I am probably little different from many hockey fans out there when I say I dabble in fantasy hockey. While fantasy hockey doesn’t receive the same amount of promotion and ballyhoo that it’s much popular and money driven fantasy (NFL) football cousin does it still requires the same levels of skill and luck in order to be successful enough to come out on top in your respective league. I have two different teams, one in a head to head league where a bad week by your group can have you losing even though you have a vastly superior roster. Some people really like that aspect of head to head competition but I have to admit I’m not a big fan. Why? Well, the goaltending numbers for one. If a guy has one good game, and since its head to head and your statistics are the culmination of one week of play in the NHL the team manager benches this player because he figures the shutout will stand and doesn’t want to screw it up by starting him again and risk his goaltending stats be compromised from a bad outing. What bothers me about that sort of strategy is that it goes against all conventional thinking in sports. When you’re in a close game, do you take out your best player so that he doesn’t hurt his stats? Of course not and I think even fantasy hockey managers should be forced to play their best available. My other league, the one where I am the ‘commissioner’, it is simply a total points league. So you just accumulate points and at the end of the season you have a winner. This way there is no reason to play the goaltender bait and switch game and I think it encourages a manager to play their best players all of the time. While I am sure that you have little interest in how my fantasy teams are doing as I set my roster for the week I came to a rather telling conclusion. I have absolutely no Wild players on either team. Why? They’re absolutely atrocious points-wise (which is what counts obviously) and as much of a Wild fan that I am I just can’t bring myself to make a homer pick because of my current level of hope for this team (i.e. not much). Then as I thought about why I haven’t picked any Wild players I began to think about the new format for the NHL All Star Game, where two ‘Captains’ pick the teams. So now this line of thought had come full circle; would any of these ‘captains’ pick any Wild players? My answer, not if they want to win and only if the league forced them to. While I give the NHL a little credit for trying to revamp the NHL All Star Game (which I certainly did not miss last season due to the Olympics) overall all hockey fans know that it won’t really improve the product on the ice all that much. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada‘s Hockey Hotstove, former Islanders GM Mike Milbury was 100% correct when he said the game was dead and that this did not do anything to improve the actual game but only improve the hype of the selection of the teams more than anything else. Either way, what was ignored at last week’s General Manager’s meeting was an opportunity to improve the game by addressing head shots as well as putting in place a coach’s challenge both of which could’ve had a positive impact (no pun intended on the former issue) on the season. The other and much bigger issue that was ignored was what to do when the current collective bargaining agreement expires which again has the potential to be as tumultuous as it was in 2004. Yea that’s right, I’m talking about a potential for a lockout and for a league’s fans that supported NHL owners on a salary cap, to say that put a perfect level of cost control on the league needs to have their heads examined. Many teams who were cash strapped before the salary cap are spending many millions more on their rosters than they did before the lockout while their attendance has not improved much (or gotten worse). Something has to give here, and to ignore this elephant in the room was not a smart move on their part. I wonder if any of the NHL’s GM’s would ever pick any Wild players if they had a fantasy draft?
My answer would be the same as it was for the NHL All Star game, not if they want to win and only if the league forced them to do so! So this afternoon is a huge contrast of fantasy type teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by their super sniper Steven Stamkos who has been a fantasy team’s dream leading the league in goals and scoring compared to the Wild’s leading scorer and team captain Mikko Koivu who currently has less goals than Cal Clutterbuck. While I know that may seem to be a cheap shot against the team I root for, its a fact no matter how painful it may be. The Wild have been dismal the last two games and overall the Southeast Division has done very well against the Northwest Division in their crossover games thus far. The Wild have fallen to Atlanta, Florida and Carolina twice with its lone win, ironically over division-leading Washington. The Lightning are having a terrific season and so far new Head Coach Guy Boucher seems to have the youth and energy that fits so well into their team that matches his vigor with great speed and skill (and youth as well). The Wild on the other hand are not very fast, still fairly young and the energy level seems to vary from game to game. Wild Head Coach Todd Richards loves to talk about “compete level” but very seldom do we see him get fired up on the team’s bench so do you see the parallel’s that are in play? So which team will come out fired up this afternoon, and take full advantage of an opportunity to gain two more points in the standings?
With lots of fans dressed as seats in Tampa Bay the Wild were showing some good physicality early as Eric Nystrom was throwing his body around early as he leveled former Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund with a big hit. Minnesota would have a nice shift by the modified top line of Martin Havlat, Mikko Koivu and Casey Wellman as they battled well along the boards but all they could manage was a weak shot on goal by Koivu that was directed aside with ease by Dan Ellis. The Lightning would try to create some offense by working the puck back to the point where Brett Clark wound up and hammered a slapper that missed just wide of the Minnesota goal. A few minutes later Tampa Bay would try to use some of its big bodies to create some havoc down low as Ryan Malone was stonewalled on an attempted wrap around by Niklas Backstrom, but the Lightning would gather up the loose puck and try a point shot that was blocked by Cal Clutterbuck who went chasing for the puck. He’d win the race for the puck but his attempted centering pass was denied by a diving play by Brett Clark. Minnesota would create some space with some nice passing to set up a point shot by Greg Zanon that missed wide of Ellis, and the puck would be picked up by Havlat who made a nice spin move to elude a defender and as he moved to the slot he was tripped up and lost the puck. Fortunately the officials called a penalty because the puck slid into the neutral zone and Martin St. Louis went off to the races to chase it and Zanon would dive to try to sweep the puck away from him but only ended up making more of a pass as the speedy Lightning forward looked to have a breakaway when the play was whistled dead. With Steve Downie in the box for tripping the Wild went on the power play. Tampa Bay’s penalty kill was passively aggressive as they challenged the puck carrier and Minnesota struggled to get set up in the zone, as the Wild regrouped Marek Zidlicky found Cal Clutterbuck who moved into the Lightning zone. Clutterbuck fired a shot that deflected off the stick of Mike Lundin and then caromed off the boards right into the crease where the puck glanced off the back of Ellis’ leg and into the goal to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Minnesota looked to add to its lead as they won a faceoff in the Tampa Bay zone and the puck was drawn back to Zidlicky who blistered a slap shot that did not miss by much. The Lightning were going to try to charge the Wild crease and after dumping the puck deep into the Minnesota zone, and Johan Harju tried to jam home a puck by Backstrom held the post well and made the stop. Tampa Bay was pressing hard for the equalizer, and nearly got it on a point shot that was deflected by Nate Thompson that forced Backstrom to make a toe save. The pressure was getting to the Wild and a misplay of the puck by Justin Falk would force him to take a tripping penalty to prevent a breakaway chance. The Lightning’s power play is very good as well, and with sharp puck movement the Wild zone represented a shooting gallery with Backstrom diving to make stops as he was moving from post-to-post with great frequency. It was only a matter of time, as Malone blasted a shot wide of the mark but the puck would work its way back out to the point where St. Louis blazed a shot by Backstrom who just couldn’t get quite enough glove on it and the game was now tied 1-1. The Lightning continued to attack and a turnover in the neutral zone became a breakaway chance for St. Louis who wound up and fired a slap shot that was absorbed by Backstrom. Minnesota looked as though it was on the ropes and a quick flurry near the Wild goal nearly gave Tampa Bay the go ahead goal if not for an alert play by Havlat who picked up the rebound and skated it out of danger leading a rush in the process. He would dish the puck over to John Madden who drew the defense towards him before passing it back to Havlat who carried the puck down beneath the goal line before sliding a perfect drop pass to Madden who buried it by Ellis to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. It was a pretty play, and Havlat was clearly showing some confidence that we have not seen all season. On the very next shift, the Wild looked as though they were on a power play as Havlat found some space and perhaps he was too unselfish as he looked to have Ellis out of position but he passed up on the opportunity to shoot and tried to pass the puck back to Madden who worked it back out to the point where Marco Scandella pulled the trigger on a shot that went wide. Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck would take a foolish interference penalty when he leveled Mattias Ritola with a hip check as he attempted to chase a dump in into the Wild zone giving the Lightning their 2nd power play of the game. The Wild’s penalty kill was able to clear the zone early and often and Minnesota was pressuring the puck carrier well. Tampa Bay would be patient and set up Steven Stamkos for a one-timer and Backstrom was able to get across his crease to make a nice save. The Wild would manage to kill the penalty with some good hard work and defensive positioning. The Lightning would try to work for the tying goal late, as Ryan Malone just tried to power his way down the ice, and he’d drive a shot towards the net that would end up on the stick of Ritola who snapped a shot that was stopped by Backstrom. A few moments later the Lightning had another good chance as Stamkos tried a no-look spinning backhand that missed by inches. The Wild tried to counter attack as John Madden raced into the Lightning zone where he’d pass up a shot and try a pass to Nystrom but it never made it there. Minnesota would go on the power play after Mattias Ohlund hit Andrew Brunette from behind sending him face first into the boards for an easy call. The Wild would make Tampa Bay pay for its lack of discipline as they won the initial draw and work the puck down low to Brunette who carried it beneath the goal line before feeding a quick pass into the slot to a waiting Antti Miettinen who rifled a shot up underneath the cross bar to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead going into the 2nd period.
The Lightning went on the attack right away to start the 2nd as Sean Bergenheim carried the puck into the Wild zone where he dished it off to Dominic Moore who tried jamming a shot through Backstrom but he held onto make the stop. Tampa Bay persisted and it was the top line of Downie, Stamkos and St. Louis driving to the Wild crease but again Backstrom would snow angel to cover the biscuit. Marco Scandella would showcase some great potential as he rode Stamkos off the play and then won a battle for the puck along the boards to chip it out of the Wild zone which demonstrated both his strength and his mobility. The Lightning were really trying to bring the puck towards the Wild crease but Minnesota was using its stick well to push them wide of the goal and then winning the battles for the puck after that as Zidlicky won a skirmish very similar to the one that Scandella had just moments before. Minnesota seemed content to playing a 1-2-2 and defending its lead although they would attempt to set up Mikko Koivu for a slapper that would be steered aside by Ellis. The Lightning would go right back on the attack and and Stamkos tried to dangle around a Wild defender and he pushed a shot wide and the goal woudl come off its moorings. The pressure would yield another Wild penalty as Nick Schultz tripped up Ryan Malone. On the penalty kill Cal Clutterbuck had a great shorthanded breakaway as stole a puck in the neutral zone but his wrister would miss wide right, but Minnesota was challenging very well. As the Wild killed off the penalty, Schultz would leave the box and end up colliding with John Madden and the veteran Madden would get up rather slowly clearly in pain as he made his way to the Wild bench. The Wild would create a turnover off a nice hit by Falk that caused Malone to cough up the puck and he’d give the Wild defenseman a wicked slash in front of an official to no call, but Minnesota would attack and a pass would be dropped back to Kyle Brodziak who blasted a slapper that was held onto by Ellis. Scandella continued to show good physical play as he bodied up against Malone to take the puck away from him on a good hard working play. Stamkos would again try to lead the charge and he’d dangle around a Minnesota defender and drop a pass off to Downie who skated right down the slot for a wrist shot that was knocked down by Backstrom and he’d dive to cover up the puck. Minnesota and Tampa Bay would trade chances, as Robbie Earl made a nice play along the boards to himself before winding up and bombing a slapper that missed wide and the Lightning would immediately transition the other way and Martin St. Louis’ give and go with Steven Stamkos just failed to click on what would’ve been an easy tap in goal. The Wild had another nice flurry late as a long range shot from Cam Barker was stopped by Ellis who struggled with it, and the puck would trickle out to Nystrom for what looked like an easy goal but at the last second it was redirected wide by the stick of Dominic Moore. The Lightning would answer back with a great chance as Bergenheim set up Ritola for an easy bang-bang goal and he whiffed on the opportunity. The level of frustration for Tampa Bay was building and Steve Downie got into a minor altercation with Marco Scandella and they would earn minors for roughing and slashing respectively and the period would end with the Wild still carrying a 2-goal lead.
With the ice a bit more open 4-on-4 Minnesota would try to create something offensively as Nick Schultz fired a shot from the point that was slowed down by Clark before it could reach Ellis. Neither team was overly aggressive with the extra ice and the time would evapoarte off the clock rather uneventfully. Tampa Bay was still looking for that goal to get them back into the game and a wide shot by Pavel Kubina would carom out front where Bergenheim lifted a wrist shot on goal that was held onto by Backstrom. The Wild were clearly playing rope-a-dope and attempting to just work the puck off the glass and out as the Lightning clearly had Minnesota on its heels. The passive style of the Wild was yielding a lot of offensive pressure and Dominic Moore flung a shot near the crease that deflected off Falk’s skate forcing Backstrom to make a nice save. The Wild were still playing physically, even Koivu was getting involved as he delivered a nice shoulder hit to Steve Downie sending him onto his back. The Wild would earn some relief when Downie was tagged for slashing giving Minnesota a power play. The Lightning were very aggressive on the penalty kill as Ryan Malone tried to tally a shorthanded chance but Backstrom held his post well. The Wild were not moving the puck with great efficiency at first, but were persistent before they created a few chances up close as Ellis fought to keep his team just down by two. Minnesota would come up empty on the man advantage and Tampa Bay would renew its assault on the Wild goal, as Martin St. Louis narrowly missed cutting the Wild lead in half on a redirect of a long range shot. With just about 10 minutes left in the 3rd, Todd Richards would take a timeout to talk things over with his team as they tried to catch their breath after some scrambling play in their own zone. Tampa Bay kept up the pressure as Teddy Purcell moved in and lifted a shot up and over the Wild goal. Minnesota was not moving great but they were taking away passing and shooting lanes and blocking shots as Greg Zanon blocked a shot by Randy Jones. The Wild were hustling and frustrating the Lightning who looked winded as they backchecked effectively and kept driving the puck deep and changing lines. Stamkos would ring a shot off the pipe with about 3:00 left to play and that would typify the “close but not quite” night the Lightning had been having all game long. The Lightning would pull Ellis with about a minute left in the game for an extra attacker and Minnesota would help Tampa’s cause by icing the puck. Guy Boucher would call a timeout to discuss a strategy, but it was not to be. The Wild would win the faceoff and Martin Havlat pushed the puck up to Eric Nystrom who richocheted a shot off a Lightning defender into the empty net to seal a 4-1 victory, his first goal as a member of the Wild.
Niklas Backstrom was tremendous, making 37 saves in the victory. Many of those saves were from shots taken up close and he did a tremendous job at eliminating rebounds and preventing the Lightning from having 2nd chance opportunities. Defensively Minnesota’s blueline did a fine job of being strong, especially along the boards and they got help from the forwards who backchecked very well all game long. On the penalty kill, they gave up 1-goal but for the most part they did not allow the Lightning to create all that much offensively on the man advantage. The Lightning certainly had their share of missed chances but when they needed a stop Backstrom was there to deliver it time after time and this basically steadily wore away Tampa Bay’s will. Marco Scandella had a terrific game, a massive improvement playing far more poised than he did against the Panthers.
Offensively the Wild did not have many shots to show for it, just 18 shots on goal but they made the most of their opportunities. It was all about taking whatever Tampa Bay was giving the Wild and the bounces worked their way. One player who I felt had his best as a member of the Wild this season was Martin Havlat who looked confident and was assertive at both ends of the ice. His hustle was key in both creating scoring chances as his 3 assists attest to as well defensively where he helped out at some key moments. The addition of Robbie Earl helped as well, as he has the speed to be an effective forechecker and he looked very natural out there. While the Wild can savor the fact they buried their chances they still need to take shots when they have the chance. All of the forward lines worked very well tonight, if not for creating offense but by putting the Lightning on their heels with great hustle.
Cal Clutterbuck went down with what was framed as an “upper body injury” and that will hurt, and hopefully he can recover before the team’s next game on Wednesday against Anaheim at home. If he can’t come back, there is no doubt the Wild will miss his speed and physicality not to mention the presence he provides in keeping the other team’s head on a swivel as they know he could be roaming around to light them up with a big check. The Wild should feel a little better after going 2-2 on the 4-game road trip, but you have to wonder what the outcome could’ve been in the games against Atlanta and Florida if they worked the way they did against the Lightning tonight. Oh well, its a nice two points to take away against a quality hockey team.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster this afternoon is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Martin Havlat, Eric Nystrom, John Madden, Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Wellman, Robbie Earl, Brad Staubitz, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cullen, Marek Zidlicky, Greg Zanon, Nick Schultz, Cam Barker, Justin Falk and Marco Scandella. Jose Theodore backed up Niklas Backstrom between the pipes. Clayton Stoner was the lone healthy scratch while Brent Burns was serving the first game of a 2-game suspension and Guillaume Latendresse and Chuck Kobasew nursed groin injuries while Pierre-Marc Bouchard is still trying to get back from his bout with post-concussion symptoms.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Niklas Backstrom, 2nd Star Martin Havlat, 3rd Star Martin St. Louis
~ Attendance for tonight’s game at the St. Pete Times Forum was 14,868.
~ The Houston Aeros split a 2-game series with the Peoria Rivermen this weekend, as they lost the first game 3-0 on Saturday night but rallied back to a 5-2 victory this afternoon. The Aeros got off to a fast start when Petr Kalus lit the lamp on a pretty pass by Colton Gillies from behind the net, but Peoria would take back the lead with two quick goals. Houston would answer back with 4 unanswered as Jared Spurgeon notched his first professional goal and Maxim Noreau, Joel Broda, and Carson McMillan found the back of the net. Matthew Hackett had 23 saves in the victory.
Wild Prospect Report:
LW – Kris Foucault ~ Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
2010-11 Stats: 13GP 4G 5A = 9pts 17 PIM’s -5
Kris Foucault has been back playing again after being sat for a few games due to poor play. Foucault can give you lots to be excited about one shift and then disappear the next and this inconsistency is still his biggest developmental issue. He has the speed, he has the hands, and he can really dangle around defenders but all too often his willingness to be assertive and get involved in a shift physically is really where skill does not seem to match desire. If, and that’s a big if, he can figure out his issues with consistency he has the potential to be a skilled top 6 forward. This is his overage season so the time is now for Foucault to step up or he may not find himself to be apart of the Wild organization for very long.
G – Darcy Kuemper ~ Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
2010-11 Stats: 20GP (14-4-1) 1.78GAA .934%SP
Unlike Foucault, Darcy Keumper has returned to Red Deer where he leads all goaltenders in the Western Hockey league in wins and goals against average. By most accounts, Kuemper has not changed a lot to his game but he has shown noticeably better rebound control. It has been Kuemper’s solid play that has been a big reason the Rebels are surprising many by sitting in 2nd place in the WHL’s Central Division. In Kuemper’s most recent start, a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the high powered Vancouver Giants it was the Saskatoon-native’s strong play that kept them in the game. While certainly not the team’s most high profile goaltending prospect, which is Matthew Hackett, Kuemper is giving the Wild some intriguing goaltending depth in their prospect pool.
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