Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy is one of my favorite comedies. Its Will Ferrell at his best, over the top and irreverent by placing him in the late 1970’s meant he had to try to embody the machismo of the day and the sexist attitudes that prevailed in the news business. He didn’t miss on any of those accounts from the ridiculous jazz flute scene to the showdown against the other news stations in the San Diego area he brought a little bit everything to the table even if it was a bit light on substance. But he wasn’t alone, afterall he had the Channel 4 News Team to kick some ass with; Champ Kind, Brick Tamland, Brian Fantana and eventually Veronica Corningstone as well. The film was full of great one liners and made it nearly impossible to match in a sequel. They tried to recapture the magic with Anchorman 2: the Legend Continues, and while I laughed from time to time the film was simply trying too hard. The mega showdown in New York’s Central Park as predictable as any Michael Bay film. Explosive to the point of blandness if that makes any sense at all. It got me thinking, is that what’s wrong with the 2014-15 Wild?
Last year’s story of the Wild was one of remarkable resilience and taking a step forward as a franchise that had it feeling as though it was a little closer to contender status. This year’s Wild has mostly the same cast of players, far less adversity (knock on wood) but they don’t seem to be able to capture the success the previous group did. They might be scoring more and the penalty kill has seen tremendous improvement but giving up late leads and a nightmarish power play kills the vibe. Its kind of like Anchorman 2 in that way, where it just tries to soldier ahead with the same kinds of jokes and hoping you find it just as funny as you did the first time. The truth is, you don’t laugh as hard and you walk away from the film wishing they would’ve left it alone as a one-off. The San Jose Sharks are much the same way, a team with mostly the same cast its had for years but the product has lost its luster over time. The Sharks have shown a tendency to play down to their competition and why it has the dubious distinction of saying they have been swept in season series by the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers this season. So can the Wild finally show us they actually can win in the Shark Tank or will San Jose frenzy against Minnesota once again?
1st Period Thoughts: The Wild were moving their feet ok to start the game but they had some struggles with their decision making. A few cases in point, Charlie Coyle with space ahead of him tries to send a pass back into the Wild zone when the Sharks hadn’t cleared out yet. A few minutes after that as the Wild were trying to work the puck deep and cycle it, Coyle doesn’t take advantage of the time and space and instead looks to pass to someone who wasn’t there and then gets caught up in the corner and coughing up the puck. The Sharks would counter attack with its 2nd line as Brent Burns swung a pass from beneath the goal line back to James Sheppard who got off a quick shot that was steered wide by Darcy Kuemper. The Wild would counter with some nice little passes as they exited their own end which resulted in a few great scoring chances. The first came off a nice long pass by Ryan Suter that found Mikael Granlund for a 2-on-1 with Zach Parise and even though Granlund had a great chance to shoot he’d pass up the opportunity and send a pass across to Parise who fanned on the shot as he pushed it well wide of the mark. The Wild would get tagged for a penalty as Nino Niederrieter was sent to the sin bin for cross checking White Bear Lake’s Justin Braun. Minnesota’s penalty kill was tremendous, providing all kinds of pressure and puck pursuit that never allowed the lethal Sharks’ penalty kill to never really get settled and comfortable in the Wild zone. The Wild had the best chance of the Sharks’ power play, as a small pass turned into an odd man rush and Kyle Brodziak raced in and wound up and blasted a slap shot that rang off the post and out. Minnesota got the big kill it needed, but could they take advantage of the power play when they finally earned one of their own? They’d get their chance a few minutes later as Brendan Dillon crosschecked Nino Niederrieter 4-5 times before they finally called a penalty. On the power play the Wild was pretty sloppy with its veteran group; and then performed a bit better when its youngsters were sent out. Jason Zucker was using his speed well to win some races for the loose puck in the offensive zone but unfortunately Jonas Brodin would fail to hold the offensive zone and an opportunity on the power play would end in failure. The Wild did not test Alex Stalock much, just registering 5 shots on goal for the period while the Sharks had 9. I thought the 4th line of Justin Fontaine, Ryan Carter and Kyle Brodziak had a good period.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild had a great chance early as Parise made a few quick turns to gain a little space before dishing the puck to Thomas Vanek who tried a wrap around that was stonewalled by Stalock but his rebound chance nearly was able to pop up over the leg pad of the the former South St. Paul star. The Sharks would try to counter off the rush that was thwarted by a fine defensive play by Jared Spurgeon. Yet San Jose was able to keep Minnesota pinned in its own end as they set up Joe Pavelski for a dangerous chance from in close. The intensity started to steadily increase as Andrew Dejardins would get into a shoving match with Nate Prosser as Ryan Carter would move in to bail out his defenseman as he tied up with Tye McGinn and both would earn a 2-minute sit in the box. The Wild had another great chance in a 2-on-1 as Spurgeon and Parise raced up the ice and Parise set up Spurgeon beautifully but instead of taking his chance to shoot he’d try one more pass and fail to connect squandering a golden opportunity. Minnesota had another 2-on-1 moments later as Jason Pominville swept up a puck near the Wild blueline and he’d race up the ice and he would take his chance to blast a slap shot that Stalock struggled to cover up before the Wild reached the blue paint. Shots were still tough to come by; as the Sharks found themselves stymied by some great backchecking by Minnesota. Nate Prosser would get called for holding, giving the Sharks a power play at a point in the game where you could sense scoring chances were getting closer and closer. The bad feeling was confirmed, as some quick hustle by the Sharks kept the Wild’s penalty killers out a little too long and they were able to set up Brent Burns for a bomb from the point that may have hit a stick of a Wild defender on the way in. 1-0 Sharks. The Wild tried to work the puck deep but the Sharks were winning the little races to the loose puck and they were able to use the boards and glass to keep themselves from getting into trouble defensively. The Sharks’ 3rd and 4th lines would put a scare into the Wild as they used their speed to put Minnesota on their heels. Kuemper would come up big on a monster save on Melker Kalsson‘s point-blank range bid. The Wild were outshot 9-14 in the period but they only have themselves to blame by their insistence on one more pass.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild would get on the board early as Christian Folin unloaded a rocket of a slap shot from the point for his first NHL goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Sharks would answer right back as Joe Thornton delivered a perfect pass to set up a one-timer by Pavelski to make it 2-1 San Jose. The defensive effort can be best described as 5 guys just floating and staring at the puck. Pavelski’s tally was just 45 seconds after Folin’s goal. The Wild would draw a power play as Ryan Suter tried to carry the puck deep into the San Jose end. On the power play where the Wild were painfully static, which made it easy for the Sharks’ penalty killers to disrupt. Then when the 2nd unit was deployed they couldn’t enter the zone to save their lives. Another power play that failed to register a single shot on goal. The Wild would then take a penalty of their own as Brodziak was busted for holding. The Sharks would use it bench on the power play as Tommy Wingels looked like Patrick Kane as he possessed the puck before rifling shots on goal that forced Kuemper to come up with some big saves. The Wild were able to escape with a big kill and they’d try to re-group and go back on the attack. Minnesota was finally tking every chance to send the puck on goal. The Wild really were applying some pressure in and around the Sharks’ crease, but despite the heavy traffic Stalock kept finding ways to stop the puck. Minnesota would pull Kuemper for an extra attacker with over a minute and half to play for one last final push for the equalizer. The Wild were able to set up a few shots from the point but nothing that went on goal and San Jose would prevail, 2-1.
Darcy Kuemper played well enough to give his club a chance to win the game or at least come away with a point after stopping 28 shots in a losing effort. Kuemper made some clutch saves at key moments to prevent the Sharks from running away with it. Defensively I thought the Wild got a great effort from rookie Christian Folin. Sure the goal was nice, but I thought his comfort level at carrying the puck up the ice really helped offset the loss of Marco Scandella to a 2-game suspension. Ryan Suter had another workhorse type game, logging 28:37 of ice time tonight. The penalty kill gave up a crucial one tonight, but that was mostly due to being caught out on the ice a little long as opposed to poor execution on their part.
Offensively the story of the game was the amount of passed up chances, especially in the 1st and 2nd periods. When you lose a game by one goal, those missed opportunities make you wonder what could’ve been. The team was breaking out of the zone rather nicely, using small passes but as they created 2-on-1’s the team was cursed by being way too unselfish and attempting the extra pass that all too often turned out to be the defender’s best friend. Besides the passed up shots, the power play woes; especially on the road continue to be major area of weakness. Now 1-for-45 for the season, but its beyond that record of futility. The last two power plays had the Wild going without a single shot being put on goal; depriving the team from even gaining any kind of momentum from the man advantage.
Losing is never fun, but this was another missed opportunity in my opinion. The Wild kept the game close enough to have a chance to win. The failed chances by the team choosing not to shoot the puck makes the loss sting that much more. A win against the Sharks is something you can build upon; since they’re a team in a similar place in the standings. The Wild now have to refocus and try to get a win against the struggling Coyotes. That has trap game all over it.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild’s roster was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Justin Fontaine, Kyle Brodziak, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Carter, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk and Christain Folin. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Stu Bickel was the lone healthy scratch.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Joe Thornton, 2nd Star Joe Pavelski, 3rd Star Brent Burns
~ Attendance was 17,097 at SAP Center.
Iowa Wild Report:
Recent Score: Iowa 4, San Antonio 1
Both clubs were taking their chances to fire the puck on goal in a chess match of a 1st period but they’d find themselves knotted at 0-0 after one. Iowa would break the stalemate less than a minute into the 2nd period as Mathew Dumba bombed a slap shot that was stopped by Michael Houser but he couldn’t corral the rebound and Brett Sutter tapped it in. The Wild probably felt they were on their way to adding to their lead as they drew a power play a little over a minute after Sutter’s goal, but it would not be the blessing they had hoped. The Rampage’s Ryan Martindale blocked a shot at the point and then raced in on the breakaway where he beat John Curry with a backhander. No more goals would be scored in the 2nd sending a 1-1 game into the 3rd. The Wild would strike early in the 3rd on the power play as Michael Keranen snapped a wrist shot that snuck through the pads of Houser to make it 2-1. After the goal it was the John Curry show as he came up with monster save after monster save as he stonewalled the Rampage multiple times to preserve the 1-goal lead. Iowa would score late in the 3rd as a slap shot by Jonathon Blum was tipped home by Sutter. Brady Brassart would add a shorthanded empty net goal to seal a 4-1 victory. John Curry was spectacular as the Shoreview, Minnesota-native had 33 saves in the win. Stephane Veilleux had two assists while Dumba, Blum, Guillaume Gelinas and Danny Syvret all came home with a helper to their credit.
Wild Prospect Report:
C – Christoph Bertschy (SC Bern, NLA) ~ The shifty center is on a career-best pace, as he added a goal in SC Bern’s win over EV Zug. Bertschy has 10 goals, 22 points, 18 PIM’s and is ‘even’ in 28 games.
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