SB Nation - Niklas Backstrom

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 @ Vancouver Canucks: Game Recap

nathaneide — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:45:33 -0000

More photos » by DARRYL DYCK - AP

3 days ago: Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Sedin (22) of Sweden, is stopped by Minnesota Wild's Josh Harding as Greg Zanon (6) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

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Minnesota Wild 3-4 Vancouver Canucks

Too little, too late? Ran into a hot goaltender? Played in front of a goalie who was fighting the puck all night? A couple tough penalty calls? No matter how you describe the outcome, the story of the game was how dramatically the Wild outplayed the Canucks tonight, even though they fell 4-3.

Martin Havlat seems to have turned his game around on this road trip. In his last five games, Havlat has seven points and now has four goals and 12 assists on the season for 16 points in 26 games. Still far below expectations, but he's on his way.

The Wild in general have really picked up their play, and, while still in last place in the division, have a respectable point total and are 8-2-1 in their last 11. In fact, with 41 shots tonight and 46 shots last night, the Wild had their franchise first consecutive 40 shot games, and even did so on the road. Things are certainly different now than a month ago.

Again, the Wild found scoring from unexpected places. Shane Hnidy notched his first ever goal in a Wild sweater, and with eight points, is well on his way to a career high (12). Greg Zanon not only scored, but did so by making a nice play to chip the puck over a defender's stick, carry it into the zone with speed, make a nifty drop pass to Havlat, then crash the net and knock the puck past Luongo into the net on the rebound. It was a class goal.

Unfortunately, Josh Harding was not very good tonight, and even said so himself. His poor play likely cost the team the two points. Poor penalty killing, and even worse power play opportunities didn't help matters, but is Harding was even mediocre tonight, the Wild get the win.

But, these kinds of games will happen. I'm concentrating more on the excellent play and the solid 3-2 road trip. I like the way this team looks right now, and they should pick up velocity going into the holiday and carry that into the new year.

Please read the game recap over at Nucks Misconduct

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Martin Havlat (1 G, 2 A, +3)
Henrik Sedin (3 A)
Kyle Brodziak (2 A)

Questions to Answer

Minnesota is playing well, or at least well enough to win, can they keep it up and get ahead of the Canucks tonight in the standings? Unfortunately not, especially considering how they outplayed Vancouver all night.
Can the Wild keep the Sedin's off the board? Of course not, don't be silly.
How will Josh Harding look in place of Niklas Backstrom? In a word? Overmatched.
Will Havlat continue to be on the 4th line all game, or will he move up if they are playing well, perhaps moving Sheppard down to the 4th? Havlat was all over the place tonight, playing with a few different lines, and this road trip has been really positive for Marty.
Vancouver has been injured all season, but now that they're finally healthy, can they find some consistency? Well, their power play was excellent (thanks in part to sloppy goaltending, and they looked much better than the first time the Wild played them, but they were outplayed tonight and still got the win.

Minnesota Wild @ Colorado Avalanche: Game Recap

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

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

6 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)

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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.

Coyotes Celebrate Cinco de Coyo(te), Bryzgalov Gets Shutout in 2-0 Win.

OdinMercer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:15:48 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

8 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov (30), of Russia, celebrates his shutout win with teammate Keith Yandle (3) at the end of the third period after an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Wild 2-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Woooooo! 5 wins in a row baby! Have a Margarita tonight because it's Cinco de Coyo! The fans around the arena were certainly high-fiving and celebrating and while there's still a long way to go, a shutout win over the Wild certainly made everyone feel good and elevated the Coyotes to 37 points on the season. It also sets up a matchup with the Kings on Thursday that will be for the fifth place spot in the West and 2nd in the division either way. But enough with standings and all that poppycock. To the gameness!

First of all I was really annoyed that Mikkel Boedker was a scratch tonight. I'm glad Peter Mueller got to come back and played fairly well but Mikkel Boedker has played his pants off lately and not gotten any reward for it. I get that Tippett doesn't want to use younger layers as that just doesn't fint into his scheme, but to call him up and use the minutes he's played pretty well and get no reward is disappointing at best. Then the guy I highlighted in the pregame Cal Clutterbuck, was a scratch as well as I guess he got some sort of illness that's been going around. His absence didn't really decrease the amount of hitting and all around scrapping as the teams would get into hitting matches and fights especially later in the game.

For the most part the game itself was an outstanding goalie battle. Both Ilya Bryzgalov and Niklas Backstrom were outstanding, but the Phoenix offense was just good enough to get a missed rebound past him for the first goal by Scottie Upshall. Then Shane Doan made a fantastic move to get the puck to Taylor Pyatt who scored his third goal in as many games. On the offensive end that was the entirety of the production offensively.

In the third period though the game started to get away from the officials in a big way. Mid way through the period Ed Jovanovski made a big hit on one of the Wild players (I can't recall who it was) but there was no penalty and the Minnesota players wanted to go after him. The hitting picked up in a big way after that with Winnik, Upshall and Jovo all getting hits on people within a short time. The emotions boiled over at the end of the game with a huge scrum in the corner. Keith Yandle threw a few punches in the middle of the crowd, but Vernon Fiddler grabbed a guy out of the pile and simply beat the hell out of him. Owen Nolan and Keith Yandle almost went after each other too, but the officials were able to clear the players off the ice so that the team and the crowd could celebrate what really mattered in Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some fines or suspensions handed out because of the after the horn activities.

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche: Game Recap

nathaneide — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:41:23 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

18 days ago: Minnesota Wild right wing Chuck Kobasew, right, celebrates his open-net hat trick goal with the Wild's Mikko Koivu (9), of Finland, as Colorado Avalanche's Wojtek Wolski, bottom, skates past during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota won 5-3. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

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Minnesota Wild 5-3 Colorado Avalanche

Seems like the Wild learned the trick to solving their finishing woes ... find the guy with the hot hand. Today, that guy was Chuck Kobasew.

Once again, the Wild came storming out of the gate, attacking Avalanche netminder Craig Anderson time and again. They had six early shots on goal, only to be foiled as Kyle Quincey snapped home a nice feed from Colorado's rookie sensation Matt Duchene. 3:30 later, Owen Nolan got the Wild on the board as he took a rebound from a Greg Zanon shot, waited for Anderson to slide over, and wristed the puck underneath Anderson to tie the game at one. This was a big goal, because it slowed the momentum Colorado had gathered after the Quincey goal.

The second period started much the same way. The Wild came out hot, and Chuck Kobasew started his big day, scoring on a beautiful pass from Derek Boogaard behind the net. This was Boogaard's first point of the season, and it was much deserved, as Boogaard has been working hard with the puck and vying for position down low. Colorado, however, took advantage of the power play just 1:53 later as Paul Stastny tied the game at two. The Wild then went immediately on the power play and Kobasew got his second of the afternoon on a typical play from Andrew Brunette, finding the open man on the power play. Chris Stewart then tied the game again with just over 2:00 left in the period.

The third period, though, was all Minnesota. The Wild got the first seven shots of the period, then Andrew Brunette added to his team leading goal count taking a Mikko Koivu pass and burying it for the game winning goal. Greg Zanon was also given an assist on the Brunette goal, his second of the day.

The teams went back and forth, and it felt like Colorado might score at any moment late in regulation as they kept the pressure up until, with the extra skater on for the Avalanche, Greg Zanon blocked a pass, chipped the puck to Koivu who streaked down the left wing, with Kobasew crashing up the slot. Koivu smartly spun at the half-wall, centered it to Kobasew who turned, kicked the puck to his stick, and skating backward, slid the puck into the empty net for the hat trick, the second of his career.

It was nice to see the Wild get the two power play goals, and add to their power play streak. Prior to this week, the power play had been a momentum killer for Minnesota. It was also nice to see the offense pick-up Nik Backstrom, as he was rather shaky today, fighting off too many pucks, and giving up big rebounds.

Tomorrow should be a blast, as this was a tightly-contested game. The Avs took too many lazy penalties and the Wild were able to capitalize. I'm sure Joe Sacco will give the Avs a talking-to on the trip back to Denver.

See you tomorrow night.

Please read the game recap over at Mile High Hockey

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Chuck Kobasew (3 G)
MIkko Koivu (3 A)
Andrew Brunette (1 G, 1 A)

Questions to Answer

Will Guillaume Latendresse have an impact in his first game the way Andrew Ebbett did? Lats didn't factor in the scoring, but as the game went on, he got more and more involved in the play. He's a big kid, and once his linemates get comfortable with him, and once he parks himself in the low slot and crashes to the net, he looks like the kind of guy who can rack up the scoring down low.
Can the Wild come out with a solid effort against Colorado, the way they did against Boston? Two really great efforts in a row. The difference between today and Wednesday? No Tuukka Rask, the Wild got a goal in the first period to get some momentum and they concentrated on finishing.
Craig Anderson has been sliding back to Earth lately. Will that continue today? 4 goals allowed and was fighting the puck all afternoon (then again, so was Niklas Backstrom)
Do the Xcel Energy fans suffer from Trytophan hangover, or will the building be energized? Hard not to be energized with five goals, but I didn't see enough hats on the ice after Kobasew's third goal!
avalanche.nhl.com seems to overlook the next two games with the Wild. Will the Avs do the same? They definitely did not. This was a hard fought game. Tomorrow should be really fun.

Game 26 Preview: Avalanche at Wild

David Driscoll-Carignan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:48:53 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	12 MT / 2 ET / 7 GMT	Minnesota Wild
14-7-4	November 27th, 2009	8-12-3
32 pts	Xcel Energy Center	19 pts
3rd in West	St Paul, MN	15th in West

The Colorado Avalance are in Minnesota this afternoon to take on the Minnesota Wild. The Wild have had a rough season so far and are currently mired in last place. They simply haven't been able to get anything going this year and have only managed to put together two consecutive wins twice (they've yet to win 3 in a row). Like Colorado, the Wild got a loser point on Wednesday, falling to the Boston Bruins in a shootout.The Wild are their normal low-scoring selves this year. Unfortunately, they are 23rd in the league in goals against per game (just ahead of the Avs) to go with that. It's hard to win 2-1 hockey games when you are giving up 3 goals a game...

The teams have met each other once this season, with the Wild taking advantage of a slew of Avalanche penalties and winning in the shootout, 3-2. Neither team really play the sort of style to facilitate this, but the opportunity is there to develop a little bad blood, as they are playing 3 times over the next 2 weeks (today, tomorrow and December 9th). Derek Boogaard and David Koci did tangle in the first game, but it wasn't much of a fight.

Minnesota is expected to be without forwards Martin Havlat and Antti Miettinen; both missed the game on Wednesday and neither practiced on Thursday. The Wild hope to have Gillaume Latendresse in the lineup; he was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens earlier in the week. No word yet as to who the starting goalie will be for Minnesota, but Niklas Backstrom has started 20 of the Wild's 23 games.

The Avalanche will again be without the services of Adam Foote, who will be missing his 5th game with a mere flesh wound, and Kyle Cumiskey (broken jet pack). Brian Fahey was called up from Lake Erie yesterday and it's possible he'll play instead of Tom Preissing. Craig Anderson is the starter today, according to Adrian Dater's reborn twitter feed. Andy is 8 games away from his NHL season high of 31.

Tale of the Tape

Colorado			Minnesota
5th	32	Points	28th	19
7th	3.00	GF/G	27th	2.35
22nd	2.88	GA/G	23rd	2.91
22nd	18.4	PP%	23rd	18.2
15th	80	PK%	8th	83.2
30th	25.8	S/G	23rd	28.7
25th	32.6	SA/G	10th	28.5
29th	46.7	FO%	8th	51.4
13th	13.4	PIM/G	5th	11.3
Stastny	23 pts	Top Scorer	Koivu	21 pts

Minnesota Wild vs. Boston Bruins: Game Recap

nathaneide — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:30:49 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

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Minnesota Wild 1-2 (so) Boston Bruins

Outshooting a team 29-16, only scoring once and not getting the two points brings a feeling of deja vu across the Wilderness.

Yes, the Wild were missing Brent Burns, Antti Miettinen, Martin Havlat, Petr Sykora and Pierre-Marc Bouchard to injury and Guillaume Latendresse to visa issues and still dominated the Bruins, but once again, they couldn't find the back of the net.

Tuukka Rask was outstanding tonight. He made at least four saves that he really had no business making, which could have easily busted the game wide open. Conversely, Niklas Backstrom made two exceptional saves in the third period and overtime that were worthy of end of the season highlight reels to keep the Wild in it.

The Wild came out like a team well-rested, even though they were missing five regulars. They controlled the play and outshot the Bruins 11-2 in the first frame. Unfortunately they just ran into a brick wall in Rask and Byron Bitz made the most of the only good scoring opportunity Boston had, tipping home a Derek Morris attempt.

The locker room in the first intermission must have been one of disappointment for not scoring on 11 shots, but the guys had to feel good that they were able to take it to one of the best teams in the East. The Wild came out firing again in the second period. They didn't quite get as many shots in the second as the first, but they were still controlling the play, and at 10:23 of the second, Andrew Ebbett brought the Xcel Energy crowd to its feet with a gorgeous redirect of a Kyle Brodziak shot and finally beat Rask. This power play goal was the kind that would normally open up the scoring. The Wild were dominating play and had finally broken through the wall. However, Rask was simply too tough tonight.

The third period was one in which the Wild controlled play early, then suddenly Boston seemed to realize that they were tied and took over the game, penning the Wild deep in their zone for most of the last ten minutes and until Dennis Wideman finally was whistled for high-sticking (he got away with another high-stick and a sucker punch earlier) then the Wild brought the pressure again, but it was too little too late as the Wild took too long setting up the power play and not enough time and effort on getting the puck to the net. When they finally did, they caused some problems for the Bruins and Andrew Brunette was staring a wide-open goal in the face, but couldn't control the puck and the Bruins cleared, ending the overtime.

The shootout was the most bothersome part for me. Mikko Koivu used pure power to put the puck through Rask to open the shootout, but Marek Zidlicky came up second and was stuffed (why is he in the shootout?), then Eric Belanger's attempt was gloved and Chuck Kobasew was stopped by Rask, making the David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron goals good enough to give the Bruins an undeserved two points.

It was a frustrating loss, considering how well the Wild played, until it came time to actually put the puck in the net. They seemingly don't have the finishers. Too many playmakers, not enough goal scorers. Maybe the return of Havlat and Sykora and bringing in Latendresse will alleviate this problem, but I haven't seen enough from Marty and Petr to make me think that is going to be the case.

Have a good Thanksgiving, and we'll see you on Friday at 1:00 for the first of a home and home with the Avalanche.

Please read the game recap over at Stanley Cup of Chowder

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Tuukka Rask (2 G)
Andrew Ebbett (1 G)
Byron Bitz (1 G)

Questions to Answer

How is Andrew Ebbett going to fit? One nice power play goal and great shifts tonight. Love the way this kid came out and brought it tonight. Let's hope he continues to do so.
How are Chuck Kobasew and Shane Hnidy going to react to playing against their old squad? Hnidy played with a bit of a mean streak tonight and looked solid. Kobasew had the chance to dagger the B's, but couldn't pull it off in the end.
Will Patrice Bergeron stay on his hot streak? Bergeron terrified me all night. It seemed like every time he was on the ice, he was ready to score. Let's hope Pierre-Marc Bouchard can look like this when he comes back from his concussion. That said, the Wild did a nice job keeping him off the scoresheet.
Can Andrew Brunette continue to play well and add to his point streak? (6 points in his last 6 games) Not sure how Bruno didn't score on the powerplay in overtime, but he just couldn't control the puck with a yawning cage in front of him.
Can the Wild get to Tuukka Rask? Afraid not. Rask was fantastic tonight. Absolutely fantastic.

Bruins grind out 2-1 shootout win over Wild

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:22:09 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

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On a night where the Bruins were out-shot 29-16, Tuukka Rask (28 saves) made some big saves and gave his team a chance to win.

The Bruins got off to an early 1-0 lead 6:50 into the game when Byron Bitz deflected Derek Morris' point shot past Niklas Backstrom off of a face-off win by Marc Savard. The Bruins were out-shot 11-2 in the opening period, but were still able to head to the dressing at the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

The Wild got a power play goal to knot things up at 1-1 with 9:37 left in the second period when Andrew Ebbett tipped in a wrist shot by Kyle Brodziak from the left dot.

After a scoreless third period and overtime session, the game went to a shootout.

Shootout

Boston 1st Shooter: Patrice Bergeron stickhandled in tight and slid the puck past Backstrom. 1-0 Bruins

Minnesota 1st Shooter: Koivu beats Rask up high on the stick side. 1-1

Boston 2nd Shooter: Backstrom kicks out Blake Wheeler's bid.

Minnesota 2nd Shooter: Rask gloves down Marek Zidlicky's shot.

Boston 3rd Shooter: Savard comes in wide and his forehand attempt is stopped by Backstrom.

Minnesota 3rd Shooter: Rask gets a piece of Belanger's shot that misses wide.

Boston 4th Shooter: David Krejci gets Backstrom to commit and roofs a backhander. 2-1 Bruins

Minnesota 4th Shooter: Rask stops Chuck Kobasew with a right pad save to seal the win. Bruins Win!

Final - 11.25.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Boston Bruins	1	0	0	0	1	2
Minnesota Wild	0	1	0	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- Milan Lucic left the game late in the third period after falling awkwardly and twisting his left knee. It looked pretty ugly, but we will have to stay tuned to see how serious the injury is.

- Byron Bitz scored the first road goal of his NHL career.

- Mark Recchi tied Steve Yzerman for 12th place on the all-time NHL games played list with 1,514 games.

- Minnesota blocked 23 shots.

- The Bruins need figure out what they are doing with line changes. This many too many men on the ice calls is inexcusable at this level.

- The Bruins now sit atop the Northeast division after tonight's win.

- The B's are back on the ice on Friday afternoon when the host the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden.

Movember; Fletcher not afraid to deal; LeBrun on Latendresse; What's right with the NHL: Daily Links

nathaneide — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:58:35 -0000

"Wild" 'Staches Help Fight Cancer - CBS News
Playoff beards are pretty common in professional hockey, but November mustaches? They certainly won't help a team win the Stanley Cup, but the Minnesota Wild hope they might do something better - raise awareness of prostate cancer. Wild players have been sporting 'staches as part of the newly dubbed month of "Movember" - a month-long effort that hits close to home for some of them.

NHL -- LeBrun Blog -- Minnesota Wild gain safer bet in trade with Montreal Canadiens - ESPN
In the end, I think the Wild made the safer investment here. Size doesn't grow on trees. I think Latendresse will become a solid, second-line, power-winger type for years to come. The Canadiens got the guy that can still possibly become a first-line offensive threat, but they also took on more risk if he's unable to figure out what it takes to apply his talent at this level.

Wild ready to deal when the deal is right | StarTribune.com
The timing, Chuck Fletcher said, was merely coincidental. Monday's swap of the underachieving Benoit Pouliot for Montreal winger Guillaume Latendresse wasn't meant to strike fear in the Wild locker room in the wake of an 8-12-2 start. It will inevitably have that effect on some players. But the general manager sent a more hopeful message, too: that he stands ready and willing to upgrade his roster any time the opportunity presents itself.

Hitting The Post: A pick-me-up
The NHL has come under significant fire lately for all kinds of reasons. Franchise bankruptcies, franchise stability (or instability) in warm-weather locales, players running others and getting away with it, and various other sordid bits of badness. So let's take a moment and give the league credit for what it gets right.

Minnesota Wild lost in mediocrity - SI.com
The current State of Hockey is suspended animation. The Minnesota Wild is running on a treadmill to nowhere. The Wild does not look like a playoff contender, despite a reasonable back end with goalie Niklas Backstrom and credible defensemen, but neither does this team look like a no-hope bottom feeder even as it sits last in the Western Conference. It is a mediocre bunch that is a little too promising to be favorites in the Taylor Hall/Tyler Seguin draft sweepstakes that will occur next June. Stuck in the vast middle, the Wild neither remotely good enough nor flat terrible enough to have a solid Stanley Cup run or a gilt-edged draft in its future.

2010 Winter Olympics: Flames Hopefuls

Kent Wilson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:04:26 -0000

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We take a break from your daily dose of bitching, moaning and hyper analysis to focus on the up-coming Olympics and, much more importantly, which Flames may be making their way to Vancouver in February.

SBN has a network-wide thing going, so here's the pre-determined categories we'll be wedging the hopefuls into:

"Pack Your Bags"
"Nearly A Lock"
"Fairly Safe Bet"
"In A Battle"
"Work To Do"
"Moving Up"
"Moving Down"

Team Canada:

Jay Bouwmeester - "Pack your bags"

Jay Bouwmeester

#4 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-4

Weight: 212

Born: Sep 27, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jay Bouwmeester	22	2	10	12	8	16	1	0	0	0	42	4.8

There are lots of great defenders to choose from for Team Canada, but it's hard to argue against Jay Bouwmeester's inclusion: not only is he capable at both ends of the ice, he's regularly been a league leader in terms of ice time for the last several seasons. He's frequently played against the best in the business during his career and only recently turned 26 years old.

Robyn Regehr - "In a Battle"

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Robyn Regehr	22	0	9	9	2	19	0	0	0	0	24	0.0

One of the steadiest pure defensemen in the league, Regehr's chances of making the Olympic squad are nonetheless hampered by his below average offensive abilities. Big, mean and capable shutting down the best players in the league, Regehr make sneak onto the squad depending on how the roster shakes out.

Dion Phaneuf - "Moving Down"

Dion Phaneuf

#3 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 214

Born: Apr 10, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dion Phaneuf	22	6	5	11	2	20	2	0	2	0	48	12.5

At this time last year, most would have figured Dion as a lock to make the club. However, after struggling mightily with his defensive game last season, Phaneuf is in tough to crack what will probably the best blueline (on paper) in this year's Olympics. And while his game looks "steadier" in the early going, Phaneuf hasn't made a compelling case thus far with fairly middling stats across the board.

Jarome Iginla - "Pack Your Bags"

Jarome Iginla

#12 / Right Wing / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 207

Born: Jul 01, 1977

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jarome Iginla	22	16	7	23	1	28	4	0	3	0	67	23.9

Iginla is not only a sure thing to make team Canada, but most expect him to be it's captain. Recently named as one of the best players of the last decade by Puck Daddy, Jarome's 12 goal month has re-solidified his claim to a place on the club. As such, Vancouverites will get to the experience the unfamiliar feeling of cheering for an effectual captain for once this winter.

Team Finland:

Olli Jokinen - "Pack Your Bags"

Olli Jokinen

#21 / Center / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Dec 05, 1978

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Olli Jokinen	22	3	12	15	0	21	1	0	0	0	58	5.2

It's been a steady downward slide for Jokinen since he scored 39 goals in 2006-07. He's also had a fairly miserable run so far this season. That said, the Fins are a smaller country and don't have as many bodies to choose from. He hasn't been completely terrible for the Flames in the last week or so, meaning his play is likely to ramp up as the season progresses.

Miikka Kiprusoff - "Pack Your Bags"

Miikka Kiprusoff

#34 / Goalie / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 184

Born: Oct 26, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Miikka Kiprusoff	20	1192	12	5			51	2.57	599	548	.915	1

There would have been more debate around this selection had Kipper continued his descent into mediocrity. However, a strong start to the season has likely eased doubts about his abilities and propelled him past his struggling friend and countryman Vesa Toskala. Antero Niittymaki is knocking it out of the park currently, but is less proven and likely tabbed as a back-up. Niklas Backstrom may also challenge for a spot, but Kipper's superior resume and 2009-10 stats will put him ahead of the Wild's backstopper.