Game #35: Minnesota Wild at Calgary Flames, Tuesday December 20, 2011 at 8:00pm (CST), Scotiabank Saddledome [GAME PREVIEW]

 
Dear Santa,

I know many of us haven’t written you a letter in a long, long time.  In fact the most recent letters you have received from our various households are coming from our children and grandchildren.  However, as you can see, we are essentially kids at heart.  Because of that fact, it is time for us to drop you a little note at this time of the year, especially since much is needed.

First off, is there anyway you can get the Minnesota Wild healthy again?  There’s simply something sick and perverse having four of the six top forwards out of action on any team.  For the Minnesota Wild, that is tantamount to taking any chance of success away.  Now, I realize that Mikko Koivu is close to returning, but “close” is not an absolute.  It’s not fair, that just as our beloved team was making its statement that they were here to play with the big boys, that injuries would stymie that success. 

Secondly, any chance you can get them to shoot more?  Now, I realize we had just as many shots as the Vancouver Canucks last night, but we all know that is not always a common occurrence.  As the old saying goes, you cannot score if you do not shoot.  I’ll admit, I was pleased with the number of shots last night, but they weren’t always the best shots.  A little more power and zing behind those shots is needed.  Plus, if there’s some way you can get more of Matt Cullen’s shots to actually be on goal, that would be much appreciated.

Lastly, you can hold off on delivering our “big” gift of the year until April.  A playoff appearance, with a decent seeding position would be very nice.  We fans haven’t seen the playoffs in a while now, and we definitely miss them.  While just being there would be nice, it would be even better if the Wild could go deep in the playoffs.  A mere first round appearance isn’t enough (well at least not for most of us).

We know this is a bit of a big list.  However, we’ve had a few years with coal in our stockings…seriously, Todd Richards was a huge lump, and we deserve something good after that for two years.  If you can find some way to improve the recent downturn, we might even try to be nicer to Canucks fans, especially since we’re going to miss them when we’re no longer in the same division/conference next season.  Now I didn’t say it would happen, only that we can try.  Baby steps, Santa, baby steps.

Sincerely,

The State of Hockey

Injury Report:

Minnesota:      Devin Setoguchi (leg), Mikko Koivu (lower body), Guillaume Latendresse (concussion),   Casey Wellman (wrist) 

Calgary:  Rene Bourque (suspended), Mark Giordano (leg), Anton Babchuk (hand), David Moss (foot), Henrik Karlsson (knee), Matt Stajan (ankle)

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