Major League baseball player and perhaps one of the most quoteable sports personalities ever Yogi Berra once said, “This is like deja vu all over again!” This could be an accurate way to describe tonight’s rematch between the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames. The Wild will certainly have some good feelings after their 3-1 win on Hockey Night in Canada, but it must do its best to pretend it never happened. Why? Unlike deja vu, when the next time rolls around the Wild often stumble, trip and fall flat on its face as it can’t replicate the formula that worked so well for it the first time. I don’t mean to stomp on the Wild’s good mood too much, wins are very welcome and warmly received but this team has a tendency to take one step forward and two steps back the last few seasons. Consider it a fan envoking his right to be cautiously pessimistic. In many ways, the Wild’s challenge is very similar to what it used to be in its early years. If the team can manage to score 3 goals it has a very good chance to win the game. If it can’t reach that magic threshold then its chances at victory go down precipitously. So if you won a game two nights ago against the same team, what would you do if you were Wild Head Coach Todd Richards? Would you change up your goaltending just to give Calgary a different look, or would you just go with what worked the last time? Not to sound too much like a lesson in quantum mechanics but do you try not to mess around with the variables to avoid some sort of cataclysmic collapse? If I was Richards my alterations would be as minimal as I could possibly make it. The team had one of its best efforts all season on Saturday night and that has been such a rare feat the Wild dare not to tweak it at all if they can help it.
For Calgary and the Wild its like being two marathon runners trailing the pack by a fairly long distance elbowing one another as they hope to make a miracle-like comeback. Before Saturday’s game, the Flames were in 13th and the Wild were in 14th, but after Minnesota’s victory their positions in the standings switched but both still trail 8th place Los Angeles by 6 points. That may not seem like much, but with so many 3-point hockey games it is a pretty fair distance to overcome barring that the Kings don’t suffer any sort of Washington Capitals or New York Islanders’ type of drought. Hope is not lost on qualifying for the post-season just yet, but the odds are certainly not in the Wild’s favor. So will the Wild get that feeling of deja vu this evening or will it find itself dealing with diminishing returns?
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With lots of noticeable empty seats, the Flames tried to be fast and physical early dumping the puck deep into the Wild zone where they tried to win the battles for the puck along the boards. Minnesota was countering well as its defenseman, like Clayton Stoner were stepping up to retrieve the loose pucks and carrying them out of the zone. The Flames had the first quality scoring chance of the period as David Moss set up Curtis Glencross for a one timer that was snagged by a diving save by Niklas Backstrom as a few Calgary forwards stormed towards the sprawling goaltender. Minnesota would counter with its top line and Andrew Brunette worked the puck down low where he fed it back to Mikko Koivu for a one-timer that surprised Miikka Kiprusoff and he sort of let the puck drop before batting it to the corner with his paddle. The Wild was playing aggressively, and Marek Zidlicky would get caught pinching and the Flames would race down the ice in a 3-on-1, but they would not even manage to get a shot off as Martin Havlat hustled back to lift the stick of Niklas Hagman before he could pull the trigger. Calgary had another outstanding chance a few moments later when Jarome Iginla took a point shot and then turned and fired a shot that skittered through the crease. Minnesota again was able to create a little pressure offensively as Brunette again did his best to operate behind the Flames’ goal, but he was knocked off the puck by a big check by Cory Sarich. Calgary would again go on the attack, moving their feet well, taking advantage of the limited speed of the Wild’s top line and shot near the crease by Alex Tanguay was denied by a reaching save by Backstrom. Backstrom would have to make another close range chance on a heavy snap shot by Rene Bourque. Minnesota would get its 2nd line working and Pierre-Marc Bouchard moved a puck to Martin Havlat who carried it towards the Calgary blueline before dropping a pass back to Marco Scandella who fired a wrist shot that was stopped by Kiprusoff but he was not able to absorb the rebound and the puck was swept up by a screening Kyle Brodziak who turned and wrapped it around the Flames’ goalie to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Calgary would try to answer back right away as they went on the attack working the puck down low which would draw a hooking penalty on Havlat. On the penalty kill the Wild were aggressive, and were able to put Calgary on their heels with two great shorthanded chances. The first one coming off a shot block by Koivu who worked a 2-on-1 with John Madden. Koivu tried to pass it by Jay Bouwmeester and failed the first time but his 2nd attempt would reach Madden but Kiprusoff left his crease to challenge and the veteran forward wanted to wrap it around him but Calgary’s defensive support would arrive just in time. Eric Nystrom would block another shot just seconds later and he’d race toward the Calgary end on a 2-on-1 of his own but his shot would be blocked wide by a retreating Mark Giordano. The Flames were determined to get something going on the man advantage and they moved the puck well, drawing the Wild defenders down towards the goal line before moving the puck back to the high slot where Robyn Regehr fired a shot wide of the mark. Minnesota would managed to escape having killed off the penalty but the Wild’s chances would remain on eggshells as they would continue to take some ill-advised risks that yielded odd-man rushes for the Flames. One such chance was a near breakaway for Alex Tanguay whose shot was forced high by the great hustle of Greg Zanon. Luckily for the Wild, Calgary was unable to take advantage of those chances and Niklas Backstrom bailed out his team with a few great saves, including a tremendous toe save on a shot by Hagman to keep Minnesota carrying a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd period.
The Flames were moving their feet well to start the 2nd, and a long range shot by Koivu would carom around the boards and turn into small breakaway for Jarome Iginla who swept in from the neutral zone before rifling a slapper that was held onto by Backstrom. Minnesota would try to show some good jump of its own as a forechecking Patrick O’Sullivan picked the pocket of Sarich and he fed a pass out to the slot where it just missed a crashing Antti Miettinen. The Flames would go back to its big line and Tim Jackman was just too much to handle ad he got the Wild on their heels, allowing Calgary’s top line to cash in as Iginla fed a pass to Olli Jokinen who fires a shot that Backstrom just wasn’t able to get enough of and the game would be tied at 1-1. The Wild tried to respond, as Kyle Brodziak found some space and he’d slide a pass back to Bouchard who fired a shot that was steered aside by Kiprusoff. Minnesota followed that up with a nice forechecking shift by its finesse line of Matt Cullen, Miettinen and O’Sullivan and they would create a little pressure that kept the Flames bottled up in their end for about 40 seconds. In what started to resemble a soccer game where the Flames were taking the initiative but Minnesota seemed to be fine with disrupting the play through the neutral zone. Calgary was really starting to pour it on in waves as Iginla blistered a shot on goal that Backstrom stopped and it was Craig Conroy moving in and firing a shot that was somehow stopped by the Wild goaltende who would snow angel to cover up the biscuit for a whistle. The Wild tried to ease some of that pressure by putting out its 2nd line and Havlat would weave deep into the Calgary zone, before dropping the puck back to Bouchard who flung a quick shot on goal that was intercepted by Sarich before it could reach a waiting Kyle Brodziak who was again camped out near the Flames’ crease. As the game would continue to grind along you could sense the home crowd was getting a little bored so they started to do the wave as Calgary had another scoring chance in close that Backstrom had to keep out. The Flames would go on the power play as Clayton Stoner was tagged with a hooking call. Minnesota’s penalty killers was much more passive, but their active sticks and solid positioning would keep the Flames to perimeter. Calgary was playing into the Wild’s hands, as the Flames settled for long range shots as their puck movement was fairly slow and methodical making it fairly straight forward for the Wild to place themselves into the shooting lanes. The Wild would get the kill, but Minnesota would continue to sit back in a very passive 1-2-2 as they were content to defend their lead but that isn’t always the worst strategy as the Flames would grow impatient and Tom Kostopoulos would take a roughing penalty. The power play nearly started in disaster as Marek Zidlicky had a horrendous turnover at the blueline as his wrist shot was blocked by Glencross who went off to the races for a breakaway but he’d be stoned by Backstrom. Minnesota was making lots of risky passes and the Flames pressure was really causing the Wild to struggle and the boo’s started to rain downfrom the friendly confines as it was a pathetic effort with the man advantage. The Wild had just under 30 seconds left to go in the power play as the period ended with Minnesota still tied at 1-1 despite being outshot 13 to 3.
With Kostopoulos still in the box for narly 30 seconds the Wild did not help their cause by losing the opening draw and the Flames would drive the puck deep into the Minnesota zone. Minnesota would try to asserti itself offensively as Havlat got hauled down by Kostopoulos to no call. Moments later the Wild would would earn a tripping call when Niklas Backstrom tried to help his cause by sweeping his stick back as Hagman tried to bring it out front but he caught his skates in the process. Minnesota’s penalty kill was again very solid making nice smart plays defensively and clearing the zone effectively. The Wild would earn its 2nd power play of the game when Brendan Morrison was called for interference as he held up Kyle Brodziak who was racing towards a puck. Minnesota would start the power play with its 2nd unit, and right from the start they did a much better job of entering the zone and getting set up. This control of the zone resulted in a goal as Martin Havlat attempted to draw a pass back to Cal Clutterbuck but Havlat would pick up the puck and drive to the goal where he beat Kiprusoff with a wicked backhander to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. The goal seemed to energize the Wild, who would stave off a quick response by the Flames as Marco Scandella bodied up on Iginla and his centering feed was taken away by nice defensive support by Koivu. Minnesota would race back into the Flames zone and they’d draw a high sticking penalty on Regehr. Back on the power play the Wild would face far more puck pressure the they had on the previous power play and this would cause them some problems. Minnesota would continue work the power play, and a modified 2nd power play unit would find the back of the net as John Madden would receive a pass down low where he’d turn and fire a shot taken nearly from the goal line that banked off the side of Kiprusoff’s leg and in to give the Wild a 3-1 lead on its 2nd power play tally of the game. The Wild would put out its 2nd line to take advantage of a demoralized Flames team, and they’d create a bunch of shots and centering chances that just couldn’t seem to find their mark. Calgary would try to claw its way back in the game and Iginla would set up Jokinen near the crease and he’d backhand a shot that was directed to the corner by Backstrom. Minnesota would put out its energy line and Eric Nystrom and Cal Clutterbuck would throw their bodies around a bit as Clutterbuck collided with Matt Stajan. The Wild just appeared to have more energy and jump in its skates as Martin Havlat dangled around a defender and he’d unleash a backhander that didn’t miss by much. Minnesota was outhustling the Flames all over the ice, but predictably the Wild would get a penalty late as John Madden was tagged with a hooking call. The Flames would pull Kiprusoff with nearly 2 minutes left in the game. The Wild would try to circle the wagons to defend their goaltender, and even dropping to the ice and intercepting a pass with their glove as Marek Zidlicky did when he lost his stick to clear the zone. Minnesota would dump the puck down a few times until Cal Clutterbuck finally found the back of the net to seal a 4-1 victory.
Niklas Backstrom was again outstanding, making 34 saves in the victory as the snow continued to fall all over the Twin Cities. He really would keep Minnesota in the game when it didn’t deserve to be after another ugly 2nd period. Backstrom also came up with some giant stops when the team gave up the odd-man rushes that last year often ended up in the back of the Wild net. Defensively the Wild were getting caught pinching, especially in the first period as Marek Zidlicky seemed to want to become a 4th forward on nearly every shift. He can’t afford to do that against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Marco Scandella did not look out of place at all, and was much better along the boards than fellow rookie Jared Spurgeon. I also liked how Clayton Stoner played; strong and physical.
Offensively, the Wild had reasonable play out of its top 2 lines. The 2nd line of Brodziak, Bouchard and Havlat continue to be the true threat as Havlat is playing with loads of confidence and using his skills to create scoring chances for himself and his linemates. The confidence of Havlat is emboldening his linemates and Kyle Brodziak is also showing more offensive pinache as well. The Wild are not getting much offense out of its bottom two lines at even strength but as long as they provide energy and forechecking they can at least help maintain momentum. The power play also came through tonight after its early stumble to provide the punch that put the game out of reach.
While you can’t say the Wild had a full-game effort, the team managed to find a way to win two games it desperately needed against a division foe. It must recognize that if they play like this against Colorado they likely would not be celebrating a victory. Certainly there are some things to like; the ability of the power play to deliver some clutch goals, the assertiveness of Martin Havlat and the performance of Niklas Backstrom but this team will have to be a lot better if it expects to beat the high powered Avalanche on Thursday.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Martin Havlat, John Madden, Eric Nystrom, Chuck Kobasew, Matt Cullen, Kyle Brodziak, Patrick O’Sullivan, Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Clayton Stoner, Marek Zidlicky, Greg Zanon and Brent Burns. Jose Theodore backed up Niklas Backstrom. Cam Barker and Brad Staubitz were the healthy scratches. Guillaume Latendresse is still recovering from lower body surgery he received a month ago.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let’s Play Hockey are: 1st Niklas Backstrom, 2nd Star Martin Havlat, 3rd Star Marco Scandella
~ Attendance tonight was 18,315 at Xcel Energy Center, just its 3rd official sellout but you could still see a lot of no-shows.
USA Junior Team Report:
Team USA (U-20) 3, RPI 3
Team USA’s U-20 team is preparing itself for what will be a tough challenge as they attempt to defend their gold medal from a season ago. Part of that preparation for the American squad is a few games against NCAA teams and Team USA’s first challenge was against the Engineers of Renselaer Polytechnic Institute out of the ECAC. Team USA would get on the scoreboard first with a pretty goal from Chris Brown on a nice pass from Islanders prospect and Warroad, Minnesota-native Brock Nelson. RPI would answer back in the 2nd period with two goals from C.J. Lee and former Holy Angels star and last year’s Hobey Baker Award candidate Chase Polacek to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead just prior to the 7-minute mark. Team USA would respond with two goals in the 2nd half of the period as Emerson Etem and Chris Brown tallying his 2nd goal of the game giving the U-20 squad a 3-2 lead going into the 3rd. RPI would pour it on as Team USA decided to switch goalies, giving Jack Campbell a seat while Andy Iles took over the goaltending duties. RPI would tie the game late on a great individual effort by Bo Dolan. Overtime would end with just a token few scoring chances and the game concluded in a 3-3 tie. Team USA pounded 37 shots on goal compared to RPI’s 19. Former Wild 1st round draft pick Nick Leddy was a +3 in the game, while current Wild prospect Jason Zucker earned an assist on Etem’s goal.
Boys High School Hockey Report:
Eden Prairie Eagles (Lake Conference) ~ 5-1 record
Most Recent Game: Eden Prairie 2, Edina 3
The State’s top ranked school lost a hard fought battle to Southwest Metro neighbor Edina Saturday night 3-2. With perhaps the leading contender for this year’s Mr. Hockey Award in senior Kyle Rau who already has 18 points in just 6 games the Eagles are a team with a lot of speed and firepower that can put their opponents in a hole early. In their most recent game against Edina at the Edina Classic Tournament, the Eagles got on the scoreboard first when Luc Gerdes took a Luke Rath pass and he fired a shot by the Hornets’ Connor Girard to put Eden Prairie up 1-0. Nick Bakke would tie the game almost 2 minutes into the 2nd on a great feed by Ben Walker, and from here both teams would continue their chess match as both schools have plenty of size and great skating. The result of the stalemate was the game would get a bit chippy as both teams had a small parade to the penalty box with coincidental roughing minors demonstrating the growing rivalry between these two Lake Conference foes. Edina’s Jake Sampson would break the stalemate about 6 minutes into the 3rd on a power play tally but Eden Prairie answered right back as Gerdes ripped home his 2nd goal of the night to tie it up at two apiece. With the game tied at the end of the 3rd, the game would go to overtime where it did not have to wait long as Lou Nanne (grandson of former North Stars player and GM with the same name) found a little room and beat the Eagles’ Andrew Ford short side to seal a 3-2 victory for the Hornets. The loss was the first one of the year for Head Coach Lee Smith‘s squad, but the Eagles still look like a strong potential contender for the state title in Class 2A. The Eagles next test will be against former conference foe (back in the days of the old Lake Conference) Eagan on Wednesday who is also off to a strong start.
Roseau Rams (Mariucci Conference) ~ 2-5 record
Most Recent Game: Roseau 2, Holy Angels 1
On the surface it may appear as though Roseau is out to an un-Roseau-like season with a sub .500 record through its first seven games but that ignores just how close its games have been with 3 of them being 1-goal hockey games. Its losses were not against any slouches within their conference or in the outstate area as Minnetonka, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Blaine with the lone possible questionable defeat being a 3-1 loss to Thief River Falls. Senior Shane Omdahl (7 goals, 10 points) and junior Josh Erickson (5 goals, 10 points) lead a very modest Rams attack. Goaltending has been a bit of a search for the Rams as they have split starts between a trio of juniors Mike Tangen, Ryan Erickson and so far the front runner seems to be Jared Strand (1.12 goals against average, .943%SP) who has collected both of Roseau’s victories over Moorhead and Holy Angels respectively. Rams Head Coach Andy Lundbohm will hope the wins begin to accumulate again as they hope to build on their 2-game winning streak in a Tuesday night tilt against Lake of the Woods.
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