SB Nation - Kim Johnsson

Game 34 Preview: Jackets get Wild

Mike MacLean — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:04:19 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

This is going to be brief- the Jackets need to win. Minny is on a tear, and Columbus very much isn't. The Wild, like Nashville, aren't a great team on paper- they make up for that by playing hard, physical hockey and they get timely scoring. Not to mention they have a great goaltender, one who finished behind ours in Vezina voting last year i may add.

I'm not a fan of making a trade just to shake things up, but what is there left to do? GM Scott Howson has put together a team that, again, on paper has all of the elements necessary to win, with the exception of one area. The forwards are a nice mix of snipers (Juice, Nasher); gritty forwards who can score (Vermette, Umby), playmakers (Voracek, Brass) and muckers (Torres, Pahlsson) just to name a few. We have a great goaltending tandem, but the defense needs help. Stralman has been great on the powerplay, as advertised. For that alone, he was a great add. Russ is coming into his own, and has been the best blueliner of late. The other four blueliners however, have not played well. Last season, Commie and Hejda were uber-reliable, steady minute-munchers who could hold the fort down. This year however, they are slow, plodding, and are missing assignments. Methot hasn't done much of anything, and Tyuts- well if he's not commiting a turnover he's horribly out of position. It's like he can't decide whether to play offense or focus on his defensive game. Regardless, a steady defenseman needs to be brought in. One who won't wow you, just somebody to settle things down. An older player would be great.

Or, and this would be the easiest move- the team can just work harder. I don't just mean turn it on when you are already down a goal or two, i mean start the game hard, set the tone, and continue for a full 60 minutes. The goals will come from hard work, and next thing you know- you've won the game.

Fearless Prediction: A solid 60 minute effort, for crying out loud this is the same team that was so great defensively last season, what happened? Did the fact that they are scoring now lead them to forget about their other duties? I predict they play hard, because of they don't, they will continue to get embarrassed.

Game Time: 8:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Hockey Wilderness

Game Page: Blue Jackets vs Wild Coverage

TSN Preview:Blue Jackets vs Wild Preview

TV: None

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Blue Jackets, who lost to Nashville last night at home, are 1-2-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. After a 7-12-2 start, the Wild has been one of the NHL's hottest clubs the last month, going 8-2-1. The Wild has won three of the last four games in Xcel Energy Center.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Jason Chimera	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	R.J. Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Andrew Murray	Samuel Pahlsson	Jared Boll
Fredrik Modin	Derick Brassard	Raffi Torres

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Marc Methot

Mathieu Garon

Steve Mason

EXTRA: Michael Blunden, Mathieu Roy

INJURED: Rostislav Klesla, Derek Dorsett

Minnesota Wild

Andrew Brunette	Mikko Koivu	Antti Miettinen
Chuck Kobasew	Eric Belanger	Cal Clutterbuck
Guillaume Latendresse	Kyle Brodziak	Martin Havlat
Derek Boogaard	Nathan Smith	James Sheppard

Greg Zanon	Nick Schultz
Marek Zidlicky	Kim Johnsson
Jaime Sifers	Shane Hnidy

Niklas Backstrom

Josh Harding

Minnesota Wild @ Colorado Avalanche: Game Recap

nathaneide — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:54:25 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

12 days ago: Minnesota Wild right winger Antti Miettinen, of Finland, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 1-0 Colorado Avalanche

The Minnesota Wild get a 1-0 shutout win over the Colorado Avalanche in front of a very anemic crowd at the Pepsi Center. Frankly, if I wouldn't have seen Todd Richards behind the bench actually being interviewed by a Versus reporter, I would've assumed it was a replay of a game under the Lemaire regime.

Nice to see Antti Miettinen get back on the scoring track tonight. He now has seven goals in his last eight games. Someone's looking awfully tempting for Jari Kurri. Niklas Backstrom didn't have to be brilliant tonight, he just did his job and notched his 18th career shutout.

John Scott is already a lock to be a healthy scratch next game unless every other defenseman is injured on the way off the ice tonight. With three minor penalties, all of the either lazy or stupid variety, he could've single-handedly cost the Wild the two points were it not for the great play of the defense and Backstrom. The penalty kill was fantastic (granted the Avs power play looked like the Wild's tonight).

I'm going to leave the rest of the recap to our Denver correspondent. She's a grad student at Denver University by way of the Range and works in the DU athletic department's media relations office and was in attendance at the Pepsi Center tonight and will post her thoughts later.

Not all games include 60 full minutes of hard-fought, fast-paced hockey; however this game didn't include much of it at all. But, in the end, a win is a win; especially when the win is a shutout on the opponent's home ice.

Wednesday night's 1-0 win came as Niklas Backstrom earned his first shutout of the season and Antti Miettinen scored his eighth goal of the season over the Colorado Avalanche.

The two teams battled throughout the game fairly evenly, as the Wild had a total of 23 shots and the Avs ended with 22. However, the Wild did demonstrate their penalty kill ability, as the team finished the night with a total of six penalties.

The crowd support left something to be desired - for both teams, actually. Though it was a Wednesday night, the Pepsi Center was quite bare. Although, not surprising, many of the people in attendance donned Wild apparel, as Colorado is a mecca for has-been Minnesotans.

Truly, the best play of the night came between the second the third periods as two Mini-Mite teams took to the ice in a shoot out. One player scored his goal off a nice-looking deke. As the opposing goalie dove to the right, the young star turned the puck around to the left side past the outstretched goalie.

Let's hope the Wild steps it up a bit as they take on Calgary this Friday. After all, I thought the days of Minnesota's "slow-down offense" were over.

Please read the game recap over at Mile High Hockey

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Niklas Backstrom (20 saves)
Antti Miettinen (1 G)
Kim Johnsson (1 A, +1, 31:11 TOI)

Questions to Answer

Can they come out hot and bounce back from a horrible performance in Phoenix? Well, it wasn't great, but they got the 2 points.
With no Andrew Ebbett, who is going to provide his spark? Antti Miettinen got the goal and Koivu provided the spark of offense, but Johnsson was the backbone tonight.
What kind of effect will punishing Martin Havlat have on his play? 9:48 TOI. I think that says it all.
Can the Wild get to Budaj and rattle him? Not at all
Mikko Koivu has been the engine driving this machine, will he continue his excellent play? Koivu was great tonight, both defensively and by making plays in the offense.

Game Recap -- Phoenix Coyotes at Minnesota Wild

mbennett — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:11:34 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

about 1 month ago: Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle (3) jumps into the arms of teammate Scottie Upshall, after Upshall scored the go-ahead goal against the Minnesota Wild during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in St. Paul, Minn. Shane Doan, back right, and Robert Lang (20) also celebrate. Phoenix won 3-2. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Browse more photos »

Minnesota 2 - Phoenix 3

Greetings all, Nathan had more important things to do last night, (congrats on nine years my friend) so, I figured I would pop on in and give a game recap from the perspective of section 210, row 1. Never been in the upper deck before, so this was a good experience. You sure can see the plays (or lack thereof) developing from up yonder. Alrighty...let’s get to it...

Another ~~Fraud~~ Sellout at the X last night, packed to the rafters...if you are counting the nearly 2000 empty seats. The 'Yotes came in not faring well over the past Millenium versus the Wild, and we were told that on the scoreboard before the game. I felt this was a classic "Dick and Bert" moment, and, well, if you watched the game, you know the kiss of death occured.

The Wild came out Slloooooooowwww, and seemed to lack energy the entire game. The only consistent energy came from the Brodziak/Earl/Clutterbuck. The slow pace of the wild was matched by an equally lethargic attack from Phoenix. I saw more excitement at the prospect scrimmage this past summer. With under a minute to play, the Wild lost Owen Nolan for ~~tapping a player's ass with the blade of his stick~~ slashing. When the 'Yotes came out on the PP in the second, they scored on a laser from the right side of Backstrom off the stick of Radim Vrbata. 1-0 Yotes. That was all the scoring in the 2^nd.

The Wild bounced back with a nice hard working goal from the Koivu/Brunette/Miettinen line. Bruno found a free puck and an open net, and buried it. 1-1 tie. Sadly, as often happens, the Wild found themselves down 2-1 after a horribly played puck at the blue line led to a 2-1 the other way, and James Vandermeer faked the crossing pass and pushed the puck behind Backstrom. Come to think of it, I think it wasn’t so much a misplayed puck, but Kim Johnsson falling down.

With roughly five minutes to play, the Wild once again tried this "scoring" thing, much to the celebration of the fans. It was another classic Andrew Brunette setup from behind the net. Puck came hard around the back wall, Bruno pushed it along, Koivu tapped it back to Bruno who slides it in one motion out to Mittens who buries the puck from maybe 6 feet away. 2-2 tie.

As much rejoicing was occurring, the Wild forgot that the puck being dropped symbolizes that play is resuming, and within 20 seconds, Scottie Upshall takes a rebound off Backstrom and slides it underneath Nik for the 3-2 lead, and eventual game winner. It was a soft, soft goal, and it really took the wind out of the collective sails of the players and the fans.

Neither team was especially good this evening, but the Wild was worse. Please note that word choice…as opposed to the classic cliché of "they were the better team." Sadly, in this case…the wording, as it reads, is more accurate.

Lets take a look at the 5 questions posed by Nathan "Swine-Flu Survivor" Eide…

1. Any chance Danny Irmen can continue the first career goal trend? Well, he did get to wave at his family in the crowd, and I did see him out there…so he was physically present, but sadly…no goal for you!

2. Can Brent Burns continue improving upon his plus/minus? Burns was a -1, so by definition, this is a step back.

3. Will the Coyotes know how to play in front of actual people? They did look a bit puzzled by the breathing life forms on the other side of the glass…but they won, so, I guess they know how.

4. Ilya Bryzgalov is in net. He tends to play very poorly against the Wild (1-7, 3.42 lifetime). Will this trend continue? He played pretty well. Controlled rebounds, didn’t do anything stupid. A very serviceable performance, and got his win at the X.

5. 8 shots against Washington, 0 against Carolina. Which Martin Havlat will show up? Havlat had 4 shots, one was a decent opportunity. The Martin Havlat who likes to carry the puck into the zone and curl also showed up! I think it is time to look at getting him his number back…he clearly feels like "10 less of a man."

Minnesota Wild vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Game Recap

nathaneide — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:23:47 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

about 1 month ago: Minnesota Wild's Greg Zanon, left, and Cal Clutterbuck celebrate Clutterbuck's game-winning goal in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 in St. Paul, Minn. The Wild won 3-2. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 3-2 (ot) Carolina Hurricanes

Apparently the Wild want the fans to get more than their money worth at Xcel Energy Center. All three of the Wild's home games this season have gone into overtime, with the Wild winning all three.

The Hurricanes opened the game well, moving up and down the ice, controlling play and keeping the Wild from getting a shot until the 7:20 mark, including a shot-less power play, and only a Ray Whitney power play gave the Wild an opportunity to finally get into the groove. After Joni Pitkanen made a great play down low to feed Ray Whitney who slid the puck across the crease for an easy, but beautiful, Sergei Samsonov tap-in for a 1-0 lead on the power play, did the Wild start to apply pressure.

Tim Conboy took an ill-advised roughing penalty for punching Cal Clutterbuck well after the whistle after Clutterbuck crashed toward the net to get a rebound, then John Scott came in, pulled Conboy off Clutterbuck and dropped the gloves only to have the linesman send Scott away, breaking up the fight before it happened. Frankly, it was a crap move by the linesman. They were both ready to go, but by sending Scott away after he dropped the gloves the refs evened up the calls, sending Scott to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. While skating 4 on 4 Aaron Ward was whistled for high-sticking, putting the Wild up 4 on 3, and Andrew Brunette did what he does best, scoring down low on the power play. This goal really sparked the team, and they started picking up the play.

On the next shift, it was clear that both Scott and Conboy were jawing in the boxes, as they dropped the gloves after the drop of the puck. The two former WCHA foes (Scott of Michigan Tech and Conboy of St. Cloud State) faced off and Conboy may think he's a bruiser (listed at 6'2", 210), but Scott (6'8", 258) destroyed him, connecting time and again, andConboy hung on for dear life, trying to protect his head. Scott received a rousing ovation from the announced crowd of 18,215.

Shots in the first ended at 9-9. The Wild were definitely carrying momentum into the second period. In fact, just 1:51 into the second period, Kyle Brodziak raced to a loose puck, beating the Carolina defense, making a slick move, dekeing around Cam Ward, getting him down and sliding the puck into the open net on the backhand. It was a fantastic move by a guy who had been providing energy all season for Minnesota. It was Brodziak's first goal as a member of the Wild and his first overall since March 27 of last season as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Joni Pitkanen then silenced the crowd, taking another nice pass from Ray Whitney and beating a helpless Niklas Backstrom, knotting the game at 2. It was the second point of the night for both Pitkanen and Whitney.

The third period was back and forth, neither team really getting a lot of chances, but Carolina had the better ones, unfortunately for them, the Wild still had Backstrom. He was stellar tonight, making stops that most goaltenders simply could not make. It looked like things were heading toward a Hurricane victory until Pitkanen lost his head. He and Clutterbuck were skating up the ice trying to get back into the play when Cal must've said something to which Pitkaned took offense, because right in front of the Wild bench, Pitkanen hit Clutterbuck with a back elbow and the back ref raised his hands. Everyone in the arena saw it, Pitkanen committed one of the dumbest penalties I've ever seen. The Wild then took control on the power play, but couldn't get things to click and Eric Staal took a long pass after yet another Wild turnover, broke toward Backstrom, but Nik was once again up to the task, stoning him with less than a minute left. In the crowd, you could feel the points slipping away as Staal broke in on Backstrom, but Nik saved the game.

The Wild controlled play heading into the overtime, gaining momentum from the idiotic penalty on Pitkanen. It only took 1:55 for Greg Zanon to ring the post, the deflection to hit Clutterbuck in the face, then Cal dove across the open crease and, laid out on his belly, swung his stick at the puck and ....

Welcome back Cal. We missed you.

Tonight's game was a closely battled affair, in which Niklas Backstrom earned his salary, saving the Wild defensemen time and again, including robbing Eric Stall three times, with the biggest coming on a shorthanded breakaway with around a minute left in play.

Realistically, the 3-2 score shouldn't have been that close. Aside from Backstrom coming up huge time and again, the Hurricanes took 10 penalties, giving the Wild seven power plays, in which the Wild only scored once, and looked anemic on three others. I have to think this will get straightened out once Richards figures out who to have out there. Frankly, Shane Hnidy and Nick Schultz should never be on the power play. Those two were just terrible, and when they were paired together, the power play never clicked.

Time to take what the team learned from tonight and see if they can get their first road win of the season at Chicago.

Please read the game recap over at Canes Country

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Cal Clutterbuck (1 G)
Kyle Brodziak (1 G)
Niklas Backstrom (25 saves)

Questions to Answer

Will the Wild look lethargic on the back-to-back? Well, if no shots until the 7:00+ gone in the period is lethargic, then yeah. Luckily they picked up play after Carolina scored..
Can Petr Sykora's return help Martin Havlat? Umm, Havlat and Sykora were kept in check all night.
Is putting Kobasew on the top line going to help Koivu find some space? Not only did Kobasew's effort and hustle give Koivu some space, but, combined with Clutterbuck and Brodziak, they sparked the rest of the team to start driving for the net.
With no Steve Yzerman in the building, will Brent Burns relax and find his game? Burns looked better tonight, but still had periods of time where he would seemingly forget how to play defense. However, his offensive game was fabulous tonight.
Since Kim Johnsson is out, who will take his huge minutes? Marek Zidlicky had 27:02 TOI, but the guy sitting behind me wanted him in the press box all night. Burns had 24:31 and Greg Zanon had 24:13 of stellar defensive play. He's a lifesaver for this team. Nick Schultz only had 20:49, but that was surprising, since it seemed like he was always out there.

Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues: Game Recap

nathaneide — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:20:11 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 1-3 St. Louis Blues

Maybe Sheryl Crow was right, as a change did do David Perron some good tonight. The Blues' winger notched his first two points of the season as his goal an assist helped St. Louis get their first win of the season at Scottrade Center, 3-1 over the Minnesota Wild.

The evening did not start well for the Wild, who were hoping to build on a Wednesday night shootout win over Colorado. Unfortunately for Minnesota, tonight's game looked too much like the second period against Colorado, and too little like the first. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to believe that St. Louis was the team having problems starting games as Jay McClement took a rebound of a David Perron shot and buried it past Niklas Backstrom to put the Blues up 1-0 just 56 seconds into the game. In fact, the Blues absolutely dominated the beginning of the game, keeping the Wild without a shot on goal until the 7:49 mark and outshooting the Wild 15-4 in the first frame.

That domination continued into the second as Perron took the puck on a 2 on 1 break shorthanded and snapped it home for his first of the season. After that goal, the Wild, now down 2-0, picked up the pace and poured it on, outshooting the Blues 17-11, including Chuck Kobasew's first goal as a member of the Wild.

Unfortunately, it was as close as Minnesota would get. The Blues locked down the game in the third period, keeping the Wild to a 4-3 SOG advantage in the third before Brad Boyes scored the empty-netter to seal it for St. Louis.

To add injury to insult, Kim Johnsson left the game after a nasty hit by David Backes, and did not return to action. Johnsson suffered an upper-body injury, but no further word has come out as of the writing of this article.

This injury to Johnsson is a major blow, especially since the defense is playing such inconsistent hockey. Brent Burns again found himself adding to his NHL worst +/-, going -2 for a season total of -12. It's never a good sign when your "best" defenseman is a -12. Burns is simply trying to do too much, not playing within himself, and it shows. He's killing his team, and is definitely not helping his chances on making the Canadian Olympic team.

Please read the game recap over at St. Louis Game Time

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

David Perron (1 G, 1 A)
Chris Mason (20 saves)
Jay McClement (1 G)

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild look better than they did in the two preseason games with the Blues? Defensively they were a bit better, but they're so, so inconsistent.
Will the Wild play like they did in the first period against Colorado or the second? Definitely like the second period.
Will we see a better Martin Havlat tonight? No. He's just absent on the ice. If you didn't know he was on the team, you would have no clue. He's a non-factor.
Can Brent Burns continue to improve on a poor start to the season? Nope. -12 is horrid.
Do the Wild show better chemistry tonight, with another game under the belt for the linemates? I wouldn't say they were markedly better, but they weren't worse. Still missing too many passes.

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche: Game Recap

nathaneide — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:45:45 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

2 months ago: Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson, center, blocks a shot by Minnesota Wild's Martin Havlat, upper right, in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 3-2 (so) Colorado Avalanche

Home sweet home. In front of the *cough* Team off 18,000 *cough*, the Wild broke out of the mental mistakes and lack of fundamentals that hung over the team like a dark cloud on the West Coast swing. Turnovers were kept to a minimum, the defensive position was much better. The forecheck was applying pressure and the Wild looked to take advantage of the power play, maintaining possession and creating scoring opportunities. In fact, they almost doubled up on the Avs in shots on goal. Well, in the first period anyway.

In the second period, they were lucky to get out with their lives. The Avalanche outshot to the Wild 18-4in the second frame and went on to outshoot the hometown team 29-13 in the second and third periods as well as overtime.

Frankly, Niklas Backstrom was outstanding tonight, but was almost the sole reason the Wild were lucky to get to overtime. The second period goal credited to Darcy Tucker was actually due to Backstrom sweeping the puck in on himself. Aside from that miscue, Backstrom was stellar, stopping 33 Avalanche shots, including 3 in the extra session and all three in the shootout.

Brent Burns had a great first period, scoring a pretty goal on the rebound, on the power play. It was reminiscent of the goal Mikael Samuelsson scored against the Wild at Vancouver. That was Burns' first of the season. Hopefully it helps him break out of the funk he's been in all year. On the next power play, Burns again had a prime scoring chance on a great feed through the low slot from Andrew Brunette, but Burnsie rung the pipe, and the Wild wouldn't sniff that kind of scoring opportunity again until Mikko Koivu tied the game at 2 on a great redirect of Antti MIettinen's centering feed on the Wild's seventh power play of the game. Yes, you read that right. The Wild had seven power plays tonight, but only scored twice. Luckily the Wild kept the NHL's best power play unit on the bench most of the night, only finding themselves down a man twice.

Speaking of defensmen finding their game, Kim Johnsson was absolutely fantastic tonight. He put in a workmanlike effort in 28:49 TOI, not allowing a goal while he was on the ice, and providing a good start to the transition game.

Now, the negatives of the night. Frankly, for a team having to rebound from a horrible road trip, I'm going to give them a bit of a pass, as they did enough to win the game, aside from being outworked and outmanned for the majority of the evening. They didn't make the glaring mistakes that had been their downfall in the five game losing streak. No, tonight's negative goes to the Minnesota Wild PR team. I don't care what they say about tickets distributed counting as a sell-out. There were at least 2,500 empty seats tonight. You could see it clearly on television, and people online were commenting about how empty the place was. Yet they once again announced a sell-out. Not impressive at all folks.

I guess we'll see if they can build on tonight. Here's hoping they start to figure some things out. I liked the step they took though. We'll see what happens on Friday against the Blues.

Please read the game recap over at Mile High Hockey

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

MIkko Koivu(1 G, 1 A)
Niklas Backstrom (35 saves)
Kim Johnsson (no goals allowed in 28:49)

Questions to Answer

Should the Wild look to the Avalanche as a team to emulate as part of a rebuilding process? The Avalanche have good young talent, but they make too many mental mistakes, or at least they did tonight. That being said, they are definitely headed in the right direction, but are still at least a year away from making an impact in the post-season. Craig Anderson has played well, but if he falters, they leave him hanging a bit too much. They'll age well though.
Will Chuck Kobasew make a difference? Kobesew did everything we would ask for except score. He drove to the net, applied pressure on the forecheck. Took the zone with speed, drew penalties and looked like he jumped into the system with little difficulty. If he keeps this up, he'll be a nice asset to the second line. Now he just needs to work on his defense a bit, as he was a -2 tonight.
Can the C on Mikko Koivu's chest have an impact? Who knows, but tonight he was vocal on the bench, performed on the ice and was every part of the captain. We all know this is his team, the C finally seals it.
How is the green sweater going to look? I love the color, I hate the lettering for the name and the numbers. They needed to add some piping or something around the letters and numbers. It looks like a replica or screenprint. Seems to be cheap.
Does Benoit Pouliot continue his solid play? Pouliot, for the third game in a row, played within himself, played physically, created problems for the opposition and worked his butt off. I like what I'm seeing over the past week.

Minnesota Wild @ Los Angeles Kings: Game Recap

nathaneide — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:14:26 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

2 months ago: Los Angeles Kings' Ryan Smyth, from left, Jack Johnson and Anze Kopitar celebrate after Smyth scored against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 3-6 Los Angeles Kings

This was exactly not the way to start a West Coast road trip. In just over three minutes, the Wild did everything wrong. They were out of position defensively, allowed the Kings to roam free, screened Josh Harding on seemingly every shot and didn't clear anyone from the low slot. The result is that, once again, the Wild found themselves down 3-0 at the end of the first period.

Tonight, there would be no comeback. While Martin Havlat finally got his first goal in a Wild uniform, the Wild had no answer for Ryan Smyth, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and the rest of the Kings. Nick Schultz got the Wild to 4-2 down at the end of the second period with a power play goal, and Kim Johnsson fired a nice shot under the crossbar 6:34 into the third period to get them within one at 4-3, but once again the Wild fell asleep in the defensive zone, allowing Teddy Purcell and Ryan Smyth to score just 36 seconds apart to blow it open at 6-3.

So, what went wrong? Well, Josh Harding can't be entirely to blame, though he was very not good tonight, stopping only 17 of 23 shots. The Wild forwards did their job in the offensive zone, playing a reasonably decent game, getting adequate pressure and scoring three times, but they were nowhere to be found in their own zone. They were almost too aggressive on the forecheck, then couldn't get back to play the proper positioning in the defensive zone. It was as if they worried entirely too much about playing the system correctly, but only one way. Time and again they left it up to the defense to handle the entire job of stopping the Kings and starting the transition.

If they want this new system to be successful, they cannot forget that there are two ends of the ice. Let's hope tonight was an anomaly, because if it wasn't, the sellout streak will end before Thanksgiving.

Oh, and Benoit Pouliot again was absolutely terrible. Seemingly uncaring with and without the puck. His 7:07 TOI was second lowest, with only John Scott (who cannot play forward at all) behind him at 4:13. And as much as they may want to be together, Petr Sykora and Martin Havlat are absolutely terrible together if they don't have the puck.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Ryan Smyth (2 G, 1 A)
Anze Kopitar (1 G, 2 A)
Justin Williams (1 G, 2 A)

Questions to Answer

Will the Wild build on a solid 3rd period? Nope, if anything they regressed below where they were before the 3rd period Tuesday night.
Will Martin Havlat continue to be an assist machine? Havlat is fantastic with the puck and in the offensive zone, but he needs someone who backchecks like crazy because he may be worse defensively (at least tonight) than Marian Gaborik ever was. He needs to be with Koivu and maybe Clutterbuck.
Can the Wild get the Kings monkey off their back (0-4 last season against L.A.) Nope. They cannot handle this team for some reason.
Does Josh Harding begin showcasing himself tonight? Definitely. I think the Florida Everblades scout was drooling.
Can they kick off the West Coast Swing with a win? Nope. Crap fest.

Minnesota Wild vs. Anaheim Ducks: Game Recap

nathaneide — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:45:58 -0000

More photos » by Hannah Foslien - AP

Browse more photos »

Minnesota Wild 4-3 (ot) Anaheim Ducks

The Wild picked up right where they left off, playing a brutal first two periods tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. They were getting a decent number of shots (17 through periods 1 and 2), but not many were quality scoring chances, and they were still letting far too many opposition players enter the zone and get free down low. Each of the three Anaheim goals were a result of poor defensive positioning, something many of us anticipated as the team learns a new system and starts to grow out of old habits.

The defensemen were lax in their zone, seemed to be confused as to what to do with the puck on the breakout. There were miscommunications in taking the zone. The forwards were hanging the defensemen out to dry by forechecking too deep and getting caught out, then they weren't backchecking hard enough. To make matters worse, they weren't taking the zone with speed when they should be, and dumping when they shouldn't. The power play was sloppy, with the Wild hardly getting enough time in the offensive zone to set anything up. It was a comedy of errors.

"The second period got away from us," admitted Richards. "I don’t think we played real good hockey. I think the players felt that way, too. But we turned it around in the third. Each guy made a commitment to each other to turn it around. The guys were rewarded."

Then suddenly something clicked. Now, it may have been coincidental (and as someone who hates the fighting just to spark the team, I hope it was) but once John Scott paired off with Anaheim tough guy George Parros, and caught him with a clean right cross, knocking him to the ice, the team suddenly found their identity. After that point, the Wild took over the game. Shots were 13-2 in favor of the home team and the crowd (who was clearly energized by the Twins extra inning win over the Tigers to capture the AL Central) got back in the game as the Wild poured on the pressure.

At 6:29 of the third period, Mikko Koivu got the crowd to their feet as the power play finally connected. Havlat to Brunette to Koivu who buried it past Jean-Sebastian Giguere. Once that first one got past the seemingly unbeatable Giguere (the Wild killer), the team realized that yes, he was human and can be beaten. Six minutes later, Petr Sykora did what Petr Sykora was born to do, score a goal-scorers goal with Todd Marchant draped over his back coming across the low slot. It was a nice finish to a great feed from Martin Havlat (his second beautiful assist of the night). Then with the crowd rolling and the team fired up, Eric Belanger took Todd Richards advice to heart, and just threw the puck at the net. His wrister on the power play beat Giguere in the 5-hole (again assisted by Havlat) and the game was tied. With just over two minutes left in regulation, the Wild absolutely owned play. They had a couple more decent scoring chances, but as time ran down and this as headed to overtime, the Metrodome magic seemed to travel east on 94.

I don't even recall Anaheim having the puck in the extra session. Every time I looked at the TV, the Wild were either streaking through the neutral zone, or working the puck for an open shot. With a scrum in front of the net at the 1:44, Anaheim's James Wisniewski made a boneheaded decision to punch Kyle Brodziak in the face, and Brodziak did the smart thing and just stood there. Wisniewski was heading off for a stupid roughing penalty, and you knew this was over. With the Wild working the puck below the goal line and looking for the quick goal, Kim Johnsson fed down low to Eric Belanger who put the puck in front of the net and Andrew Brunette, always the poacher, popped home the game winner and the jubilant crowd once again danced to the sounds of Joe Satriani.

A beautiful ending to the night. Let's hope Richards can get these guys concentrating on playing the way they did in the third period. It's time to hit the road for a brutal West Coast swing.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Martin Havlat (3 A)
Eric Belanger (1 G, 2 A)
Andrew Brunette (1 G, 1 A)

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild bounce back from a relatively weak performance? For two periods, they were even worse, but everything changed in the third.
Will John Scott settle in at wing? In 3:07 TOI, Scott was a non-factor. Then in his last :03 of TOI, he pounded ~~Freddie Mercury~~ George Parros and seemed to have turned the game around. That being said, I hate him at wing.
With no Chris Pronger, no Chris Kunitz, no Brian Burke, no Todd Bertuzzi, do we still hate the Ducks? I would have said no, but these Ducks were still awfully chippy, and apparently decided to try to start a fight after Brunette's game winner.
Can Bouchard get over whatever was with him on Saturday? It seemed so, until he went to Fletcher and said that his recurring headaches needed to keep him out. Let's hope this doesn't linger, but I have a bad feeling about it.
Can the Wild stop Corey Perry, Ryan Carter and Bobby Ryan this year? 1 assist between the three of them. I like that.

Michael Russo Interview with Hockey Wilderness

nathaneide — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:10:13 -0000

If you follow the Wild, you live and die by the words of Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo. We are fortunate enough to have one of the best beat writers in the NHL covering our squad. And I was lucky enough to get 20 minutes of his time this morning as he was headed to the X. I'm hoping I didn't make too big a fool out of myself and get a chance to speak with Mr. Russo again once the season is underway.

Hockey Wilderness: What is different about covering this regime compared to Lemaire/Risebrough?

Michael Russo: I loved dealing with Jacques. He was outstanding for what we need. Joked around, had fun. I had a lot of respect for him. I respect Todd too, don't get me wrong, but there's a feeling out process here. Jacques was brutally honest. Ask him how a guy played and he was straight with everyone. Sometimes he would tick off the player. Todd will very rarely rip a player. Monday night, I had to ask about Kim Johnsson playing terribly. He wouldn't insult my intelligence by denying it, but spins it into a positive.

I liked Doug. Doug was great talking about players, but wouldn't talk about moves, rumors, etc. Chuck's much more transparent. I have a great working relationship with him, going back to 1995 in Florida, where I covered 7 of his 9 years there.

Who has been the best quote you've covered?

Jeremy Roenick, Brett Hull were always fantastic, though I never got a chance to cover them extensively. Of the guys I have covered, Mark Parrish, Len Barrie, Ray Whitney, Mike Sillinger, Olli Jokinen were always great. Currently Eric Belanger is brutally honest and a great quote. Derek Boogaard and Brent Burns are hilarious. Brian Rolston was great to deal with and rarely spoke in cliches, which is always nice for a journalist.

From a journalists perspective, what's the major difference you've seen pre and post-lockout?

Before the lockout, you had to really work sources to get info on a contract. Now it's an email away. With the cap, teams want you to be accurate with what you write. No GM wants it out there that they have $8M of space when it's really $1.2.

As far as the on-ice product, it's just 10 times better. Gone is the clutch and grab of the Roger Neilson and Doug MacLean-era Panthers. It was ugly, but successful. Now, we've evolved past that.

What has been the most fun you've had covering a team?

It's gotta be that 95-96 Panthers team. Shocked the world, went to the Stanley Cup. That was the year of the rat. Florida was playing in the decrepit Miami Arena, and before a game there was a rat running across the locker room. Scott Mellanby winds up and takes a slapper at the rat into a wall, killing it. He then goes out, scores twice and John Vanbiesbrouck calls it the "Rat Trick". Well, you've all seen the YouTube videos of thousands of plastic rats raining down onto the ice. There are great shots of guys like Barrasso hiding in the net from the rats. That was a special season and the most fun I've had covering a team.

Winter Classic, Yay or Nay? If the Wild were to get one, would you want to have it held at TCF Bank Stadium or Target Field? Who would you choose to have the Wild play?

I'm for it. I haven't been inside Target Field, but TCF Bank Stadium is a great environment, and with that open end would be a great place for it. If it were me, I'd pick Vancouver because there's a hatred there.

What is still the biggest unanswered question for the upcoming season?

Boy, there are so, so many. But the main one is will they be able to turn the switch and be consistent in the new system? They did it in bits and pieces. There were 5 minutes stretches against Philly that were really fun to watch, but they gave up 39 shots and 35 quality chances. They can't do that and be successful.

Who is your impact guy?

[Brent] Burns is the guy who is going to be key. He looks like he's going to be extraordinary in the new system. He shouldn't be unheralded, but Greg Zanon is a fantastic signing. Now he isn't going to score 14 goals like Marc-Andre Bergeron, but he's going to block 300 shots and be the guy on the ice at the end of the game. He puts his body in harms way night in and night out, and risks injuries. If he stays healthy, he will be a rock solid defender.

We've heard that Josh Harding is going to get more time this season. Is that to showcase him for say ... Chicago? What kind of player/pick/prospect can we expect for Harding?

They could've traded him by now for picks and prospects. What they're hoping for is a team like Chicago or a true conteder to suffer an injury and need a goalie. There's no rush right now though. He's too precious an asset to give up for nothing. They would love to turn him into a scorer, and that's the way I see this going. That being said, he isn't an unrestricted free agent after this season, so they can still take their time and get the best deal possible.

Versus v. DirectTV. Whose fault is it?

I don't know whose fault it is, but its gotta get fixed. It makes the league look amateur. It needs to get resolved and Comcast and DirectTV need to get it taken care of. Both are NHL partners and the league may have to step in. You can't have your national partner on Satellite.

Is this a rebuilding team?

This is a better team than last year. They missed by 3 pts, added a perennial star in Martin Havlat, added a 25 goal guy in Petr Sykora. This is a transitional year. The problem is that everyone else got better too, and has better, younger talent than the Wild. If this were a Lemaire team, in that system, they'd make the playoffs. No knock against Richards, but it takes time to install a new system. I've covered a rebuilding team. This is definitely not a rebuilding team. I disagree with anyone who says this is a rebuilding year or that last years' team was better. This is a team that has to learn a new system, has a horrible road schedule and is in the hardest conference. Next season, they're in the playoffs. Houston will be a better team this year too. They have more NHL experience. They have guys like Andy Hilbert, Colton Gillies, Petr Kalus, Craig Weller, and those guys who are ready to come up will be able to produce, and remember this was a team that was a round away from the AHL title last season. Fans will have to be patient at the beginning, but this is a year in transition, not rebuilding.

Daily Links: Bouchard back; Who backs up Koivu?: Wild players generous; Johnsson a family man and more

nathaneide — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:47:11 -0000

Players give suites to kids - TwinCities.com
Following the lead of former Wild star Marian Gaborik, five Wild players have purchased three of the 66 Xcel Energy Center suites and are dispensing tickets for those suites to charitable causes this season. Goalie Niklas Backstrom, who joined Mikko Koivu and Nick Schultz to purchase one of the suites, said the trio is giving the tickets away because "everybody in our locker room, all the hockey players, know how fortunate they are to play here."

Competition is brisk at center behind Koivu | StarTribune.com
Opening night is Saturday, yet one of the Wild's biggest questions heading into training camp has yet to be answered: Who will be the Wild's No. 2 center behind Mikko Koivu? "It's wide open. It truly is," coach Todd Richards said Sunday. "We really thought [James] Sheppard had a great game [Friday] in Chicago. He scored a goal. He was on the ice when [Martin] Havlat scored.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard is back on the ice for the Minnesota Wild - TwinCities.com
With just one exhibition game remaining, Richards is still waiting to see his full team on the ice. He said forwards Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette and defenseman Shane Hnidy, all slowed by assorted injuries last week, are expected to play against the Flyers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Richards said he's hopeful defenseman Kim Johnsson also will be there.

Wild getting regulars back for exhibition finale at Philadelphia - TwinCities.com
When the Wild play the Flyers in Philadelphia tonight in their final exhibition game, they will be the closest to full strength since Todd Richards took over as coach this summer. In the lineup for the first time under Richards will be forwards Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette, and winger Petr Sykora returns after missing three games because of an ankle injury. "This is pretty much our team," Richards said Monday. "This will be our best measuring stick to date."

Will patience last when Wild needs to start out fast? | StarTribune.com
Tonight in Philadelphia, coach Todd Richards and his players get their last chance to check their progress without points on the line. But the need for patience in an innately impatient profession will remain. The trick for Richards and company will be to indulge it as much as they can, without losing ground early in what promises to be another tooth-and-nail Western Conference playoff chase.

What We Learned: 20 bold predictions for the NHL season - Puck Daddy - NHL - Yahoo! Sports
12. Cal Clutterbuck will finally dump the visor to earn Don Cherry's respect.

Johnsson right at home in Wild system | StarTribune.com
Johnsson's life consists of two different worlds, and he prefers them not colliding. Johnsson and his wife, Jeanette, have two daughters, Filippa, 6, and Felicia, 3, and "when I'm not here, I'm with my kids," Johnsson says. "When you get older, you realize why you play and you realize the career is very, very short. I go home to my kids, and there's no time to think about bad games and good games because you're just dad."

Russo’s Rants " Monday practice update; Johnsson extra
The news is getting better for the Wild, which is slowly getting players back on the ice. Petr Sykora and Kim Johnsson are practicing this morning. The only players not practicing are Benoit Pouliot, who was expected to be sidelined at least a week with a groin, and Derek Boogaard. Pierre-Marc Bouchard is practicing for a second day in a row. The traveling party hasn’t been determined as of yet.