Hottest team doused

If you listened to Patrick Reusse this afternoon, you would come away thinking that it should be no big deal for a professional hockey player to strap on brand new gear and immediately start playing in a game. In fact, he may even have a story written about it for the Star Tribune. His comments on his Saturday radio show indicated that if there are equipment related excuses used after a loss, it would be a travesty in his eyes. And conversely, if there is a celebration because of the feat accomplished by overcoming the loss of the gear after a win, he said that this would be even worse. I guess the Wild were in a no-win situation then, even if they were one of the hottest teams in the league that has posted a 10-2-1 record in their last 13 games...according to Reusse anyway. But the fact is that adjusting to gear that is fresh out of the box is no simple feat. Players sometimes use several months to break-in new equipment before they are comfortable enough for game use. The fire that destroyed up to 14 players full allotment of game-gear, including everything worn by our two goaltenders Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, was an odd incident and one that could have forced the team and fans into the excuse wheel mode. But all indications were, before the puck dropped at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, that the players wanted nothing of it. In fact, the focus may have been more acute because of the fire incident. And adding more fuel to the fire (no pun intended), the matter of a few players calling in sick with another flu-bug, which caused the team to suite-up one player short, was just one more excuse that could have been added to the wheel.

New gear, old gear, stricken with the flu...none of these things were the sole reason the Wild lost to the Senators 4-1 tonight. It was pretty clear early on that the Wild were in one of those snake-bitten games, as they threw 23 shots on goaltender Mike Brodeur, who was making his NHL debut. Brodeur was spectacular on many of those shots and out-dueled Wild netminder Backstrom, who was far from being sharp. Minnesota played sluggish for much of the game, looking as if they were zapped of any energy. The little offensive pressure that they did manage to sustain did not generate enough close-in chances and most of the teams shots was from beyond the dots. However, the big killer was the Senators special teams, or more specifically the penalty kill unit, which was a perfect 6 of 6. The Wild wasted several early power-plays and had trouble gaining any momentum through the neutral zone, causing them to cough up the puck before getting anything set offensively . The team did manage to put some pressure on a few of the later power-plays, but Brodeur stood his ground while the Senators defenders did a nice job of keeping the play on the outside. Another killer was the timing of Ottawa's first two goals of the game. The Wild broke the old rule of never giving up a goal late in the period or early in the period...and were down 2-0 in a span of under 3 minutes, with an intermission separating the goals.

It really was kind of a nondescript game, one that could have been won by the Wild based on some of the saves that Senators goaltender did make. Again the Wild yielded the opening goal, which has not been a problem for this team as of late until tonight. But as Wild television analyst Mike Greenlay pointed out, giving up the opening 4 goals is a problem. Yet, there should be no excuses for this one, as the story was 0 for 6 on the power-play.

I hope Reusse does write a story eventually about the events that took place in Ottawa...although after the loss I know which way he will be going, and it will not mention special teams play.

Gaborik is well coached

It is obvious that somewhere along the way, Minnesota Wild winger Marian Gaborik has been well coached. This 'coaching' has done wonders for our pending unrestricted free agent and fans witnessed the results during last nights overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks. For those of us without season tickets, we had the pleasure of listening to our young Gaborik, as he joined play-by-play man Dan Teerhaar and color analyst Mike Greenlay during the telecast. And if you missed it, let me tell you that it has never been more evident that he indeed does have the best coaches, as they prepped him well for the short on-air session. Not only did Gaborik admit repeatedly that he has watched recent games, he went out of his way to tell fans that he has spoken to a few players as well. Apparently Gaborik conversed with Pierre-Marc Bouchard about his willingness to pass rather than shoot. So naturally after Bouchard scored against the Sharks, Gaborik received the credit. Funny, but just over a week ago, our Wild winger uttered such phrases like 'I haven't been really watching games'. So now after what I am sure was a nice pep talk from someone in the Wild organization, Gaborik made sure that his 'coaching' session did not go to waste.

March madness is hockey madness

My favorite time of the year is upon us, as the Minnesota State High School Leagues host's it annual 'Big Show' in St. Paul, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers begin their quest for a Frozen Four berth, and the NHL season is winding down that include playoff ramifications with each remaining game. For most, March Madness is synonymous with college basketball...but for us in the State of Hockey, it means great some great action on the ice, not the wood floor.

At a loss over the loss

You have to love Mike Greenlay, the Minnesota Wild's television analyst. He certainly comes up with some great one-liners and phrases that can keep me entertained for months that go well beyond the hockey season. And last nights 'Clutterbuck factor' was another example of how his humor is often times dead-on. Cal Clutterbuck was once again putting up some big hits numbers when, in the second period, he ran into the elbow of Todd Bertuzzi. It would have been a nice hit, but because the elbow was extended specifically for Clutterbuck, Bertuzzi was given a penalty. Well in the end, the 6 hits that Clutterbuck threw did not jolt the Flames enough as Calgary left with a 3-2 ot victory...but the phrase does ring true. And however bad the loss is and was, at least I have another Greenlay phrase to add to my memory bank.

Ice that puck

A bad trend has crept into the Wild's game this season and that is the inability to get the puck out of the D-zone with a clean break-out play. And last night, in a game that could have been decided by the Flames in the first period, Calgary held the pressure on for a good part of the opening period. Although the shot-totals favored the Wild 11-7 in that period, from my vantage point, that was no indication of who had the upper-hand. The Flames clearly carried the play and Minnesota was fortunate to escape with only a 1-0 deficit. In fact, things got so bad in the defensive zone for the Wild that they took 4 icing whistles in the first, two coming on virtually the same shift. Now I have not kept track of the icing stats this season, but it seems to me that whipping the puck down the rink cannot be a good sign, especially from a team fighting for a playoff spot.

Shoot that puck

Ever since the Wild came to be, they have not been a team that often out-shoots their opponent. And so far, this has not seemed to hinder them all that much because they have always been a good team at capitalizing on the few chances that they do get. But going through a whole period with only a single shot on net is really puzzling to me. I cannot figure out how, by some lucky bounce or an errant pass, more than one puck does not hit the opposing goaltender. The simple fact is that if you don't shoot, you are not going to score. Minnesota is currently 2-tenths of a shot out of last place in the league in average shots per game. The team is in the middle of the pack when it comes to shots allowed, but it is clear that this team needs to simply shoot. It's amazes me how you can watch one team throw garbage at the goal and before you know it, that garbage has turned into a goal, as was the case on 2 of the 3 Calgary goals last night.

Lemaire is still the man

I have done a lot of speculation on Lemaire coming back for another season. In fact, I have flat out said that I don't think he will be back, and I still believe that. But that does not mean I want him gone. I actually happen to believe that he is one of the best, if not the best, coaches in the NHL. And I would be thrilled to have him stick around for as long as he likes. Truth be known, he is getting all he can out of his players. The problem is that he is getting all he can out of his players...he just does not have the right players. If you are honest about our lineup, you can see that we have a lot of 'nice' and 'good' players on the roster. But we certainly do not have the mix needed to make any run in the post season.

Random Thoughts...

The Boogy Man cracks

For the type of role Derek Boogaard fills, he is usually one cool customer. He has always played a much disciplined game, which is somewhat of a surprise considering the type of player he faces every night. And he has never been looked upon as a liability, penalty wise, because 9 times out of 10, Boogaard is the player who has had the cooler head and actually is good at drawing the penalty. But as we saw in the Wild's last two games, even he can crack, as his level of discipline has dwindled. Rewind to the Wild's 3-2 SO victory over the Edmonton Oilers this past Sunday. Right before a face-off in the first period, Zack Stortini of the Oilers and Boogaard where jawing back and forth, so fans knew something was about to happen. And sure enough, as soon as the puck was dropped, Boogaard laid into him with a stick across the mid-section. The call from the referee was a slashing penalty and victory to Stortini for holding back. Then last night against the Colorado Avalanche, with the Wild holding onto a 2-1 lead, Boogaard apparently had some unfinished business with the Avs Darcy Tucker. Again, right off of a face-off after a jawing session, Boogaard again displayed his undisciplined side and took down Tucker, drawing a double minor for holding and crosschecking. The Avs subsequently went on to tie the score. Boogaard only averages 4:52 a game and my thought is that will be dropped to zero if he continues this type of play...

Cal, the multi-talented athlete

Our rookie hitting sensation, with a league leading 208 hits, apparently excels in other sports besides hockey. He displayed his soccer slide-tackle-goal scoring, or his baseball slide into the catcher at home plate technique, whichever way you want to see it, last night against the Avs. With the score knotted up a 2, Cal Clutterbuck went after a loose puck that was sitting in the 5-hole of a kneeling Andrew Raycroft, in the Avs crease. Instead of simply diving stick-first to poke the puck in, Clutterbuck decided it would be best to slide skates first into the pads of the goaltender. Yeah, the puck did go in and was initially ruled a goal, but it was subsequently waived off after a short review. The only explanation I can come up with as to why he would slide this way into the goaltender, was that maybe he was having a flash-back to his youth, on either the 'pitch' or the 'diamond'.

FSN extra's

I hope I am not alone on this one...but I really cannot stand a few of the segments that FSN airs during Wild telecasts. The first segment is what I believe they call the 'face-off', between color guy Mike Greenlay and reporter Kevin Gorg. And for those of you who have not seen this before, the two are given a series of NHL and hockey related questions, one at a time, and they have 30 seconds to give their best answers. The viewing audience then selects the winner by text messaging their pick. This has to be the most wasteful use of Wild broadcast time that could be spent on player interviews, game highlights, stat analysis, or pretty much anything else. I almost feel embarrassed for the two of them as they plead for votes from the teen text-happy crowd. The second segment that is almost as useless, comes after the game and involves a couple of former players trying to re-live their past...I'm only kidding about this because former Wild player Darby Hendrickson is usually involved and I believe he is a first-class individual. It's the segment where they go on-ice for a demonstration of a play that occurred during the previously aired game. Give the fans more in the way of maybe wrapping up the nights NHL games with highlights and stats. Or how about a good preview of an upcoming game...anything but Gorg showing us why he, as a player, was the one who was stuck in goal.