Do you remember watching Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a kid? Where he comes up with all of these elaborate schemes and spends an untold amount of money and resources in various “ACME” produced machines to try to finally capture the Roadrunner? Wile E. Coyote just can’t seem to catch him and more often than not ends up stepping off the cliff himself to being reduced to little more than that ambiguous white puff of dust once he hits the ground. So what is the point? Futility. The Roadrunner was simply too fast and too intelligent to be caught, no matter what Wile E. Coyote devised. He could chase him all he wants and he’d never get there, the Roadrunner just had him beat time after time. In many ways the picture you see here is a personification of the Minnesota Wild’s season at this point. Chasing in order to defend the other player, chasing but always arriving a little too late, or being just a little too slow to make a difference. Instead of being a step behind a player like what you see in the picture the Wild are 2-3 strides behind arriving near that threshold of “not being close.” Minnesota looked horrible in its most recent loss, 4-1 to the New York Islanders. To the Islanders credit, they outworked, outhustled, outskated and just plain dominated the Wild at both ends of the ice. Minnesota’s passing was sloppy, their anticipation suspect and their goaltending was questionable at best. Three straight losses and the Wild find themselves in 11th place in the Western Conference. Starting to see where I’m coming from now in regards to my use of the word futility? Or how the Wild have been chasing all season long, getting closer and closer and even clawing their way into the playoff picture only to let go and now be in free fall. (cue the ambiguous puff of dust)
It will not get any easier tonight as the Wild travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers who are also attempting to position themselves better for the post-season. Earlier this season, on November 10th, the Rangers spanked the Wild 5-2 in the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota is now again chasing the rest of the Western Conference if it wants to qualify for the post-season. In order for that to happen, a lot of players have to step up their game. Most notably, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, and Marek Zidlicky. Brunette and Miettinen have been very lost without Mikko Koivu, and both have just a few assists since he was knocked out of the lineup with a broken finger. Meanwhile Marek Zidlicky has been a trainwreck on skates. He has more or less abandoned playing defense and has been joining the rush far too often leaving his defensive partners out to dry. No matter what, the Wild have to turn it around now or its chances of making the playoffs are as good as Wile E. Coyote’s chances of finally catching the Roadrunner. So will the Wild stop the slide or will they keep falling in the standings with a 4th straight loss tonight?
Click on “Read More” to see the rest of the article…
1st Period Thoughts: The Wild looked like it had better legs to start the game but their passing was not much better than the night before as Cal Clutterbuck failed to connect with John Madden on a terribly off-target pass. The Rangers were forechecking well and causing Minnesota to have issues in getting out of its zone. This pressure would result in a New York goal as Mats Zuccarello-Aasen won a battle for the puck along the boards behind the WIld goal before threading a pass into the slot where Sean Avery was there to one-time a shot by Jose Theodore to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Minnesota found itself in the all to familiar role of trying to play catch up. New York started to sit back a bit in a passive left wing lock that created some turnovers in the neutral zone. The Rangers continued to apply pressure with its forecheck and this led to a great scoring chance off the rush for Hastings, Minnesota-native Derek Stepan who was stonewalled by Theodore. Jose Theodore did not help his cause when he attempted to help his defense by clearing the zone by throwing the puck up high but it was a little too high as it went into the crowd for an easy delay of game penalty. The Wild’s penalty kill did a nice job of getting into passing and shooting lanes and were able to give the Rangers’ fits as they could not seem to find any open space to mount any kind of offensive pressure in the Minnesota zone. After the big penalty kill the Wild’s hustle started to make its way to the surface on a nice forechecking effort by Warren Peters and Martin Havlat. The Wild also started to assert itself physically as Cal Clutterbuck delivered a big hit to Sartell’s Michael Sauer. The Rangers’ forecheck continued to create quality chances as Erik Christensen found himself set up near the crease but his shot would go off the side of the net. Their pressure would create another delay of game penalty as Clutterbuck cleared a puck into the stands. The Wild’s penalty kill was scrambling a bit, and the Rangers were able to work a puck into the slot where Ryan Callahan ripped a shot that was stopped by an excellent reaching back save by Theodore. Theodore would make a few more crucial saves and the Wild’s penalty kill struggled to slow down the quick passing of the Rangers but they’d kill off another power play due almost entirely to the guy between the pipes. Minnesota was counter punching, and they’d get a tremendous scoring chance on a nice little play by Jared Spurgeon to fire a long range snap shot that got to Henrik Lundqvist but the rebound would go to Havlat who tried to wrap a shot around him only to be denied by the right post. I really was impressed by the hustle of Cal Clutterbuck who was hitting early and often out there and Eric Nystrom was playing a very intelligent game. It wasn’t the best first period but they were fortunate more damage wasn’t done, just trailing 1-0.
2nd Period Thoughts: The Rangers would create a great scoring chance right from the start as Brian Boyle helped set up a blast for Brandon Dubinsky who shot it wide but as the puck would carom out front it was Boyle who chipped a shot that skittered through the Wild crease. Clayton Stoner was playing very assertively early on, stepping up to support the play and being physical when needed. Minnesota would earn its first power play of the game as Erik Christensen high sticked Casey Wellman. The Wild tried to create a scoring chance on the man advantage but their aggressiveness nearly cost them as Brandon Dubinsky found himself in a 2-on-1 facing just Marek Zidlicky. Fortunately for Minnesota, Dubinsky would try to be a little too cute and he pushed a shot just wide of the mark. Minnesota would regroup and some quick passing set up a quick one-timer by Jared Spurgeon whose blast from the point would be redirected by Kyle Brodziak that beat Lundqvist to tie the game at 1-1. The goal was huge for confidence for the Wild, but in the moments just after the goal they almost let one in themselves when Ryan Callahan had a chance from point-blank range that was deflected up and over by Theodore. The Rangers continued to use their forecheck effectively and they would draw another Wild penalty as tripping. The Wild penalty kill again did a great job at forcing the Rangers to settle for shots taken from the perimeter. New York was unable to create much of anything on the power play and Minnesota got another big kill. Minnesota would take the lead on a great effort play by Andrew Brunette to win a battle behind the goal and then turning and taking advantage of some hard work near the crease by Warren Peters to slide a pass back to Brent Burns who stepped into a slapper that was perfectly re-directed by Wellman to make it 2-1 Wild. The Rangers tried to answer back with its forecheck but Minnesota was circling the wagons, and back checking aggressively. When the Wild’s hustle wasn’t enough, Theodore continued to make the saves. The frustration level for the Rangers was pretty obvious at the end of hte period as it was for the fans who serenaded their team with a small chorus of boos.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota had a good start to the 2nd period, as they gunned a long range shot from the point that was gloved by Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers would start to assert itself on the forecheck, dumping the puck down low as Mats Zuccarello-Aasen was like a whirling dervish in the corner as he spun and attempted to center a pass towards a crashing Brandon Dubinsky. Minnesota’s skaters were tying up Rangers’ forwards well as they attempted to work the puck towards the Wild crease. Jose Theodore was composed between the pipes, squaring up to shooters nicely and it was clear the Rangers were getting frustrated as they were aiming for the corners and missing high. Jared Spurgeon was throwing his diminutive frame around, as he delivered a solid body check to Sean Avery. There was a slightly scary moment for the Rangers when Cretin Derham-Hall’s Ryan McDonagh spun into the boards rather awkwardly as he twisted his knee as tried to hit Brodziak. The Wild were being dominated in time of possession but it wasn’t translating into that many scoring chances, even though the Rangers took every chance to just put a shot on goal and hope for a deflection. Minnesota started to counter punch a bit as the Rangers’ defenseman were pinching offensively. Kyle Brodziak, who was all over the ice with great hustle would make a nice play to push a puck over to Martin Havlat who was skating near the slot where he did a small shoulder fake to free the Rangers’ defense as they thought he was going to shoot before sliding a drop pass back to Pierre-Marc Bouchard who unloaded a quick one timer that found the twine behind Lundqvist to extend Minnesota’s lead to 3-1. New York would get a power play when Brent Burns was called for a rather marginal hooking call, as he allegedly tied up Wojtek Wolski. Minnesota’s penalty kill was very solid, challenging the puck carrier all over the offensive zone not giving the Rangers much in the way of time and space. You could even hear a few boo’s from the home crowd as the Wild frustrated the Rangers on the man advantage. In the closing minutes, Minnesota was hustling and making New York work for every inch of the ice and Jose Theodore was able to shut the door to give the Wild a huge road victory.
Jose Theodore was absolutely outstanding, making 40 saves in the victory. He really allowed Minnesota to weather the storm during a part of the game where it really could’ve gotten out of control. Defensively its tough to be too happy about giving up 41 shots on goal, but Minnesota did a fine job of preventing the Rangers from having 2nd chance opportunities. Wild skaters did a fine job of not giving up on the play and lifting the sticks before they could do damage on the rebounds that were available. Spurgeon, Wellman and Brodziak denied some golden opportunities by simply being diligent and doing the little things like hustling to help bail out their goalie. Minnesota was again perfect on the penalty kill, and it was very important in the 1st period on those foolish delay of game penalties.
Offensively Minnesota did a nice job of counter punching even though they were completely dominated in terms of shots on goal being outshot 41 to 19. The best example of this came on Bouchard’s goal in the 3rd period which really put the nail in the Rangers’ coffin. Also, give the Wild credit for using a little traffic to redirect two shots by Henrik Lundqvist who is one of the most positionally sound netminders in the league. However, the team must also credit its defenseman for being willing to pull the trigger and take their chances; both Spurgeon on Brodziak’s goal and Burns on Wellman’s goal.
This was a huge character win for the Wild who were playing their 2nd game in a back-to-back in addition to the other adversity out there. The goals restored Minnesota’s confidence and I was impressed with the team’s resilience after its tough loss the night before. Wild Head Coach Todd Richards, “Its every game, and you put so much pressure on yourself and you lose a little bit of your game.” He added, “the game belonged to Theodore, his save on (Callahan) was the game.” If Minnesota somehow managed to go on a winning streak we may be calling that the save of the season. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Theodore having more starts. I know Backstrom is the bigger contract but Theodore has been a huge source of strength for the Wild this season. Minnesota now gets a little rest before it plays again against the Buffalo Sabres.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster for tonight’s game was: Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Warren Peters, Casey Wellman, John Madden, Matt Cullen, Eric Nystrom, Brad Staubitz, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Martin Havlat, Nick Schultz, Jared Spurgeon, Greg Zanon, Clayton Stoner, Marek Zidlicky and Brent Burns. Niklas Backstrom backed up Jose Theodore. Cam Barker and Chuck Kobasew were the healthy scratches. Josh Harding (knee), James Sheppard (knee), Mikko Koivu (broken finger) and Guillaume Latendresse (groin and sports hernia).
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Kyle Brodziak, 2nd Star Jose Theodore, 3rd Star Pierre-Marc Bouchard
~ Attendance for tonight’s game at Madison Square Garden was 18,200.
Houston Aeros Update:
2010-11 Record: 64GP (36-23-1-4) 77pts 2nd West Division
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #14 Jon DiSalvatore ~ 17G 28A = 45pts
2. #26 Maxim Noreau ~ 10G 32A = 42pts
3. #17 Robbie Earl ~ 16G 23A = 39pts
4. #16 Patrick O’Sullivan ~ 13G 15A = 28pts
5. #12 Cody Almond ~ 12G 15A = 27pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #42 Matt Kassian ~ 130 PIM’s
2. #29 Drew Bagnall ~ 96 PIM’s
3. #12 Cody Almond ~ 94 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Matthew Hackett (15-12-3) 2.28GAA .918%SP
2. #41 Josh Tordjman (2-0) 1.54GAA .938%SP
Most Recent Game: 8-1 win over the Rockford Ice Hogs on Wednesday
The Houston Aeros are in great shape in the West Division despite having to part with key energy-type players like Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer. Head Coach Mike Yeo has done a tremendous job since the team’s slow start that had the team mired near the bottom of the West Division for much of the first quarter of the season. One big catalyst for the Aeros has been the addition of Patrick O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan has 13 goals and 28 points in just 20 games and his emergence has also brought about increased production for Jon DiSalvatore who has been playing his best hockey since joining the organization last year. The former Wild 2nd round pick, O’Sullivan has been especially dangerous on the power play where 6 of his 13 goals have come on the man advantage. Casey Wellman is a player who Minnesota has high hopes in and he’s starting to show some of his skills since his latest return from injury. The Aeros have also seen a steady rise in the play of Maxim Noreau who is again demonstrating himself to be one of the most dangerous offensive defenseman in the American Hockey League. Defensively, the Aeros are very balanced and their defenseman all have a good combination of solid positional play with mobility to help but opposing teams on their heels with a stifling forecheck. Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, Marco Scandella along with Noreau have all earned good reviews for their two-way play. The Aeros did lose a bit with the trade of Anton Khudobin, but the team would probably not have moved him if it did not feel confident in Matthew Hackett who is looking very poised for his first season of professional hockey. While they may not be tearing it up on the stat sheet, Jarod Palmer, Colton Gillies and Carson McMillan have been very solid in the checking role and have found ways to chip in offensively. The Aeros do have about 4 games ahead of most of the rest of the West Division, but they’re liking the view from near the top so far.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
