If you’ve ever been a part of a team that has been badly beaten, you understand the feeling of embarrassment, quiet anger and the strong desire to rectify that humiliation. I have little doubt that describes the feeling of the Colorado Avalanche after being so thoroughly dominated by the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night’s season opener. The Wild were stifled the Avalanche with good defense and then put Colorado on its heels with a swarming offense. The challenge will be to try to replicate that effort again, this time against an angry team with a chip on its shoulder. The key will be weathering the storm and then counter punching with timely effort to neutralize the crowd and deny Colorado from gaining momentum. With Colorado Head Coach Patrick Roy making inane comments that hint at some aspect of ‘revenge’ he is no doubt trying to do what he can to fire his team up.
The Wild has always been strong at home, but on the road they’ve had issues with consistency. If the team wants to take another small step towards being recognized as an elite team in the Western Conference and Central Division another solid effort would go a long way towards proving they’re worthy of that consideration. Will the Wild follow up a big home victory with an impressive road win or will Colorado push back as their coach hopes they do.
1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota seemed to pick up where they left off on Thursday with good puck control to start the game as Thomas Vanek won a battle down low and then moved out front for a quick shot that was fought off by Semyon Varlamov and the rebound just skittered over the stick of a crashing Marco Scandella. The Wild continued to control the pace of play and they’d strike early as Ryan Suter would fire a wrist shot that beat a well-screened Varlamov less than 4 minutes into the game, 1-0 Wild. Charlie Coyle would be credited for the redirection, but it all resulted from a willingness to direct pucks on goal. The Wild had great puck support to start the game, and it seemed whenever there was a loose puck it was just seconds before another Minnesota player would skate in to sweep it up. Minnesota was playing smart, but Colorado tried to ramp up the pressure and they’d create a bad turnover as Vanek sent a lazy pass through the middle of the ice as he was deep in the Wild end, that was picked up by Tyson Barrie who rifled a shot on goal that was held onto by Darcy Kuemper. I thought at times Mathew Dumba and Christian Folin were guilty of trying to do too much with the puck instead of just carrying it out of danger. As Colorado raised their level of hustle and physical play, the Wild started to spend more time chasing the Avalanche around its own end but not a lot of pucks were being directed at Kuemper. The Avalanche were looking for a game-changing play and Kyle Wilson tried to staple Coyle into the boards but the young power forward only took a glancing blow but he’d answer back with a big hit his of his own that drew the ire of the Colorado crowd. Zach Parise was given a slashing penalty about halfway into the period, giving Colorado its first power play of the game. Minnesota’s penalty killers were terrific, forcing the Avalanche to stay on the perimeter as the Wild provided timely puck pressure to disrupt Colorado’s power play. Jason Zucker, Erik Haula and Mikko Koivu did a great job at taking away passing lanes. The Avalanche would pressure late in the man advantage but Kuemper came up with two great saves to keep Colorado off the board. Minnesota would earn its first power play a few minutes later as Erik Johnson was given a holding penalty. On the man advantage the Wild were using all kinds of puck and player movement and the result was a tremendous variety of scoring chances. Minnesota was not wasting any time holding onto the puck; they were moving it quickly and looking to shoot and Varlamov found himself being peppered with shots but he managed to square up and keep the puck out despite the fact the Wild registered 8 shots on the power play. The terrific power play seemed to jump start the Wild as they continued to attack in the closing minutes of the period as the top line of Parise, Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville caused some havoc in the Colorado end before Varlamov was finally able to gather up the puck for a whistle. The Wild had to feel good about the first period where they got an early goal, withstood a determined Colorado counter attack and then poured it on in the last few minutes. Minnesota outshot the Avalanche 15-9.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild would earn an early power play to start the game as Matt Duchene was given an early slashing call. Unfortunately the Wild would not do much on the power play as the 2nd unit was mostly ineffective with slow, deliberate puck movement reminiscent of last year’s power play. As the penalty was about to expire, Erik Johnson would take a leaping elbow at Erik Haula. Johnson would be given a 5-minute major for elbowing, and a 10-minute game misconduct as well. It was filthy play with a clear intent to injure Haula and the former 1st Overall pick would head to the locker room for the night. It was certainly suspension worthy as he was clearly trying to target Haula’s head with the elbow and when you consider his pre-game comments to the media there is a good case to say it was pre-meditated as well. With a short 5-on-3 man advantage the Wild nearly cashed in early as Suter blasted a slap shot just wide of the mark. The Wild power play still struggled to replicate the outstanding puck movement they had earlier in the game and Thomas Vanek would get tied up with Kyle Wilson negating 2 minutes of the power play. With the ice a bit more open 4-on-4 the Avalanche tried to go on the attack as Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog were starting to buzz around the ice. Minnesota would play well defensively and then try to go back on the attack on the power play and they appeared to cash in as Granlund set up Niederreiter for a goal mouth chance and as he was knocked into Varlamov by Jan Hejda, Charlie Coyle backhanded a shot in. The goal was waived off on the ice, but it would be reviewed. Ultimately it was ruled ‘no goal’ saying Niederreiter compromised Varlamov’s ability to make the save, and Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo was not pleased with the decision and he’d ask for an explanation to no avail even though it was obvious he was pushed into Varlamov by his own defenseman. The Wild’s long power play would come up empty and Colorado would try to regroup and renew their attack. Minnesota would weather the storm and then go on the counter attack; as the line of Vanek, Koivu and Zucker would score a key goal. It all started off the rush as Koivu tried to thread a pass that was just out of the reach of Vanek who regathered the puck and then passed it into the slot for a quick shot by Zucker that rang off the post and in, 2-0 Wild to stunned silence from the Pepsi Center crowd. Ryan Carter would get a rare shift in the 2nd period, and he’d take a hooking penalty. This was a big opportunity for the Avalanche, but Minnesota’s power play challenged Colorado’s power play unit with good puck pressure and did not have much in the way of quality scoring chances with the man advantage. The effort at times was a little scrambling but they got it done and got the big kill. The Wild looked a little gassed late as Colorado kept pressing hard late in the period. Minnesota still had a few great scoring chances late as Parise stormed into the Colorado zone and speeding by Josh Holden for a quick shot that Varlamov stopped but lost track of and Holden alertly swept up the puck before it could slide across the goal line. The Avalanche would counter attack and Nathan MacKinnon would rip a shot from the high slot that was snagged out of the air by Kuemper. The Wild would probably feel as though it escaped a bit, but still had to feel good to be ahead by two going into the 3rd period.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota would storm the Avalanche crease early in the period as a Suter shot turned into a flurry as Parise stormed the crease. The Avalanche were trying to rally back, but Kuemper and solid backchecking prevented the Colorado having any 2nd chance opportunities. Colorado was trying to work the puck deep to get their forecheck going, but Minnesota was getting sticks into passing lanes and making it difficult for the Avalanche to have any flow offensively. Minnesota was playing solid defensive hockey, keeping shifts short and denying time and space on the ice and thoroughly frustrating Colorado in the process. The Wild’s puck pressure would draw a Colorado penalty as Tyson Barrie sent a puck up into the stands for a delay of game penalty. Minnesota did not do much of anything with the man advantage as poor execution by the 2nd unit led to a bunch of easy turnovers that prevented the Wild from ever setting up in the offensive zone. Towards the end of the power play, the Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog would send the puck up into the stands again for another delay of game penalty. The Wild were a little better on the power play as the top unit started it off and the puck movement was a bit more purposeful as they set up Jared Spurgeon for a one-timer that just missed high. With another power play that came up empty, the Wild and Avalanche would receive coincidental minors as Kyle Brodziak was given a hooking penalty and Colorado’s Daniel Briere was sent to the box for holding Brodziak’s stick to draw the call. With the ice a bit more open 4-on-4 the Wild were content to simply defend their zone and force the puck deep and make Colorado bring the puck up the full length of the ice. Minnesota would have some great chances late in the period as Zucker raced in on a breakaway but his wrist shot would ring off the post and out. Patrick Roy would pull Varlamov with 2:57 left in the 3rd, and the Wild nearly made them play early as Mikko Koivu fired a shot on the empty net that would be blocked away. Matt Cooke would get tagged with an interference call which would be a blessing in disguise because it allowed the Wild to clear the zone without worry of an icing call. With the ice wide open at 6-on-4, the Wild would circle the wagons and Kuemper would make a huge save on Alex Tanguay to keep Colorado at bey. Zach Parise would outwork Colorado in the closing seconds for an empty net goal to seal a 3-0 victory.
Darcy Kuemper was stellar between the pipes, stopping all 30 shots he faced for his second shutout in a row. He made the key saves to kill any momentum the Avalanche wanted to create, even with traffic near his crease. Kuemper was not tested much on Thursday, tonight he faced a far more determined effort and shut the door time after time, and not giving up almost any rebound chances. Defensively, he got great support from his defenseman. I thought Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella had tremendous games. They really played well in and around the crease giving Kuemper a clear look at Avalanche shooters and taking the few rebounds he gave up out of danger effectively all game long. The penalty kill was again perfect, but they turned Colorado’s power play into a total non-factor in this 2-game series.
Offensively, the Wild had a great start as they picked up where they left off from Thursday. Funneling pucks on goal and putting Colorado on its heels early on. While the offense wasn’t nearly as dominating as it was Thursday, the team got offensive chances from its top 3 lines. Even though it has not managed to cash in on the power play, they’re showing they have some good firepower 5-on-5. Speaking of the power play, it was absolutely tremendous at the beginning of the game using super quick and efficient puck movement to create a plethora of shooting opportunities but it would take a big step back as the game went on. The great puck and player movement disappeared and the terribly ineffective power play returned. Still, there was enough scoring punch for the Wild to get a victory this evening. The Parise, Granlund, Pominville line had a tougher time but they still seemed to be Minnesota’s most dangerous line.
The Colorado Avalanche were clearly trying to take their opportunities to run and hurt a Wild player. In my opinion, the league needs to intervene and some suspensions should be handed out. Erik Johnson’s clear elbow to the head of Haula was ridiculous, he should face a league suspension. Gabriel Landeskog cross-checking Nino Niederreiter in the back of the head to no call whatsoever. Then after the Wild scored their empty net goal, Roy would try to send out his thugs to start something only to have the officials step in and send them back to the bench. Roy chirped at the officials for stopping him from getting his pound of flesh; and such tactics are bush-league garbage. Give the Wild credit for not playing to Colorado’s want to thug it up by not dressing Stu Bickel despite the temptation to want to protect Minnesota’s skill players. So now the Wild have an odd early ‘break’ to the season as they don’t play until next week Friday. Hopefully they can pick up from where they’ve started these last two games.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Matt Cooke, Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, Jason Zucker, Ryan Carter, Kyle Brodziak, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Christian Folin and Mathew Dumba. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Stu Bickel, Keith Ballard and Nate Prosser were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Darcy Kuemper, 2nd Star Jason Zucker, 3rd Star Semyon Varlamov
~ Attendance 18,139 was at Pepsi Center.
Iowa Wild Report:
Score: Iowa 2, San Antonio 3
The Iowa Wild dropped their season opener in San Antonio on Friday night. In a penalty-filled game the Wild would strike twice on the power play in the 2nd period as Jonathon Blum and Michael Keranen found the back of the net. Unfortunately the Wild couldn’t hold onto their 2nd period lead and the Rampage would prevail 3-2. Tyler Graovac and Jordan Schroeder both finished the night with two assists. Goaltender Johan Gustafsson stopped 36 shots in the loss.
Wild Prospect Report:
LW – Mario Lucia (Notre Dame, H-East) ~ The lanky winger started off the college season on a positive note as he tallied a goal in a 3-2 loss to RPI. Lucia, playing on the Fighting Irish’s 2nd line, had 2 shots and finished the game a +1.
RW – Chase Lang (Calgary, WHL) ~ The Hitmen winger continues to have a hot start as he lit the lamp twice in a 3-2 loss to to the Victoria Royals. Lang has 5 goals, 9 points and is a +4 in 6 games played this season.
D – Carson Soucy (Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC) ~ The big-bodied defenseman chipped in an assist in the Bulldogs 3-4 loss to the Golden Gophers on Friday afternoon. Soucy, playing on UMD’s top defensive pairing had 2 shots on goal finished the game a -2.
C – Reid Duke (Brandon, WHL) ~ Reid Duke registered an assist in the Wheat Kings’ 6-4 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. Duke finished the evening a -1, as he tries to adjust to playing on a pretty talented Wheat Kings squad.
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