Sports experts often make assumptions based on how teams match up ‘on paper’ and who is to blame them? Goliath should’ve absolutely crushed David based on the numbers of physical size, strength and skill as a warrior. There is no way Iowa should’ve lost to Minnesota today, in its bid to take back Floyd of Rosedale. Iowa was 5-2 going into the game, and was a bowl team last year with one of the better defenses in the nation. Minnesota Golden Gophers on the other hand were 1-6, having only managed to beat Miami (OH) in by the skin of their teeth victory. The Hawkeyes had all of the confidence in the world going into the 4th quarter, driving down the field under the rushing of Marcus Coker who ran for 252 yards scoring a touchdown to put Iowa up 21-10. I mean seriously, who loses a game when your running back manages to pile up 250+ yards? Well, Minnesota did, when Lawrence Maroney put up 258 yards to only have Minnesota lose a heartbreaker to Wisconsin back on Oct. 15th, 2005. Ouch! Yet, as improbable as it was, the much-maligned Gophers offense marched down the field as Marqueis Gray willed Minnesota to a touchdown to take a 22-21 lead. A failed two-point conversion opened a window for the Hawkeyes to win the game with a field goal but the Gophers defense stood tall and Floyd of Rosedale stays in Minnesota for another year. Wait a sec, what does this have to do with hockey? Maybe I’m stretching things just a tad but isn’t it awfully similar to the challenge the Minnesota Wild has tonight as the Detroit Red Wings come to town? Throughout much of the last 10 years, the Hawkeyes hold a decisive advantage in victories over the Gophers and the same can be said for the Red Wings over the Wild.
‘On paper’, Detroit has a decisive advantage in terms of firepower and the collective experience and strength of its defensive core. Like the Gophers offense, the Wild’s offense has sputtered throughout much of the season. Most notably, team captain Mikko Koivu still hasn’t managed to find the back of the net and at $6.75 million per season the heat is starting to collect under Minnesota’s 2nd highest paid forward (behind Dany Heatley‘s $7.5 million) in the media and from fans on local radio shows and message boards. So ‘on paper’ it looks as though Minnesota has no chance even though the last time these two clubs met the Red Wings only managed to beat the Wild in overtime. So can the Wild give Minnesota another major upset to relish this evening?
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1st Period Thoughts: Minnesota started the game with good jump and purpose to its game, moving its feet well and establishing a good pace of play. The Red Wings seemed to struggle a bit with how Minnesota was moving with speed and being aggressive in the offensive zone. The 4th line of Darroll Powe, Brad Staubitz and Colton Gillies would have first real quality shift of the game as a physical forecheck by Colton Gillies created a turnover as he leveled Jakub Kindl, took the puck and put it out front into the slot where Staubitz got off a quick shot that was shut down by Jimmy Howard and the former University of Maine star stopped Staubitz’ rebound chance as well. The physical shift set the tone and Minnesota followed it up with more tenacity as the 3rd line of Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak, and Nick Johnson bottled up the Red Wings in their end, and when they broke it out it was Clutterbuck crushing Tomas Holmstrom with an open ice hit just inside the Wild blueline that sent his glove and stick flying. Guillaume Latendresse was the latest addition to the top line and I must admit I thought he played rather hesitantly throughout the period and that’s not a good thing when your best asset is your sniping ability. A classic example of this occurred when a turnover near the Wild blueline turned into a 2-on-1 for Latendresse and Heatley and Latendresse would skate in hoping to draw Niklas Kronwall towards him so he could dish it to Heatley for a one-timer, but Kronwall waited until the last minute to do so and when he finally decided to take a shot the puck was knocked off his stick by the Detroit defenseman squandering a tremendous opportunity. Minnesota continued to apply pressure and another physical shift would make more good things happen as their aggressive play turned into a 3-on-2 where Brodziak fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Howard but the rebound would glance off the skate of Nick Johnson and flutter up and over the sprawling Detroit goalie to put the Wild up 1-0. The goal would be reviewed, the replay clearly showed Johnson stopping in front of the crease as he was attempting get a stick on the rebound only to have the puck take flight and into the goal. There was no kicking motion, and by league rules, it is not a kicking motion of you’re turning your skate to stop but the boys in Toronto thought differently and it was ruled a ‘no goal’ after their ridiculous explanation of a ‘distinct kicking motion’ brought a large chorus of boo’s. You can judge it for yourself here. I am sure this had to put a little doubt in the minds of the Wild, but a few minutes later those anxious feelings disappeared on another 2-on-1 rush. Again it was a turnover in the Wild zone that was quickly transitioned into a 2-on-1 as Koivu backhanded a pass off the boards up to Heatley who raced up the ice with Latendresse. This time Heatley wouldn’t look to pass and he flung a wrister high that snuck underneath the crossbar and into the twine to put Minnesota up 1-0. Minnesota kept their tempo high and this also helped in the defensive zone as they were backchecking well and taking away time and space from the Red Wings. Detroit would earn its first power play on a roughing call on Latendresse. Minnesota’s penalty kill was aggressive as Detroit tired to work the points and fire shots from range with the benefit of a screen but Josh Harding was seeing the puck well. Darroll Powe nearly had a breakaway but Detroit was able to hold the zone but rather than be angry at the missed chance he raced back and stole the puck and cleared the zone. Minnesota would kill off the penalty and Latendresse would pick it up and go in on a breakaway only to be hooked by Brad Stuart giving the Wild its first power play of the game. A great start for Minnesota, and their persistence through a little adversity early on was impressive.
2nd Period Thoughts: The 2nd period was one where the Red Wings re-established momentum while the Wild more or less played rope-a-dope. Minnesota had a good scoring chance early as some great puck movement set up Mikko Koivu right in front of the goal crease but his bid was stopped by Howard. Detroit then started to pour it on, and Darren Helm was stopped on a great save by Josh Harding. Part of what was helping Detroit take over the period was the fact Minnesota wasn’t moving its feet as well, and were simply opting to chip the puck off the glass or the boards. This plays right into Detroit’s plan of attack as you simply are committing needless giveaways. Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi were buzzing around the Wild zone but Josh Harding continued to come up with save after save. Many of the Detroit’s best shifts were when Elk River, Minnesota-native Nate Prosser was on the ice and they were counting on his hesitant play and it was working. The Wild were only able to work the puck into the Detroit zone and a few token shots on goal, but those gave only a brief respite for Harding who had to be at his best as he had a lot of traffic near his crease but he continued to make the stops. Minnesota was content to ice the puck, and had to feel relieved to have escaped the period still leading 1-0.
3rd Period Thoughts: The Wild was able to find its hustle and work ethic again and Minnesota was making Detroit work really hard to create scoring chances. While you couldn’t really say Minnesota was looking to create much offense of their own, the Wild were being physical but using the glass and boards less and not allowing Detroit to simply control the puck with impunity and getting caught standing and watching. However, lets give credit to Josh Harding who was razor sharp moving from post to post in his crease very efficiently stopping Zetterberg in dramatic fashion as he fell back to lay on the loose puck. The Wild were throwing their bodies around, and Devin Setoguchi would get tangled up with Todd Bertuzzi but Setoguchi’s stick would rake Bertuzzi on the beak giving him a pretty awful nosebleed and result in a Detroit power play for 4 minutes. On the man advantage, the Wild were not giving the Red Wings much time and space as well as being tough near the crease and not allowing Tomas Holmstrom to become too much of a pain in his office near the crease. The Wild had a few close calls as Justin Abdelkader ran out of ideas and he flung a shot near the crease and the puck skittered on through where luckily for Minnesota there were no Red Wings nearby. One person who clearly has not learned his lesson was the teary-eyed Todd Bertuzzi who had a swab in each nostril look across the ice at Setoguchi in the penalty box where he (judging by my ability to lip read) either said, “you’re dead” or “You’re going to get it.” Either way, Minnesota would kill off the penalty and the Wild continued to relish the role of the counter puncher. Guillame Latendresse found a bit more space in a 2-on-1 and this time he took a shot that was stopped by a shoulder save by Howard. Clutterbuck lined up Todd Bertuzzi for a huge hit that got the crowd going. Moments later Kyle Brodziak would hustle for a loose puck and he was hauled down by Bertuzzi giving the Wild a power play. Minnesota wasn’t able to get anything going offensively as they were simply way too passive in their approach and a terrific opportunity was squandered. Detroit went back on the attack and Harding would fend off a few attempts to just throw a shot near the goal and hope it would ricochet in to no avail as Marco Scandella and Justin Falk were very strong in the closing moments making a number of small but key plays to alleviate pressure and lifting the puck out of the zone. Detroit would pull Howard with just over a minute left, and Devin Setoguchi did a nice job on the forecheck to kill some valuable seconds off the clock. However, the shutout bid was nearly thrown away by Harding himself who played a puck and then considered taking a shot at the empty net ala Ron Hextall but instead passed it up the middle of the ice that was intercepted by Zetterberg and Harding barely had time to get in front of his shot and the Wild would escape with a 1-0 victory.
Josh Harding was absolutely brilliant, making 36 saves for the shutout. He was seeing the puck well, even amidst all the traffic Detroit likes to create. Harding got some good help from his defenseman who were quick to sweep away rebounds and prevent Detroit from having the 2nd chances they are so lethal on. Justin Falk and Marco Scandella both were outstanding down the stretch and the fact they were on the ice in the closing moments says a ton about the confidence Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo has in these guys. I thought Nate Prosser was ok, but at times he was a bit hesitant. Marek Zidlicky continues to be very inconsistent in his play.
Offensively, the Wild should’ve won 2-0. Nick Johnson’s ‘kick’ was a goal. There was no ‘distinct kicking motion’ unlike what NHL referee Brad Meier said. Johnson was racing up the ice and turned his skates to stop and the puck rode up his skates and floated into the back of the net. Either way, the Wild really only had anything you could recognize as offense in the 1st period and beyond that the team really wasn’t trying to score. I do not think that is what Mike Yeo has talked about when he’s said, “attacking in waves” because if that’s true then the Wild were in low tide throughout the 2nd and 3rd periods. I felt Minnesota’s power play did a fine job of thwarting itself, with poor decisions to attempt weak cross-ice passes that are easy to disrupt and in all honesty its only a matter of time before that turns into a shorthanded goal the other way.
I thought Nick Johnson had another very solid game for the Wild, and I thought it was also one of the better games for Darroll Powe as well. Both players were hustling and being a pain on the forecheck and their hustle was a big reason the Wild won this game. Clutterbuck seems to be back to his old self after a sort of a quiet start to the season; where he’s getting involved physically and thus getting under the opponents skin. The Wild get a brief period to rest up and practice before heading to Detroit for a game on Tuesday night. Either way, another upset for Minnesota and in regulation no less!
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight was: Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Guillaume Latendresse, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Nick Johnson, Colton Gillies, Brad Staubitz, Darroll Powe, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Nick Schultz and Marek Zidlicky. Niklas Backstrom backed up Josh Harding. Brett Bulmer, Matt Kassian and Greg Zanon, and Clayton Stoner were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by the fans were: 1st Star Josh Harding, 2nd Star Dany Heatley, 3rd Star Justin Falk
~ Attendance was 17,233 at Xcel Energy Center.
~ Nate Prosser wore #39 for the Wild.
Houston Aeros Report:
Record: (5-0-1-2) 12pts 1st West Division
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #17 Casey Wellman ~ 7G 2A = 9pts
2. #14 Jon DiSalvatore ~ 2G 5A = 7pts
3. #22 Jeff Taffe ~ 2G 4A = 6pts
4. #26 David McIntyre ~ 4G 2A = 6pts
5. #37 Justin Fontaine ~ 3G 3A = 6pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #25 Warren Peters ~ 22 PIM’s
2. #26 David McIntyre ~ 13 PIM’s
3. #24 Jordan Hendry ~ 10 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Matthew Hackett (4-0-2) 1.79GAA .942%SP
2. #34 Dennis Endras (1-1-0) 1.53GAA .938%SP
Most Recent Game: Houston 4, San Antonio 2
Houston got off to a slow start in San Antonio, where the Rampage jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Bill Thomas. Houston would answer back, with the help of a power play as Kris Foucault found a little room before firing a laser of a snap shot that beat Tyler Plante. With the Aeros right back into the game, the Rampage would strike back right off a faceoff as Mark Cullen drew it back to Greg Rallo one-timed a shot right over the shoulder of Matt Hackett that caught the Houston goalie completely off guard giving San Antonio a 2-1 lead. Houston would take over, thanks to its prowess on the man advantage where they’d strike twice in the 2nd period on power play tallies by Chay Genoway and Jeff Taffe to give the Aeros a 3-2 lead with less than a minute left in the period. The Rampage tried to press for the equalizer but Hackett was strong between the pipes and Casey Wellman provided the dagger with an empty netter to seal a 4-2 victory. The Aeros play the Oklahoma City Oil Barons this evening. UPDATE: Houston lost 5-4 in a shootout to Oklahoma City. Houston trailed 3-0 at one point but rallied back to tie the game with goals from Carson McMillan, Jarod Palmer, Justin Fontaine and Casey Wellman. Hackett started the game, but he was pulled after the 1st period and Dennis Endras relieved to give up just 1 goal on 13 shots but he ultimately earned the loss since he was there for the shootout.
Wild Prospect Report:
C – Erik Haula (Minnesota, WCHA) ~ I can only imagine Wild Assistant General Manager Brett Flahr is ecstatic with the way Haula has been putting up monster numbers so far this season. Haula again was huge for the Gophers as he lit the lamp twice and added an assist in a 5-0 rout of Alaska-Anchorage last night. The Pori, Finland native is amongst the top scorers in the nation with 7 goals, 17 points in just 7 games and is a major reason the Golden Gophers are 6-1.
LW – Jason Zucker (Denver, WCHA) ~ While Haula has been downright explosive this season, it has been a more modest start to Jason Zucker’s season where he has 3 goals, 8 points in 5 games. Zucker was held scoreless and a -1 in the Pioneers 7-2 drubbing at the hands a surprisingly strong Michigan Tech squad that is making waves across the WCHA with a 5-2 start. UPDATE: Zucker had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s rematch against Michigan Tech that ended in a 2-2 tie.
C – Charlie Coyle (Boston, H-East) ~ Coyle, one of the key acquisitions in the Brent Burns is your classic power forward. Big frame, decent skater and the intangible of knowing how to protect the puck, possessing decent hands as well. I think most Wild fans were hoping Coyle would be showing something more in the goal scoring column but he’s still finding ways onto the score sheet registering 2 assists in a 2-2 tie to Massachusetts. So far Coyle, playing as 2nd line center has 7 assists in 5 games. UPDATE: Coyle had a goal (his first of the season) and an assist in the Saturday night tilt that resulted in a 5-4 overtime victory for the Terriers.
C – Zack Phillips (Saint John, QMJHL) ~ Phillips was a point machine for the Sea Dogs last season and he continues to be an offensive juggernaut for the talented Saint John club as they crushed Chicoutimi 6-0. The Fredericton, New Brunswick native had a huge night against he Sagueneens as he lit the lamp twice and added two helpers. Phillips currently has 11 goals, 25 points in 14 games!
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