You never realize how precious opportunities can be until their gone. Some of you may know that I currently live in Wisconsin where I also coach high school football. Last night, across Wisconsin for hundreds of high school football players, their football careers ended. For anyone who has played the game, that moment is emotionally crushing and humbling. It causes you to put your career as an athlete into perspective. You think about all of the hard work you’ve put in, the time spent at practice and now its suddenly over. It doesn’t matter how tough the kid is, many will sob at that thought of what has ended in their lives. While coaches have more seasons to look forward to, its still not the same as when you were a player but it is impossible not to be moved by the emotion exhibited by these seniors. Its the same for those that played high school hockey. As the playoffs begin, more and more seniors are going to feel the pain of their playing careers being at an end. Every former player would trade just about anything to still be playing. Its just a basic truth of being an athlete.
The Detroit Red Wings, have one of the most venerable NHL veterans in defenseman Niklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom has been an absolute workhorse for the Red Wings and the level of success he’s enjoyed is truly spectacular. As he enters his 40’s, speculation grows about whether or not he is going to hang up his skates even though he continues to play the game at a high level. When he does finally decide to ‘hang ’em up’ will he feel that same level of loss those seniors felt last night? Or is he one of the lucky few who will retire with a smile on his face, no tears and no regrets? Can the Wild succeed against the undefeated Red Wings?
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1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota was moving well from the drop of the puck, demonstrating good aggressiveness on the forecheck that seemed to cause Detroit some problems. Even as the Wild were dumping the puck in, which is normally a recipe for disaster with a puck possession club like the Red Wings it didn’t seem to be that bad as Minnesota’s puck pressure was creating some turnovers. The Wild got good effective shifts from its 2nd line (Matt Cullen, Guillaume Latendresse, Pierre-Marc Bouchard) and 3rd line (Kyle Brodziak, Colton Gillies, and Cal Clutterbuck) were the best early on using hustle and seemingly able to beat the Red Wings at their own game. Matt Cullen especially seems to be hungry and he’d set up one of the better scoring chances of the period after giving a small pass to Pierre-Marc Bouchard who got off a quick shot that Jimmy Howard struggled a bit with. One player who heard it from the crowd was the Wild fans long-hated villain Todd Bertuzzi who again was boo’d every time he touched the puck. I know Wild fans (myself included) don’t like him very much but isn’t it time to just let that grudge die? Anyways, the Wild’s exuberance on the forecheck nearly cost them as Kyle Brodziak was tagged with a hooking penalty late in the period. Detroit’s power play, which has been notoriously ineffective this season got another boost when Nick Schultz was given a cross-checking penalty for his ‘hit’ on Tomas Holmstrom who acted as though he was shot after getting a small shove. No call for diving on a player who dives almost constantly and the result was the Wild being down by two men for a brief amount of time. Minnesota’s penalty killers would stand tall, working their way into shooting lanes forcing the Red Wings to try to work the puck along the wall and the Wild would win those battles and defenseman like Clayton Stoner and Jared Spurgeon were able to clear the zone. In the closing seconds of the period, the Wild’s second line would benefit a bit from the linesman Ryan Galloway and this allowed Guillaume Latendresse to retrieve the biscuit and as he attempted to set up Bouchard from beneath the goal line is pass would go out to the point where Greg Zanon stepped into a slap shot that beat Howard cleanly, just inside the left post to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead with less than 5 seconds left. Zanon’s goal was his first in 136 games! The goal was huge, giving Minnesota lots to feel good and the Red Wings had to feel a sense of frustration over the fact they were trailing on such a late-period defensive breakdown.
2nd Period Thoughts: Minnesota would waste little time before lighting the lamp in the 2nd period, as solid hustle by Colton Gillies to crash down low behind the goal for the puck he would win the battle and dish it out to a wide open Cal Clutterbuck waiting in the slot for a quick shot that eluded Howard to put the Wild up 2-0. The goal came just 16 seconds into the 2nd period. Minnesota’s forecheck was keeping the Red Wings out of sync throughout much of the period. Yet despite Minnesota’s puck pressure they still were not putting a lot of shots on goal. Gillies continued to be a thorn in Detroit’s side as he would dish out a big hit on the forecheck to the Red Wings’ Ian White and then take the puck to the net only to be stopped by Howard. Then the game would start to turn. A few icing calls in a row took the flow out of Minnesota’s game and the Red Wings were quick to pounce on the change in momentum. It was as though Detroit flipped a switch and suddenly they were the ones frustrating the Wild by dominating play and keeping Minnesota hemmed into its own zone. The Red Wings were peppering Harding with shots but he was doing a good job of making the initial save and the Wild’s skaters were quick to sweep away the rebounds. Minnesota was really on its heels, as the Red Wings were working the cycle with impunity and creating scoring chances in quick succession. The Wild were also lucky Detroit wasn’t cashing in on some of its uncontested chances which included a breakaway for Pavel Datsyuk who seemed to be handcuffed a bit by the right-handed catching Harding as he pushed a shot up and over the goal. However, you could just sense it was only a matter of time before Detroit got on the scoreboard and late in the 1st it happened. Off a faceoff in the Wild zone, a failed clearing attempt by Darroll Powe (who tried to kick the puck) whiffed and the puck was picked up by Johan Franzen who pushed it back out to Ian White and he skated into the slot and hammered a slapper that beat Harding cleanly to cut Minnesota’s lead in half, 2-1 going into the 3rd. It was a costly late-period let down, but to Detroit’s credit they clearly were playing with a sense of urgency as well.
3rd Period Thoughts: The 3rd period would start with Detroit continuing from where they left off, being aggressive in dumping the puck into the Wild zone and chasing it down and setting up offensively. The Wild were unable to work the puck out of its own zone, and again it was only a matter of time before that puck ended up in the back of the Minnesota net. This time it was a fairly harmless looking wrist shot from the point by Jakub Kindl that was redirected by Jiri Hudler that Harding simply had no chance to stop. The 2nd goal, seemed to light a bit of a fire in the Wild as they started to rally back. Minnesota’s shifts started to utilize the forecheck again, even youngster Brett Bulmer was chipping the puck deep and attempting to create some offense. The Wild did have a great opportunity as Howard was caught out of his crease and the net was wide open for Stoner but his slap shot missed wide right. The Red Wings were still creating their share of chances, especially Pavel Datsyuk who was dangling as only he can and he would make Koivu look foolish as he dragged a puck by him to skate into the high slot where he fired a wrist shot that was tipped up into the netting above the glass by Dany Heatley. The Wild even started to get some offense from its top line which had been pretty quiet throughout most of the game. In one sequence, Mikko Koivu took a pass from Heatley and he was denied on his initial shot and then on his backhander off the rebound, but the puck would be gathered up by Heatley and he set up Devin Setoguchi who fired a shot that rang off the post. You could sense the anxiety with each rush, and the mad scrambles around the net where pucks seemed to be deflecting off legs, skates, etc that make for some tense moments. Apart from Datsyuk, Niklas Lidstrom was bringing the heat as he unleashed some wicked shots that drew some outstanding saves by Josh Harding to send the game to overtime.
Overtime Thoughts: Minnesota would create a scoring chance early as Matt Cullen fired a shot that was blocked aside by Jimmy Howard. The Wild seemed to be taking the initiative early and they would follow up that opportunity with another by the top line but Nick Schultz missed high on what looked to be a prime chance to bury a game winner. It looked as though the Wild were on their way to earning that 2nd point when Matt Cullen was tagged with a tripping call after apparently causing Daniel Cleary to fall who laid out rather quickly. This would give Detroit a 4-on-3 with a little over two minutes left in the game. The home crowd was not happy with the call, but Minnesota’s penalty killers put up a valiant effort staying in a tight triangle to try to take away passing and shooting lanes. After several yeoman efforts to clear the zone they’d come up short of killing it off as Johan Franzen shoveled a shot on goal that was whiffed at by Tomas Holmstrom and as Franzen followed up the shot he was checked into the net by Darroll Powe as the puck crossed the goal line. It was reviewed but it was clear the puck was in before Franzen’s face knocked the net off the moorings.
It was a hugely disappointing ending to what was an outstanding start for Josh Harding who was very sharp between the pipes for the Wild after making 38 saves in a losing effort. Harding was playing his angles well and did a great job of stopping shots from in close and really did all that you ask of any goaltender, which is giving your team a chance to win the game. Defensively the Wild struggled with Detroit’s terrific puck movement and ability to dangle. However I felt they had some good performances from Marco Scandella who was feisty and physical, and Zanon’s goal was a breath of fresh air to a defensive corps who seems to be missing Brent Burns big time.
Offensively the Wild did not get enough of an offensive boost from its top line. It got involved a little late in the game but it needs to be a force to be reckoned with for the whole game so they can build some momentum for the rest of the team to build upon. The Wild really were carried by great efforts from its 2nd and 3rd lines all game long. Grinders like Colton Gillies, Kyle Brodziak, Brett Bulmer, as well as big bodied forward Guillaume Latendresse were the Wild’s most effective forwards. One player who also has been a miserable disappointment is Marek Zidlicky. Not only does he have a penchant to being unable to hold the zone at the worst times he also is guilty of over handling the puck on his sojourns into the offensive zone.
Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo was extremely complimentary of the play of Josh Harding, saying that he ‘stole’ a point for Minnesota and that the team felt bad they couldn’t get them go. An interesting Yeo revelation was when he told the media, “this was easily our worst game systems-wise, by far” noting that their play away from the puck was atrocious and that the game was lost because of the Wild’s mistakes more than anything else. I would agree with that, and he correctly admitted that the team took its foot off the gas that allowed Detroit to get back into the game. Yeo also stated that he feels the Wild’s system is built for games just like tonight, but asserts there is a lot to work on. No doubt about that!
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster tonight was: Mikko Koivu, Devin Setoguchi, Dany Heatley, Brad Staubitz, Darroll Powe, Matt Cullen, Kyle Brodziak, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Guillaume Latendresse, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Brent Bulmer, Clayton Stoner, Jared Spurgeon, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Greg Zanon and Marco Scandella. Niklas Backstrom backed up Josh Harding. Nick Johnson, Matt Kassian and Justin Falk were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by the fans were: 1st Star Josh Harding, 2nd Star Jiri Hudler, 3rd Star Cal Clutterbuck
~ Attendance for tonight’s game was 17,104.
Wild Prospect Update:
C – Erik Haula (Minnesota, WCHA) ~ The Pori, Finland native continues his hot start for the Gophers, leading the team in scoring with 5 goals, and 8 points in just 3 games! Haula was again huge for Minnesota in their most recent game against their in-state rival UMD, where he tallied 2 goals and 1 assist in a 5-4 overtime victory for the Golden Gophers. UPDATE: Haula had an assist in Minnesota’s sweep of the Bulldogs after a 5-4 victory on Saturday. He was also now playing on the 1st line instead of the 3rd line as he did on Friday.
LW – Jason Zucker (Denver, WCHA) ~ Jason Zucker was the WCHA’s rookie of the year last year, and this year he’s hoping to build on an impressive start to his career. The Las Vegas, Nevada-native helped the Pioneers to earn a 4-2 win over Boston College by tallying a goal and an assist on Friday. UPDATE: Zucker had an assist in the Pioneer’s loss to Boston University on Saturday night.
D – Sean Lorenz (Notre Dame, CCHA) ~ Sean Lorenz has quietly developed in his time on Jeff Jackson’s squad during his first two years but seems to have found his comfort zone for the Fighting Irish on the team’s 2nd defensive pairing. Lorenz had a lone assist in their most recent victory, 5-2 over Ohio State on Friday.
C – Zack Phillips (Saint John, QMJHL) ~ When the Wild drafted Phillips 28th Overall this summer, they knew they were getting a prolific scorer. That clearly has not changed as Phillips is again tearing up the QMJHL. On Friday night, Phillips had a goal and an assist as the Sea Dogs trounced Rouyn-Noranda 9-4. In addition to his scoring, Phillips was 11-of-18 (61.1%) on his draws which has been an organizational sore spot for years. UPDATE: Zack Phillips had 2 goals, 1 assist in tonight’s 4-1 win over Val ‘d Or, and was 12/32 (37.5%) on his draws. The Fredericton, New Brunswick has 7 goals, 15 points in 8 games this season.
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