Enough of the euphemisms and veiled insults. No more dancing around the issue, its time to call a spade a spade. The Minnesota Wild have some serious character issues. After a two day rest, the team went to Columbus against the league’s worst team and lost in pathetic fashion 3-1. The sad sack Blue Jackets out worked, out hustled, out muscled, and simply wanted to win more than the Wild who sat precariously in 8th place in the Western Conference. Head Coach Mike Yeo was dismissive in his post-game press conference did not really wish to address the poor effort that gave Minnesota a costly loss simply by saying “We have to move on.” Not addressing it and just hoping to move forward and that it self corrects is what I’d expect from Yeo’s predecessor, Todd Richards who attempted a similar approach and that eventually resulted in his termination. I am not saying Yeo is in danger of being fired, but losing to the last place team in the Western Conference is unacceptable and I don’t think you get anywhere by not addressing the problem. Maybe this team needs a wake up call, perhaps like the one below.
Jules Winfield might be just the answer. When the Wild played the Blue Jackets, they got pushed around by a team that played as though it had nothing to lose. Good teams know how to overcome that. To give a Coach Winfield analogy, “Just because you look like the gimp, don’t mean you play like the gimp, don’t stand their and just pat them on the leg, give him the door man shot, be a bad mother $%cker, let’s go!” The Wild could use a dose of tenacity (perhaps throwing a few Inglewood Jacks as well) and ornery play out there. No offense, but a guy like Nate Prosser shouldn’t be dropping the gloves against a guy like Derek Dorsett. That should be for a guy who really knows what he’s doing. Its time this team start to play with heart and play with a sense of urgency. No one is going to give a rat’s a%s if they’ve had a lot of injuries or they are trying to figure out where they have chemistry. Its game 54, you better know what sort of chemistry you have and don’t have already. Its a bit late for experiments. This team needs to focus, play their hearts out and earn some wins. So will the Wild show some fire tonight or will they look as uninspired as they did Tuesday?
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1st Period Thoughts: It did not take long for Mikko Koivu‘s return to be felt when Koivu won the faceoff and pushed it over to Devin Setoguchi who chipped a pass by a Canucks’ defender and Dany Heatley moved in a 2-on-1 with Koivu. Heatley looked for a pass but Koivu’s presence near the crease drew two defenders so Heatley moved in and fired a shot around Cory Schneider to score the fastest goal in franchise history. It took a mere 13 seconds to put the Wild up 1-0. The Canucks tried to rally back, crashing the crease and knocking Niklas Backstrom back into his goal before they could bury an opportunity. Vancouver had another similar chance a few moments later as Byron Bitz snapped a shot that was stopped by Backstrom before the Canucks again ran into the Wild goaltender as Carson McMillan swept the puck out danger. The Canucks’ David Booth had another chance where he again tried to drive to the net but was unable to beat Backstrom but this time it was Byron Bitz earning a minor for goaltender interference. On the power play, the Wild moved the puck very well, with good crisp passes to set up some quick shots that tested Schneider. A failed diagonal pass by Marek Zidlicky was fired on goal by Koivu and Heatley nearly cashed in on the rebound but he was denied by a fine leg pad save by Schneider. Minnesota came up empty on the man advantage but it was some of the club’s best pressure on the power play than its had in many games. The Wild were flying around the ice, even the 3rd and 4th lines had that extra step in their game that had them winning the races to the loose pucks and Minnesota was very efficient at skating the puck out of its zone. The Canucks tried to counter the Wild’s speed with some physical play and sometimes there was collateral damage as Ryan Kesler lined up Cal Clutterbuck for a big hit and it was the linesman Andy McElman bouncing off the Wild forward and finding himself in the Vancouver bench. It was at this point, the Wild started to utilize the 2-man forecheck that was causing the Canucks some troubles in its own end as Nick Johnson endured a pretty good hit by Michael Duco in the process. The Wild would get into some penalty trouble as Matt Cullen got his stick into the grill of Alexander Edler giving the Canucks their 1st power play of the game. Minnesota would make its job that much tougher, as shortly into the Canucks’ man advantage, Nate Prosser tripped up Cody Hodgson giving Vancouver a long 5-on-3. The Wild’s penalty kill did a pretty good job at killing off most of the power play, as the Canucks simply was looking for a quick pass from down low towards the slot. The Canucks’ stepped up their puck movement to try to loosen up the tight triangle of the 3-man Wild penalty kill, and it would work as they set up a point shot for Edler that struck the crossbar and back on out that was pounced on by Daniel Sedin who fired it by a sprawling Backstrom, 1-1 game. Vancouver still had just over 30 seconds of power play time to work with but the hustle of the penalty kill kept the Canucks at bey. Minnesota had a great opportunity to re-take the lead as the 3rd line created some havoc after some nice puck movement at the points between Greg Zanon and Marek Zidlicky before Zidlicky fired a slapper that didn’t quite reach Schneider who had committed fully to the shot as he was sprawling and McMillan double-pumped and pushed a shot wide of the mark. Its uncanny, a missed opportunity often comes back to bite you, as just a minute or two after McMillan’s miss, the Canucks’ energy line went on the attack and a point shot by Andrew Alberts was stopped by Backstrom who was sprawling, and it was Maxim Lapierre firing home the rebound to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead. Backstrom looked ridiculous in his crease, flopping around like a fool in the blue paint for what did not look like a lot of contact near the top of his crease and nevertheless the Wild trailed by one going into the 1st intermission. An ugly finish to what looked to be a promising period of hockey. The Wild were being out shot 11-5 in the period, at one point Minnesota had a 4-1 shot advantage. Minnesota’s top line of Setoguchi, Koivu and Heatley looked good but they were the only line that was able to create much in the way of scoring chances. Can you say momentum shift?
2nd Period Thoughts: The Canucks won the initial draw, pulling the puck back into their zone as the Wild settled into a very passive 1-2-2 trap. Vancouver was patient and early in the 2nd period the Canucks would strike on a far too easy play where Daniel Sedin chipped a pass up to Byron Bitz who dished it across to Henrik Sedin who got a stick on it to bounce a shot off Backstrom and the puck hit the post but ‘Hank’ was there to jam it home, 3-1 Canucks. It was a horrible defensive breakdown to let a gimpy Henrik Sedin have a clear lane right down the slot. The Wild, always interested in making games tougher than they need to be would take a ‘too many men’ minor to give Vancouver a chance to perhaps put a dagger in this game. On the Canucks power play, Vancouver toyed with the Wild, as Daniel Sedin set up Alexandre Burrows near the crease that was stopped by Backstrom. Minnesota’s penalty killers were able to get the big kill to keep Vancouver’s lead just at two, but Vancouver was carrying the play with superior hustle and they were winning the battles along the wall as well. The Wild tried to strike back as Mikko Koivu threaded a pass to Dany Heatley who managed to get behind the Vancouver defense and he tried to use his 6’4″ 215lbs frame to protect the puck but as he was just about to set himself up for a shot he was pushed into the goal by Aaron Rome and Heatley would collide with Schneider and the net went off of its moorings. Heatley protested but it was a good non-call. A few minutes later the 3rd line of Kyle Brodziak and Nick Johnson managed to create a nice scoring opportunity as Kyle Brodziak backhanded a pass to Johnson who snapped off a quick one that was stopped by the shoulder of Schneider. Minnesota would get a bit of a reprieve from the Canucks forechecking pressure when Mason Raymond was tagged with a holding the stick penalty. The Canucks penalty kill was pressuring the puck carrier well and Vancouver was able to take advantage of Minnesota’s pickiness in taking shots. Most guilty of being too choosy was Marek Zidlicky, who at one time was wide open in the high slot where he tapped his stick wanting a pass and then when it was given to him he passed it away to Koivu who couldn’t even manage to get a shot off. The Canucks were giving Zidlicky tons of space to operate and finally towards the end of the power play he skated down the slot (because still no one was paying any attention to him) and all he could muster was a weak wrist shot that was steered wide by Schneider. Minnesota kept pressing, as the 2nd line finally started to register some shots on goal as the ‘CCC line’ of Cullen, Erik Christensen and Clutterbuck combined for a little flurry near the Canucks crease but Schneider was up to the task as he absorbed Clutterbuck’s one timer. A few moments after this failed chance a nice little play to steal a puck by Mikko Koivu turned into a 3-on-1 rush for Koivu, Heatley and Johnson. As the Wild entered the zone Heatley carried it in but looked to pass until finally firing a shot on goal and Minnesota would trail by two going into the 3rd period. Minnesota was being far too picky, and they need to just fire shots on goal and hope to get lucky. Passing up on shots was only helping Vancouver stymie potential scoring chances. The Wild out shot Vancouver 9-6 but it should’ve been even more one sided if the team was a little less selected and just let the shots fly.
3rd Period Thoughts: Cal Clutterbuck would try to spark his team early in the 3rd by dropping the gloves with Lapierre. The two would square off at center ice, and Lapierre started throwing right hands right away that put Clutterbuck on the defensive. Clutterbuck tried to work a few uppercuts but nothing was landing and Lapierre was content to stay at a distance and just rain more hooks that the Wild agitator really couldn’t answer back to and it was a clear win for the Canucks’ forward. The physical play started to intensify as Warren Peters leveled Duco with a big hit, and just seconds after that it was Carson McMillan putting Andrew Alberts into the boards that loosened up the Plexiglas requiring a few repairs in the process. After the repairs were made the Wild set up a nice chance for Dany Heatley from the slot that was denied by Schneider. Minnesota then had an outstanding shift by the line of Peters, Christensen and Powe as they swarmed around the net. Zidlicky was helping out his forwards by pinching down low and the Canucks’ were gassed as they chased Minnesota around its zone while the Wild had a few dangerous shots from the point that skittered just wide of the mark. The Canucks would ice the puck and call a timeout to try to help out their exhausted line who still had to try to work the puck out of their zone. Minnesota’s top line was a little too fancy with the puck and Vancouver got the relief it needed with a line change. For all of the pressure the Wild had, the Canucks finally got out of their zone and they’d light the lamp as Jannik Hansen worked the puck off the wall out to the point to Kevin Bieksa who fired a wrist shot from the point that was expertly redirected by Manny Malhotra to make it 4-1 and sending many Wild fans heading for the aisles. It wasn’t that good of a goal and one that no matter how difficult Backstrom has to stop in order to give the Wild a chance to win the game. You could see the defeat in the looks from the Wild players on the bench and Minnesota started to show some frustration as Cal Clutterbuck was on a mission to try to hit any Canucks player he saw. The Canucks were content to just harass the Wild enough to disrupt their attempts to claw their way back into the game. Minnesota would earn a power play when Aaron Rome held up Setoguchi, but would that really matter? Maybe a little, as the Wild finally lit the lamp after bumbling their way through the first 3/4ths of the man advantage before Setoguchi got a little space for himself and he ripped a snap shot off the rush that went over the shoulder of Schneider and in, 4-2 now. Trailing just by two, the Wild tried to cut the lead to one as Dany Heatley got a little space behind the Canucks defense where he drew Schneider to drop but his wrap around attempt missed wide and Setoguchi couldn’t bang it home. The Wild tried pulling its goaltender with about 1:30 left, but they wouldn’t get set up in the offensive zone and Ryan Kesler put the nail in the coffin as he buried the empty netter sealing a 5-2 Canucks victory. In the closing seconds, Dany Heatley had one last close range chance that was stopped by Schneider and he was hauled to the ice by Bieksa. Heatley didn’t appreciate it and he gave the Canucks defenseman a few shoves, and Bieksa pushed back and exchanged some nasty words back and forth. Cal Clutterbuck tried to start a fight with Dan Hamhuis, and as he was grappling with the Canucks’ blueliner it was Bieksa throwing his glove at Clutterbuck from about 35 feet away. Clutterbuck was given a game misconduct while Heatley earned a roughing minor. Meanwhile Hamhuis and Bieksa both earned roughing minors and a game misconduct each. Ridiculous.
Niklas Backstrom was not that great, giving up 4 goals on just 19 shots. I thought he was really flopping around his crease and this put him out of position and he was really fighting the puck most of the evening. Case in point, Backstrom faced just 3 shots in the 3rd period but still managed to give up a goal that effectively killed any chance the Wild had in this game. Defensively, I felt the Wild’s defense wasn’t nearly physical enough. They let Vancouver operate with impunity in their own zone and when you do that played right into the Canucks’ hands.
Offensively, it was great to get a goal 13 seconds into the game but the team took its foot off of the gas and sat back and watched Vancouver carry the play. The top line of Koivu, Heatley and Setoguchi was easily the team’s most potent line but they didn’t get nearly enough from the rest of their lines. Kyle Brodziak and Nick Johnson had a few good token shifts with Dany Heatley but without Heatley on their line they struggled to create much at all. It was good to see Setoguchi finally get a goal tonight, but the Wild were guilty of being too picky with their shots, especially in the 2nd period. One player who continues to be passive and indecisive is Marek Zidlicky who had numerous open opportunities to unleash the big shot but more often than not he chose to dish the puck instead. While Zidlicky has no goals on the season, you’re not going to change that anytime soon by passing up prime opportunities like that. There is no excuse for it; the Wild needed more shots on goal to score and Minnesota was its own worse enemy. You can’t do that against an opportunistic team like Vancouver who took full advantage of its chances.
Especially in the 2nd period of the game, the action resembled this 10-minute constant serenade of The Price is Right fail horn that you can listen to here. Oh and Clutterbuck, you might want to learn the ‘Inglewood Jack.’
Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo had this to say in his post-game comments on Fox Sports Net North, “Not happy, its one thing I wish I was in there, we’re unhappy after the game, what about during the game, what about before the game? The last two months, we’ve stinked and we come in and we don’t have good enough effort from enough guys and that’s concerning.” The disappointment from Yeo was the most we’ve seen all season long, and he summed it up, “what did we think, we were just going to come in here and steal a game against Vancouver, we couldn’t even do it against Columbus, and yet (with the 28th ranked offense) we still want to pass the puck six times to put the puck towards the net.” Saying that his team didn’t have enough battle in their game Yeo said that he worked on that specific part of the game on Wednesday and saying he will consider something more rigorous at their next practice. I think Yeo’s responses to the press about the team’s lack of desperation and unwillingness to pay the price are telling. Basically, I think he just asked his team if they think he’s a b$tch. We’ll see if this team continues to play like bi$ches out on the ice. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a single Wild fan that disagrees with anything Yeo had to say tonight. Its time for the players to look deep and ask them what they really are, and playing like bit$hes isn’t nearly good enough.
Wild Notes:
~ The roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Matt Cullen, Erik Christensen, Cal Clutterbuck, Warren Peters, Brad Staubitz, Darroll Powe, Kyle Brodziak, Carson McMillan, Nick Johnson, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Greg Zanon, Justin Falk, Nate Prosser and Jared Spurgeon. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Matt Kassian and Mike Lundin were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by the fans were: 1st Star Daniel Sedin, 2nd Star Cory Schneider, 3rd Star Dany Heatley
~ Attendance was 17, 859 at Xcel Energy Center.
Wild Prospect Report:
D – Josh Caron (Everett, WHL) ~ The rugged blueliner and the Everett Silvertips try to pick up the pieces from a difficult 2011-12 season, where the longtime GM was fired and the club has attempted to refocus itself on the ice. The Silvertips brought some of that Tuesday night when they defeated the Victoria Royals 3-2. Caron is an overager on that team trying to bring leadership and toughness, and on this night he brought some offense as he chipped in an assist.
F – Johan Larsson (Brynas IF, Eliteserien) ~ The stocky forward lit the lamp on the power play in a 6-3 loss to Djurgardens IF last week Saturday. The Lau, Sweden-native has 8 goals and 27 points in 39 games.
Boys & Girls High School Hockey Report:
Could Michael Zajac be wearing the “C” for Princeton in a few years?
Eagan Wildcats forward Michael Zajac became the latest high school star to declare which Division I school where he was going to play at next year, when he chose the Princeton Tigers after a number of other suitors such as Boston College, Wisconsin, Union and Dartmouth. With fairly recent NHL alumni like Anaheim’s George Parros and the Wild’s Darroll Powe the Tigers have been one of the better teams in the ECAC. Having watched Michael play since he was a sophomore I had a feeling he was a kid with Division I potential and the State of Hockey News wishes him all the best luck at Princeton! Here is a listing of other Minnesota High School Division I commitments thus far.
Division I Commitments (Boys): *- denotes Juniors, if not noted they are seniors
F – (Eagan) Michael Zajac ~ Princeton
*F – (Benilde-St.Margaret’s) Grant Besse ~ Wisconsin
*F – (Hibbing) Adam Johnson ~ Minnesota-Duluth
*F – (Minnetonka) Vinni Lettieri ~ Minnesota
*F – (Edina) Lou Nanne ~ Minnesota
*F – (Benilde-St.Margaret’s) Dan Labosky – Colorado College
F – (Breck) Grant Opperman ~ Dartmouth
F – (Duluth Marshall) Judd Peterson ~ St. Cloud State
F – (Brainerd) Matt Pohlkamp ~ Bowling Green
F – (Duluth East) Jake Randolph ~ Nebraska-Omaha
F – (Hermantown) Jared Thomas ~ Minnesota-Duluth
F – (Duluth East) Dom Toninato ~ Minnesota-Duluth
F – (Lakeville South) Justin Kloos ~ Minnesota
*D – (Grand Rapids) Jake Bischoff ~ Minnesota
*D – (Blaine) Michael Brodzinski ~ Minnesota
*D – (Maple Grove) Jordan Gross ~ Notre Dame
D – (Eagan) Eli May ~ Minnesota State
D – (Minnetonka) Joe Schuldt ~ Michigan Tech
D – (St. Thomas Academy) Eric Schurhamer ~ Maine
Division I Commitments (Girls):
F – (Elk River) Jonna Curtis ~ New Hampshire
F – (Hill-Murray) Hannah Brandt ~ Minnesota
F – (Roseville) Hanna Brodt ~ St. Cloud State
F – (Eastview) Courtney Kukowski ~ Providence
F – (Chisago Lakes) Megan Lushenko ~ Bemidji State
D – (White Bear Lake) Samantha Hansen ~ North Dakota
D – (South St. Paul) Samantha LaShomb ~ North Dakota
D – (Breck) Milica McMillen ~ Minnesota
D – (Roseville) Lexi Slattery ~ Providence
D – (Roseville) Lee Stecklein ~ Minnesota
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