One thing I learned growing up in school was that when you're the 'smart kid' if you're ever assigned to a group that probably means you'll be doing most of the project yourself. Before anyone gets too upset over my use of the term 'smart kid' saying that it implies the rest of the students are dumb that isn't the case. It simply is a reference to a high achiever, an academically driven student. Back to the situation I'm describing regarding group work, the less motivated and those students who have no interest in contributing have no problem with attaching their name to the finished project and enjoying the benefit of the hard work of the 'smart kid' and I often found myself resentful of the fact the rest of the group got the same grade as I did since it basically was my project to complete. While some may say that is one of the reasons group work should not be assigned I'd propose solutions that would bring about more individual accountability. I think that is sort of what happened last night in Anaheim. The Minnesota Wild were coming off 3 days without a game to play the Ducks. Minnesota started the game ok, but after that and until the 3rd period I think much of the game was a lot like what you see when put a group together that does not have a 'smart kid.' In that scenario the various members of the group sort of play a waiting game to see who will step up to sort of fill in that 'smart kid' role, i.e. the planner and producer of the majority of the project. Since whoever finally breaks the ice and does so is not used to carrying the load they often find themselves overwhelmed and may or may not rise to the challenge. In a best case scenario they do their best and the group achieves moderate success, in a worst case scenario they give about the same effort they might give if a 'smart kid' was leading the way and the result is a paltry peformance. I think you could say that happened last night. Minnesota was waiting for someone to step up and lead the way.
In the 3rd period, it was the teams younger players that finally stepped forward to lead the charge. Eventually the rest of the team got on board but it was too little, too late and they lost 2-1. So will we see a repeat of that this evening? Will the Wild wait around a few periods hoping someone will step up and by the time they do, will it be too late? Or will the team rebound and play like 'smart kids' and earn an impressive road victory against a team that has really struggled lately?
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1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota had a good first few minutes, moving their feet well and able to get some shots on goal right away. The Wild were passing the puck well and moving through the neutral zone with speed. I thought the Wild were going to be in good shape but then the Minnesota started a parade to the penalty box. It started with a high sticking call on Justin Fontaine. The Sharks would capitalize on the opportunity as Plover, Wisconsin-native Joe Pavelski would step into a slap shot that would deflect off something in front and beat Niklas Backstrom with ease. 1-0 Sharks. The goal seemed to deflate the Wild who were nearly scored on again as the Sharks buzzed around their zone while Minnesota's skaters just seemed content to watch San Jose operate. Zenon Konopka would try to spark his club with a fight with Andrew Dejardins, but the officials would have none of it as they immediately stepped in before punches could be traded. Both men would be sent to the sin bin for coincidental unsportsmanlike penalties. Konopka's attempt to provide energy did not work and penalties kept haunting the Wild and this time it was Ryan Suter being sent for interference. Minnesota's penalty killers would do a fair job at challenging the puck carrier and they were able to clear the zone and get a big kill. Situation averted right? Nope, Justin Fontaine would earn a holding penalty and then shortly into the man advantage it was Matt Cooke being sent to the sin bin for tripping up Joe Thornton who fell pretty damn easy. The Wild bench and Cooke were not impressed with the call and let the officials have it but it didn't matter as the Wild were about to go two men down. Minnesota's penalty killers would collapse down into a tight triangle in front of Niklas Backstrom and they would work hard to clear the zone to work off the 5-on-3, but the Sharks still had 30 seconds of power play time. The Wild's PK kept working hard, but an errant pass by Jonas Brodin was swept up by Tommy Wingels who set up Tomas Hertl and the rookie stud made no mistake as he rifled a shot by Backstrom to make it 2-0 with just 4 seconds left in the man advantage. It was a cruel ending to what was a valiant effort. The Wild would end up earning a power play shortly afterwards as Jason Demers checked Brett Bulmer from behind giving him 2-minutes for cross-checking. This was a golden opportunity for Minnesota to cut into the Sharks' lead, and the team moved the puck well enough and even created a few chances as Zach Parise and Jason Pominville charged the net but were unable to push a puck through Antti Niemi. So going into the 1st period, considering all of the time they spent shorthanded the Wild were almost lucky they were only trailing by 2. I was not impressed with Backstrom who continues to look shaky between the pipes but on the bright side I like the physical reckless abandon Brett Bulmer was bringing to his shifts. The Wild need to be taking more chances to shoot the puck.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Wild had another ok start to the period. Skating with a purpose and even putting few pucks on goal but again penalties would derail it all for the Wild. This time it was phantom call. Zenon Konopka would decide to take a bit of a run at Freddie Hamilton who was along the end boards in his zone. Konopka sort of leapt towards Hamilton who side stepped the attempt and the Wild enforcer's check missed but as he stepped out of the way Hamilton bumped into Jason Demers who fell to the ice like he'd been hurt as he suffered a small laceration in the process. NHL referee Marc Joanette did not see the play, but saw the aftermath and simply assumed that it was Konopka that got his stick too high and thus caused the injury to Demers. The replay clearly showed that was not the case as it was Hamilton's stick that hit Demers in the face and Konopka's stick was not up at all; in fact the blade of his stick was on or very near the ice the whole time making the 'high sticking' call completely ridiculous. A call that was totally pathetic by Joanette and I would hope the league would chastise him a bit for it. Konopka couldn't believe it, and Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo was quietly fuming at the bogus call. San Jose would take advantage of the Wild's misfortune and they'd add to their lead as a long range shot by Matt Irwin was stopped by Backstrom only to be buried by a roving Joe Pavelski to make it 3-0. This goal sort of lit a spark in the Wild and as the Sharks took their foot off the gas to defend their lead Minnesota would really pour it on. It started with some good shift from its line of younger players as a long range shot by Justin Fontaine yielded a rebound that was directed on goal by a diving Nino Niederreiter that Niemi was able to stop. You could see the Wild were getting desperate and they knew they needed to start cutting into that 3-goal lead now if they were to have any chance at all at coming back in this game. The Wild were now racing through the neutral zone with speed and taking their opportunities to get shots on goal or at least direct the puck towards it and hope for the best. Minnesota would get a great chance when Tomas Hertl was sent to the sin bin for tackling Jonas Brodin. On the power play the Wild pulled out all of the stops. The puck movement was crisp and quick; with the Wild utilizing one-time passes as well as trying to set up quick shots. The Wild controlled the zone and blasted a bunch of shots high or wide of the mark; and when they did get on goal Niemi was seeing them well and making the necessary saves not having to worry much about a minimal Minnesota net presence. The desperation was that of what you normally see in a playoff game when a team has pulled its goaltender when trailing by one or two. The creativity was great, the passes were remarkably good but the team just couldn't seem to connect just right on its shots and that meant a lot of broken sticks and shots pushed off the mark. A perfect example of the Wild squeezing the stick too much; was on a great backdoor pass by Mikko Koivu to Jared Spurgeon who had most of the net to work with and instead of one timing a shot to energize his team he instead drives the puck right into the chest of Niemi. (facepalm) Minnesota had to feel more than a little bitter after a bogus call made their comeback attempt that much more difficult.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild tried to keep up the pressure it had started in the 3rd period. However penalties continued to stymie Minnesota's attempts to build momentum. This time it was a holding call to Clayton Stoner that put the Wild a man down. This time, the Wild's penalty kill was very aggressive, stepping out to take time and spacce from the Sharks' point men and creating turnovers because of it. The puck pressure even led to a few weak shorthanded shots on goal including a near breakaway for former Shark Torrey Mitchell who handcuffed himself before he could get a shot off. Minnesota would go back to applying pressure and Tyler Kennedy would give the Wild one last power play to redeem itself. The Wild again moved the puck well and got shots on goal and would storm the crease but Niemi was able to make the saves and Minnesota came up empty yet again. The Wild would persist in its efforts to mount a comeback, but after Jonas Brodin scored on a somewhat flukey goal as he ripped a slap shot that deflected off a Sharks defenseman and by Niemi Minnesota seemed to be content with having broken a shutout. The team just didn't seem to have the legs nor the desire to really keep pouring it on. Minnesota would pull Backstrom with a little under 2 minutes remaining but it was too little, too late and they'd fall 3-1.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell, Matt Cooke, Brett Bulmer, Kyle Brodziak, Justin Fontaine, Charlie Coyle, Dany Heatley, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Clayton Stoner and Keith Ballard. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Nate Prosser and Mike Rupp were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game according to Dan Rusanowski were: 1st Star Joe Pavelski, 2nd Star Antti Niemi, 3rd Star Logan Couture
~ Attendance was 17,562 at SAP Center.
~ Brett Bulmer wore #54 for the Wild tonight which is the same number he wore back in 2011-12 when he made his NHL debut.
~ The Iowa Wild won 4-2 tonight in a huge road win over the Abbotsford Heat. Erik Haula and Kris Foucault both had two goals apiece (Haula had an assist too) to carry the Wild to a win. Between the pipes Johan Gustafsson was rock solid, making 28 saves in the victory.
Wild Prospect Report:
F – Louie Nanne (Sioux Falls, USHL) ~ The speedy former Edina star has had a slow start to the 2013-14 season as he had to wait for his shoulder to heal from an injury he sustained late in the season while playing in the BCHL. Recently he made news by committing to R.P.I. after having previously committed to playing for the University of Minnesota. Nanne has played just played 2 games this season for the Stampede, registering a single assist and 2 penalty minutes.
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