Kings’ dominate the Wild in a 5-2 victory

Over the years, the Minnesota Wild has received a ton of flak for how it played the game.  Especially when Minnesota’s bench boss was Jacques Lemaire, the team was maligned for its passive neutral zone trap.  During the early seasons where the roster featured a large group of NHL cast offs, this system was both efficient and effective at keeping games close and giving the Wild a chance to win games.  Teams and members of the media complained how the Wild’s style of play was ‘ruining’ the game.  Most notably, Mario Lemieux whined about the Wild’s trap going as far as saying they were killing the game.  Wild fans have had to endure such complaints for years, but as the team added more talent and was capable of scoring more goals the criticism subsided.  It should be noted that the team’s adherence to the trap had also relaxed a bit with the more talented roster as well.  However, the trap, which virtually all teams in the NHL utilize either all of the time or in the role to defend leads is back in the spotlight after a game on Wednesday between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Instead of 1-2-2 trap that most teams use; the Lightning utilize a 1-3-1 which has caused a lot of teams fits but in the aforementioned game, Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette had a unique solution: do nothing at all.  As the single forechecker waiting near the blueline waited for the opponent to carry the puck up the ice so they could spring their trap the Flyers defenseman stood near the faceoff dots and moved the puck around just enough not to draw a whistle.  This passive counter to the trap drew the ire of the Tampa Bay crowd as well as more than a few broadcasters.  The bombastic Mike Milbury even ‘walked off the set’ in protest during an intermission when asked to explain the Lightning’s 1-3-1 trap.  The Laviolette strategy has started the conversation about whether the league should allow teams to implement a ‘zone’ style system like this or whether its truly harming the game.  Here is some of the debate that took place on Canada’s Sports Leader, TSN. 

While its nice not to focus of all the ill-will towards the trap (as Tampa Bay’s Guy Boucher has that mantle now), its still a system Minnesota leans on heavily.  What would happen if Minnesota had to go away from the trap?  Would it struggle and its deficiencies be exposed.  Its an interesting question to ponder.  Minnesota did not have its best effort on Thursday when it played San Jose and predictably the result was a 3-1 loss that broke its 5-game winning streak.  Tonight the Wild are playing a Kings team that has struggled to be consistent from game to game.  Will Minnesota get back to its winning ways or will it be longing for home?

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1st Period Thoughts:  Minnesota looked very passive and cautious to start the game.  The Wild were reacting instead of pressing the play through the opening minutes and the Kings looked eager and hungry.  Just under 3 minutes into the game, Trevor Lewis dumped the puck down low where Ethan Moreau dished it out towards the crease and it was pounced upon by Colin Fraser who tapped a shot by Josh Harding to put the Kings up 1-0.  Minnesota looked out of sync, even struggling to just enter the offensive zone without going offsides.  Perhaps some of this was due to the concussion sustained by Guillaume Latendresse which caused the team to juggle lines but there was not a lot of cohesion in the team’s forwards early on.  Minnesota would go on the penalty kill as Brad Staubitz took a big elbow from Trent Hunter but in the process of taking that hit, Staubitz’s stick got a bit high and he’d sit for 2 minutes.  On the Kings’ man advantage, Los Angeles wasted little time working the puck down low near the crease and they nearly cashed in on a flurry in the blue paint that somehow a sprawling effort by Harding kept Minnesota only down by one.  Minnesota’s penalty killers then took over the pace of play and started to clear the zone and the Wild managed to kill off the penalty.  However the relief would be short-lived as Devin Setoguchi would earn a hooking penalty; and on the delayed call the Kings pulled Jonathan Quick for an extra attacker and Justin Williams nearly cashed in on a slapper from the high slot that missed wide.  Minnesota’s penalty killers did a solid job at taking away the passing lanes and a few errant dump in’s by the Kings allowed the Wild to have some cheap clears of the zone.  With another penalty killed, the question I think Minnesota fans had on their minds is, are we going to continue to take penalties and expect to win games.  During the TV timeout, the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Michael Russo reported that Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo chewed out his team with the simple instruction of, “Stay out of the F$%king box!”  Right around the 9-minute mark, the Wild registered its first shot on goal as Pierre-Marc Bouchard stepped into a slap shot that was steered aside by Quick.  A few minutes later, the top line of Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley and Nick Johnson created the team’s best scoring chance to this point on a quick backhand pass by Heatley from beneath the goal line out to the top of the crease that was directed on goal by a crashing Koivu that was denied by the leg pad of the Kings’ goalie.  The pace of the game would open a up a bit as both clubs started to throw their weight around as Dustin Brown, Cal Clutterbuck, and Darroll Powe but one more hit as Warren Peters rode Alec Martinez into the boards that drew another Wild penalty.  This time a 5-minute major and despite the pleas from Head Coach Mike Yeo.  So with the Kings on a long power play, the effort of Darroll Powe and Kyle Brodziak killed off the first 30 seconds of the Los Angeles man advantage and Minnesota started to show a little fire.  Matt Cullen would intercept a pass at the point and he’d skate up the ice but couldn’t get by Drew Doughty and he let loose a weak backhand shot that was easily dismissed by Quick and Minnesota had to feel a little lucky to only be down 1-0 going into the 2nd.  There was still 3 minutes left in the Kings power play they’d have to deal with, but it was a good start to the clubs’ 3rd penalty kill effort of the game.  The Wild were out shot 12-3 says it all. 

2nd Period Thoughts:  Minnesota’s penalty killers had a great start to the period, pressuring the puck carrier well and preventing Los Angeles would not have a lot of time and space.  Yet the Kings were persistent and they’d work the puck from the boards and take it to the crease where Harding went down to his pads to challenge the play but the puck would slide across the crease and Martinez would jam a shot into the gaping net to put Los Angeles up 2-0.  It was an unfortunate occurrence to what was a decent effort by the Wild’s penalty kill.  Minnesota tried to rally back as Dany Heatley set up Nick Johnson for a quick shot which was kicked aside by Quick.  A few moments after that, a hard shot by Brad Richardson would catch Josh Harding in the forearm that had him a bit worse for the wear and the team’s athletic trainer Don Fuller would go out to attend to the wounded Wild goalie.  Harding would stay out between the pipes for the Wild, and Minnesota tried to go back to work to get back into the game.  The key word there was “try” as Dustin Brown would score on a typical heart and soul type effort where he worked his away around an attempted (weak effort) hip check by Marek Zidlicky and he fired a shot on goal that Harding stopped and then got his rebound and wrapped a shot around the Wild goaltender to give the Kings a 3-0 lead.  Los Angeles was pouring it on as Jarrett Stoll skated in and let loose a heavy wrist shot that rang off the crossbar and they were swarming in the Wild zone.  Minnesota’s energy line would create their first quality scoring chance in the last 5 minutes as hard work down low by Darroll Powe and Cal Clutterbuck culminated in a quick pass from Brodziak to Clutterbuck for a re-direct on goal that was stopped by Quick who covered up the biscuit for a whistle.  A few minutes later an aggressive outlet pass by Setoguchi to push the puck up the ice to Matt Cullen who passed it across ice to Pierre-Marc Bouchard who snapped a shot that was stopped in a scrambling effort by Quick.  The Kings answered right back with a scoring chance of their own as Anze Kopitar worked the puck down low in the Wild zone and dropped a pass back to Simon Gagne who swung around behind the Wild goal and out front where he backhanded a shot 5-hole through Harding to make it 4-0 Los Angeles.  Yeo had seen enough of Harding and pulled him in favor of Niklas Backstrom.  Minnesota went back to work on getting something going offensively; and it was Heatley carrying the puck into the Kings’ zone, weathering a check and putting a wrist shot on goal that was stopped by quick and a Koivu swept the rebound just wide of the mark.  Yet it wouldn’t get any better as Matt Greene stepped into a slapper that skittered along the ice and eluded Backstrom to put Los Angeles up 5-0.   The frustrated started to show as Staubitz took a big run at Anze Kopitar that sent him crunching into the boards, and shortly after he did that he was tackled by Simon Gagne.  Gagne would get a roughing penalty that would give Minnesota its second power play of the game.   

3rd Period Thoughts:  Minnesota’s power play was moving the puck with focus and Mikko Koivu, working with the puck from the half wall passed it to the top of the slot where Cal Clutterbuck banged a shot by Quick to cut the Kings lead to four, 5-1.  The Wild kept trying to claw its way back into the game but the effort really was too little too late.  The game continued to get more and more chippy with players chirping at one another and lots of extra shoves after the whistle.  Minnesota would add another goal when Darroll Powe tipped a shot from Marek Zidlicky by Quick to make it 5-2 but the game was really over before the 3rd period even started. 

Josh Harding did not have a great game tonight, making 16 saves in the loss but giving up 4 goals in the process.  While you can’t fault him for the bad penalties taken in front of him; but he was guilty of committing a bit too early for the low shots that put him on his pads and that’s what the Kings jumped all over.  Niklas Backstrom did reasonably well in a relieving role, giving up just one goal on 15 shots.  Defensively the Wild were more passive and Los Angeles took advantage of that as they moved about the Minnesota zone without much difficulty.  The Wild also lost defenseman Marco Scandella early in the game due to a head injury sustained after a check by Ethan Moreau.  That most likely means a concussion and that type of injury has no real time table for recovery.  It is very unfortunate because Scandella was one of the few sources of offense from the blueline that the Wild have so his absence will no doubt be felt in a big way.  I would imagine this will mean we’ll see Clayton Stoner in the lineup sooner rather than later. 

Offensively the Wild had almost nothing throughout most of the game.  The team’s top forwards of Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi and Mikko Koivu did not provide nearly enough offense to help give the team’s short handed defense some respite.  Koivu has just 1 goal in 16 games and at a salary of $6.75 million is a bit underwhelming to say the least.  Michael Russo tried asking Mike Yeo about that, but he sort of sidestepped the question by saying he is aware of it but believes he wants more than anything to score more than he has.  The Wild’s best forwards the last few games has been his energy players while the more skilled guys have appeared to be in cruise control. 

Speaking of Mike Yeo, he looked to be on the verge of rage as he addressed the questions from the media at the post-game press conference.  “They should be embarrassed, I’m embarrassed,” said Yeo, and he’s right.  This team simply didn’t come to play and they were blown out in dramatic fashion by a team that had been struggling.  Yeo added, “As far as I’m concerned we’ve played 3 bad games in a row, and there is no excuse for that, we’ll see how they come back tomorrow, I can’t wait.”  I am not sure if that’s sarcasm but its obvious Yeo is deeply frustrated and I have to agree with him.  While I am not expecting the team to come out with purpose with a quick turnaround against Anaheim tomorrow at least they don’t have to board a red-eye flight to Edmonton.  I have to admit, with the team calling up Darcy Kuemper from the Ontario Reign of the ECHL, I could see Yeo trying to shake things up by giving him a start since Backstrom had to play tonight.  Yeo is certainly bold enough to do something like that.  Hopefully this is the bottom, and the Wild can now focus on climbing back out of this little hole they’ve dug for themselves.   

Wild Notes:

~ The Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Waren Peters, Matt Cullen, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Nick Johnson, Colton Gillies, Brad Staubitz, Darroll Powe, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Justin Falk, Jared Spurgeon, Nate Prosser and Marco Scandella.  Niklas Backstrom shared duties between the pipes with Josh Harding.  Clayton Stoner and Guillaume Latendresse were the healthy scratches. 

~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Dustin Brown, 2nd Star Alec Martinez, 3rd Star Colin Fraser

~ Attendance was 18,118 at Staples Center.

Wild Prospect Report:

C – Zack Phillips (Saint John, QMJHL) ~ Philips leadership goes beyond the scoresheet, now that he’s been given the “C” for the Sea Dogs.  The Fredericton, New Brunswick-native had 2 assists in the Sea Dogs’ 7-3 win over Prince Edward Island.  UPDATE:  Phillips added another assist but was a paltry 10/27 on the faceoffs (37%). 

D – Josh Caron (Kamloops, WHL) ~ The rugged defenseman was his feisty self in the Blazer’s 5-3 loss to the Red Deer Rebels piling up 8 minutes in roughing penalties and adding an assist.  Caron is Kamloops’ leaders in penalty minutes. 

LW – Brett Bulmer (Kelowna, WHL) ~ The gritty forward is a go-to offensive talent for the Rockets upon his return from the Wild, and while he didn’t register a point in Kelowna’s 2-1 shootout victory he was a constant presence creating a number of quality scoring chances and was a +1 on the evening.  UPDATE:  Bulmer, wearing the “A” for the Rockets tried to lead his team to another win against one of the WHL’s better teams in the Vancouver Giants but despite tallying a goal it wasn’t meant to be as Kelowna falls 3-2 in overtime. 

C – Tyler Graovac (Ottawa, OHL) ~  The lanky 6’4″ center continues to find ways to get on the scoresheet this season as he chipped in an assist in the 67’s 6-5 overtime victory over the Saginaw Spirit.  UPDATE:  Graovac had a game he’d probably want to forget after going scoreless and being a -2 in the 67’s 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Oshawa Generals. 

Tryout Update:

C – Kyle Thomas (Norwich, ECAC-Div.III) ~ This was a player who made a huge impression on me with this relentless style and tremendous speed at Minnesota’s prospect camp this summer.  He was the only Division III player invited and his wheels were perhaps the best of the camp, mind you that included players who had played in the American Hockey League or professionally in Europe.  Thomas had a monster of a first game of the season registering 2 goals and 3 assists in a 7-4 win over the University of New England.  UPDATE:  Kyle Thomas had a goal and an assist in a Saturday night tilt against Southern Maine where Norwich prevailed 5-1. 

WCHA Men’s Hockey Round Up:

Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves  vs.  Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs ~ UMD wasn’t messing around with the Seawolves, as it jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period on goals from Joe Basaraba, Chris Casto, Jack Connolly, and Jake Hendrickson.  Alaska-Anchorage tried to answer back, but Kenny Reiter was up to the challenge and shutting down the Seawolves without much difficulty.  The Bulldogs would add one more on a tally from Travis Oleksuk who scored his 10th goal of the season to seal a 5-0 win for UMD.  UPDATE:  The Seawolves would jump out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by former Blaine Bengal Eric Scheid, but the good feelings for Alaska-Anchorage would be short-lived.  Wild prospect camp tryout Derik Johnson scored first for UMD, and a few minutes later Travis Oleksuk lit the lamp.  Jack Connolly added one more as the Bulldogs rolled to a series sweep with the 3-1 victory. 

Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks  vs.  Bemidji State Beavers ~ The two newest members of the WCHA have always had close games and tonight was no different as they battled to a 3-3 tie.  The Mavericks got on the scoreboard first as former Brainerd Warrior Josh Archibald lit the lamp, but the Beavers answered back as Ben Kinne found the back of the UNO net.  The Beavers would take the lead early in the 2nd on Brady Wacker‘s 1st goal of the season but Dean Blais‘ squad responded with 2 goals of their own from Terry Broadhurst and Jaycob Megna to carry a 3-2 lead going into the 3rd.  Bemidji State was desperate and really poured it on in the closing moments of the game and Verona, Wisconsin-native Jordan George would bail out his club with the game-tying goal.  Bemidji State’s goaltender Dan Bakala had 40 saves in the tie as his club was outshot 43-26.  UPDATE:  The first game of the series was close, but the 2nd one was a blowout as Nebraska-Omaha cruised to a 5-1 victory.  Megna got the Mavericks on the board first, but the Beavers would respond with a tally of their own as Darcy Findlay found the back of the UNO goal.  After that it was four unanswered for UNO as Archibald, Brent Gwidt and Broadhurst scored twice to give the Mavericks the victory.  John Faulkner had 20 saves in the winning effort.   

Minnesota Golden Gophers  vs.  Wisconsin Badgers ~ The Badgers employed a passive 1-2-2 which gave Minnesota a lot of problems.  It kept the amount of shots that reached Joel Rumpel way down and the counter punching Badgers were able to capitalize on a few opportunities to further frustrate the Golden Gophers.  Former Burnsville Blaze star Tyler Barnes set up Mark Zengerle on a pretty play off the rush that was just beyond the reach of the leg pad of Kent Patterson.  Moments later, the Badgers struck again on a partially deflected shot (off Gophers’ defenseman Ben Marshall) as Keegan Meuer beat Patterson on a fluttering slapper from the point.  Minnesota tried to go on the attack but Wisconsin continued to counter punch well as they took full advantage of a bad line change as Justin Schultz set up Michael Mersch who skated in got Patterson to hesitate and then beat him 5-hole with a soft backhander to put Wisconsin up 3-0.  The trap never really allowed Minnesota to get into any sort of rhythm all game long.  Minnesota scored late on the power play, as Jake Hansen (Wild prospect Erik Haula had an assist on the goal) found the back of the Badgers net with about 70 seconds left and the Golden Gophers would lose 3-1.   UPDATE:  The Golden Gophers had an extra step to their game and dominated the play in the 2nd game of the series.  Seth Helgeson scored on a seeing eye shot from the point but Wisconsin would answer back as Tyler Barnes lifted a shot over a sprawling Patterson to tie the game at 1-1.  After a scoreless 2nd period, it was turnovers that would haunt the Badgers as a nice steal by Nate Condon turned into a wide-open chance for Taylor Matson who skated down the slot and he ripped a shot by Joel Rumpel to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead.  The goal seemed to give Minnesota another gear and they’d light the lamp two more times as a big body check by Zach Budish scared up a turnover that went right to the stick of Nick Bjugstad who fired a laser of a snap shot that sent the water bottle flying and Wausau, Wisconsin-native Condon scored late to seal a 4-1 win.  Patterson was again brilliant, making some outstanding saves at close range to keep the Badgers at bey, stopping 13 to earn a win and split the series. 

St. Cloud State Huskies  vs.  Minnesota State Mavericks ~ While not as hyped as the in-state battles that involve the Golden Gophers and (insert other Minnesota-based team here) St. Cloud State and Minnesota State have more than enough history over the years.  The Huskies would start the scoring as Bryan Bertsch scored his first goal of the season, but the Mavericks responded a few minutes later as J.P. Burkemper found the twine late in the period to tie the game at 1-1.  In the 2nd period, Minnesota State would take the lead as Zach Palmquist and Eli Zuck lit the lamp to give the Mavericks a commanding 3-1 lead going into the 3rd.  When St. Cloud State’s Cory Thorson scored 54 seconds into the 3rd there was some hope but that was dashed just a few minutes later when Cameron Cooper beat Austin Lee to seal a 4-2 victory for Minnesota State.  UPDATE:  The Huskies got on the scoreboards first as Thorson beat Austin Lee.  Former Little Falls scoring machine Ben Hanowski made it 2-0 St. Cloud State a few minutes later on a pretty wrist shot.  Minnesota State’s Eriah Hayes scored to cut the Huskies lead to one, but SCSU got rolling again just minutes later as David Eddy scored to give the St. Cloud a 3-1 lead.  Minnesota State poured it on late, peppering Ryan Faragher with shots but he’d only give up one to Adam Mueller in the 3rd period and the Huskies held onto win 3-2 and split the series. 

Denver Pioneers  vs.  Colorado College Tigers ~ These arch rivals always have spirited games against one another, and tonight’s tilt was a true barn burner.  Denver got on the scoreboard first as Pittsburgh Penguins’ first rounder Beau Bennett scored giving the Pioneers a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd period.  In the 2nd period, Colorado College ties the game as former Fargo Force star Eamonn McDermott found the twine behind Adam Murray.  The Pioneers would storm back with four straight goals from Drew Shore, Chris Knowlton, Wild prospect Jason Zucker, and John Lee to give Denver a commanding 5-1 lead.  Colorado College would make a game of it as Dakota Eveland and former Hopkins Royals star Archie Skalbeck found the back of the net to make it 5-3 going into the 3rd.  Unfortunately for the Tigers they just didn’t have quite enough firepower, as they could muster just one more goal from Jeff Collett but not the equalizer.  Murray had 33 saves in the victory.