More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

1 day 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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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

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

Questions to Answer

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. What kind of effect will punishing Martin Havlat have on his play? 9:48 TOI. I think that says it all.
   
4. Can the Wild get to Budaj and rattle him? Not at all
   
5. 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.
   

 
Minnesota Wild (13-13-3) @ Colorado Avalanche (17-9-6)

Pepsi Center @ 8:00 CST

Television: Versus (HD)
Radio: WCCO 830AM, or online at Wild.com

For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey

Wild.com Game Preview

Questions to Answer

1. Can they come out hot and bounce back from a horrible performance in Phoenix?
   
2. With no Andrew Ebbett, who is going to provide his spark?
   
3. What kind of effect will punishing Martin Havlat have on his play?
   
4. Can the Wild get to Budaj and rattle him?
   
5. Mikko Koivu has been the engine driving this machine, will he continue his excellent play?
   

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

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The NHL held a conference call with Ed Olczyk as part of the publicity for the 2009-2010 Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers held at Fenway Park. There were a few of us from SBNation who were lucky enough to be on that call, and I had the first question.

Hockey Wilderness: With the decline in the number of kids playing pond hockey and the number of empty outdoor rinks increasing, do you see the Winter Classic and especially the marketing around it as a way for the NHL to get back to its roots and get kids playing outdoors again?

Ed Olczyk: Nathan, great question: There are a lot of rinks in Chicago, Detroit, Sioux City, etc. You have families and neighborhoods flooding rinks and putting up boards. But that cost, especially in this economy is one thing that hurts our sport. To give the kids more opportunity, that's the key. In some places it is cheaper to flood something outside, but the indoor ice is so much more readily available. Kids when I played, grew up on the rink, playing well after dark and those times are what drive our sport.

With the NHL playing outdoors, it's another way to showcase the history of the game and getting some players to play outside who may have never done so. The more kids playing outside, the better product we'll eventually see. The Winter Classic is a great way to get back to the grass-roots of our sport. I offer my help to any league or community or the National Hockey League to get educated about the benefits of outdoor skating and outdoor hockey!

Hockey Wilderness: You've spent the past three years in Chicago and got to see Martin Havlat at his best. Have you seen him this season, and can you give us some thoughts on what you've seen thus far?

Nathan, yeah I have seen Marty, and I think a lot of Marty as a player and a person. I think that sometimes when a player changes, it takes a while to get comfortable and get rolling. Marty is a terrific talent and with the success he had last year it isn't any secret that he was playing for a contract. The role was perfect. He wasn't asked to do too much. He wasn't the go-to guy, but he played like it. There are times where he looks lost, looks like he's doing too much or thinking too much, trying to figure out what's going on, but the last couple of games he's showing signs. Had a couple great rushes against Phoenix and a couple assists the game before that. With the Wild you have one of the most underrated players in Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette is a great talent. Marty needs help, he's a creative guy, but it's hard to find world class players to play with a guy like that. It's only a matter of time before he becomes a difference maker , it just takes a little bit of time and he'll get it going.

The rest are questions not asked by me, and I cherry picked some answers:

Some dude: How much has the Winter Classic helped the NHL gain popularity in the US?

You get people who may not have grown up watching and following hockey. We live in a hot-button society. You have people who say "I really want to see this team or this guy play" and you have the ability to showcase your best and brightest. That kid may then decide they want to try out hockey, and there are opportunities for them nationwide. There are more kids not from so-called "hockey hotbeds" and this may be the first time they've seen hockey outside.

Some other dude: What's next for the Winter Classic?

Every team has a drawing card when it comes to an individual. Some teams have more than 1 or 2 superstars, some teams have more history. But it takes two to tango, and there aren't unlimited venues. Should we go to Ann Arbor? Happy Valley? Minneapolis and the new Gopher stadium? I hope every team gets to play in one at some point, but the league has done a tremendous job in mapping it out. Obviously there are some places where you can't do it, but that's for people smarter than me to figure out.

So, that pretty much sums up the important stuff. Thanks to the NHL for setting it up.

 


Minnesota Wild (13-12-3) @ Phoenix Coyotes (17-11-1)

Jobing.com Arena @ 8:00 CST

Television: FSN (HD)
Radio: WCCO 830AM, or online at Wild.com

For the Phoenix perspective, check out Five For Howling

Wild.com Game Preview

Questions to Answer

1. Will another Minnesota team lay an egg in the Valley of the Sun?
   
2. Is there any chance that Mittens keeps up his streak?
   
3. Will the Wild offense continue to impress?
   
4. Does the defense stabilize?
   
5. If a game is played in the desert, and nobody witnesses it in person, did it really happen?
   

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

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Fifteen goals in three games. First time in franchise history they have scored five or more goals in three consecutive games. Points in seven straight games. Five straight wins. 10-3-3 in their last 16. One might say it looks like this team is getting the system, working hard to get back into games, opening up the offense and turning things around. Granted, it could all come crashing down around them, but many experts figured it would take until December for the team to really get comfortable in the system, and lord knows the injuries haven't helped things at all. But, all that said, things are looking awfully good for the Wild at the moment.

Tonight's win was fantastic to witness because it didn't require the efforts of one line carrying the team. They didn't need an unhuman effort by their goaltender. They weren't scraping to get back into the game. Heck, they scored five goals, and didn't even get a multi-goal game from anyone. It was 5-1 before things got sloppy for the Wild halfway through the third period, and at that point, everyone was even or better on the +/-. Minnesota amassed 39 shots on goal, had points from 10 different guys and, on the second night of a back to back, were able to give breaks to some of the guys who had heavy workloads on Friday against Anaheim.

Martin Havlat finally had his first multi-point game since October 6, and did so by working hard and making great passes down low. Antti Miettinen scored on a pretty powerplay goal, and now has six goals in his last six games. James Sheppard finally notched his first goal of the season, and Derek Boogaard even got an assist on a fantastic breakout pass to Martin Havlat, who then fed Andrew Ebbett (who has been a wonderful acquisition).

Tonight was the kind of game the Wild fanbase has been expecting and waiting for all season. Minnesota skated hard, forechecked aggressively, forced the opposition to make mistakes in their own end, found the open man and peppered the net. If this is the new system, I'll take it.

Please read the game recap over at On the Forecheck

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Andrew Brunette (1 G, 1 A)
2. Martin Havlat (2 A)
   
3. James Sheppard (1 G)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Can the Wild get points in their 7th straight? Indeed they did. Wild are now over .500!
   
2. Something tells me being at home will cause Jordin Tootoo's chest to puff out and he'll try to pull his crap again. Will I be seen as the prescient one? I guess I'm really confused, but Tootoo behaved again.
   
3. With five goals in his last five games, can Antti Miettinen continue to put goals on the board? Six goals in six games. Not half bad.
   
4. Does playing 30 minutes last night affect Zidlicky and Zanon? Zanon got sloppy late in the game, giving up two goals and ended up a -2, but got a nice break only having 18:58 TOI and Zidlicky went back to his typical 22:34.
   
5. Are we in store for another Nashville vs. Minnesota shootout (not the game deciding kind)? It shouldn't have been. Wild were dominant, but got sloppy after the game was in hand.
   

  

Minnesota Wild (12-12-3) @ Nashville Predators (16-10-2)

Smashville Arena @ 7:00 CST

Television: FSN (HD)
Radio: WCCO 830AM, or online at Wild.com

For the Nashville perspective, check out On the Forecheck

Wild.com Game Preview

Questions to Answer

1. Can the Wild get points in their 7th straight?
   
2. Something tells me being at home will cause Jordin Tootoo's chest to puff out and he'll try to pull his crap again. Will I be seen as the prescient one?
   
3. With five goals in his last five games, can Antti Miettinen continue to put goals on the board?
   
4. Does playing 30 minutes last night affect Zidlicky and Zanon?
   
5. Are we in store for another Nashville vs. Minnesota shootout (not the game deciding kind)?
   

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

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Sometimes teams dominate from the start, sometimes they have to claw their way back and hope for the momentum to swing in their direction as they do so. Tonight was definitely the latter for the Wild.

After the Wild spotted the Ducks a two-goal lead twice, each time it was the Antti Miettinen - Mikko Koivu - Andrew Brunette line who put the squad on their backs to keep the Wild in the game and force the extra session where the Wild won in the shootout on goals by Miettinen and Guillaume Latendresse.

This was an exciting game to be sure, and it's great to get these kinds of wins, but wow, this defense needs to pick things up, and the blame certainly cannot be pointed at Greg Zanon and Marek Zidlicky. Zanon was a +1 in 29:32 and Zidlicky was a +2 with two assists and two PIM in 30:42. These two are feeding off each other very well. Wilderness writer mbennett and I were discussing these two tonight, and I think he had a great point.:

I think Zid is learning from Zanon (on positional defense) and I think the trust in Zanon allows Zid to go in on offense

I couldn't agree more. These two are feeding off each other, and with this pairing being so solid right now, it allows the forwards, especially the Koivu line tonight, to play deeper, forecheck harder and get more aggressive in the offensive zone. It clearly showed tonight, especially late in the game.

Please read the game recap over at Anaheim Calling

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Mikko Koivu (2 G, 1 A)
2. Antti Miettinen (2 G, 1 A)
   
3. Andrew Brunette (3 A)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Will this look like a battle of the cellar? Sloppy play, weak defense, but definitely not boring.
   
2. Can Latendresse and Ebbett continue to play with the chip on their shoulder? Lats had a simply fantastic shootout winner but no shots in 17:53. Ebbett was a -1 in 13:33 and had 4 PIM, but they worked each shift.
   
3. Does Martin Havlat bounce back? Who?
   
4. Will the Wild continue their "hot streak"? Well, we'll take the shootout win and points in the sixth straight game, but this defense needs to get it together. The offense is finally clicking, but the D is the big question mark right now.
   
5. Can the Wild keep Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf off the scoresheet? Getzlaf had three assists, Bobby Ryan had two goals and Corey Perry had an assist. That line is simply fantastic.
   

Minnesota Wild (11-12-3) @ Anaheim Ducks (10-13-4)

Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 CST

Television: FSN (HD)
Radio: WCCO 830AM, or online at Wild.com

For the Ducks perspective, check out Anaheim Calling

Wild.com Game Preview

Questions to Answer

1. Will this look like a battle of the cellar?
   
2. Can Latendresse and Ebbett continue to play with the chip on their shoulder?
   
3. Does Martin Havlat bounce back?
   
4. Will the Wild continue their "hot streak"
   
5. Can the Wild keep Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf off the scoresheet?