“Everyone’s watchin, to see what you do, everyone’s lookin’ at you, everyone’s wondering will it come out tonight, everyone’s trying to get it right, everybody’s workin’ for the weekend,” that is of course Workin’ for the Weekend by 80’s band Loverboy. That’s right, get your keytars out and start rockin’ out 80’s style. Well maybe not, but hey, it was worth a try. However, going back to the lyrics a bit, it certainly is an apt description of being a professional hockey player where games are crammed in over the weekend and if you play in the minor leagues it is not uncommon to have a game on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday making for a pretty exhausting weekend. Obviously it is because the weekends offer a better chance at drawing bigger crowds as most people have their weekends off yet for the players the weekends are all about work and attempting to earn their keep.
That is precisely what the Wild will have to consider as they go into this weekend that Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher as well as most of the team’s scouts will be analyzing this game closely, especially the performance of the players on an individual level. The Wild and Fletcher appear to be approaching that point in the season when he begins to create an idea of the direction of this team. If he thinks the direction is not favorable, Fletcher has flatly stated that he will be looking to make some significant moves to shake things up already noting that teams around the league have already started making some more phone calls as they ask and inquire about player availability and players they wish to deal. If anyone on the Wild paid attention to those comments Fletcher gave the Minneapolis Star Tribune, I think the underlying message is pretty clear. Its time for players to play to their potential or they will be moved.
Fletcher also stated that he feels the team’s woes are more a reflection of the performance of the players rather than the Wild coaching staff, something that will likely give Wild Head Coach Todd Richards a small bit of relief as more and more Wild fans have been making their displeasure with his coaching be known on team related blogs and message boards (including this one). If I was Richards though, I wouldn’t relax too much because if this team goes through a long losing streak he could find himself unemployed before Christmas. The Star Tribune‘s Michael Russo noted that teams normally axe a coach when they have a lull in their schedule. The next scheduled “lull” period starts December 12th, not that far away. The Wild are currently riding a 3-game losing streak; a skid where the effort and performance of many of the players has been questionable at best.
Tonight’s game gives Minnesota an excellent opportunity to redeem itself, after having lost to the Flames 3-0 on Monday. But that could easily turn into a recurring nightmare if the team again stumbles (especially during the 2nd period) and suffers another embarrassing home loss. The Wild are a very un-Wild like 7-6-1 at home this season (counting the ‘home’ game played in Finland), and the old coaching adage always says its always better to lose on the road than at home with your fans forking over big money to watch you fail. Normally the friendly confines of the Xcel Energy Center have been a source of strength but not season, as they’re at just .500 in the State of Hockey. That does little to encourage an already skeptical fanbase that you’re close to righting the ship. To be blunt the Wild need a win and its important to them in the standings as well as their individual future with the franchise to find a way to make that happen. Its put up or shut up time, so will the Wild play inspired hockey tonight or will their effort give you more loathing than a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to deal with those “cheery” people that work there?
Unfortunately for the Wild faithful, the downward spiral continues. There were moments where it appeared that they were getting their game back. For the most part, the first period was what you want to see. We saw examples of hard work and fighting for the puck. While the power play has faltered as of late (1 for the past 22 chances with the extra man), the Wild’s first power play chance near the midway point of the opening period wasn’t a bad attempt. By no means was it perfect, but it gave a person hope that we just might see a full sixty minutes of effort. In fact, it was as if that power play attempt energized the skaters. Just over three minutes after Calgary’s Mark Giordano was called for tripping, a Minnesota goal came from a somewhat unexpected, but pleasant resource. After months and months and months of question with seemingly no answers, none other than Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the game’s opening goal. I have to give him props for taking the shot on goal, as in the past we’ve seen him more likely to pass the puck off to someone else instead of shooting. While I’m happy he’s tallied his first goal in what seems like forever, I’m not about to crown him yet as the savior of this team. There are still more problems that need to be addressed, and the occasional goal from Bouchard is not going to be the proverbial magic wand that fixes everything.
Speaking of those problems, it was certainly an interesting first intermission. Being that I live outside of the Twin Cities viewing area, I generally have to rely on NHL Center Ice to catch the games that aren’t on Fox Sports-North. Because tonight’s game was on KSTC-Channel 45, I had to watch the Flames’ feed on Rogers Sports Net. Wanting to catch the Wild perspective on the game during the intermissions, I took advantage of streaming audio to listen to WCCO Radio’s intermission report. The guest was none other than Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher. With his interview in the Minneapolis Star Tribune it wasn’t surprising that we got to hear from him. With the way things are going, Fletcher is essentially on the hot seat, and he has claimed he’s ready to make things very uncomfortable for the players if things do not change. What was interesting about this interview, is that I turned toward the TV (which I had on mute at this time), and there, during the Flames’ intermission was their General Manager, Darryl Sutter. While I continued to listen to Fletcher’s interview, based on the Sutter’s body language, my suspicion is that he was saying many of the same things as Fletcher. Both General Managers are in charge of teams that are struggling, not just to find success on the ice, but their identity as well. For those of you who are regular watchers of CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada, you are familiar with their “Hockey Hotstove” segment. Well with tonight’s dual General Manager interviews that were occurring simultaneously, I felt that the Wild and Flames’ broadcast teams should have banded together for a segment called “1st Intermission GM Hot Seat.”
One other positive about the first period, was that the Wild managed to out shoot the Flames. However that would not hold true for the rest of the game. Once again, tonight was another night of watching a team that just cannot get the puck on net. With the problem of even getting pucks on goal, one almost has to wonder how the Wild even manage to score goals in the first place. When all was said and done, the Wild ended up with 22 shots to the Flames’ 33 shots. What frustrates me the most (and probably many fans as well), is that there are times where the Wild can exude great pressure on their opponents, but when you look at the box score at the end of the night you ask yourself how that can be. The greatest illustration of this very situation was tonight’s overtime period. In those five minutes, and especially in the last two minutes, I found myself distracted by the excited and hard work. Looking at the box score, you can see that the Wild registered only one shot on goal in overtime. I don’t know about you, but only managing one shot in five minutes is not a great way to try to win a game, especially one to a divisional opponent.
Tonight was another night of seeing players who don’t seem to care. There are are few players who seem completely invested in what they’re supposed to do. Clearly Bouchard is still building his confidence, but at least he was taking chances tonight. Joining Bouchard in the “I Give a Damn Club” are Martin Havlat, Cal Clutterbuck, and on occasion Matt Cullen. With the exception of those four players, the rest of the skaters appear to have pretty much tuned out. Havlat has clearly found his game again, displayed by his one goal and one assist night. The question I have it how long he can continue it when he has little support around him and how durable he is. Let’s face it, it’s still early in the season. In the case of Clutterbuck, his offensive output wasn’t what we have seen from him recently. However, he still was willing to go and at least try. And of course, as we expect from the team’s “bowling ball” he was willing to sacrifice his body in an attempt to get the Flames’ players off their games. I can’t give Cullen full membership in the “I Give a Damn Club.” There were plenty of times I didn’t even realize he was on the ice, but he had his moments where he actually tried to turn the tide of events. Hopefully the promised shake up by Fletcher will help increase membership in this all important club.
Remember those days, long ago, where the Wild were dangerous in the shootout? Remember when Mikko Koivu and Pavol Demitra were pretty much guaranteed to score in the shootout? And who can forget Brian Rolston’s wicked, yet often effective slapshot in the shootout? Yes, well those are all distant memories. That was then and this is now. If ever there was a team that should not go to the shootout it’s the Minnesota Wild. Between the fact that the only skater of Minnesota’s trio in the shootout that could score was Patrick O’Sullivan and that Niklas Backstrom is not a strong goaltender in that extra session makes the fact that we only got one shot on goal in overtime just that much more painful. The winning shot by Rene Bourque you pretty much knew was going to go in before he really even wound up his shot. Backstrom just did not seem ready. There was nothing special about Bourque’s shot, and it was the kind of shot you would expect your goaltender to handle easily. Yet that was not the case.
One can only hope that the Wild boarded the plane at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on this snowy night with a bitter taste in their mouths and a fire in their bellies. You almost wish that Saturday’s game in Dallas was on Sunday. With the way that things are going, the Wild don’t deserve the relative comfort of a plane. I wish we could bus the team down I-35. If we could bus them, it wouldn’t be one of those nice coach buses either, it would be a good old fashioned yellow school bus. Clearly the Wild are too comfortable in their positions. It is time for them to be uncomfortable, and perhaps a lack of creature comforts would wake them up. But alas, this is the NHL and when you’re a team in the Western Conference, busing between games just doesn’t happen like it does in the New York City metro.
Perhaps, Fletcher can start by hiring furloughed state employees, especially those “cheery” Department of Motor Vehicle employees to come and make everyday administrative issues that player might have to deal with more difficult. Welcome to the real world boys.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster Friday night was as follows: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Kyle Brodziak, Andrew Brunette, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Culllen, Martin Havlat, Mikko Koivu, John Madden, Antti Miettinen, Eric Nystrom, Patrick O’Sullivan, Brad Staubitz, Cam Barker, Brent Burns, Nick Schultz, Jared Spurgeon, Greg Zanon, Marek Zidlicky, and Niklas Backstrom. Jose Theodore served as back-up goaltender. The Wild’s heathly scratches for the night were Chuck Kobasew, Clayton Stoner, and Justin Falk.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let’s Play Hockey were: #1 Jay Bouwmeester, #2 Rene Bourque, #3 Martin Havlat.
~ Attendance for Friday’s game was 17,130.
Houston Aeros Report:
2010-11 Record: (12-9-1-2) 27pts 5th West Division
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #14 Jon DiSalvatore ~ 5G 10A = 15pts
2. #26 Maxim Noreau ~ 7G 7A = 14pts
3. #19 Jarod Palmer ~ 4G 10A = 14pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #42 Matt Kassian ~ 54 PIM’s
2. #23 Petr Kalus ~ 47 PIM’s
3. #12 Cody Almond ~ 43 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #30 Anton Khudobin 15GP (8-5-1) 2.20GAA .927%SP
2. #31 Matthew Hackett 10GP (4-5-1) 2.98GAA .903%SP
Most recent game ~ Aeros 4, Rockford 3 SO
In a divisional matchup that has steadily shown more intensity the last few years, the Houston Aeros battled against the Chicago Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs Thursday evening in Houston. After a hard fought first period, where both teams were trading scoring chances with relative frequency the Aeros got on the scoreboard first when team captain Jon DiSalvatore took a nice pass from Matt Kassian who was working hard down low before chipping it out to the crease where the former Maine star buried the opportunity by Hannu Toivunen with just under a minute left in the 1st, to give Houston a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd period. Rockford would pour it on in the second period, as defenseman Brian Connelly blasted a point shot by Anton Khudobin to tie the game just beyond 3 minutes into the 2nd, and a few minutes after that it was former Golden Gophers star Ryan Potulny rifling a wrist shot by Aeros goalie to give the Ice Hogs a 2-1 lead at the end of two. Perhaps sensing the game slipping away from the Aeros, Houston defenseman Drew Bagnall dropped the gloves with the Ice Hogs’ Brandon Bollig. Bagnall was really throwing some devastating right handed haymakers that Bollig struggled against and it had the desired effect of lifting the Aeros’ spirits. The Aeros would tie the game early in the 3rd period when Cody Almond found Jean-Michel Daoust sneaking in on a backside play to beat Toivunen to tie the game at 2 apiece. Rockford back just a minute and a half later on another rocket of a shot from the point by Connelly to give the Ice Hogs a 3-2 lead. With the game slipping away from the Aeros, Houston Head Coach Mike Yeo pulled Khudobin for an extra attacker with well over a minute to play and his gamble paid off as Jarod Palmer fired a shot that was knocked down by Toivunen but he was unable to pounce on the rebound before Cody Almond managed to shovel it by him to tie the game at 3-3. In overtime, it was all Rockford as they tried to answer back to what was a poor 3rd period. The Aeros seemed content to let the game slide to a shootout. In the shootout the Aeros would strike first as Casey Wellman made a nice move to beat Toivunen while Rockford’s Brandon Pirri couldn’t solve Khudobin. Khudobin would also force Kyle Beach to fire his wrister high and over the goal, but Almond wasn’t able to finish either for the Aeros. Rockford’s Ivan Vishnevskiy would tie the shootout at 1 goal apiece when he moved in and beat his fellow Russian Khudobin with a perfectly executed backhand to forehand deke. The Aeros next shooter, Robbie Earl would also come up short, but he was bailed out by Khudobin who stonewalled Hastings, Minnesota’s Jeff Taffe and Brian Connelly to keep the shootout tied at 1-1. This put the game into the hands of captain DiSalvatore and he did not let his team down as he made a sneaky little deke before sliding a shot 5-hole on Toivunen for the shootout game winner. Khudobin made 25 saves in the victory. The two teams will see each other the next night in Houston in what should be a spirited rematch.
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