SB Nation User Blog: neide

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche: The Morning After

neide — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:12:06 -0000

Colorado Avalanche 6-5 Minnesota Wild

Final - 12.1.2008	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	2	4	0	6
Minnesota Wild	2	2	1	5

Complete Coverage >

Simply ugly. This was the first time Backstrom has ever given up 6, and this was the worst game I've seen the Wild play defensively since a 7-3 loss to Carolina in 2001, and was the least entertaining one goal game I've seen in a very long time. Frankly, it wasn't as close as the 6-5 final would let on. The Wild were completely dominated, and had it not been for the exceptional play by the power play unti, this one would have been a much, much bigger blowout. It was so bad in fact, that I'm loathe to even do a recap. But, that's why I'm here, so I guess I'll give it a go.

Where to start?? Well, the defense was abysmal. Nobody would take the body down low, people were being too cute at the blue line with the puck, leading to breaks the other way. It was as if they had played late last night and didn't get into town until this morning. They looked that out of it. Burns finally scored as a forward, which, unfortunately, will likely make Jacques want to leave him up front, when they would be better served by either getting Reitz or Bergeron out of the lineup for a couple games to get Burns back where he belongs. A top-flight defenseman is more valuable than a mediocre winger. I can't believe he's still up front.

Backstrom was booted after giving up 6 in the first two periods, and Harding came in and shut the door in the third, giving the Wild a chance to get back in the game. Unfortunately for Backstrom, he was the victim of circumstance. Yes, he didn't look great, gave up two really soft goals and was flailing a bit (which lets you know that he's fighting the puck. He's not flashy, and when he's on, you don't notice how good he is because he's always in position), but his defense really let him down tonight. Johnsson was a -3, Zidlicky, MAB and Schultz were a -1, at least He Who Must Not Be Named was even.

Michael Russo had a great line

The Avalanche forwards spent the first two periods so close to Niklas Backstrom's goalmouth, the Wild goalie could have fed them breath mints.

His forwards put him in bad position all night. Yeah, Bouchard scored twice, but was so bad with the puck tonight that on at least 4 occassions he gave up the puck and directly led to scoring chances the other way. Bouchard and Belanger were both a -2 on the evening.

Let's just forget this game, and concentrate on taking it to St. Louis on Wednesday.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Paul Stastny (2 G, 1 A)
Antti Miettinen (1 G, 2 A)
Mikko Koivu (1 G, 2 A)

Questions to Answer

Can Mittens, Koivu and Nolan keep up their streaks? Mikko had a goal and an assist, Nolan scored in his fourth straight but Mittens had the chance to tie the game at 6 on a wide open net and put it over the top from 3 feet away, so his streak comes to an end.
Did the day off against Nashville do Backstrom some good? Ugh. Just, ugh.
Will the Wild get out of the fighting mentality they had against Nashville, or will LaPerriere find someone else to annoy since Gaborik is out? Shockingly LaPerriere was well-behaved tonight, so he must only hate Gaborik. Weller was the only person to start anything, and that was in retaliation for McLeod tripping him after Weller laid him out early on. For an out of control 6-5 game, it didn't get chippy at all.
What impact will the C have on Johnsson? Hmm, well frankly he was a non-entity out there. He had one penalty, but didn't seem to really be a factor at all. Nice to see that losing the C didn't do anything to Mikko.
Can Brunette light up his former mates? Nope, he had a couple chances, but seemed to fight the puck a bit, and couldn't get space down low.

Notes

Jacques Lemaire warned this morning that the team wasn't sharp - so much so that he kept the team on the ice a bit longer
The Wild had never before lost when scoring five goals.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard notched his 12th career three-point game, and his eighth two-goal game.
Mikko Koivu has 10 points (4-6=10) during his current five-game point streak.
Eric Belanger skated in his 500th NHL game.
Brent Burns had a goal and an assist, giving him 100 career points (31-69=100). He became the 13th player in team history to reach 100 points.
Minnesota fell to 10-5-0 this season when scoring first. That’s one more regulation loss than the Wild had last season when scoring first (36-4-5).

What the team is saying

TBA

What others are saying

TBA

The Game In Pictures

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Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche: Game 23

neide — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:03:59 -0000

Colorado Avalanche (11-12-0) @ Minnesota Wild (14-7-1)

Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 CST

Television: Versus (HD)
Listen live on WCCO.com, or locally at 830 AM

For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey

Tonight's lines:

Minnesota Wild

Colorado Avalanche

Veilleux - Koivu - Mittens
Brunette - Belanger - Nolan
Burns - Sheppard - Bouchard
Weller - Pouliot - Boogaard

Johnsson - Schultz
Zidlicky - Skoula
Reitz - Bergeron

Backstrom
Harding

Smyuth - Stastny - Hejduk
Wolski - Arnason - Svatos
Willies - Hensick - LaPerriere
McLeod - McCormick - Jones

Clark - Hannan
Liles - Salei
Leopold - Tjarnqvist

Budaj
Raycroft

Injuries: Minnesota Wild

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Belanger	leg	12.1.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marian Gaborik	lower body	10.15.2008
Kurtis Foster	left leg surgery	9.20.2008

Injuries: Colorado Avalanche

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ben Guite	ribs	11.10.2008
Darcy Tucker	sprained left knee	11.25.2008
Adam Foote	back/neck	11.22.2008

Notes

The Wild have the top PK unit in the NHL, and the second PP unit. The Wild win the special teams battle on paper.
Minnesota is 5-0-1 in the last six overall meetings, including a 3-1 victory at Colorado on Nov. 6.
Niklas Backstrom is 8-1-1 with a 1.96 GAA and a .932 SV% in 10 starts against Colorado
With Darcy Tucker out, the Wild's knees should be safe tonight.
My AC adapter shorted out, so don't expect me to be online tonight. My phone died a week ago. The battery in my replacement phone died over the weekend and now my adapter for may laptop dies? My wife called me Dr. Doom. Blech.

Questions to Answer

Can Mittens, Koivu and Nolan keep up their streaks?
Did the day off against Nashville do Backstrom some good?
Will the Wild get out of the fighting mentality they had against Nashville, or will LaPerriere find someone else to annoy since Gaborik is out?
What impact will the C have on Johnsson?
Can Brunette light up his former mates?

Kim Johnsson Named December Captain

neide — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:34:57 -0000

Much to the chagrin of the Wild blogosphere, Mikko Koivu has lost his C to fellow Finn Swede (what's the difference? They're not Norwegian, so who cares?) Kim Johnsson. While not a horrible choice, in my opinion, the time was now for Mikko Koivu to be named the permanent captain.

Kim Johnsson

#5 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-1

Weight: 193

Born: Mar 16, 1976

Johnsson’s had a very strong season so far, and Jacques Lemaire wanted to reward him. Lemaire said changing things up was no slight to Koivu, whom he praised endlessly. Johnsson has never worn the ‘C’ before. He was handed the sweater in a locker room meeting before the skate, and he did the traditional lap around the locker room high-fiving his teammates.

Poll

Should Mikko Koivu have been named the permanent captain?

Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators: The Morning After

neide — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:09:24 -0000

Minnesota Wild 6-2 Nashville Predators

via cdn.nhl.com

Final - 11.29.2008	1	2	3	Total
Minnesota Wild	2	2	2	6
Nashville Predators	0	1	1	2

Complete Coverage >

Remind me to always pimp the opposition's penalty kill stats in the game preview. Wow, I suppose when you're 20 kills for your last 20 penalties, something has to give eventually huh? Five of Minnesota's six goals were scored during power plays and the Wild went 5/11 with the man (or two) advantage against the top home PK team in the NHL. Not a bad way to finish the second-half of a back-to-back.

Great to see Owen Nolan really picking up play after being non-existent on the ice coming back from injury. He's riding a three game goal scoring streak, and doing it exactly how we all envisioned he would when he was signed. He's driving to the net, picking up rebounds and knocking home the garbage. Antti Miettinen has also picked up his play in the last three games after gripping his stick too tightly during his slump, adding three helpers tonight. Captain Mikko Koivu scored twice and added an assist to continue his excellent play this season. Pierre-Marc Bouchard got the game going early with a nifty powerplay marker just a few seconds in to the first 5 on 3 of the evening, followed 35 seconds later by Andrew Brunette's powerplay goal. Bruno would also later add two assists to his evening. Even Craig Weller got in on the goal scoring action, notching his first of the season to go along with his two fights.

It was nice to see the Wild get off early to take some pressure off Josh Harding, making his first start in over a month. He looked decent, and didn't give up nearly as many fat rebounds as he had in his previous appearances, even dating back to the end of last season.

It was surprising to see Nashville as chippy as they were, considering how easily the Wild dominated play with the man advantage, but yet they continued the march to the penalty box, racking up 16 penalties for 46 minutes and giving up 11 powerplay opportunities. However, even toward the end of the game, they kept at it, trying to goad the Wild into extracurriculars, though nobody picked a fight after the Boogaard/Belak and Weller/Tootoo double card. Now, I think it's safe to say that Tootoo is not unlike Matt Cooke or Jarko Ruutu, not much talent, and likes to pick fights. Frankly, exceptionally irritating and costly to their teams. Why do they have jobs?

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

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

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild build on an excellent 3rd period yesterday? It certainly seemed like it. They got up early, erasing yesterday's horrific early two-man advantage.
How much rust will Harding show? Hard to tell. He wasn't really pressured, and the team did a great job of getting him the early lead to help him relax.
With Weller looking to get back into the lineup, what the hell does Gillies have to do to see the ice? Well, Gillies was in the game, but only got 6:38 of ice time tonight, which is surprising considering how in control the Wild were all night. It would have been a good opportunity to really get the kid into the flow of the game.
Can Marek Zidlicky have a great return to Nashville? Frankly, after the assist on the first goal, Zid wasn't a factor tonight. But he got a point and the team got the win, so I think he'll take it.
With both teams on the second-half of a back-to-back, which team will show the biggest signs of fatigue? The extra 6 hours the Wild had in Nashville really must have helped, reducing the typical fatigue in a back-to-back. They were already in the hotel by the time the Preds were taking the ice in Atlanta, and it showed early, as Nashville were chasing the Wild all night.

Notes

Harding's win was his first since February 10, 2008.
Minnesota went 8-5 in November, a franchise record for wins in the month.
James Sheppard played in his 100th NHL game tonight.
The Wild has defeated Nashville in seven of nine meetings.

What the team is saying

TBA

What others are saying

TBA

The Game In Pictures

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Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators: Game 22

neide — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:47:11 -0000

Nashville Predators (11-9-2) vs. Minnesota Wild (13-7-1)

Sommet Center @ 7:00 CST

Television: FSN (HD)
Listen live on WCCO.com, or locally at 830 AM

For the Nashville perspective, check out Preds on the Glass

Tonight's lines:

Minnesota Wild

Nashville Predators

Veilleux - Koivu - Mittens
Brunette - Gillies - Nolan
Burns - Sheppard - Bouchard
Weller - Pouliot - Boogaard

Johnsson - Schultz
Zidlicky - Skoula
Reitz - Bergeron

Harding
Backstrom

Dumont - Arnott - Erat
Pihlstrom - Legwand - Ward
Smithson - Bonk - Tootoo
Tarnavsky - Nichol - Peverly

Weber - Suter
Hamhuis - Zanon
de Vries - Koistinen

Ellis
Rinne

Notes

Both teams played yesterday, with the Predators defeating the Thrashers in Atlanta.
The Predators hold a the all-time edge 11-10-7 edge, but the Wild won three of four games in each of the past two seasons.
Nashville is 5-2-1 in the past 8, and the Predators have gone 20/20 on the PK in that stretch. At 89.5%, the Preds home PK ranks first in the NH
Former Wild prospect Ryan Jones is now a rookie with Nashville, notching three goals and three assists for 6 points in 15 games, but has just been sent to Milwaukee. (Still bugs me, this move. Jones was a prototypical power forward, primed for a decent career as a garbage man in the NHL.)
Harding hasn’t won since Feb. 10. Harding lost six of his last seven starts last season.

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild build on an excellent 3rd period yesterday?
How much rust will Harding show?
With Weller looking to get back into the lineup, what the hell does Gillies have to do to see the ice?
Can Marek Zidlicky have a great return to Nashville?
With both teams on the second-half of a back-to-back, which team will show the biggest signs of fatigue?

Minnesota Wild vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: The Morning After

neide — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:43:21 -0000

Minnesota Wild 4-2 Tampa Bay Lightning

Final - 11.28.2008	1	2	3	Total
Tampa Bay Lightning	1	1	0	2
Minnesota Wild	1	0	3	4

Complete Coverage >

It was nice to see the Wild finish a game strong rather than to hang on for dear life to squeeze the two points out of the game. Unfortunately, I only saw the last period, but have one major question - What happened on the 10 minute misconduct for Mikko? I mean, I understand the two minutes (he didn't report to the box in a timely manner) but I'm floored as to why the captain would receive a 10 minute misconduct. Any information would be appreciated.

Backstrom needs a night off. Let's hope he doesn't play against the Preds tomorrow. Oh, and here's hoping we see Gillies in the lineup and Burns on the blue line with Reitz in the press box.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

James Sheppard (1 G, 1 A)
Marc-Andre Bergeron (2 A)
Antti Miettinen (2 A)

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild bounce back from a weak finish against Dallas? Definitely, the Wild finished strong today rather than getting our early and fizzling at the game wore on. It was a nice change of pace.
Any chance they can actually keep a lead and play out the entire 60 minutes? Didn't get the lead until 6 minutes into the third period, but there wasn't the feat that the lead would vanish.
How long will Gillies stay in the dog house? We were told that Gillies had nothing more to learn in juniors, so, umm, what's he learning here on the bench while Burns takes forward shifts?
Burns return to the blue line? Please? Seriously, I'm bored with him up front.
Does the crowd have a turkey hangover? I know I do! They got louder and louder as the game went on, That was great to hear.

Notes

Wild forward Andrew Brunette has the longest consecutive games streak in the NHL at 474
Backstrom has started 19 of 21 games this season
The Wild won for the first time this season when trailing after 40 minutes.

What the team is saying

"It's nice to prove to ourselves that we can not only lose in the third, but can win as well." - Marc-Andre Bergeron

What others are saying

TBA

The game in pictures

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Video Highlights

Black Friday for Wild Fans

neide — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:23:29 -0000

Trying to figure out what to get for the Wild fan on your holiday shopping list? Here are some ideas brought to you by your friends at Hockey Wilderness. (And by all means, feel free to add your own ideas!)

TODAY ONLY!!!! Free Customization on Authentic Jerseys + Free Shipping on orders over $50. Shop.NHL.com
Have a Wild fan/art lover? Minnesota Sports artist extraordinaire Karl Jaeger has a Wild-themed print titled "Wild Nights in St. Paul". I've seen his Gopher hockey work first hand and it's outstanding. I highly recommend him.
Looking for skates, sticks and gloves in addition to your sale-priced Wild gear? Check out Hockeyoverstock.com
Want to save $100 on an authentic RBK jersey?
Every Wild fan wants one thing ... Wild tickets. Of course, you may find that they're sold out. In that case, thanks to the legalization of scalping, check out TIcket King, Ticketsnow, Ticket Liquidator or StubHub. Though I recommend giving an IOU and trying to find them on Craiglist or the Gametime rush offer at wild.com.
Want to find a site that picks the really random Wild-related gifts?
Oh, did I mention that there are more than one page for Minnesota Wild Gifts?

Good luck to all, and here's hoping you make that Wild fan in your life very, very happy!

Minnesota Wild vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 21

neide — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:45:56 -0000

Tamp Bay Lightning (6-8-7) @ Minnesota Wild (12-7-1)

Xcel Energy Center @ 1:00 CST

Television: FSN (HD)
Listen live on WCCO.com, or locally at 830 AM

For the Lightning perspective, check out Bolts Blog or Boltsmag.

Tonight's lines:

Minnesota Wild

Tampa Bay Lightning

Veilleux - Koivu - Mittens
Brunette - Belanger - Nolan
Burns - Sheppard - Bouchard
Boogaard - Pouliot - Clutterbuck

Johnsson - Schultz
Zidlicky - Skoula
Reitz - Bergeron

Backstrom
Harding

Stamkos - Lecavalier - St. Louis
Malone - Prospal - Vrbata
Artyukhin - Jokinen - Recchi
Downie - Craig - Hall

Meszaros - Lundin
Eminger - Ranger
Heward - Smaby

Smith
Kolzig

Injuries: Minnesota Wild

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marian Gaborik	lower body	10.15.2008
Kurtis Foster	left leg surgery	9.20.2008

Injuries: Tampa Bay Lightning

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marek Malik	lower body	11.28.2008
Matt Pettinger	right knee	11.28.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Gratton	lower body	11.19.2008
Gary Roberts	upper body	11.19.2008
Jeff Halpern	right knee surgery	9.18.2008

Notes

Welcome to Wes Walz Day!
The Wild lead the all-time series 6-2-0 with a tie.
Despite its recent struggles, Minnesota has still allowed a Western Conference-low 43 goals.

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild bounce back from a weak finish against Dallas?
Any chance they can actually keep a lead and play out the entire 60 minutes?
How long will Gillies stay in the dog house?
Burns return to the blue line? Please?
Does the crowd have a turkey hangover? I know I do!

Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars: The Morning After

neide — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:48:49 -0000

Dallas Stars 4-3 Minnesota Wild

via assets.espn.go.com

Final - 11.26.2008	1	2	3	Total
Dallas Stars	1	1	2	4
Minnesota Wild	2	1	0	3

Complete Coverage >

Frustration. I think that pretty much sums it up. You can't blame this one on the offense. They put home 3, and had chances upon chances upon chances. Yeah, if Gaborik or another finisher would have been out there it likely would have been out of hand early, but you CANNOT pin this loss on the offense. The Brent Burns as forward experiment needs to come to an end. Burns is doing very little good up front, and Erik Reitz is costing the Wild at the back. Both Reitz and Backstrom (who was mediocre at best yet again) need a game off on Friday against the Lightning.

I don't feel like going on and on tonight, so I'll post some of my favorite tweets from the Wild Twitterverse

Stars absolutely controlling play right now. Things don't look good for the hometown team.

Yep - Dallas goal. 4-3 Stars

Screw you Stars

This is embarassing... absolutely embarassing!!

Terhaar gave the Wild the kiss of death with the 7-0-1 stat with the lead after 2 and that the Stars hadn't come from behind in the 3rd

Man, another bad pass from Mittens.

Horrible loss tonight. Absolutely horrible.

What a ****hole of an outcome...too bad we couldn't get credit for the posts we hit...we would take away the game.

I counted 5 pipes for the Wild tonight and one net that Turco shoved off the moorings

Wild outshot 8-5 in the 3rd period tonight. This team needs to learn how to finish a game. They've not been good in the 3rd this season.

Ok, I think that sums it up. I'm not happy with tonight at all. If it were one thing, it would be totally different, but this is a pattern, and it's frustrating.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

James Neal (2 G)
Loui Eriksson (1 G, 2 A)
Mikko Koivu (1 A - two goals waved off and three pipes)

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild get an early lead? If so, can they hang on to it without giving us a coronary? Yes. NO.
Can the veterans take over a game, please? Hmm, goals from Belanger, Nolan and Brunette. Yes, thank you!
Can the Wild take advantage of a weak defensive team and use the counter-attack to rack up the goals? No. They had good shots and quality scoring chances, but odd bounces, posts and Marty Turco cheating stopped the Wild from getting the 6 or 7 they looked to get tonight.
Will Burns finally find the back of the net up front? If not, should he really be there? He got one point tonight. Frankly, I think he's better in the offensive zone as a defensemen, not to mention better for the defense. This is killing the team.
Will the energy line of Clutterbuck, Pouliot and Boogaard continue to put on the pressure? Pressure, yes. No results, but I liked their play again.

Notes

James Neal recorded his first career multigoal game.
Owen Nolan's power play goal was his first goal since Oct. 25
Tonight's first period was only the Wild's second two-goal first period of the season.
Minnesota’s first period penalty for a faceoff violation was the team’s first such infraction since Dec. 10, 2002.

What the team is saying

TBA

What others are saying

TBA

The Game In Pictures

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Video Highlights

Minnesota Wild vs. Dallas Stars: Game 20

neide — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:38:34 -0000

Dallas Stars (6-10-4) @ Minnesota Wild (12-6-1)

Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 CST

Television: KSTC (12/45)
Radio: KBGY 107.5 FM and BOB 106.1 FM.

For the Dallas perspective, check out Razor with an Edge and StarsBlog

Tonight's lines:

Minnesota Wild

Dallas Stars

Veilleux - Koivu - Mittens
Brunette - Belanger - Nolan
Burns - Sheppard - Bouchard
Boogaard - Pouliot - Clutterbuck

Johnsson - Schultz
Zidlicky - Skoula
Reitz - Bergeron

Backstrom
Harding

Neal - Ribeiro - Avery
Eriksson - Richards - Conner
Brunnstrom - Modano - Parrish
Barch - Petersen - Wilson

Zubov - Grossman
Robidas - Daley
Niskanen - Sydor

Turco
Stephan

Injuries: Minnesota Wild

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marian Gaborik	lower body	10.15.2008
Kurtis Foster	left leg surgery	9.20.2008

Injuries: Dallas Stars

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brenden Morrow	to undergo right knee surgery	11.21.2008
Joel Lundqvist	fractured shoulder	10.28.2008
Jere Lehtinen	upper body	11.24.2008
Steve Ott	broken hand	11.24.2008

NOTES:

Stephane Veilleux will play in his 300th career game for the Wild tonight. The others? Marian Gaborik, Nick Schultz, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Pascal Dupuis, Antti Laaksonen, Filip Kuba and Wes Walz
With Matt Niskanen, Mark Parrish and Toby Petersen coming home to play, the Stars still have some Minnesota connections, other than Mike Modano.
Mike Modano has recorded 24 points (7-17=24) in 28 games against the Wild. Modano needs two points to reach 1,300 for his career.
The Wild rank among the lower-producing offenses in the league, with a total 49 goals, and has scored more than four times in a game just once in 2008-09.
Marty Turco, who made 21 saves in his 400th NHL game on Monday, is 11-4-1 with a 1.96 GAA in 19 career games versus the Wild.
Niklas Backstrom ranks among the best in the league with a 2.05 GAA and a .930 save%
Dallas has allowed a Western Conference-worst 74 goals.
Dallas is 10-2-1 in the series since the start of 2005-06, and has won three straight over Minnesota including a 4-2 home victory on Oct. 29.

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild get an early lead? If so, can they hang on to it without giving us a coronary?
Can the veterans take over a game, please?
Can the Wild take advantage of a weak defensive team and use the counter-attack to rack up the goals?
Will Burns finally find the back of the net up front? If not, should he really be there?
Will the energy line of Clutterbuck, Pouliot and Boogaard continue to put on the pressure?

Jacques Lemaire Pregame Interview

James Sheppard Pregame Interview