"Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back, back to that some old place you used to laugh about. Well the names have changed since you hung around, but those dreams haven't changed and they're turned around, who'd have thought they'd lead ya, here where'd we need ya" are the lyrics to the 1970's sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, and a day after the jubilation of seeing what some fans felt were the Wild's dreams coming true now you're back again. Here at Xcel Energy Center or from the comfort of their homes or your favorite eating / drinking establishment, with another game ready to go through the same emotional roller coaster as you went through yesterday. 19,298 fans arrived for last night's season opener and that was without Vinny Barbarino, Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington, Juan Epstein, or Arnold Horshack in attendance. Those fans were treated to a nice rally from a 1-0 deficit to a 4-2 victory. The players Wild fans had 'dreamed about' delivered as promised and provided a nice dose of hope to a franchise that has had a rough last 5 years.
Wild fans flock back to the 'X'
The Dallas Stars are coming off an emotional 4-3 victory of their own but with the assistance with a bit more veteran flavor. Dallas will always be a natural rival due to the club's intertwined history with Minnesota and fans should never forget that. Or at least this one won't. So which club will be able to dig deep and earn another 2 points in this late afternoon tilt?
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1st Period Thoughts: It's becoming clear to me, that last night's first period against Colorado was essentially the pre-season. We saw less than stellar skating and enough bad passing to last me for a while. However the second period arrived and it was like we had a new team. I was afraid that tonight was going to start much the same way. Glad I didn't place a bet on that. However, it was still far from perfect. Exhibit number one, was an extremely lazy tripping penalty that Mikko Koivu committed. Truly there was no reason to do so. Thankfully, it wasn't just Minnesota finding themselves taking pointless penalities. In fact, it felt like the officials wanted a bigger part of the action. Before even seven minutes of the period had elapsed, the Wild found themselves on a 4-on-3 power play after Alex Goligoski, Ryan Suter, and Jaromir Jagr found their ways to their respective penalty boxes. Minnesota found themselves on the score sheet first with an even strength (albeit 4-on-4) goal by Zach Parise with assists by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Dany Heatley. That goal wasn't the only chance they had either, although the only one that counted. So far, it has been a welcome change to see players who are willing to shoot even if it isn't a high probability shot, although Jared Spurgeon could stand to have a greater sense of urgency when he has possession of the puck. And let me say this before I forget. I will say Josh Harding looks more calm and collected tonight than Niklas Backstrom did last night. Perhaps we're going to see a confident and poised Harding this year, as he's going to have to prove that he is bigger than muscular sclerosis. It's still early, so we'll have to play wait and see on that situation. I will also say I appreciate the physicality by Cal Clutterbuck tonight. It was somewhat absent last night, and tonight he's making his presence known.
2nd Period Thoughts: With the exception of a small, yet sustained, flurry of offensive chances by Minnesota, I can't say there was much to write home about this period. Heck, even penalties were at a minimum limited to a lone tripping penalty by Kyle Brodziak, although upon replay those of us at home saw that Goligoski simply stepped on Brodziak's stick. Not a trip, but since officials can't replay infractions, it will simply stand as a penalty. The best part was watching Brodziak's look of disbelief on his face. It certainly make me laugh. Shots on goal were even almost dead even, the Stars simply getting one more than Minnesota's ten shots. If you're looking for another positive, it's that once again Harding looked cool and confident. In a period such as this one where neither team really put a lot of pressure on the goaltenders, you tend to get worried. Lack of action and pressure can often make a goaltender either complacent or out of practice. Thankfully, that didn't happen to Harding, as we was able to do his job when the occasion pressure came his way. I'm afraid if coach Mike Yeo had put Backstrom in tonight, we might not be looking at 1-0 lead after two periods. While I'm glad we're still leading, it's certainly time to come out firing on all cylinders for the third period.
3rd Period Thoughts: Can I just say how nice it is to finally see a team that feels a need to take shots on goal? Now many of them don't end up making it on goal, and that's fine. The part that really is better, is that those attempts then create better chances on goal. And not just one more attempt, but multiple. And with multiple rebound attempts, you get the chance to possibly get the goaltender out of position. My other grand observation is this, and it's one that will most likely annoy Nashville Predators fans to no end. It is beyond nice to finally have a defenseman like Ryan Suter, who makes such precise passes out of the zone. It's something that the Wild have lacked in what seems like forever. Hopefully since we basically him for the rest of his playing career, he can mentor our younger defensemen to emulate him. There are many who question our lack at defense, so it is my wish that he can help change that. I have one major question though, and this goes back to my first period observation of officials wanting a bigger part in the game. How can Pierre-Marc Bouchard get called for goaltender interference when he was interfered with by Stephane Robidas. Looking at the replay, there was no where for Bouchard to go, and he ended up on top of Cristopher Nilstorp. It's calls like that that remind me of the bizarre diving penalities that are sometimes called. The Wild have the good fortune of ending the game on the power play as Trevor Daley was called for high-sticking. All should have been smooth sailing for the last two minutes of regulation, but a horrible change by Minnesota almost made it a 1-1 game. Thankfully, the Wild were able to avoid that fate and were able to finish with another win tonight. Not only does this record another shutout in Josh Harding's career, but it's the first time since December 17, 2000 that the Wild have shut out the Dallas Stars. I remember that game vividly, as should any true Wild fan. We now find ourselves in possession of a 2-0 record. Where it goes from here, who knows. However, I wouldn't start planning the parade route just yet.
Wild Notes:
~ Tonight's roster was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Zach Parise, Devin Setoguchi, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Kyle Brodziak, Mikael Granlund, Torrey Mitchell, Darroll Powe, Matt Cullen, Cal Clutterbuck, Ryan Suter, Tom Gilbert, Jared Spurgeon, Justin Falk and Nate Prosser. Niklas Backstrom backed up Josh Harding.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st star, Josh Harding. 2nd Star, Zach Parise. 3rd Star, Cal Clutterbuck.
~ Tonight's attendance was 18.296 at Xcel Energy Center.
Wild Prospect Report:
Mario Lucia 
Daniel Gunnarsson
F – Mario Lucia (Notre Dame, CCHA) ~ The freshman forward has rebounded nicely after breaking his arm during training in the summer. Lucia is one of the top freshman in the CCHA with 7 goals and 12 points in 15 games this season. The former Wayzata star had two goals this weekend against Alaska, but Notre Dame was swept by the Nanooks.
D – Daniel Gunnarsson (Lulea, Eliteserien) ~ The tall and rangy defenseman has shown steady improvement in his 3rd season in Sweden's top league. Gunnarsson has already achieved career highs in goals (6) and points (12) in just 40 games played so far. He is also being responsible in his own end as he carries a +9 rating.
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