Brodziak scores twice to put Minnesota back into 1st place in 4-2 home win over New Jersey

A few years ago I used to do an annual series on the Best and Worst Fans of the NHL.  I usually timed it right around late August, prior to the start of NHL training camp.  In my first edition back in 2008 I rated the New Jersey Devils near the bottom.  One of my qualifiers that a team’s relative success was factored into my fan ratings.  So if you had a successful team but didn’t draw well you were going to get hammered in my final rankings.  The Devils were and still are a great example of a team that has been fairly successful but has been milquetoast to pathetic at the gate.  The backlash my assessment caused really surprised me.  Apart from a fusilade of predictable insults levied in my direction, was a huge plethora of excuses why fans weren’t showing up to the games (everything from the arena being located in a bad neighborhood, parking issues, being in a saturated NHL market, and high ticket prices).  Yet few could explain why a team that had a good tradition of success, playing in a brand new arena couldn’t draw better than an average of 15,790 (23th in the NHL) in 2008-09, 15,535 in 2009-10 (20th in the NHL), and 14,775 (25th in the NHL) in 2010-11.  The team plays in Newark now, but the excuses are still tossed around to explain the New Jersey Devils’ attendance woes.  Even Yahoo!’s ‘Puck Daddy’ (Greg Wyshynski) chimed in to blast me for my assessment of the Devils.  While, I’ll admit my first survey was not exactly scientific, but I wasn’t claiming it to be.  However, are the New Jersey Devils in trouble?  According to USAToday, that’s a big YES.  Check out this article from September here.  The team missed making a $100 million loan payment to a CIT-lending group as well as owing a further $180 million.  Team owners Jeff Vanderbeek and James Chambers are said to be looking to sell their 47% interest of the team and last year Forbes valued the franchise at $200 million.  Wait a sec, you owe $280 million and your franchise is worth just $200 million?  Yikes!?!?  The Devils have refuted the report of a possible bankruptcy in an ESPN article you can read here.  Maybe its just me but that’s pretty disturbing news for any NHL franchise let alone one known with some attendance issues.    

  Are the New Jersey Devils in trouble?

Now I am not going to claim to be clairvoyant, but in 2009-10 and for 2010-11 I rated Atlanta having the worst fans in the NHL in which I also hinted they may not have a franchise for much longer.  We all know what happened next.  As far as the Devils are concerned I am not seeing the team as being a candidate for relocation (the Islanders and Coyotes are far better candidates for that to occur) but if the financial stories are true then it makes you wonder how they could afford a $100 million contract to Ilya Kovalchuk.  The Wild have traditionally struggled against New Jersey, which so far have been a real Jekyll & Hyde team so its tough to know what to expect.  Hopefully the Wild just worry about what they can control and stay within their system and I think they’ll be just fine.  So will the Wild start December with a victory or will they make fans wish it was still November? 

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1st Period Thoughts:  Minnesota had a good initial shift as the top line of Mikko Koivu, Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley worked the puck down low and it was Setoguchi throwing a pass out into the slot but it was just out of the reach of Heatley.  Both clubs were possessing the puck well along the boards, and a few minutes into the game, the Devils would light the lamp as a point shot by Andy Greene was deflected on goal by Zach Parise beat a surprised Niklas Backstrom 5-hole to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.  The Devils lead would be short-lived as Minnesota’s top line answered back as Dany Heatley raced into the zone and he ripped a wrist shot that beat Martin Brodeur to tie the game at 1 goal apiece.  The Devils would try to respond as Mattias Tedenby set up a point shot for Greene who benefitted from another fine redirection but Backstrom was able to kick it aside.  ‘$100 million dollar man’ Ilya Kovalchuk tripped in the neutral zone and the puck was picked up by Kyle Brodziak and he stepped around Anton Volchenkov and driving the net after a nice initial save by Brodeur, the Wild grinder never gave up and he lifted a backhand over the sprawling Devils’ goaltender to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead.  Minnesota’s 2nd line would continue to add offensive pressure, as the Wild won a battle for the puck along the boards and Matt Cullen fired a snap shot that would deflect off the skate of Casey Wellman and through Brodeur.  It wasn’t a big shock that Devils Head Coach Peter DeBoer was going to try to stop the bleeding with his team now down 3-1 and he pulled the future Hall of Famer and put Johan Hedberg in the crease for New Jersey.  The pace of the game would slow down a bit.  New Jersey, despite the fact it was trailing by two was pretty solid in puck possession but Minnesota’s defense was quick to collapse around Niklas Backstrom.  The Devils were buzzing and Ilya Kovalchuk was going to try to redeem himself for his earlier mistake as he skated towards the slot and used Colton Gillies as a bit of a screen as he rifled a wrist shot by Backstrom to cut the lead to one, 3-2.  New Jersey was still battling hard, and Minnesota was not moving its feet well enough and the Devils would earn the first power play of the game when Brodziak slashed former Wild forward Petr Sykora.  Minnesota’s penalty killers were struggling to deal with the quick puck movement of the Devils, and as they put a shot on goal they crashed the crease with furious intensity but Backstrom somehow was able to keep it out.  Cody Almond would show some good perseverance as he fanned on his clearing attempt that just still managed to clear the zone, but instead of giving up and being satisfied with that he followed it up and was able to win a race for the puck and carry it deep into the Devils zone and kill off some valuable seconds.  In the closing moments of the Devils power play, another shot from the point nearly found the back of the net as a sneaky slap shot by Adam Larsson just trickled wide of the mark.  New Jersey’s crashing of the net did give them their first penalty as David Clarkson bumped into Backstrom for a goaltender inference penalty.  Minnesota’s power play tried to take a page out of the Devils book as they tried to crash the crease but New Jersey’s defense was able to tie up the Wild forwards before they could get a shot over a sprawling Hedberg.  The Wild would come up empty on the man advantage, but still at least a little happy they were taking a 3-2 lead into the 2nd period.  Not a bad period, but not a good one either.  Minnesota cannot ease up a bit against the Devils who look very determined to answer back after losing 6-1 in their last game.  I think Wellman has looked reasonable on the 2nd line, but they need to tighten up defensively.   

2nd Period Thoughts:  In a big surprise, Niklas Backstrom was no longer between the pipes as he was absent from the Wild bench and Josh Harding was now in the Wild crease.  The Devils were swarming early and Harding found himself busy right away as their top line was causing havoc with their tremendous quickness.  David Clarkson would try to start something with Brad Staubitz, who just smiled and chirped back at the Devils’ enforcer who was trying to spark his team.  Minnesota’s top line would create a little trouble on the forecheck that turned into a scoring chance for Koivu whose shot was blocked to the corner by Hedberg.  The tempo was intense, and both teams were looking to go on the attack and both clubs were taking every opportunity to put shots on goal.  Minnesota’s 2nd line would nearly connect on a pretty tic-tac-toe play where Pierre-Marc Bouchard made a nice play along the wall to backhand a pass to Cullen who made a quick pass to Wellman in the slot who hammered a snap shot that missed wide.  The Wild’s 4th line would struggle on the very next shift and Colton Gillies would get busted for hooking.  New Jersey’s power play was looking very dangerous as an initial chance by Parise was steered wide but the rebound went right to Patrik Elias who pulled the trigger and missed the mark as Harding sprawled to cover the puck as it sat near the side of the Wild goal.  Minnesota’s penalty killers would re-group and miscue in the neutral zone allowed Mikko Koivu to move the puck deep and give a pass to Almond who snuck behind the Devils’ defense for a quick shot that was directed aside by Almond.  Minnesota would get the kill, and the game would open back up as both clubs would trade opportunities.  The Devils nearly got the equalizer as New Jersey again crashed the crease, bumping into Harding in the process and it was Tedenby sending a shot skittering through the Wild crease.  Minnesota’s top line would create some excellent pressure of their own as Mikko Koivu tried to dangle around a defender unsuccessfully but he was supported by Devin Setoguchi who held the zone and dumped it deep back to Koivu.  Koivu would make a pretty backhand pass to the slot where Heatley fired a quick shot that struck the right post and out.  The Wild’s energy line of Darroll Powe, Nick Johnson and Kyle Brodziak would cause a little trouble on the forecheck as Powe caused a turnover when Adam Larsson coughed up a puck to Nick Johnson who put a shot on goal that was pushed wide by Hedberg.  The Devils went back on the attack with its top line and nearly got a little help from the Wild as Mike Lundin inadvertantly tripped up Harding but luckily for Minnesota they were able to clear the zone.  A few minutes later, Zach Parise would step into a slap shot that was denied in style by Harding with the outstretched leg.  Mikko Koivu would make a great read in the closing seconds to intercept a pass and he was off to the races on a break away, but he didn’t quite have enough speed to make a move and instead settled for a wrist shot that was stopped easily by Hedberg as the horn sounded.  Koivu immediately protested to the official that he was hooked by Kovalchuk but to no avail.  It was a strange period where Minnesota was a bit scrambly in its own zone but they also created some nice scoring chances as well but couldn’t manage to bury them.  We’ll see if those missed opportunities come back to bite them (knock on wood). 

3rd Period Thoughts:  It was pure rope-a-dope for the Wild in the 3rd.  The Devils were really storming all over the Wild end, but Minnesota continued to get lucky.  A great example, a great pass by Zach Parise set up Ilya Kovalchuk who got off a quick shot but the puck struck the left post and went back underneath the pads of Harding.  The Wild were content to just chip it out and play defense and it wasn’t until just over 5 minutes left in the game when Kyle Brodziak redirected a Nick Johnson shot on goal that Minnesota finally gave Hedberg something to stop.  Yet a few minutes later it was Johnson winning a battle for the puck along the wall to make an area pass that turned into a breakaway for Brodziak and he buried the Devils on this play you can see on the YouTube clip below. 

Josh Harding was perfect in relief of Niklas Backstrom, stopping all 22 shots he faced.  The irony for Harding is that his perfection in the Wild crease earned a victory for Backstrom and not himself even though he did most of the work.  Harding continues to be a huge source of strength for the Wild.  Defensively it was not the best effort, as Minnesota found itself scrambling a lot in its own zone.  The heads were spinning as the Devils were outhustling Minnesota, and I really believe it was more about the Devils inability to finish than the Wild playing great defense.  Sure, there was some ok puck support and Minnesota’s defense was clearing away rebounds most of the time but all too often the Devils were able to crash the crease without much difficulty.  That will have to change if Minnesota expects to beat the Ducks on Sunday.  Backstrom’s injury, which I believe is a groin injury since that is what he appeared to say to Darroll Powe on the Wild bench early in the 2nd period.  Hopefully he can at least serve as a back up to Harding, but we shall see what the prognosis is. 

What more can you say about Kyle Brodziak?  Wild.com message boarder Fargokman said it all when he said, “we’re watching a Jacques Lemaire team here, defense, discipline, dedication, hustle, teamwork, playing the system, 5-men collapsing down low, its all there.  Brodziak is 100% an old school Wild player, hard work compensates for talent.”  He continues to raise his game to deliver the plays when the Wild need it.  His heart and sould effort has been huge as Minnesota keeps clawing its way back into 1st place.  Mikko Koivu’s 7-game point streak is snapped, but on the flip side Dany Heatley is on a 4-game point streak of his own, and his 7th goal of the season got things rolling for Minnesota early.  Martin Brodeur looked awful and I fear he doesn’t have much more left in the tank.  Being pulled after just 8 minutes was the 2nd fastest he had been given the hook in his career.  I thought Casey Wellman didn’t do too bad on the 2nd line.  I am not convinced he’s a great fit, but he looks far more comfortable playing there than he did on the 4th line where his lack of grit was really apparent. 

For the Devils I loved watching Zach Parise’s tenacity and I think Adam Henrique is going to be a pretty good player.  He has good speed, nice hands and excellent instincts.  If the Devils had a few more finishers I think they could be a pretty decent team.  Larsson didn’t play like a rookie and I think Peter DeBoer has the club working hard.  Minnesota was lucky tonight. 

Wild head coach Mike Yeo had this to say in the post-game press conference, “When you score 3 goals like that, bang, bang bang sometimes its hard to keep your focus.  Some credit has to go to New Jersey, we knew we were playing a desperate team, still a really good two points for us before we go on our road trip.”  Yeo also noted the 2nd and 3rd effort that Brodziak exhibited to score his first goal of the game and how important that is to win games.  The team did not have its best effort, almost every player admitted as much in the post-game interviews, but Minnesota continues to be resilient and finds a way to earn 2 points.  Its pretty tough to say this team is a fluke anymore; they keep repeating this magic act night after night.  Pretty soon even the skeptics have to start believing that.  In the meantime I hope we just keep winning. 

Wild Notes:

~ Wild roster tonight is as follows:  Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Matt Cullen, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Casey Wellman, Cody Almond, Brad Staubitz, Darroll Powe, Kyle Brodziak, Nick Johnson, Colton Gillies, Nick Schultz, Greg Zanon, Mike Lundin, Clayton Stoner, Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella.  Josh Harding shared duties between the pipes with Niklas Backstrom.  Justin Falk, David McIntyre and Cal Clutterbuck were the healthy scratches. 

~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by the fans were: 1st Star Kyle Brodziak, 2nd Star Josh Harding, 3rd Star Casey Wellman

~ Attendance was 17,310 at Xcel Energy Center.

~ The State of Hockey News would like to congratulate Wild prospect Zack Phillips (Saint John Sea Dogs) for being the QMJHL’s 1st Star for the month of November after a 5 goal, 18 assist performance as he is currently on a 20-game point scoring streak. 

~ The Aeros took a page out of the Wild’s playbook.  Houston spotted the Rochester Americans a 2-0 lead on goals from Shaone Morrisonn and Evan Rankin in the 1st period.  The Aeros would cut the Amerks lead in half just 44 seconds into the 2nd on a goal by Joel Broda who would have a Brodziak-esque game.  Houston would tie the game a few minutes later on the man advantage as Chad Rau set up Kris Foucault in the slot as he lasered a shot by David Leggio.  The Americans would re-take the lead on a tap in goal by Rankin that was too much for a sprawling Darcy Kuemper.  The Aeros would again tie the game about 10 minutes later as Justin Fontaine ripped a one-timer by Leggio after a nice pass by Foucault.  It was a nice chip pass off the boards that freed up Joel Broda who buried his  shorthanded break away in the 3rd period in what would be the game winner, to give Houston its first lead of the game at 4-3.  Kuemper made 21 saves in the victory.  The Aeros play the Toronto Marlies tomorrow night. 

Where Are They Now?:

LW – Antti Miettinen (Ak Bars Kazan, KHL) ~ A season ago, Miettinen was a top line winger for the Wild paired with fellow Finn Mikko Koivu.  After the Wild chose not to re-sign him, he had no other takers as far as NHL teams were concerned so he took his game to Russia.  It has been a rather quiet KHL debut for Miettinen as he has just 2 goals and 8 points in 20 games.  So far Ak Bars Kazan is in 2nd place in the Kharlamov Division. 

D – Ladislav Benysek (SV Caldaro/Kaltern) ~ The former Wild defenseman was involved in a bit of roster shuffling as he was sent down to the Series 2A in Italian league team SV Caldaro/Kaltern after tallying just a goal and 4 assists with Asiago last season. 

D – Travis Roche (SC Bern, Swiss League) ~ Roche had 3 short stints with the Wild stretching from the 2000-01 season to 2003-04.  After failing to stick with the Wild, Roche did have one 50-game stretch with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-06 where he had 6 goals and 19 points.  Yet that was his last NHL season so he took his game to Europe and immediately found a home in the Swiss National League with SC Bern where he’s been ever since.  He was one of the Swiss National league’s best defensemen last season posting career highs with a 9-goal, 41 point campaign.  Currently Roche has 1 goal and 9 points in 17 games. 

RW – Sergei Krivokrasov (Ermak Angarsk, VHL) ~ Krivokrasov was supposed to be one of the ‘gems’ of the expansion draft for the Wild.  He was one of the few players with any significant amount of NHL experience and was the only player who we had on our roster who was a former NHL All Star.  Krivokrasov didn’t quite provide the offense we had hoped, posting a disappointing 7 goals and 22 points in 54 games.  The Wild dealt Krivokrasov to Anaheim but picked him up off of waivers in 2001-02 but after 9 games it was all she wrote for his time in Minnesota.  After failing to stick in the NHL, Krivokrasov returned home to Russia where he bounced around the Russian Superleague.  His playing career finally ended in 2007-08 at Metallurg Novokuznetsk.  Who knew that the moody and needy winger would want to be a head coach which is currently his gig with Ermak Angarsk in the Russian minor league of the VHL. 

C – Roman Simicek (GKS Tychy, Poland Elite) ~ The Wild made a mid-season trade in 2000-01 with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire Roman Simicek.  Simicek scored 2 goals in his first game with the Wild, but did nothing after that and he’d only play 34 games for the State of Hockey.  The Ostrava, Czech Republic-native would return to Europe where he spent time between the Finnish, Czech, Slovak, and eventually the Polish professional leagues.  Currently, Simicek is having an explosive start to the 2011-12 season as he has 1 goal and 4 assists in 2 games for GKS Tychy.