Offensive dominance

Never has the Minnesota Wild been described as an offensive machine. In fact throughout the history of this franchise, they has been known as the team that played it tight on defense, with the hope that they would score one more goal than the days opponent. But today, the Wild dominated the Vancouver Canucks with good old fashion offense. They played as a team trying to post as many goals as they could, hoping to out-race their opponent. And they did just that with a 6-2 win. The team from Minnesota has not by any means taken on the league leaders in goals per game, as they currently rank 16th with 2.68 goals a game, but for one game they played like a championship caliber team. Unfortunately, this latest 5-game home-stand probably needed to produce 8 points in order playoff positioning, and it only produced 6.

Never has a Wild team been looked at as a risk-taking bunch. But the new style that Coach Todd Richards has installed, when played as designed, sees Minnesota gambling as if they were playing in Vegas. Several times this afternoon, both defensemen were seen pinching in the offensive zone...not caught however, because they were usually successful holding the puck in the zone. And the forwards were up to the task of covering for their teammates. As for d-pinching in general, it has become a routine play on virtually every shift. It's a brand that has shown its head at times throughout the season, never with any consistency, but in front of the largest crowd this season (19,342), today proved that when executed, it will lead to wins.

It would be a mistake to declare anything from this game other than it was one of the best efforts of the season for our home-town team. But you certainly can say that when Minnesota is 'on', they are exciting to watch. They still have several holes to fill before one could declare the Wild 'playoff ready', but it is obvious that this new style is the right track to take this team on in leading them into the future.

Debut for Barker

Newly acquired defenseman Cam Barker had a great start to his career in Minnesota. Although he has only averaged just over 13 minutes a game this season before coming to the Wild, he finished his Wild debut with 20:46 total, was a +3, and added a late goal. He looked very comfortable and was given almost 4 minutes of power-play time, something he indicated in his conference call that he hoped would increase. I think it will become more clear that this deal to acquire Barker was initiated by his former team for the simple reason of trying to shed future payroll...and the Wild should prove to be the winners in this deal.

Knuckleheads never change

It never fails, season after season, the Vancouver Canucks employ a group of hockey hacks. It does not seem to matter who is in charge of the front office or who is behind the bench, as they always manage to employ dirty players. Back in the day our friends to the north carried Bertuzzi and Ruutu, followed by Cooke, and now Burrows...does not matter what season it is, they carry at least one knucklehead.

Boogaard snake-bitten

I know it is ludicrous to expect Derek Boogaard to score goals on a consistent basis, but he is truly having lousy luck around the net. He managed to record assist number 4 today but had several chances in close. In fact, when he is suited, his role has not changed but his increased ice-time, more than one minute above last seasons average, has seemed to put him in that position frequently, in front of the offensive net, where he has had more than his share of chances in close. It is only a matter of time before one bounces in but once they start, they continue in bunches.

Olympic break

I know most fans will not enjoy this two-week NHL drought, but it does give us a chance to witness the best in the world on the ice...so enjoy your Olympic break...and go USA!