"It's the eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight, its the thrill of the fight, Rising up to the challenge of our rival, and the last known survivor, stalks his prey at night, and he's watching us all, with the Eye of the Tiger" are the famous rock ballad Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. For the longest time, the Vancouver Canucks have denied a rivalry with the Minnesota Wild but its interesting how whenever these two teams meet there is always fireworks. Whether it be sparring with fans or dirty cheap shots the two clubs seem to have the distinctive hatred that is created when you have (gasp) a rivalry. Oddly enough that rivalry is about to end as tonight marks the last time the two clubs will meet as members of the same division. This time its official as the league gave the final ok for NHL realignment. I know I will not miss the 9PM start times for games within the division. I wlll miss some of the trash talking with the NHL's most insecure group of fans. Nothing on the line tonight, other than 1st place in the Northwest Division. Canucks fans can go from being of full bravado after a win, to all out panic after a loss. With the stakes so high you can imagine tensions are running high on the left coast.
No one knows this bipolar nature of Vancouver fans better than goaltender Roberto Luongo. After a failed bid to win the Stanley Cup in 2011 the franchise hero was pilloried as they blamed him for the loss. The franchise seemed to give in to peer pressure and Luongo appeared to be on his way out, but he's still there. Luongo understands the pressure, having grown up in hockey mad Montreal and saw the ugly saga with Patrick Roy and by all accounts and has remained rather classy and professional. Speaking of Roy, the Wild left him with a lasting impression, so what sort of lasting message will the Wild give Vancouver tonight?
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1st Period Thoughts: I liked the pace the Wild started the game with, as they seemed to control the speed of the game, as they worked the puck deep and tried to create offensively off the cycle. After about 4 minutes in the Wild had the first high quality scoring chance as Kyle Brodziak made a nice play on the forecheck to win a battle down low where he set up Cal Clutterbuck for a wicked one-timer from the slot that was knocked down by Luongo who sprawled to cover up the loose puck. Pierre-Marc Bouchard was looking lost on the 2nd line, sort of wandering about the zone not sure where to go and even when Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi tried to set him up the diminutive Wild forward but time and time again he wasn't ready to play the puck. Minnesota would give Vancouver the first power play of the game as Jason Zucker was guilty of a lazy hook to the Canucks' Kevin Bieksa. The Wild's penalty killers had little trouble disrupting the Canucks' power play as their limited puck pressure never really allowed Vancouver to get settled. The Canucks' passes were off target all through the power play and the Wild were able to clear the zone and Vancouver got nothing going on the man advantage. The Wild went right back on the attack after the big kill, and it was the 3rd line sparking some good chances as Dany Heatley was active physically delivering a huge hit to Bieksa as the line cycled the puck setting up Brodziak for a quick shot that was fought off by Luongo. That good shift was followed up by an equally strong challenge by the top line as they set up Charlie Coyle for a shot that was again stonewalled by Luongo. The Canucks would go back on the power play a few minutes later as Henrik Sedin fell over onto his backside, with his legs going up in to the air as if he was shot just after a Niklas Backstrom save. But the officials bought the weak acting job by Henrik Sedin. This time the Canucks' power play showed much more focus as they were making tape to tape passes and this resulted in some quality shots on goal reaching Backstrom. Backstrom was up to the task, seeing the puck well and steering them aside as the Wild's penalty killers were able to get a few clears of the zone to get another big penalty kill. During the man advantage, the Canucks nearly stickhandled the puck into their own net as Bieksa skated towards the Vancouver crease as he juggled it a bit with his goalie out of the crease that he just got control of back in the blue paint. The Canucks tried to up the ante physically and Tom Sestito was having his presence be felt with some big hits to Nate Prosser and Justin Falk. Minnesota tried to go back on the attack and the 4th line of Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell and Jason Zucker attempted to work the puck down low and as Mitchell was battling for the biscuit he was high sticked by Bieksa to no call despite an official being just a few feet away and looking right at the play. The period would end with the Wild having settled things down with both clubs scoreless, 0-0. I don't like the thought of putting the Canucks' power play on the ice again despite the fact its struggled. Hopefully the Wild can generate some more pressure that will at the very least give Minnesota a few power plays of its own. Shots were 10-7 in favor of Vancouver but I think quality scoring chances were about even. Jonas Brodin was again tremendous.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Canucks controlled the play to start the 2nd period as they were able to get their forecheck going, keeping the Wild pinned in its own zone. The strong forecheck had the Wild scrambling in its own zone, as the Canucks set up Alexander Edler for a few bombs from the point. Minnesota was having great difficulty just exiting the zone let alone creating anything offensively. The Wild seemed to lack that extra step necessary to gain separation. With Vancouver controlling the zone it was only a matter of time before that pressure yielded a goal and it would come on the power play as Devin Setoguchi was given a 2-minute sit for hooking. The Canucks power play nearly cashed in right off the opening face off as Henrik Sedin set up Daniel Sedin for a quick shot that didn't miss by much. Vancouver continued to move the puck quickly and with precise passes and this led to a big shot by Jason Garrison that struck Daniel Sedin who was camped out front of Backstrom and the puck moved out into the slot where it was shoveled in by brother Henrik to make iti 1-0 Canucks. Minnesota would try to go on the attack and Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck would cause the Canucks a few problems with some great hustle Parise had a quick shot that was stopped by Luongo who then had to be alert on a rebound chance by Clutterbuck. The Wild kept swarming and ultimately a hit by Dany Heatley drew the ire of Bieksa who punched him in the back of the head giving Minnesota its first power play of the game. Minnesota's initial power play was thwarted by the Wild's lack of initiative to pull the trigger when they had the chance off the quick passes. All the Wild were able to set up was a quick shot by Setoguchi which was stymied by Luongo. As the power play appeared doomed the Canucks would give Minnesota another power play as Mikko Koivu was hauled down by Henrik Sedin. The Wild would go back to work on the power play and after a minute where they seemed a little more aggressive, but didn't have much to show through their first minute of work. The 2nd power play unit would hit the ice and Bouchard would pass a puck to the high slot where Heatley did not have a shot so he swung a pass back to Brodin who stepped into a slapper that beat Luongo just inside the right post to tie the game at 1-1. Minnesota would start to carry the play a bit towards the last few minutes of the period, but they nearly squandered some better play with a boneheaded decision to play the puck by Backstrom that nearly boomeranged into a cheap goal in the closing seconds. Luckily the puck never worked itself back out front soon enough before the Wild could crash down and contest the shooting opportunity and the game would remain tied as they headed to the 2nd intermission. I don't mind that they're keeping this game close, which is pretty typical when these two clubs play one another but it'd be nice to see the Wild raise their game in the 3rd period. Brodin continues to play well and he seems to be getting more comfortable in the offensive zone with each game. The Canucks again outshot the Wild 14-10 in the period.
3rd Period Thoughts: The 3rd period started off with both clubs playing a little more cautiously as they worked for the go-head goal. After a few minutes of safe play, the Wild would work the puck deep and with some hard work by Charlie Coyle to push the puck to Parise who fed it back to Spurgeon who slid it back to Koivu who was playing the point and he fed it across to Clayton Stoner who stepped into a one-timer that was redirected by Coyle off the crossbar and in, 2-1 Wild. It was a goal that was made all due to hard work in the ugly areas of the ice and yet the kind of play the Wild simply did not have the talent to make a season ago. Minnesota would continue to attack and a great shift by the 3rd line of Brodziak, Clutterbuck and Heatley to work the puck deep in the Vancouver zone made its way out to the point where Ryan Suter blasted a slap shot that was deflected by Brodziak just wide of the mark. A wave began in the arena and the Wild continued to frustrate Vancouver with its hustle and smart quick movement with the puck. Minnesota's counter punching style would continue to reap dividends as a beaput of a play by Bouchard to push the puck up to Setoguchi who made a perfect saucer pass over the stick of Keith Ballard to Cullen who moved in all alone on Luongo before snapping a shot 5-hole to make it 3-1 Wild and dead silence in Rogers Arena. The Canucks tried to rally back but Minnesota's defense was calm and poised as they thwarted the cycle and another part of their success was their strength in the faceoff circle winning nearly 70% of their draws. After a few minutes of good play the Wild would help the Canucks' cause as Setoguchi cleared a puck up into the stands giving Vancouver a power paly with a little over 6 1/2 minutes left. The Wild's penalty kill did a nice job at getting sticks into passing and shooting lanes and moving their feet well to get to the loose pucks and earning the crucial clears of the zone. The Wild would earn the big kill without giving the Vancouver Canucks much in the way of quality shots on goal. Minnesota would go back on the attack and the 2nd line was anchoring the effort as Setoguchi rifled a shot on goal that missed wide. As time continued to evaporate you could hear a few boo's from the home fans. The Canucks would pull Luongo for an extra attacker and for about a good 40 seconds the Wild zone looked like ashooting gallery but Backstrom and the Wild circled the wagos to earn a 3-1 win.
Niklas Backstrom was again terrific, making 35 saves in the victory. Especially late as Vancouver poured it on, often with blue-clad players near the crease all night he was coming up with big saves. He did so with some excellent help from his defenseman and forwards who helped the cause by blocking 23 shots. I thought Ryan Suter was outstanding as was his partner Jonas Brodin who keeps making the game look so ridiculously easy. The little plays to elude pressure, inluding one instance where he made a quick little turn and Michael Pinozzoto went flying by him, or the small hustle plays to get sticks on pucks preventing shots and passes that will turn into goals if he doesn't stay sharp.
Minnesota had balance offensively, getting contributions from its top two lines as well as the blueline. The top line may not be creating the lion share of scoring chances but there is some great chemistry between Coyle, Koivu and Parise who work well on the forecheck and the rookie Coyle is getting stronger each game. He was excellent on the boards tonight and while he got a little lucky on the goal, his hard work really set up the goal in the first place. The 2nd line also had another terrific game and despite the penalties I thought Setoguchi had a great game along with Matt Cullen. Bouchard just keeps chipping in points and he had another two assists tonight so I think he's going to stay on the 2nd line. That is not real great news for Jason Zucker who looked a little lost on the 4th line with Konopka and Torrey Mitchell. A huge intangible in tonight's win was the Wild's proficiency on its draws, winning 44-of-65 faceoffs.
No matter how you slice it this was a quality road win against an 'ok' Canucks team. Backstrom provided the excellent goaltending and the Wild's offense responded with 3-unanswered goals to take hold of 1st place in the Northwest Division in their last divisional game against the Canucks. I am sure the Canucks message boards are full of anger and ire directed at just about anything and everyone. So is the volatile nature of that fanbase; but that makes the win that much sweeter! Yea, I think the message was sent rather nicely tonight!
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster this evening was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Zach Parise, Matt Cullen, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Devin Setoguchi, Kyle Brodziak, Dany Heatley, Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Zucker, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell, Nate Prosser, Clayton Stoner, Justin Falk, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Ryan Suter. Matt Hackett backed up Niklas Backstrom. Tom Gilbert, Mike Rupp and Brett Clark were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Ryan Suter, Henrik Sedin, 3rd Star Niklas Backstrom
~ Attendance was 18,910 at Rogers Arena.
Wild Prospect Report:
C – Tyler Graovac (Belleville, OHL) ~ Graovac has embraced the role of set up man as he continues to help the Bulls finish strong at the top of the OHL's Eastern Conference. The Brampton, Ontario-native chipped in 2 assists in the Bulls' 5-2 win over Sudbury last night. The 6'4" 190lbs center is sure to be a go-to offensive force for Belleville as his 38 goals, 35 assists in 60 games would attest to. One player who has benefitted the most from Groavac's arrival has been Vancouver Canucks' prospect Brendan Gaunce.
RW – Raphael Bussieres (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL) ~ The Longueil, Quebec-native understands fully the difference between the good times and the bad times. Bussieres was there when Baie-Comeau were the most miserable team in the 'Q' back when he was 16 years old and he was an atrocious -31. How soon things can turn around as Baie-Comeau's pain rewarded them with some outstanding picks in the import draft and the team selected 2013 Draft eligible Valentin Zykov (40 goals) but Bussieres has been a leader in his own right. Saturday night was perfect proof of that as he scored the game winner (his 29th goal) and had 2 PIM's and a hit in the Drakkar's 5-4 win over Drummondville. Bussieres' has 38 assists to go along with his 29 goals, and is an impressive +27 this season.
C – Erik Haula (Minnesota, WCHA) ~ In the Hockey News' Future Watch issue, I thought it was lame that Minneapolis' Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo didn't include Erik Haula amongst the Wild's top 10 prospects because I would have. Haula doesn't get nearly enough credit for this but he's a solid penalty killer on top of being excellent on the power play. He has the versatility to play all 3 different forward positions and has tremendous hands. Last night, as the Golden Gophers fought off a strong challenge from Bemidji State in the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs, Haula had 3 assists and was a +3 in the win. I am not sure many people outside of Gopher fans would realize that he has been Minnesota's leading scorer all season long with 16 goals and 49 points in just 35 games.
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