was tracked down by Brassard who worked the puck out front where it was snapped home by Mats Zuccarello. 5-4 Rangers. This would mean desperation time for the Wild as they tried to claw its way back into the game. Minnesota would pull Kuemper with about a minute left to play and the Wild had their chances as Vanek set up Granlund all alone but instead of taking a shot at a bouncing puck he’d try to pass instead. The Wild had a few other opportunities but they couldn’t find the back of the net again and fall 5-4.
Darcy Kuemper who was so sharp through the 1st two periods seemed to get bored and started to venture out of his crease feeling he needed to do something with the puck. He gave up 5 goals on just 20 shots, 5 of those goals in the 3rd where the Rangers registered 12 of them. The first time since January 23rd, 2004 that the Wild have given up 5 goals in a period. After giving up that point shot which he could not really see, he made a mistake playing the puck which cost the team another goal and his confidence appeared to be shaken. Kuemper appeared to be fighting the puck considerably on Duclair’s game-tying goal. I thought the Wild did a fair job helping him defensively and I thought the team had another great game from Marco Scandella. At times the Wild were a bit too soft in their d-zone coverage which is what cost them on Zuccarello’s game winner. The penalty kill was again sharp but it won’t come in much relief after tonight’s result. I’d be shocked if Niklas Backstrom doesn’t get the start tomorrow.
Offensively, you have to like that this team continues to be productive at even strength but the story anyone is going to talk about its continuing futility on the man advantage. The team failed to convert on two 5-minute majors and 14-minutes spent on the power play. You have to make a team pay for such horrendous infractions like the Rangers’ had. One thing I’ve noticed watching the Wild power play is that the team seems passive and doesn’t seem to skate with the same sense of urgency on the power play. They seem to want to wait for plays to sort of develop on their own instead of forcing the issue and skating with the same quickness that they do at even strength. Thomas Vanek and Mikko Koivu are pretty doggy on the ice in general but even worse on the man advantage. The Wild’s 4th line again stepped up with some key offensive contributions in this game and its time the 2nd line does its part most notably two guys making over $6 million per season.
In the 3rd period, the Wild let up and seemed content to defend its lead and give the Rangers full credit for recognizing that and taking it to Minnesota. The team cannot take anything for granted, even if it has a pretty stingy defense. They just seemed to think was Kuemper was invincible and the team let up when it needed to put the foot on the neck. Minnesota got banged up tonight, and they could very well be without Haula for a while but the team will not have long to dwell on the loss as they play tomorrow night in Boston. If John Moore gets anything less than 3 games its a tragedy. The Bruins won’t feel sorry for the Wild so hopefully the pain of tonight’s 3rd period collapse gets them a little more focused tomorrow.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Erik Haula, Justin Fontaine, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Carter, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Nate Prosser and Mathew Dumba. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Kyle Brodziak was the lone healthy scratch while Keith Ballard and Christian Folin are out of the lineup with an illness.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Rick Nash, 2nd Star Derick Brassard, 3rd Star Anthony Duclair
~ Attendance was 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.
~ It is with heavy heart and deep sadness that I dedicate this article to my dog, my Bassett Hound Fergus whom we had to put down today. He blessed our lives for 8 years, he enjoyed watching hockey, back & belly rubs and french fries. He will be deeply missed.
Wild Prospect Report:
RW – Chase Lang (Calgary, WHL) ~ The Nanaimo, British Columbia-native continues his hot start for the Hitmen contributing an assist in Calgary’s 7-5 loss to Medicine Hat on Saturday night. Lang has 8 goals, 15 points, 14 PIM’s and is a +5 in 13 games played this season.
C – Duke Reid (Brandon, WHL) ~ The skilled center keeps finding ways onto the scoresheet for the Wheat Kings, chipping in with an assist in Brandon’s 6-1 loss on Saturday to the Kelowna Rockets. Reid has 4 goals, 10 points, 12 PIM’s and is a +4 in 10 games played this season.
D – Dylan Labbe (Shawinigan, QMJHL) ~ The 6’2″ defenseman has been a hitting machine for the Cataractes this season and Saturday night was no different as he had an assist to go along with 5 registered hits in a 4-3 shootout win over Gatineau. The St. Benjamin, Quebec-native followed up that effort against Gatineau with a 2 assist, 3 hits performance in Shawinigan’s 6-5 loss to Moncton. Labbe has 3 goals, 8 points, 15 PIM’s and is an ‘even’ rating through 14 games played this season.
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