Overtime Woes From Last Season Continue in 2016-17 As Wild Fall 2-1 in OT

Last year the Minnesota Wild’s low point came against the New Jersey Devils.  The Devils were a team that was playing with a roster that was more akin to the Albany Devils than the New Jersey version with lots of its farm talent carrying the mail for the club.  The Wild were mostly intact with no significant injuries and playing at home.  Minnesota was trying to fight for its playoff lives and on paper it looked as though the Wild should’ve been able to earn a victory.  However, the plucky Devils were led by AHL sniper Joe Blandisi and simply wanted it more than the downtrodden Wild and Minnesota gave arguably its worst effort of the season in an ugly 2-1 loss.  It was classic proof of how it doesn’t necessarily matter who has more talent if that talent doesn’t play with a purpose.

So with that being the Minnesota Wild’s most recent memory of having played New Jersey I hope they arrive to Newark with a want and purpose they lacked last season.  This is a chance to start to separate themselves from the pack and demonstrate they can be successful on the road.  Will they take a step towards both of those goals this evening?

1st Period Thoughts:  It was the kind of experience you’d expect on the road in New Jersey.  Not much in the way of flow and cohesion as the Devils were skating hard, trying to deny time and space and the result was New Jersey had the lion’s share of the possession in the offensive zone.  Devan Dubnyk was sharp, but it was clear the Devils were going to send shots from all over hoping for a soft one.  Joel Eriksson Ek was a bit shaky at first but seemed to get a bit more comfortable as the period went on.  The Wild got into a little penalty trouble, but fortunately their penalty kill stayed aggressive and they were able to disrupt the Devils power play rather effectively.  I thought the Wild’s most dangerous line was the Eric Staal, Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle unit as they seemed to be the only one that was able to work the puck deep and create any sort of scoring opportunities from it.  I thought Mikael Granlund had a great period defensively and I hope he gets rewarded with an offensive chance soon for his hard work.  Chris Stewart needs to be a bit more greedy but I liked how he was attacking the offensive zone with speed and putting the Devils on their heels a bit.  Offensively the Wild need to send more shots on goal and test Corey Schneider more than they did.  The best scoring chance the Wild had was on a wrist shot from the point by Marco Scandella on the power play that drew rebound that Granlund nearly as able to pounce on.  I thought defensively the Wild did a good job of being tough on the puck and then quickly moving it out of their own end.  Nate Prosser doesn’t deserve to be out there, his lack of footspeed nearly cost the Wild on Taylor Hall‘s wrap around attempt that nearly worked if it hadn’t been for a nice post-to-post movement by Dubnyk.  Both clubs seemed to still be in ‘wait and see’ mode as the period ended with the Wild being outshot 9 to 3.

2nd Period Thoughts:  The Wild did not wait long to demonstrate a different approach than what they had in the 1st.  Just one minute in, the 4th line of Jason Zucker would step into a slap shot from the point that was stopped but the rebound kicked out and Eriksson Ek was able to lift a shot up and over Schneider’s shoulder to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.  It was Eriksson Ek’s 1st NHL goal in his debut joining Rickard Wallin and Mikael Granlund as Wild players to have accomplished that feat.  Minnesota was far more assertive and aggressive on the forecheck and they were pinning the Devils in their own end and peppering Schneider with shots on goal.  The Devils would try to counter attack but the Wild were equally determined on the backcheck as they stymied a number of New Jersey attacks with excellent hustle through the neutral zone.  The chances continued to pile up as Nino Niederreiter would put his shoulder down and dangle by a defender to drive the net only to be shut down by the leg pad of Schneider.  A few minutes later Granlund had a great chance of his own as he made a nice move to side step Damon Severson to give himself some space in the slot and as he unleashed shot he was robbed by Schneider’s glove.  A fantastic save on his against the grain shot.  The top line was also really swarming as Coyle, Staal and Parise had a few close calls but the Devils goalie was up to the task.  As impressive as Minnesota’s offensive efforts were; Devan Dubnyk was razor sharp in his own end as the Devils tried to counter attack.  He made some monster stops on Hall and Kyle Palmieri who hammered a one-timer from the slot.  You could see the Wild doing the little things to be successful.  Teemu Pulkkinen looked hungry and I like how they tried to use him as a triggerman.  Tempers were starting to manifest themselves as Mathew Dumba dumped Hall with a nice open ice hit.  As good as Minnesota was in the period it is still a 1-shot game so they’ll have to dig deep and play well in the 3rd.

3rd Period Thoughts:  The 3rd period was more like the 1st, with the Devils looking like the assertive and hungry team while Minnesota was hoping to defend its lead.  It wasn’t precisely rope-a-dope but the Wild were mostly working the puck across the red line and dumping it deep and then going for a change rather than attempting much in the way of an offensive chance.  The Devils kept swarming and while the Wild were taking the body to seal off defenders.  Ryan Suter was especially impressive in his ability to muscle Devils players off the puck.  Yet just defending and attempting few forays into the offensive zone is simply flirting with disaster.  It would happen off the rush as P.A. Parenteau would skate in and fire a slap shot from about the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Dubnyk stick side just underneath the arm.  It was a soft goal, and Dubnyk’s demeanor changed after Parenteau’s tally.  As the Devils tried to work for the go-ahead goal, Dubnyk seemed to be fighting the puck as Minnesota was scrambling around its own end.  The Wild seemed content to just battle the game long enough to send it to overtime.

Overtime Summary:  Wild fans started tweeting immediately their displeasure with the club’s personnel choice to start overtime by going with Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund and Ryan Suter; a combination that struggled mightily last year in the extra stanza.  After an initial slow Wild rush the Devils would counter attack and this line would glide back to their own end and inexplicably Suter and Koivu chose to defend Adam Henrique instead of Taylor Hall and the Spitfire teammates connected as Hall buried the game winner.  The personnel choice is baffling when you consider that nearly every team in the league has figured out that 3-on-3 is about speed.  None of those players the Wild sent out have excellent wheels and the result is unless they score on that first rush you’re going to be in big trouble as your opponent counter attacks.  Sure, we get an ‘loser point’ but its a poor choice by the coaching staff in my opinion.

Devan Dubnyk overall had a pretty good game, making 30 saves in the losing effort.  He did about all he could to keep his team in the game and save the soft goal he gave up in regulation you can’t ask for much more.  Dubnyk’s vision through traffic was good and he made some great saves on a number of quality chances in close.  Defensively the Wild had to reorganize itself a bit with Jared Spurgeon being out of the lineup with an ‘upper body injury’.  Nate Prosser was not great but the rest of the defensive corps did ok in my opinion.  The penalty kill finished with a perfect 3 for 3.  Dumba and Suter were very good.

Offensively the Wild really had almost all of its chances in the 2nd period but little to nothing in the 1st and 3rd periods of the game.  The team needed to be keeping the pressure on the Devils offensively in the 3rd but instead they just seemed to want to protect its lead and when you play not to lose you often do just that.  I thought Minnesota missed Erik Haula‘s speed and creativity.  It was good to see Eriksson Ek get a goal in his debut and didn’t think he looked that out of place.  I thought the 4th line was hustling as well as any line the Wild had this evening.  At times the Wild seemed to be way too unselfish or guilty of passing up a chance to shoot simply because the team wanted to get Parise a goal (what would be his 300th).  In my opinion you cannot afford to place one players stats ahead of the team goal; Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau even noted the foolishness of that approach.

3-on-3 overtime was effectively a give away in my opinion.  The squandered scoring chances also worked to make this a very frustrating game more of the kind we saw last year.   Minnesota will not have long to dwell on this game as they will face a very pesky and physical Islanders squad.  If you feel a little uneasy, your not alone.  Hopefully they can surprise us tomorrow.

Wild Notes:

~ The Wild roster was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Chris Stewart, Eric Staal, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Zac Dalpe, Nino Niederreiter, Jason Pominville, Joel Eriksson Ek, Teemu Pulkkinen, Jason Zucker, Ryan Suter, Mathew Dumba, Jonas Brodin, Christian Folin, Nate Prosser and Marco Scandella.  Darcy Kuemper backed up Devan Dubnyk.  Jared Spurgeon and Erik Haula were the scratches.

~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Taylor Hall, 2nd Star P.A. Parenteau, 3rd Star Corey Schneider

~ Attendance was 16,514 at Prudential Center.

~ Joel Eriksson Ek wore #14 in his NHL debut, joining Darby Hendrickson, Martin Havlat, Darrol Powe and Justin Fontaine in having worn the number.

Iowa Wild Report:

Iowa 3, Charlotte 8

This was a brutal game and it went off the rails quickly in the 1st period as neither Stephen Michalek or Alex Stalock could stop much of anything as they gave up 6 goals through the first two periods of play to really never give the Wild a chance to compete in this one.  Defensive breakdowns were rampant, but neither goaltender was bailing the Wild this evening.  This game had all the feeling of “welcome to the last 4 years” as the team suffered another demoralizing loss at home.  Mario Lucia, Kurtis Gabriel and Christoph Bertschy had the goals for Iowa.  Adam Gilmour had 2 assists.  You can see the ‘highlights’ in the YouTube clip below.

Wild Prospect Report:

C – Dmitri Sokolov (Sudbury, OHL) ~ the Russian sniper continues to light the lamp for the Wolves who are off to their best start in years.  The Omski, Russia-native had a goal and 7 shots on goal in their 4-2 loss to Peterborough on Friday night.  Sokolov has 9 goals, 10 points, 2 PIM’s and is a +4 in 8 games this season.

LW – Louie Nanne (Rennselaer, ECAC) ~ the scrappy winger is off to another good start as he contributed a goal in the Engineers 3-3 tie to Niagara on Friday night.  Nanne has a goal, 2 points, 2 PIM’s and is a -1 in 4 games.

D – Louie Belpedio (Miami, NCHC) ~ the stocking defenseman anchors the top defensive pair for the Redhawks where he provides leadership and offense.  The Skokie, Illinois-native had an assist and 6 shots on goal in Miami’s 3-3 tie against Maine on Friday.  Belpedio has a goal, 4 points, 10 PIM’s and is a -2 in 4 games.

D – Nolan DeJong (Michigan, Big 10) ~ the British Columbia-native is anchoring the Wolverines’ top pairing as Red Berenson’s club hopes to defend their Big 10 championship.  Not known for being a big point producer, the smooth skating blueliner had an assist and 2 shots on goal in the Wolverines’ 4-3 win over Michigan Tech.

RW – Jordan Greenway (Boston U., H-East) ~ the 6’5″ power forward had a big game on Friday with a goal and two helpers in the Terriers’ 7-0 win over Sacred Heart.  He currently is working on the 2nd line that is being centered by Arizona Coyotes’ 1st round pick Clayton Keller.  Greenway has 2 goals, 4 points, 8 PIM’s and is a +1 in 4 games.

LW – Brandon Duhaime (Providence, H-East) ~ the Floridian is off to a good start with the Friars as he notched his first collegiate goal (along with 6 shots on goal) working on the 3rd line.  The goal is his first point to go along with 4 PIM’s and is a -1 in 4 games for the freshman.