Opening goal a killer

This team has been given a few words and phrases of praise this season by the players themselves, the coaches, and even the media. Resilient, persistent, and a team that never gives up is what has been used to describe the way this Minnesota Wild team plays. Ordinarily, it would be no problem describing a team this way because these are all traits that are needed to be successful...except that putting this description in context for this Wild team means that they seem to always be playing from behind and are having to always fight and claw their way back into a game. Now, while it is true that when you are consistently playing from behind, it is imperative that you fight your way back. The alternative is to finish the game by simply just going through the motions with the hope of keeping it close and avoid a blowout. The problem is that playing from behind this often is a formula that is not working. It may have worked to a certain degree during parts of the season, but it is clear that it is catching up to Minnesota and the time has come to question why they find it so hard to play with this fight and urgency from the get-go.

The Wild have surrendered the opening goal in 32 out of 49 games played to date. And looking back at some of the comments coming out of the locker-room and from the coaching staff after a comeback game, one would come away thinking that all is well when falling behind early and first. However, Minnesota has a record of 12-18-2 when their opponents score first. On the flip side, when the Wild net the games opening goal, they are a much improved 12-4-1. The conclusion of scoring first as opposed to the opponent scoring first and comparing these contrasting records is simple...playing from behind is not working for this team. Yes, it was nice to make that huge and unimaginable comeback against the Blackhawks, when the team rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the final period only to net the tying goal late in the game and eventually win in a shootout. And in almost a repeat performance, the Wild nearly made another remarkable comeback against the Coyotes, but instead found the 4-goal deficit too much to recover from, although they fought back and saw the game come as close as 5-4 before finally losing 6-4.

The time has come to put away these nice words and phrases and start calling it like it is. Although it is nice to have a team that can pull itself together when trailing, it is better to have a team pounce from the opening faceoff and hold the lead. Remember the early Lemaire teams when this franchise was known for getting a lead and holding on to it? The Wild were almost unbeatable when leading after 1 period and were unbeatable when up after 2 periods. This current team has a mold of being able to open up the game, with the thought of being able to make its way back when down, whereas our previous team would batten-down the hatches after scoring first. And so far, the later is what works best, because not only is the team missing points because of their early let-downs, as the season keeps going, it is going to be harder and harder to make their comeback.

A few days ago the Wild were 2 points out of the final playoff position in the Western Conference. After tonight's loss to the Coyotes, the team finds itself 5 points out.

A look back

To date, the Wild are 24-22-3 after 49 games, good for 51 points and 5 out of a playoff spot. Last season, the team was 25-21-3 at the same point in the season, sitting in the 7th spot in the Western Conference with 53 points.

The hottest move to date

There is no question that GM Fletcher's best move to date was to bring in Guillaume Latendresse for Benoit Pouliot. Keep in mind that under our new front office, Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora are two players who are newcomers as well. Before Latendresse came to Minnesota, he recorded 3 points in 23 games for the Canadiens. But since joining the Wild, he has netted 13 goals and 6 helpers for an encouraging 19 points in 24 games. This includes a 4-point night last week against the Penguins and his first career hat-trick against the Coyotes tonight. He has also had 5 multi-point games since coming from the Habs is has picked up 12 points in his last 7 games.

Fletcher further stamping his team

Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is wheeling and dealing these days, as two low-level acquisitions were made recently. One move looks to add what hopes to be a piece that fits this hockey clubs puzzle, while the second move subtracted a piece that the GM's around these parts have been trying desperately to make fit. Neither move should make a huge impact but lower-level moves like these sometimes are the most important to a team because they fill role positions that are sometimes hard to come by...and you never know what a change in scenery will do for a player.

The latest move really takes a player off of our roster that has never reached the height of what the expectations were for him. Taken with Minnesota's first pick (4th overall) in the 2005 draft, Benoit Pouliot was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for LW Guillaume Latendresse. Pouliot was seen as a scoring sensation for his OHL Sudbury team, where in his last two seasons of juniors he amassed 132 points in 118 games. But as for his pro career in the AHL and NHL, there was not nearly as much offensive production. To date, he has only netted 18 points in 65 career NHL games. Drafted the same year (4th round, No. 45) Latendresse had higher amateur numbers than Pouloit but has similar point production per games in the NHL. He has netted 85 points (48-37) in 232 NHL games, all with the Canadiens, but was also seen as an underachiever within that organization...much like Pouliot was seen here. But over the past three seasons, Latendresse has averaged 15 goals a season and his 6'2"-230lb frame provides much needed size at the wing position.

Here is a good read on Latendresse from AllHabs...

The earlier move came via the waiver wire when the Wild claimed C Andrew Ebbett from the Chicago Blackhawks. This move seems to be a win-win for Minnesota and is one that should have the fans excited, as the upside to Ebbett could be big while the downside is basically non existent. Ebbett, a former Michigan Wolverines player who netted only 2 points against the Minnesota Gophers in 8 games, averages just over a half-point per game in the NHL, as he has scored 9 goals and added 24 assists in 63 career games. He is seen as a skilled player who will hopefully fill a huge void that the Wild have at the Center position, a void that has been present for several seasons.

Burns out...again

Unfortunately, the 'illness' that apparently sidelined D Brent Burns against the Islanders has turned into another concussion problem for our promising blue-liner. If you recall, Burns missed a big chunk at the end of last season with a concussion, one that seemed to have gone undiagnosed and had been possibly lingering for some time while he continued to play. This has not been a very strong season for Burns, and now one has to wonder if this once Canadian Olympic Team hopeful has again been playing when he maybe should have been sitting.

Clutterbuck domain dormant

There was rumblings last season that our own Cal Clutterbuck should be considered for the Calder Trophy as the leagues top rookie because of his checking craze. It was a tongue-and-cheek movement to say the least, and if you go back and check the dates you will find that it was actually started right here. But when the fan base kept the ball rolling on this Calder campaign, CalClutterbuck.com domain was purchased by someone local and a one page site was introduced to the web. However, after following up on the site this season you will find a 'GoDaddy.com' parking page, as there is no trace of Cal and site seems to be vacant and very dormant. This is unfortunately because being as popular as he is, one would think that with a character like Cal as the subject, page after page of info could fill a nice fan website.