After the North Stars left Minnesota I really found myself in a quandry, who do I root for? Dallas? No, too much pain and it just felt wrong seeing the “Stars” logo and thinking of the team playing in another arena and calling Texas ‘home.’ So for about a period of over a year I really sort of wandered about in a teamless wasteland. I would pull for the consistent underdog teams like the Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets and of course the Hartford Whalers but much to my chagrin and those localities pain they too watched their team pack up and relocate. So who did that really leave? Not much, but it was one team that captured my fascination with an unlikely run to the Stanley Cup Finals, the 1996 Florida Panthers. The Panthers were the relatively new expansion team who rode a red hot John Vanbiesbrouck as far as the veteran would take him. The “Beezer”, and the gritty play Panthers made them easy to accept and root for as the fans filled the ice with rubber rats after a story was released where Scott Mellanby one-timed a rat that he saw scurrying across his lockerroom. While it didn’t make him a friend of PETA it certainly made for an interesting goal celebration. The Panthers were eliminated in a 4-game sweep by the former Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Avalanche who gave their new town a quick championship to endear themselves rather nicely. Those names of that Panthers’ squad; Bill Lindsay, Brian Skrudland, Scott Mellanby, Ray Sheppard, Ray Whitney, Tom Fitzgerald, Robert Svehla, Dave Lowry and a young rookie named Ed Jovanovski made up this group of improbable heroes. The sight of their pale, sunken in and bearded faces looked more like a U-boat crew in World War II than an NHL team. It seemed as though Florida Head Coach Doug McLean and the Panthers were destined to greatness, but 14 years later there has been very little to feel good about. Other than a few minor blips on the playoff radar, the team has been virtually non-existant and in a constant state of rebuilding.
So I must give the Panthers some credit for giving me a fun wild ride to feel apart of in 1996. The Wild could stand to take some notes from those Panthers back in 1996 and use those as keys for tonight’s game against the 2009-10 edition of the Florida Panthers. Here they are in no particular order. 1. Don’t take anything for granted. The Panthers did a terrific job of staying focused even after continual upset victories. The Wild need to overlook the Panthers’ record and just focus on winning the game. 2. Work, work, work. The Panthers realized they were not as talented as the teams they faced and instead focused on what they could control, which was their work ethic where they simply outworked their opponents. 3. Take advantage of your opportunities, and make opponents pay for their mistakes. This is was best personified by the Panthers ability to score on the power play and even as the 2002-03 Wild that had their magical run to the Western Conference Finals can attest to, a solid power play can do wonders to make up inequities offensively at 5-on-5. The Wild must make their opponents pay for going to the penalty box and they must take advantage of the other quality scoring chances that may fall into their collective lap if they want to have a chance at qualifying for the playoffs. 4. Goaltenders must be the team’s ultimate strength. Its no secret, Vanbiesbrouck was unbelievable and stole games for the Panthers when they didn’t deserve it, and Niklas Backstrom and/or Josh Harding must do the same. Will the Wild show us that “Panther” like mentality or will shrivel up and die like the leaves in autumn?
Minnesota had decent energy to start the game as a bad turnover by Jason Garrison nearly yielded an early Wild goal as Chuck Kobasew picked up the errant pass for a quick shot that was blocked by a Florida defender before it could reach Tomas Vokoun. The Wild would draw an early penalty due to some good work near the Florida crease by Andrew Brunette as Bryan McCabe got his stick caught up in the Wild winger. On the power play Minnesota had great puck control as they kept their feet moving as they worked for deflection plays out from about 10 feet in front of the Florida crease but they struggled to find open shooting lanes. Finally the Wild would light the lamp as Cam Barker unloaded a blast from the point that he directed right over to Mikko Koivu who feinted at charging the crease getting Vokoun to drop and he ripped a wrist shot that sent the water bottle flying giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The Panthers tried to answer back, as Florida tried to get their forecheck going. Minnesota tried to create some pressure of its own and Antti Miettinen had a nice steal on the forecheck but he would removed from the puck by a nice hit by Florida’s Keaton Ellerby. A few minutes later the Wild’s Marek Zidlicky would be tagged with a holding the stick call, for grabbing Steve Reinprecht‘s stick. Florida would dump the puck in and then push it back out to the point where Bryan McCabe uncorked a slapper that was gloved and held onto by Niklas Backstrom. The Panthers next scoring chance on the power play was much more dangerous as a shot from the point by Garrison benefitted from a few screens as it reached Backstrom who was only able to knock it down and after a few hacks and whacks by Florida he was able to cover it up for a whistle. Florida continued to generate some quality chances as David Booth carried the puck down beneath the goal line and dish a pass out to Cory Stillman who fired a quick shot that was absorbed by Backstrom. Minnesota would have to feel fortunate as it earned the big early kill to preserve its one-goal lead. The Wild had another quality chance from its first line as Brunette fed Koivu for a quick shot that was stonewalled by Vokoun. Minnesota would look a bit lazy in its own zone and Florida would sustain some good offensive pressure as they held the zone and they took full advantage of the Wild’s lack of initiative. The Wild continued to be caught watching and waiting as Florida came close to tying the game on some good effort near the crease by Byron Bitz but Minnesota was able to work the puck out of the zone. The Panthers would get a bit sloppy in the neutral zone and stolen Bryan McCabe pass by Nick Schultz turned into a mild breakaway for the Wild as Robbie Earl raced in and rifled a shot by Vokoun stick side to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead. The Panthers tried to answer back as they worked the puck down low and Nick Tarnasky was doing a good job of possessing the puck and then dishing it to a pinching McCabe who ripped a shot wide of the mark. Minnesota seemed content to defend its lead as they were attempting a softer version of their forecheck as they were just dumping it deep and the first forechecker was not following the puck deep in the offensive zone. It worked initially to create some turnovers as Andrew Ebbett stole a bad pass but unfortunately he was unable to turn that opportunity into a shot on goal as the Panthers defense was able to regroup and sweep the puck away from him. A few minutes later, Byron Bitz led the rush as he carried the puck to the front of the Wild goal that Backstrom stopped and as he sprawled he was able to make a stop near the goal line on Steven Reinprecht on a huge late-period save. Minnesota was looking a bit nonchalant as Latendresse gave a weak pass that led to a bad turnover near the Panthers blueline. Florida would go on the attack as the Panthers sped into the zone and Stephen Weiss fired a shot on goal that was knocked down by Backstrom and he had to fend off a flurry near his crease before finally being able to cover it up for a save and keep his team still ahead by two, 2-0 despite being outshot 12 to 4. The Wild would take a penalty on the play and it would carry over into the 2nd period
The Panthers started the 2nd on the man advantage and Minnesota got a bit lucky early as David Booth was set up perfectly in the slot but he fanned on the attempt. Minnesota’s penalty kill challenged well, providing pressure on the puck carrier and giving Florida precious little space and time to work with. Florida was moving its feet well and the Wild seemed to struggle to stay with the speedy Panthers squad. Florida continued to fly around the Wild end and again it was Booth again misplaying the puck as he made a nice move from down low to take it out front where he again lost the puck at the last moment before having what would’ve been a point-blank range opportunity. Minnesota tried to counter attack and it was Mikko Koivu skating into the Florida zone where he found a trailing Andrew Brunette who pushed a forehand just wide of the Panthers goal. Florida just seemed to have far more jump in its skates while the Wild appeared to be laboring to just barely stay with them. Predictably, the Panthers would draw another Wild penalty with good hustle as they were able to get on an extra attacker before a whistle was blown as Florida outworked Minnesota and it was Schultz getting sent to the box for high sticking. Florida would work the puck down low near the dasher where they moved the puck back and forth from the half wall and back but finally Minnesota was able to get a stick in the passing lane in order to get the big clear. Minnesota’s penalty killers where providing pressure all over the ice and with just 20 seconds left in Schultz’ penalty it was Brent Burns who was tagged with a tripping call giving the Panthers a brief 5-on-3 power play. The Wild kept good active sticks and when Florida managed to get the puck down low and Michael Frolik tried to lift it but couldn’t as Backstrom was able to make a few nice saves from close range. The 20 seconds of 5-on-3 time would expire and Florida would have another lenghthy 5-on-4 powe play. As Minnesota managed to disrupt the Panthers with good hustle, the Wild attempted to counter attack and Havlat set up James Sheppard for a small redirect chance and his chip shot was gloved by Vokoun. The Wild again had to feel lucky at the fact they were holding a two-goal lead despite being outshot 9 to 3 and 21 to 7 overall.
Florida would establish some good forechecking pressure right from the start the 3rd period, as they worked for a shot near the crease and Minnesota would dodge a bullet early. Minnesota tried to counter with some forechecking pressure of its own but Chuck Kobasew was unable to reach the puck and their inability to hold the zone would hurt them in a big way as a nice outlet pass by Bryan McCabe reached Michael Frolik who got behind Marek Zidlicky. Frolik would race in all alone and then fire a wrist shot off the left post and in to cut the Wild lead in half, 2-1. After the goal, the Wild did not show any sense of urgency at all and the best way to describe their play was hesitant or disinterested as they stopped moving their feet while the Panthers did not even have to try to hard to win races to the loose pucks because Minnesota was not even trying to get to them. Niklas Backstrom was seeing more and more shots as the Panthers were taking every opportunity to fling a shot on goal. When Minnesota was getting the puck into the zone, they were trying to be too fancy and overhandling the puck and squandering opportunity to put shots on goal. The Panthers continued to swarm in the Wild zone as Radek Dvorak had a terrific chance that was stopped by Backstrom before he was bumped into by Gregory Campbell. No one on the Wild seemed to really want to hustle for the puck at either end of the ice as Greg Zanon was just sort of watch Michael Frolik step around him for a chance near the post that was shutdown by Backstrom. Minnesota finally got some pressure on a long shift for Florida where Brent Burns took a drop pass and he rifled a shot from the high slot that missed high and wide. Florida would counter attack and on a terrific individual effort by Steve Reinprecht to carry the puck into the Wild zone, dangling the puck around a few Wild sticks before it was sort of stolen from him by Cory Stillman who rifled a shot by Backstrom to tie the game at 2-2 to a bunch angry boo’s over the poor Minnesota effort. The goal seemed to spark a little urgency from the Wild and as Mikko Koivu fired a weak shot, the State of Hockey would give a very loud Bronx cheer over the team’s first shot coming over halfway through the 3rd period. The Wild looked tired as it tried to create some late-game pressure and work for the go-ahead goal. The Panthers were skating well, denying Minnesota from having time and space to work with. The Wild really seemed to be playing with fire as even non-threatening chances were close calls as a point shot from former UMD star Jason Garrison would get caught up in the equipment of Shawn Matthias and after a few seconds the puck would drop free and Matthias fired a shot on Backstrom which had him scrambling before the Wild defenseman were able to get the puck out of harm’s way. The Wild tried to mount some offensive pressure as Martin Havlat tried to make something happen offensively with Latendresse who centered a pass towards Havlat crashing the net and he’d be pushed into the goal by McCabe and that started a shoving match between the two. You could hear the boo’s from the sellout crowd during the last minute and a half as Minnesota managed a few more weak rushes up the ice while Florida looked hungry but the Wild were able to keep the Panthers from adding a goal and they’d force overtime.
In overtime the Wild had the first quality chance when Koivu found Latendresse who carried the puck behind the Florida goal and attempt a wrap around that Vokoun easily stopped. Martin Havlat and Andrew Ebbett would try to establish some pressure but just slow puck movement and being too passive was meant more squandered opportunities. The Panthers would then go on the attack and Minnesota would struggle to get the puck out of their zone. Minnesota finally got some decent offensive pressure as Kyle Brodziak would show some great hustle as he worked hard along the boards and Antti Miettinen fed him a pass and he’d find himself all alone behind the Panthers defense and he’d skate towards the crease where he lifted a backhander up and over the goal as Vokoun stacked the pads. The Wild continued to attack as Mikko Koivu was able to carry the puck and create some opportunities; the best on a pass to Marek Zidlicky who fired a shot up and over the goal and off the glass. Minnesota tried to change lines and regroup and it nearly turned into disaster as Greg Zanon was stripped of the puck and it was a quick 2-on-1 for the Panthers as Dvorak saucered a pass to Stillman who couldn’t get a stick on the puck and the Wild tried to counter attack. As they did, Havlat inexplicably helped out the defense as he slowed up just as he crossed the blueline allowing the Panthers to get into defensive postition and then Minnesota had nothing to shoot at and the Wild would elect to muck it up for the shootout.
In the shootout, the Wild elected to shoot first and their first shooter was the captain Mikko Koivu. The captain would move in where he’d go from forehand to backhand and attempted to roof a shot that was stopped by Vokoun as the Florida bench chirped away at Koivu. Florida’s first shooter was Stephen Weiss, and Weiss would skate in and attempt a forehand to backhand deke but he couldn’t lift it and it was stopped by the leg pad of Niklas Backstrom. Minnesota’s next shooter was Owen Nolan, and the veteran would move in and try a shoulder fake as he fired a wrist shot that was blocked aside with ease by Vokoun. The Panthers’ next shooter was David Booth and the former Michigan State star would show a bit more speed as he too attempted a forehand to backhand deke and Backstrom had little trouble directing it aside. That gave Marek Zidlicky a chance to be the hero for the Wild and he’d race up the ice and go a bit wide right before firing a wrister stick side that was steered away by Vokoun. Florida then went to Kamil Kreps who had an opportunity to win the game and he’d skate up the ice and as he attemtped to stickhandle a bit he lost the puck and never even got a shot off as the crowd reveled in the miserable failure. This gave Minnesota a level of reprieve and gave Guillaume Latendresse a chance to again be a hero, and he’d skate in and then attempt a wrist shot that was stopped blocked away by Vokoun. The Panthers again had an opportunity to win the game and they went to veteran Cory Stillman and he would make no mistake as he had a slight hesitation before he ripped a shot by Backstrom stick side to win the game 3-2.
Backstrom cannot be given much fault as he made 29 saves in a losing effort for a team that gave him virtually no offensive support to keep the Panthers out of his end. Defensively the Wild looked slow and uninterested; Barker, Zanon, Schultz, and Zidlicky all looked as if they were attending a morning practice after a long road trip. Just slowly gliding around the ice and waiting for others to battle for the puck and especially in the 3rd period this was particularly distressing.
Yet the real let down was in offense. To give you an idea of how bad the Wild were, its easy to find. Just 11 shots on goal in 3 periods and a 5:00 overtime. Who is supposed to be the desperate team again? The Wild looked like they had already scheduled their tee times and they put forth one of the most pathetic efforts I’ve seen in quite a while. In fact, it was incredibly embarrassing and insulting to the fans who paid money to see that horrendous effort. 11 shots against a team that gives up more shots than most teams in the NHL? Yet it was easy to see why they were only capable of 11 shots, the incredibly conservative style of trying to defend a two goal lead instead of attacking the Panthers and finishing them off. When the Panthers challenged them they just backed down and allowed themselves to be pushed around. It was a gutless, heartless effort that deserved far more boo’s and jeers than they recieved. However as a whole the crowd for tonight’s game was a silent one, even after the Wild’s first goal there was no crescendo and it was very quiet as the goal was announced so perhaps they dropped the ball a bit themselves. Credit the Panthers for continuing to battle and being patient and consistent and earning the victory. In fact it would’ve been a shame if the Wild managed to beat them in this game because Florida clearly was the better team, and more accurately, they certainly wanted it more.
Where was the coach? It was painfully obvious the effort was going to be garbage early in the 3rd period and after Frolik’s goal where was the timeout? The team obviously needed a good butt chewing yet what did we see? Richards completely quiet, not even a death stare. It was as if it didn’t matter, as if he too had given up. Perhaps he’s at wits end, but I personally would’ve appreciated seeing Richards lose it and just tear into his team because they certainly deserved some harsh words for their poor play tonight. By not losing it you have to question something Richards has always mentioned in his post-game press conferences and that is his compete level. I know if I was coach, I don’t care if they’re million-dollar prima donnas or not, I would’ve tore them a new one. I would’ve called them out for their lack of urgency. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of game; the team needed the game and they should’ve been very well rested having had the day off on Monday as well as coming off a home game on Sunday afternoon. They were dragging all game, as if they seemed to just hope the game would end.
The Wild do not deserve the playoffs; playoff teams show heart and energy. This team did not have a semblance of either. If I was Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher, I would fly back up to Minnesota from the GM meetings in Florida and I’d be chewing this team out for their poor play. For the fans that have sold out 401 home games consecutively this is how you pay us back? There will be far more boo’s if efforts continue like this and the playoffs may not be the only thing they lose in all of this. Hopefully Fletcher, Richards, Koivu or someone gives this team the Riot Act after that pathetic game. This team did not just shrivel and die, instead it sat next to the boards, coiled up in a fetal position and just closed its eyes with its hands as it awaited its fate. Pathetic, and the Wild should be ashamed of themselves.
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster for tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat, Andrew Brunette, Owen Nolan, Antti Miettinen, Kyle Brodziak, James Sheppard, Chuck Kobasew, Petr Kalus, Andrew Ebbett, Guillaume Latendresse, Robbie Early, Shane Hnidy, Nick Schultz, Greg Zanon, Marek Zidlicky, Cam Barker and Brent Burns. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. John Scott was a healthy scratch. Clayton Stoner is still resting from groin surgery while Pierre-Marc Bouchard continues to struggle with post-concussion symptoms.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let’s Play Hockey were: 1st Star Niklas Backstrom, 2nd Star Cory Stillman (should’ve been the 1st star), 3rd Star Mikko Koivu
~ In our first ‘Where are they Now‘ segment since moving to Bloguin this evening’s feature is on former Wild center Pavel Patera. Back in the inaugural season for the Wild, Patera was supposed to be a potential source offense for a team that sorely needed it. It didn’t really turn out that way as Patera had one goal and 3 assists in 20 games with the Wild. After failing to click in Minnesota, Patera decided to take his game back to Europe, first to Russia with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Elite League (as it used to be called) and later to his hometown team back in Kladno, Czech Republic where he’s been far more effective tallying 13 goals, 24 assists and 103 penalty minutes in 47 games. Is there a former Wild player you are wondering what they are doing now with their lives? If so, please leave a comment and we’ll do our best to feature that player in our next ‘Where are they Now’ segment.
~ The State of Hockey News would like to salute NBC’s Making A Difference story this evening about the healing power of hockey, as wounded American veterans play hockey any which way they can and allowing the game and the camraderie that comes with it to give them something to look forward to. Truly an inspirational tale and more proof of how powerful the influence of hockey can be in our lives. Great story, thanks NBC for sharing it.
High School Hockey Report:
~ The Minneapolis Star Tribune has named their (1st) All Metro Team for 2009-10 season. As a part of that they named their Metro Player of the Year in Blaine’s Nick Bjugstad who many believe will be a 1st round pick in the 2010 NHL draft and is listed as the 12th rated skater amongst North Americans by Central Scouting. Nick, the nephew of former Golden Gopher great Scott Bjugstad is going to join the Gophers’ next season as he has accelerated his education in order to be a college freshman next year. Here are the other members of the (1st) All Metro Team for 2009-10.
Defenseman:
Justin Holl (Minnetonka) – Senior
Joe Faust (Bloomington Jefferson) – Senior
Forwards:
Nick Bjugstad (Blaine) – Senior
Max Gardiner (Minnetonka) – Senior
Kyle Rau (Eden Prairie) – Junior
Goaltender:
Bodhi Engum (Burnsville) – Junior
There is also a 2nd and a 3rd All Metro Team as well, if one wanted to you could say this would be the various lines of Metro area high school dream team. Here are the 2nd and 3rd All Metro Teams in a more simple listing where the 3 forwards will be listed first followed by the defensive pair and lastly the goaltender.
2nd Team: Caleb Herbert (Bloomington Jefferson), Joey Benik (St. Francis), Cal Decowski (Andover), Ben Marshall (Mahtomedi), Andrew Prochno (Minnetonka), Alex Fons (Hopkins)
3rd Team: Archie Skalbeck (Hopkins), Tyson Fulton (Breck), Christian Isackson (St. Thomas Academy), Chris Casto (Hill-Murray), Brett Stern (Centennial), Aaron Davis (Mound-Westonka)
Also without further adieu as if you needed to be reminded but the Minnesota Boys High School Hockey Tournament begins tomorrow! As always, for the first day of the tournament, Class A starts things off and here is tomorrow’s schedule (and all of the games are televised on Channel 45, KSTC). Here is a link to the station’s website where tournament brackets, as well as streaming video are available.
http://kstc45.com/article/11204/?cat=11028
No.2 Mahtomedi (23-5) Vs. Alexandria (21-6-1) @ 11AM
No.3 Hermantown (25-3) Vs. Virginia/Mt.Iron-Buhl (18-7-3) @ 1PM
No.1 Breck (26-2) Vs. New Ulm (16-9-1) @ 6PM
No.4 Warroad (24-4) Vs. Rochester Lourdes (17-8-3) @ 8PM
The State of Hockey News wishes good luck to all of the teams, coaches, players, their families and fans!
Wild Prospect Report:
LW – Kris Foucault ~ Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
2009-10 Stats: 65GP 20G 19A = 39pts 29 PIM’s Even
In some ways the season path of Wild prospect Kris Foucault sort of mirrors that of another Wild draftee, Benoit Pouliot. The biggest knock on Pouliot’s game was a lack of consistency and at times his apparent indifference towards his lackluster play. Like Pouliot, Foucault has been a late-bloomer by CHL standards, taking his time to get comfortable and find his niche. A strong playoff performance for the Hitmen put Foucault on the Wild’s radar and we selected him in the 4th round (103rd Overall) and Minnesota had hoped he finally established himself to be that source of consistent offense. Yet it has been another erratic season, even if it has been easily his most productive as Foucault got off to a fast start and then flatlined as he began to drop on the Hitmen’s depth chart. Recently though, Foucault has been finding his scoring touch again as evidenced by a 4-point night against Kootnay on Saturday (March 6th) where he fired home a hat-trick in a 6-0 Calgary win. The NHL gave its fans a rare opportunity to watch the Hitmen on the next night in a home tilt against Saskatoon. In that game Foucault demonstrated some disturbing tendencies, such as his floating style of play as he stayed out of the battles along the boards and simply hoped to cherry pick the puck away as well as some disinterested play in the defensive zone. It does not matter who is behind the Wild bench, but NHL coaches are going to insist their players exhibit the same vigor and competitiveness at both ends of the ice. Fortunately for Foucault, the Wild prospect pool; especially at forward is notoriously thin and that may just buy him enough time to work these issues out of his game. No matter what it would be in his best interest to focus on playing a more well-rounded game and show more energy on a consistent basis otherwise his tag as a “one shift wonder” will seem well earned.
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