Ever get that feeling of deja vu? Where you feel as though you’ve been somewhere before, or had recalled doing the same thing you’re doing right now at some time in the past. I know I get that feeling from time to time, as do 2/3rds of Americans where they feel as though they’ve had some exact experience more than once. Because that is of course what separates deja vu from a person’s daily routine. Every nuance, phrase spoken, thought and emotion in one’s mind is similar as well as the similar experience being recalled. I wonder if Wild fans across the State of Hockey are feeling that way as Minnesota travels to Buffalo to take on the sad sack Sabres all the while the buzzards seem to be circling above embattled Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo. If you recall, a season ago, Mike Yeo seemed to be in a similar situation when (and this is the only difference) the sad sack Sabres arrived in St. Paul in what many felt was a ‘must-win or be fired’ game. Yeo’s Wild won the game and the team was able to turn its series of misfortunes around on its way to qualifying for the playoffs for a 2nd straight season.
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As desperate as the Wild’s situation seemed to be a season ago, I don’t remember the vibe of the team feeling nearly as apathetic and lost as the team does this time around. Even with injuries that took away key players like Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu for a month apiece the team seemed to still have hope. Both of these players are in the lineup but the team seems to have fallen into an abyss and even if Minnesota were able to beat Buffalo it may not be enough to save Yeo’s job. So will the Wild win one for their coach or will they drop a 7th straight game?
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1st Period Thoughts: The game didn’t start out with a ton of intensity for either team, and after a few minutes of trying to get established in the offensive zone it was the Sabres registering the first quality shot on goal as Chris Stewart fired a shot from the slot that was absorbed by Devan Dubnyk in his first save as a member of the Wild. The Sabres continued to pin the Wild in their own zone, by winning the little races to the puck and sending it into the corners where they tried to dig it out along the boards and then out front. Minnesota would try to work the forecheck and generate some sustained possession time of their own and the top line of Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville did a reasonable job which culminated in a shot from the point by Mathew Dumba that was directed aside by Jhonas Enroth. Following up that shift was the ‘WCHA line’ of Jason Zucker, Erik Haula and Thomas Vanek trying to create a chance off the rush as Vanek’s saucer pass skipped over the stick of a waiting Haula who was standing near the blue paint. Moments after that the top line went back on the attack and Parise made a strong move to the crease where he was stopped by Enroth as the Wild crashed the crease looking for the rebound and it appeared they got a goal as Koivu jammed away at the puck. The official was fast to say “no goal” but the play would be reviewed. After a lengthy review, they would rule it a good goal giving the Wild a refreshing 1-0 lead. The ‘good’ goal call only received an apathetic protest from the home crowd. Minnesota was willing to be patient after the goal to let the Sabres make a mistake and they got the chance they were looking for as Erik Haula intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and he’d enter the Sabres end and then send a pass back to a wide open Jason Zucker who wired a heavy shot which was snagged out of the air by Enroth. The Wild would draw a tripping penalty on Tyler Myers but the power play that was created would be short-lived because Vanek would get knocked down behind the Sabres goal and then he decided to trip up Josh Georges. The next 1:29 of 4-on-4 was pretty uneventful as neither team seemed to have a lot of cohesion. It was equally uneventful as the Sabres, with the worst power play in the league struggled to get set up and the Wild earned a cheap kill. The next few minutes were spent with lots of choppy play of chipping the puck off the boards and chasing with the hope of making something happen offensively. Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter caused some trouble near the Sabres goal but Enroth was able to cover it up. Tempers were starting to fray between the two frustrated clubs as Mathew Dumba dropped the gloves with Buffalo’s Nicolas Deslaurier. The two would circle a bit near center ice before Dumba started to throw the first of a few gingerly jabs as Deslaurier took advantage early. Deslaurier really started firing right handed punches that were landing but to Dumba’s credit he stepped in and started throwing a few punches of his own even if they were not connecting as well. Both fighters would get 5 for fighting, and the Wild would go back on the attack. A respectable 1st NHL fight for Dumba even if it wasn’t a victory. Jason Zucker would show off his blazing speed as he raced around Mike Weber for a great chance where he nearly wrapped it by Enroth as he was tripped up giving the Wild a power play. On the power play the Wild’s Mikko Koivu carried the puck down beneath the left faceoff circle creating a window of space in which hit fit a pass to Vanek who got off a quick shot that beat Enroth. 2-o Wild. It was a big goal for a club with fragile confidence and they’d go into the period with the lead after out shooting the Sabres 15-3.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild had a great chance about a minute and half into the 2nd period as Jason Zucker hounded Rasmus Ristolainen into a turnover in the Sabres end, as Haula picked up the loose puck and sent a diagonal pass towards the crease which nearly turned into a goal near the Buffalo crease for Vanek who was robbed by the post. Buffalo would try to turn the tables on the Wild as a poor decision to pass the puck before he crossed the blueline that he partially fanned on that allowed the Sabres to keep Minnesota scrambling about its own end for the better part of a minute. Dubnyk would dismiss a few shots and the Wild were able to escape unscathed. After an interference penalty on Zucker, the Sabres went on the power play and Tyler Ennis found himself mostly alone near the crease and he was stonewalled by Dubnyk. The Sabres’ close call would completely boomerang as moments later it was Haula who poked a puck away from near the point and he’d race down the ice on a breakaway which he pulled a backhander just wide of the mark but the puck skipped back out front to Brodziak for an easy tap in goal. The shorthanded tally put Minnesota up 3-0. Buffalo’s power play would fade away and the Wild were starting to show more confidence, as a long pass found Nino Niederreiter who had the puck roll on him a bit before he could pull the trigger and he patiently passed it to Coyle and Vanek before finally sending a puck out to Jonathan Blum who threaded a pass down low to Vanek who got two great chances from in close before being robbed by Enroth. The Wild would add to its lead a shift later as Mathew Dumba took a pass off the faceoff and just wound up and hammered a slap shot that seemed to surprise Enroth to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead. Minnesota would give the Sabres power play another chance as Spurgeon tripped up Ennis, his former youth hockey teammate. The Wild pressured the puck carrier well and were able disrupt the Sabres’ power play with ease. The Wild would get the kill and they would go back on the attack and Coyle and Niederreiter would put on a clinic along the boards before working the puck back out to the point where Jonathon Blum sent a pass cross ice to Spurgeon for a one timer that beat Enroth. 5-0 Wild with a small smattering of boo’s from the annoyed home crowd. Minnesota had to feel good with the way Dubnyk shut the door the way he did from in close, as the Wild out shot Buffalo 12-10.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild would start the period with a little over a minute of power play time and Minnesota was pretty patient with the man advantage and not taking any undue risks. The power play came up empty with the veterans playing out the remainder of the man advantage. Minnesota followed that up with some quality opportunities from the 2nd line as Zucker nearly was able to tap home a shot by Enroth who steered it aside. Sabres just couldn’t get the puck out of their own end as Andrej Meszaros coughed up the puck right out front where Matt Cooke got off a quick shot stopped by Enroth but then it deflected off the Sabres’ Phil Varone and the puck went up and over the shoulder for a goal. 6-0 Wild. A few minutes later the Sabres would get a delay of game penalty as Tyler Myers sent a puck up into the stands. The Wild didn’t do much of anything on the power play, beyond setting up Mathew Dumba for a few repeated blasts of the puck from the point as it expired. Zemgus Girgensons would painfully block one of Dumba’s blasts and he’d slowly make his way back to the Sabres’ bench. Shortly after the penalty expired, the Wild would nearly cash in again as a error of communication between Enroth and his defense nearly resulted in a turnover to a roving Ryan Carter but Buffalo was able to sweep the puck away before Carter could pounce. Matt Cooke would level a Buffalo skater and the Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta would skate over to chirp at Cooke and in the process he ended up giving Minnesota a power play while Cooke laughed all his way to the bench. The Wild again did very little with the man advantage, just using it to waste time. The Sabres were clearly were getting a little frustrated as Chris Stewart took a run that nearly sent Nate Prosser into his bench. Stewart got his arms up on the hit and would get sent to the sin bin for elbowing. Prosser winced in pain but seemed to be ok. Due to the fact the Sabres were taking liberties with the Wild physically, Minnesota would send out its veteran group on the power play instead of rewarding 3rd and 4th liners as they did before. The 1st unit didn’t get much done, but the 2nd unit would light the lamp one last time as Erik Haula fired a shot by Enroth off a great pass by Vanek. 7-0 Wild as they coasted to a much-needed win.
Devan Dubnyk was not tested all that much, but he was methodical and sharp enough to keep Buffalo at bey. Dubnyk had 18 saves in his 2nd shutout of the season and you could see the smiles from both their new goalie and his team as they congratulated him on his first win as a Wild goaltender. Defensively its really tough to say how good / bad the Wild really were since the Sabres didn’t put Minnesota in conflict all that often. With injuries and suspensions taking a fair chunk of the Wild blueline with it, the team was dressing as many as 3 guys who probably should still be in Iowa right now. It will be interesting to see if Arizona pushes harder than Buffalo did tonight as news is sent across cyberspace that the Coyotes are ready for a complete and total firesale of their roster.
Offensively, all of the goals the Wild couldn’t seem to buy in just about any of its last 15 games were finding the back of the net tonight. In some ways the Wild kept it simple early on, taking the puck to the net and looking to bang home the ugly goal to get the early lead. It was good to see the team’s defenseman get involved with some goals tonight; especially Dumba who looked far more confident after his extended stint with Iowa.
However, the truth is, the Wild beat up the Rochester Americans tonight. The Sabres have mailed it in and had virtually no push back as they gave Minnesota plenty of time and space to work the puck. To the Wild’s credit, Minnesota took advantage of it but no one should think that the team is well on its way to climbing back up the standings in a hurry. For Dubnyk, this was a great opponent to sort of get used to his new teammates. I think the Wild’s defenseman appreciated Dubnyk’s ability to pass the puck to them instead of trying to send it off the boards and glass to who knows where as often is the case with Darcy Kuemper. The Wild looked visibly relieved going into this game and hopefully they can put forth a good effort against the Coyotes on Saturday, afterall its Hockey Day Minnesota. You don’t want to look bad in front of what will be a capacity crowd.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, Nino Niederreiter, Matt Cooke, Justin Fontaine, Erik Haula, Jason Zucker, Kyle Brodziak, Charlie Coyle, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Nate Prosser, Jonathon Blum, Mathew Dumba and Justin Falk. Niklas Backstrom backed up Devan Dubnyk. Jordan Schroeder was the lone healthy scratch as Ryan Suter serves the first game of his 2-game suspension for his elbow to Pittsburgh’s Steve Downie.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Jason Pominville, 2nd Star Zach Parise, 3rd Star Thomas Vanek
~ Attendance was 18,963 at First Niagara Center.
~ Devan Dubnyk is wearing #40 for the Wild, joining Chris Armstrong and former Golden Gopher Danny Irmen having worn the number previously.
Iowa Wild Report:
Record: (13-22-1) 28pts Last in the West Division
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #36 Michael Keranen ~ 5G 22A = 27pts
2. #4 Tyler Graovac ~ 12G 13A = 25pts
3. #29 Marc Hagel ~ 7G 11A = 18pts
4. #18 Zack Mitchell ~ 10G 7A = 17pts
5. #27 Brett Sutter ~ 6G 10A = 16pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #13 Curt Gogol ~ 123 PIM’s
2. #39 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 59 PIM’s
3. #19 Stephane Veilleux ~ 50 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Johan Gustafsson (7-15-1) 3.46GAA .895%SP
2. #33 John Curry (6-6-0) 2.70GAA .920%SP
Recent Score: Iowa 0, Chicago 3
Whenever the Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate plays against former Bemidji State goalie Matt Climie its going to be an interesting game. The Chicago Wolves dominated much of the 1st period but Johan Gustafsson was solid, stopping all 13 shots he faced. In the 2nd period, the stalemate would finally be broken as Shane Harper found the twine behind Gustafsson on an early power play tally. Iowa would nearly tie the game late in the period as Zack Mitchell rang a shot off the post. Early in the 3rd period Chicago would score again as Philip McRae would bury a goal behind Gustafsson. Chicago would add one more goal to take away a 4-0 victory from Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena. The last few minutes saw the frustration boil over as Brett Sutter dropped the gloves with Chicago’s Cody Beach. The officials were wary of a full-scale brawl so they sent Iowa’s Joel Rechlicz and the Wolves’ Colin Fraser to the box before they could tangle. Gustafsson had 35 saves in the loss.
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