Game #66: Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres, Sunday March 6, 2011 at 5:00pm CST, Xcel Energy Center [GAME PREVIEW]

  
I have mentioned here before that I coach High School football, and yesterday I spent the entire day at a football clinic.  I coach defense, so I sat in on about 10 hours of speakers talking about the defensive side of the game.  We discussed defensive back drills, pass coverages, tackling techniques and how to break down video in a way to best help your players.  Hockey of course has its own set of coaching clinics, where you attempt to break down video and use it as a teaching tool the way “Captain Video” Roger Neilson did in addition to endless amount of schemes and of course the dreaded word of “systems”.  So needless to say my head is filled with x’s and o’s and lots of little arrows going all over the place.  Talking about “Mike linebackers”, Robber coverage, stunts and blitzes makes me long for just talking about hockey right here.  The Minnesota Wild are in another ‘must win’ situation as the Buffalo Sabres come to town.  The Wild rallied back from a 1-0 deficit in the Big Apple to beat the New York Rangers 3-1.  These are the games that begin to separate the wheat from the chaff.  St. Louis has been in a steady fall since the trade deadline.  Minnesota doesn’t want to be the Blues.  The Wild currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference, trailing 8th place Dallas by just a single point.  Check out the standings for yourself. 

#1 Vancouver Canucks ~ 66GP  (41-16-9)  91pts
#2 Detroit Red Wings ~ 65GP  (39-19-7)  85pts
#3 San Jose Sharks ~ 65GP  (38-21-6)  82pts
#4 Chicago Blackhawks ~ 66GP  (37-23-6)  80pts
#5 Calgary Flames ~ 67GP  (34-24-9)  77pts
#6 Los Angeles Kings ~ 65GP  (36-25-4)  76pts
#7 Phoenix Coyotes ~ 66GP  (33-23-10)  76pts
#8 Dallas Stars ~ 64GP  (34-23-7)  75pts
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#9 Anaheim Ducks ~ 65GP  (35-25-5)  75pts
#10 Nashville Predators ~ 65GP  (34-25-6)  75pts
#11 Minnesota Wild ~ 65GP  (34-25-6)  74pts 

As its obvious from the chart above, the Wild’s playoff hopes are by the skin of their teeth.  However, being just 3 points from 5th at this point still seems very achievable.  I am not typically a ‘glass half full’ kind of person, but I still think Minnesota has a shot but it must make the most of its games against non-conference foes which is why this game against Buffalo is so important.  The Sabres are also fighting for their playoff lives, currently in 9th in the East so you can bet this is another match up that has the makings of your typical playoff game. 

The Sabres are coming off a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers tonight.  Thomas Vanek still isn’t scoring at the pace comparable for his contract, but he is easily the Sabres most dangerous scorer.  Jason Pominville is starting to heat up and Buffalo is a small team with lots of speed and shiftiness.  Drew Stafford is starting to justify why he was picked as high as he was in 2004 and Tyler Ennis is another example of how a small player can succeed at the NHL level.  Buffalo’s team speed could give the Wild fits, so Minnesota must be anticipating well and keeping in motion so they’re not caught standing and reaching.  Defensively the Sabres have been suspect this season, as they have struggled not having Toni Lydman after they allowed him to leave via free agency.  Tyler Myers is a young Zdeno Chara-incarnate, but he has stumbled in his sophomore season.  Between the pipes Ryan Miller is in danger of being overworked, and will likely be the starting goalie when the Sabres make their way onto the Xcel Energy Center ice.  The Sabres are still very inconsistent overall but seem to have a bit more jump in their skates since Terry Pagula bought the team for a cool $189 million with the goal of winning Stanley Cups, yes please note Cups is in its plural form.  A vote of confidence never hurt anyone right?!?! 

So does that mean the Wild are chopped liver?  No, but the Wild cannot afford anymore stumbles.  Earning 2 points is absolutely paramount and if that comes via overtime or the shootout, so be it.  The Wild are still without Mikko Koivu, but its too late to feel sorry for itself and there can be no excuses if the team fails in its task.  Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen, Andrew Brunette and Brent Burns are all capable of producing points and need to continue to be the workhorses offensively for this team.  Between the pipes, if I had my choice I’d start Jose Theodore.  Theodore was very good against the Rangers, and I think Backstrom could use a rest in order to refocus himself.  Minnesota is back at home which sometimes brings out the Wild’s lazy side, but hopefully the sense of urgency is enough to avoid taking Buffalo too lightly.    

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