Wild vs Kings, Trade Deadline 2012 Results

Wild 0, Kings 4

Long Time No,See, Old Friends
Kurtis Foster and Stehphane Veilleux return to the Wild.  Foster is wearing #20 this time around and will hopefully do more with it than Miettinen ever did.  Veilleux will be wearing his old #19.  Kurtis is a great guy and he's been through his share of adversity.  I hope he plays his heart out to earn a contract next year as a veteran presence.  Stephane never really left MN, literally.  He married a St. Paul gal and has a home here.  He's wanted to rejoin the Wild for a couple of years and now it's a reality.  Another UFA at the end of the season, he'll be looking to make a good impression for either the Wild or another NHL team come June.   

So Long, It's Been Good To Know Ya
Nick Schultz was traded to the Edmonton Oilers.  You would think the team had just had it's collective right nut cut off according to their reaction to his trade.  Really??  You didn't see this coming??  Can't move the puck out of our zone, can't score.  Yes, he blocks shots but he's not physical and doesn't go into corners.  Nice guy but wasn't performing.  In fairness to Nick - he's not the only player on the team who isn't performing.  He's just one player that another team was willing to take.  I think the real reason the team was stunned by this trade is that it shows mediocrity isn't being rewarded anymore.  If Schultz can be traded, can anybody else feel safe? 
Greg Zanon went to the Bruins late in the day on Monday's deadline.  While his game had slipped as of late, I will miss the true grit Greg brought to the team.  Unlike some players (Joe Mauer, Jr. and I know you know who I'm talkin' about) Greg really did give 100% on the ice.  Unlike the second coming of Gaborik, Greg is a true warrior and the Bruins will be a good fit for him. 
Brad Staubitz was claimed off of re-entry waivers.  I know Alex will miss him (a little puck bunny thing going on for the dark haired ones) but I think she's the only one who will. 

And now for some Zanon porn from this admitted puck bunny: 

New Kids On The Block
Tom Gilbert comes to us from Edmonton via the Schultz trade.  He's supposed to be a puck moving defenseman who scores.  Nick Palmieri joins the team from the Zidlicky trade to the Devils.  He's a player looking for a change of scenery.  I'm getting tired of those guys ending up on the Wild.  I'm holding this one against Fletcher if Nick doesn't immediately make a good impression.  Steven Kampfer comes to us via the Bruins for Zanon.  Kampfer is another player who has had a rough season and will be another wait-n-see case as he acclimates in Houston while turning over his new leaf.  Player To Be Named Later comes to us in the second round of the 2012 draft via the Zidlicky trade.  As Russo states, this is the best part of the Zidlicky trade in that it gets us back the 2nd round draft pick we gave up in the Burns trade last summer.  

MIKKO MIA STILL, WHAT'S NEWS ABOUT THIS?
Koivu has reaggravated his previous shoulder injury and will now be shut down for at least two more weeks.  Whatever.  He disappears into the press box this time of year anyways and he's been there for how long already?  Don't go blaming the Wild's woes on Koivu missing from the line up.  This team sucked before he was 'pulled by management in the best interest of Mikko.'  Please, I'm going to vomit.  "Mikko cares about this team."  Okay, now I am vomitting.  In the first year of an outrageous contract for a player who would be second line material at best on any other team, Mikko has not lived up to expectations.  He disappeared for entire games right along side his team mates and then wouldn't even own up to it in post game press conferences.  I'm sure the Wild management will be spinning yet another season of missed playoffs on the loss of Mikko Koivu.  Oh, and I'm sure we'll be hearing about the devastating loss of Nick Schultz according to stunned team members.  You'd think we were taking about losing Sidney Crosby.  Oh wait, the Penguins are actually winning without Crosby in the line up.


First Period
Bad bounce my ass, Backstrom was totally unprepared for the rush and the Kings are up 1-0 at the 44 second mark.  Go Team! :/ 

It's bad enough that other teams run our goalie, do our own guys have to do it too?

Backstrom loses sight of the puck in the crease and doesn't realize one of his defensemen has it.  Geez, could be another Yank Him night if this keeps up. 

Wild kill off a penalty with six minutes left in the first and looks like they've already given up.  New faces, same shitty play. 

Spending way too much time in their own zone with our defense covering the wrong guys (Tom Gilbert in his Wild debut) and it's 2-0 Kings at the halfway mark of the first period.  I've never been more excited to be a Wild fan!   

Big hit!  Oh wait, that was two of our guys bouncing off of each other in front of the King's net instead of taking a shot. 

Veilleux ruffling feathers, something Clutterbuck isn't doing these days. 

Newcomer Palmieri makes his second drive to the net of the period.  Actually, that's just the second drive to the net for the Wild, period.   

Jesus Christ, Backstrom - you trying to play goalie from the friggin' bench??  Our defense is not where they're supposed to be either (Prosser and Falk) but for cryin' out loud could we have a goalie in net that looks like he's actually in the game? 

Zero effort by the Wild so far in this game.  PA.THET.IC.

New guys get a taste of Wild fans who know a shitty product on the ice when they see it - team gets booed off the ice after the first period.

Hell has officially frozen over.  Milbury ripped the Wild a new one during the first intermission and as much as it pains me to do so - I totally agree with him.  Poor Work Ethic is the quote of the night.  

Second Period
Yay!  Backstrom still in the net after letting in 3 goals for 8 shots on goal by the Kings.  Ride this guy all the way to the playoffs! :-0

You know the game sucks when all of the Wild coverage twitter accounts are silent for 10 minutes at a time.  I mean, NOBODY tweeting about this game: Russo, Goessling, KFAN...even MsConduct. 

Cullen and Setoguchin making the first real effort to score on a Wild power play midway in the second period.  Foster followed that up with his own masterblaster shot.  As usual, nothing cooking for the Wild on the power play though.  Still 3-0 Kings. 

Wild have now spent the most time in the OZone for the entire game and there's 8 minutes left in the period. 

With the third shot on goal of the period the Kings go up 4-0.  Harding just sitting on the bench - wishing he'd been traded.  I'm wishing Backstrom has been traded.  Entirely too streaky this season with a SUCKIT rating on the shootout. 

Every King player who has scored so far in the game has done so on their first shot on net of the game. 

Holy Shit - Backstrom saved one!  BAD turnover by Clutterbuck thanks to Falk being out of position and Backstrom actually turned the shot on goal away.  Hooray for the home team. 

Too LIttle, Too Late.  Team gets booed off the ice for the second period in a row. 

Third Period
Wild actually get booed coming onto the ice for the third period.  Paying customers have had enough. 

Scandella and Jordan Nolan (Ted Nolan's kid) go at it with Marco looking like an absolute fool for his efforts.  God, we can't even spark up the team with a decent fight. 

Clutterbuck and Dustin Brown exchange shoves in a frustration move and the complete collapse of the Wild continues on national television.  I'm so proud as Cal heads to the penalty box. 

Moment when you know Yeo has lost the room (at least for this game) is when the camera shows him talking to Clutterbuck on the bench after his penalty and Cal's got this look of "la-la-la-la I'm not listening" for all the world to see. 

Passion
Or lack thereof.  Coach Dave and I were texting during the game and he hit it spot on with this text:
The Wild marketing team needs to take the word Passion out of it's literature.  This team doesn't have any.  The U.S. military has passion.  The counter dude at Jimmy Johns has passion about a freaky fast sandwich.  Parise plays with passion.  This Wild team has no clue of what passion means or looks like.  

Well, enough of that bad taste in my mouth.  Moving on to the Flyers/Sharks game.  Real Hockey.  

Greetings & Salutations and Oh Yeah, Some Hockey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COACH DAGGETT!


Dave's a big country fan so I thought it only appropriate to send him Cowboy Birthday Wishes.  Please take some time to send my (and Vicki's) favorite hockey neighbor your best as he celebrates his 25th birthday, again.  You'll find him @refncoach on twitter.     

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICH, RANDY AND TO MY FAVORITE MONKEY GIRL!  


I'd make some wiseass remark about aging but considering I'm way older than two out of the three of ya I'll just let it go.  Just remember, you young pups are here to push us old farts around in our wheelchairs at the nursing the home.  Feel lucky and celebrate that! 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RANDY AND CONNIE!


Every time I hear this song I think of you two and the adventure that is your lives together.  Here's to my favorite next door neighbors! 
(I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this group and their music.  I get all happy when the shuffle on my iPod lands on one of their tunes.) 

Wild at Florida Panthers

I seriously contemplated the 10.5 hr trek to Sunrise, FL for this game.  I got a Wild itch that needs to be scratched.  Things didn't work out and I ended up just putting some anti-itch cream on that rash and tuned in to watch my boys on the tube.  Vicki and I drooled over Jose Theodore via text and scolded Setoguchi for running one of our favorite hockey porn goalies.  He's so pretty, **sigh. 



Good thing we had Jose to look at for the first period cuz it was a relative snoozefest.  With six minutes left in the second the Panthers went up 1-0 and at the 17:27 mark Chad Rau took the Wild's first shot on goal of the period.  REAALLY glad I didn't make the trip for this one.  Kyle Brodziak, team workhorse, tied the game with 19.8 seconds left in the second period.  Funny, it was off a rebound from Zidlicky who's stick literally shattered and the blade went flying into the crowd. 
Favorite tweet so far: "A Zids screw-up paid off!!!!! Thank you, Hockey Gods!"  Thank You, Ms.Conduct. 

The third period opened up with the Wild going on the powerplay and those Hockey Gods were still in a jovial mood.  Matt Cullen scored on a rebound from Heatley who was set up by SPURGE!  Wild up 2-1.  And because Zidlicky believes in equalizing things for the other team he took his usual penalty right afterwards.  Luckily the rest of the Wild defense held up and the Panthers didn't score while Zid was vacationing in the sin bin. Of course, with just over 4 minutes left in the third the Panthers tie it up 2-2. 
Note to Panthers: quit playing the Gary Glitter song.  1: get with the times.  2: stop supporting pedophiles.

Overtime - just get it done in the next 5 minutes guys.
Panthers looked like the Wild with a man advantage there for the first minute - totally unable to clear out of their own zone.  They pulled themselves together and pretty much owned the next three minutes.  Backstrom stood tall despite the following: 
Favorite tweet of OT: "And for those asking, no, Hackett is not warming up?"  Russo responding to his many followers.

Oh shit, Shootout.  Against all odds Backstrom stands tall and the Wild win this one!  Thank You Hockey Gods!          

For The Hockey Chicks: SportsBabeOfTheDay 

Hockey Day In America, Lovin' On Losers, Brodziak Re-Signed

Wild 2, Bruins 0 

Brodziak Re-Signed
That's re-signed, not resigned for you illiterates. 
Anyway, from the Wild's website: "The club announced that it has re-signed center Kyle Brodziak to a three-year contract extension.  Brodziak has been with the team since the 2009-2010 season. He has scored 40 goals and 58 assists through 220 games in a Wild uniform. He’s missed just two games since coming to the Wild and has been one of the team’s most reliable two-way players.  Brodziak quote during presser:  "There's a definite belief in this organization and I want to be part of turning this into a winning team."

Hockey Day In America!
What an exciting game that was! Oh sorry, I was still thinking about the Wings vs Sharks game that aired prior to the Wild vs Bruins game. That's not nice, I know.  But not far from the truth in terms of Minnesota Wild hockey this season.

I'm A Loser, Baby
Why are we even watching the Wild anymore?  They're toast.  Stick a fork in 'em.  Call the country club and make those tee time reservations.  Yet here I am, game in and game out, watching my team get beat down like a redheaded stepchild.  Why?  Ms.Conduct put into words what we diehard fans know to be true.  And she walks the walk - here's her tweet from just before the game: "I'm excited about this game. That's how deep my masochism runs." 
If you don't stick with it in the hard times you can't say you've been there the whole time when at last the Cup comes home.  Oh yes, It will come home.  
And on that note...    

Home Sick
I couldn't bring myself to write after the Jets game last Thursday night.  Again, not technical difficulties but instead a pity party complete with crying jag and hiccups.  I was busy feeling very sorry for myself not being in the X.  I was missing out on the atmosphere as the arena filled with Jets fans who made the trip for game two of what I hope with be a true rivalry in the seasons to come.  I give my thanks to Vicki, Dave and all the many peeps - including the four Winnipeg Jets fans I met at the draft in June - for talking with me through the whole game.  You all heal my broken hockey heart on home game nights.  I Heart You.      
Clarification: I do not miss Minnesota.  Not even a little.  This is where the Good Lord has led me for now and I love being here in Georgia. There isn't one day that something doesn't happen to confirm I'm in the right place. 

Wild vs Bruins
Since it was a rainy day in Georgia, no song pun intended, and Buster was extra cuddly soft after having had a bath this morning, we were snuggled in on the sofa together.  In fact, I've been parked here since shortly after getting home from church this morning. Is this what football fans feel like?  I have bloodshot eyes after taking three full hockey games but I'm a junkie and that itch got scratched real good today.  
I chose not to blog during the games.  Instead I'll share with you my favorite tweets from the Wild game.    

Ms.Conduct: "And I also want to throw a brick at the Bemidji State Beaver dancing behind Milbury and that other guy."

Deeicing: "Please miss and hit Milbury instead...on purpose. Oops, was that out loud?"

Ms.Conduct: "I'll throw two bricks. Or maybe I'll just throw Milbs at the beaver. #eww"

Ms.Conduct: "Good lord. Get your facts right, Pierre. "Zidlicky tweeted out that he'd waive his NTC to go to the Devils." Yeah, that's what happened."

Russo: "Doc Emrick just came over to me and asked me to tweet how truly apologetic he is for fouling up "Let's Play Hockey." The man's a saint."

DanysTurtleneck:  after assiting on native MN Chad Rau's first NHL goal - "Look at that, I'm even making cake eaters look good! #turtleneckassist"

Milbury The Moron: "Kassian is in better shape than I thought because Thornton is in really good shape."


Russo: "Strong board play there by Pouliot (first time I've ever uttered those words)"

Russo: "Heatley great backcheck to save day after Spurgeon falls in own zone; Heatley's been the Wild's best 2-way player for a month now."  This one's for Robyn & Rich :)

Russo: "This is the Wild's first 2-goal lead since Jan. 31; I won't remind you what happened that game though #predatorsmeltdown"

Ms.Conduct: "Is it just me or are the Wild getting away with a ton of penalties? And by "Wild" I mean, "Whoever these guys are."

Church of Yeo: "Shun the non-believers. Shunnnnnn-a."

Mike Yeo Quote: "It was sort of reminiscent of how we were winning games back when we were winning a lot of games, if you remember that time."

Matt Kassian: "Funny thing - during a TV timeout tonight Pierre Mcguire leaned over and told me 7 or 8 detailed facts about my life that I didnt even know."

Gui Latendresse: "Congrats to brodzy for the nice 3 years contract ! Bright future for us with him sign 3 more years !!!!"

Play Of The Game
Backstrom's save on Lucic in the third.  Complete Frustration on Lucic's face afterwards.  He literally scowled and growled at Bax.

Three Players Of The Game
3: Matt Cullen - nets the insurance goal and he's from MN (cuz that's important, right?)
2: Chad Rau - first NHL goal and winning goal and he's from MN (cuz that's important, right?)
1. Niklas Backstrom - career high 48 saves and the shutout.  

For Nan - answer to your question: Every.Single.Day.
Favorite memory, for now, has to be our times at the Bel Rae Ballroom.  Thanks for loaning your "Dancing Fool" to me.  I'll always treasure those spins around the dance floor to Danny Gatton songs, especially this one.    
 

Wild vs Ducks

Wild 1, Ducks 2

- Corey Perry is ridiculously talented. 
- Parros' mustache deserves it's own zip code it's so awesome.  First favorite tweet of the night: "Parros goalie interference, helped a bit by Schultz; Harding survived his mustache; Wild PP." from Russo. 
- Fuckin' All Star scoooooores!!  1-0 Wild.  Live it up now folks, let's see how long it lasts.  What- Zidlicky got an assist on that and it was a powerplay goal?  Hell has frozen over folks. 

Latest OttawaGh0st take on Dany:
 
Just brings me to tears laughing so hard every time one of these videos gets posted!
- Who are these guys?  10 minutes into the first period and we're living in the Ozone, forcing turnovers, shooting the puck like we were born to.  Am I watching the right channel?
 
- Note to Staubitz, oops - you're not here anymore.  Kassian takes on Parros and his mustache and it's a draw.  That's a win in my books when you're fightin' Parros.  Second favorite tweet of the night: "Big heavyweight bout by Kassian and Parros; Good shots both sides; I think Kassian got razor burn on his fists from that stache." yet another one from Russo.

- Ooh La La, Latendresse is tweeting, in French no less!  God Bless google translator.  @thetender48. 

- Harding better hope for a bungee cord from his valentine.  Stay in the net, dude!  Have to give him props though, looking great out there.  Waaay better than his last outing on Jan 31.   

- Prosser looking like a BEAST in the second period.  Keeps gettin' better. 
 
- Confusing to hear "Koivu" and see a Duck trying to score on Harding.  Pesky big brother Saku.  

- Jonas Hiller = Vacuum.  Keeps sucking up Wild shots on goal.

- Really nice to hear someone other than Doc Emery calling a game on NBCSports.  Need to have a break before playoffs start when I'll be hearing his voice ringing in my ears 24/7.

- Bad McMillan, Bad.  4 minute highsticking penalty for drawing blood.  Wild killed it off like it ain't no thang...who are these guys??   

- Buster doing the potty dance.  He's got good timing with the second period coming to an end.  He doesn't ask for much in life: bowl of food & water, potty breaks, hard run at the park and a soft bed to sleep on.  Oh yeah, throw in a good scratch in just the right places.  I need to pattern my life to that simplicity.  Everything I need to know I learned from my dog.

- Gigantor The Linesman: who is that guy?  He's like 8 feet tall.  Okay, it's 6 foot 9 inches but c'mon, that's huge!  Mike Cvik makes the NHL players look like pee-wee kids on the ice next to him.    

- Harding has stood tall all night long but finally gets beaten by Hagman and the game is tied 1-1.  Was that Mikko who turned the puck over? 

- Third favorite tweet of the night: "That at least shut down the Wave; what did I miss a memo the last games? Quit it." Russo on a roll tonight.

- Decided at last minute to tape the Westminster Dog Show instead of flipping back and forth.  Good decision. 

- Curses and Fire Ants on Corey Perry.  Ducks 2, Wild 1 with seven and a half minutes left.

- And now the Wild fall apart.  Bad decisions with the puck, inability to clear the zone.  They have to break this habit. 

- Last two minutes are frenetic!  It's not that the Wild played poorly during the first 58 minutes but man, if they had put in that kind of effort early on in the game they might have scored a goal or two more.  Entirely different outcome possible.  Giving Hiller his due cuz he was huge in net for the Ducks tonight. 

- Second game in a row where Heatley has produced but nobody else has.  Think he wants a trade? 

- Fourth favorite tweet of the night: "It's going to feel really good when the Wild is finally good after sticking with them through this. #positiveselftalk" courtesy of ms.conduct. 

Okay, off to Westminster to find out who's Best In Show - Lord Stanley knows it isn't the Wild.  

Wild Woes

Express Yourself
I haven't been able to post after the last few games.  Not because of technical difficulties.  I wrote several posts and ended up deleting them.  I found, upon review after walking away for awhile, that the posts were filled with hate, loathing, more than a few effinhiemers and not much else.  Not that venting isn't good for the soul but I hadn't written anything that the attendees of the last 2 home games weren't screaming at the top of their lungs in real time.  I felt like I should be contributing something more than that.  So I've tried to get down to the nitty gritty of it - the foundation of what's wrong with this hockey picture.  

Make no mistake about it - this team STINKS. It has for some time now. No news bulletin there. The paying fans figured that out 45 days ago.

Powerplay is NONEXISTENT and is UNACCEPTABLE.  

Defense is NONEXISTENT and is UNACCEPTABLE.  Completely unable to clear the zone or carry a puck out.  Refuses to protect their goalies, refuses to check with their bodies, refuses to stand up to the opponent on our own blue line, refuses to shoot the puck. 

Offense is NONEXISTENT to INCONSISTENT at best, and is UNACCEPTABLE.  Doesn't matter whether it's the first line or the fourth line.  No drive to the net, no shooting the puck, no standing in front of opponent's goalie, no trying for the rebound, no going into corners, no checking - whether it's fore, back or hip.

Goaltending is NONEXISTENT to INCONSISTENT at best, and is UNACCEPTABLE.  Backstrom is lost.  It's not just in the shootout, it's in regulation.  Sure there's the aforementioned sucky defense, but there are one to two soft goals Bax gives up in EVERY game these days.  Sure there's the aforementioned nonexistent offense, but when the Wild only score one or two goals per game having a goaltender who gives up one to two goals totally negates any goal(s) his teammates may have scored.  Harshes the mellow, rains on the parade, poops the party. 

No Leadership on the team.  Koivu isn't it.  He's too inconsistent when he does lead and he's too thin-skinned about it when the team doesn't play well.  In addition to that there aren't any guys on the team who consistently leave it all out there on every shift.  Yes, Dany Heatley has stepped up his game lately.  But that doesn't make him a leader.  Where was he six weeks ago?  Completely invisible, along with Setoguchi.  This team is lacking players who are willing to lay it all on the line every shift, every game - despite what the marketing geniuses came up with for this season.  And that's the subject of a whole other post in the near future. 

And Yet...

Yeo doesn't follow up the worst performance of the season (2.7.2012 against the Blue Jackets, led by Todd Richards no less) with a hard practice filled with effinhiemers and drills-till-they-puke. The Wild lost to the team in LAST PLACE IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE.  Yeo opts instead for a Come To Jesus meeting. It kinda worked. The team came out against Vancouver with a better performance than the JAX game. That's not saying much though.  Insert any of the aforementioned afflictions the Wild suffer from and there's the breakdown of the Vancouver game even though the Wild did seem to have a little jump in their game compared to the last ten.       

Now???

Now Yeo is all of a sudden fed up and can't take it any more??  He's pissed off at the team??  What about that hideous loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets 2 nights before? The JAX are DEAD LAST in the league and the Wild played WORSE than them.  But against Vancouver, third in the league, he blows his top and finally tells the State Of Hockey residents what we knew 45 days ago - this team STINKS.  The only player to pay the price for bad play is Brad Staubitz who is placed on waivers.  Ummm, about two months too late.  Oh, and NOBODY wants him!  He's now playing in Houston making his NHL salary.     

And Yet...        

Yeo scraps yet another practice and has a second air-it-out-come-to-Jesus meeting in as many games.  WTF FOR??  So you can tell these guys they suck to their faces?  That's not a news bulletin for any of them.  Well, maybe for Koivu who was quoted saying he felt the team played well against the Canucks.  Lord Stanley, that's some shades of Martin Skoula never feeling he played badly in post game interviews.  Whatever Yeo said to the team didn't work.  It didn't make an impression.  It didn't mean shit because the Wild lost to the Blue Jackets AGAIN.  This time at home, giving Todd Richards every reason to have a shit-eating grin on his face as he left the bench after the final buzzer.  You think Colton Gilles wasn't smiling as well?  Good for them, they deserve it.  It kills me to say that but it's the truth.  The Wild?  Well, they took the day off afterwards, cuz they deserved it (:-0

Wild vs Ducks Morning Skate
I listened to KFAN's broadcast from the penalty box Tuesday morning.  Chuck Fletcher gave one of the most bland and evasive interviews of his career.  Russo declined to participate in it because "he and Chuck have had spoken to each other enough over the last few days."  C'mon, what the hell does that mean?  Paul Allen from KFAN had the mic to the ice and you could hear the Wild on the ice for their morning skate.  Very subdued, very quiet.  No chirping, no good natured ribbing or calling out to line mates.  Only Matt Kassian was vocal enough to be heard.  Everyone on air commented on the "deadness" of it.  Russo spoke again of how "fragile" the team is.  Fragile??  Multimillionaire players of a kid's sport are FRAGILE??  For the love of Gordy Howe, we're really reaching for reasons to excuse the fact that this group of men need to go out there and earn their pay, plain and simple.  I'm already tired of Mike Yeo and his cliché filled interviews about "care" and "game" and "drive" and "fight" and "mentality" and "process" and "culture".  Give it a rest and start hounding these grown men about earning their paychecks or getting cut loose.  The motivational crap isn't working, it hasn't been for over 60 days now.       

Wild at Columbus, Owen Nolan Retires, Little of This and a Little of That

Wild 1, Blue Jackets 3

After appearing to have gotten back on track for a couple of games the Wild rolled into Columbus and promptly played down to, I mean BELOW the level of the worst team in the NHL this season.  And to a team coached by Todd Richards no less.  And to a team who claimed Colton Gilles off of waiver no less.  There was one highlight for me in this game: Nate Prosser scoring his first NHL goal.  Russo's tweets regarding the Wild's power play kept me laughing through the tears over a game that the Wild should have dominated and come away with 2 points from.  Instead they lose to Todd Richards, Colton Gilles and a team that is ranked 30the in NHL by 11 points.  I could name names of Wild players who failed epically tonight but this just says it all:  Boooooo.       

The Angry Irishman Retires
Not too many NHL players are classier than Owen Nolan.  The fact that he played for the Wild during his 1200 game tenure makes me ever so proud.  Owen logged 132 games in Minnesota from 2008 thru 2010: 41 goals, 37 assists.  In every one of those games Owen gave 110% of himself.  He scored, he fought, he threw checks like nobody's business and even played on a broken ankle.  Cuz that's what a real NHL'r does.  He melted this Irishwoman's heart on more than one occasion.  He was capable of single-handedly carrying the team on his back during a game changing shift or by offering up his personal time at the Children's hospital or at one of the many player appearances I had the pleasure of attending.  Owen finished his career with the same team he led as their captain when he was a younger man, the San Jose Sharks.  They paid tribute to his career:
 
Did you catch that crushing check to Dany Heatley?  Click here for a trip down memory lane when Owen scored 25 goals for MN in his 2008-2009 season. 

Prosser's Legit
Nate did his hometown of Elk River, MN proud on Monday when he signed his first one-way NHL contract extension.  Nate's worked his butt off to get here and it's paid off.  How did Nate celebrate?  Well, by offering up his face as a punching bag in a decidedly one-sided fight with CBJ's Dorsett in Tuesday's game.  Not wanting that to be the last impression Nate shook that off and scored his first NHL goal to tie the game later in the same period.  Congratulations Nate!  
     
Zanon Pissing Me Off
Who the hell does Greg think he is, not talking to the press after bad games?  I'm really tired of him having no comment and refusing to speak to Russo when his play adversely affects the outcome of the game.  He's one of the veteran players on this team.  He's been lauded as Chuck-Norris-Tough and one of the most stand-up kind of guys you'd ever want on a team.  Where's your inner honey badger?  Where's your fortitude of steel?  Where's your balls, Greg?  Be a man, for the love of hockey.  

Blaming The Refs
People, just stop this.  Seriously, the Wild have been and always will be their own worst enemies.  Yes, refs blow calls on occasion but by and large the Wild get what they deserve, as do the rest of the teams in the NHL.   

Wild Trade...Ooh - Ahh!
Casey Wellman was traded to the New York Rangers for Erik Christensen(& Rangers 7th round pick in the 2013 draft) in an attempt to fill the holes left by injured Latendresse and Bouchard.  I'm not sure what went wrong with Casey's chance to crack to the Wild lineup given that he's a product of Yeo's coaching in Houston.  But it was clear he didn't 'pop' whenever he was called up.  I really like Casey and had high hopes for him.  I wish him all the best in New York.  I expect we'll be seeing and hearing good things about him soon, like we do for 90% of all the players the Wild trade away. 
On to Erik Christensen: played under Yeo and Fletcher before so the Wilds' transformation to becoming the Penguins Midwest continues.  He has NHL experience, not at the Seto or Heatley level but more than most of our Aeros boys do.  Erik is cheap, compared to a big name/top six forward.  He's looked really good in his first few games with us.   

How Much Is That Zhidlicky In The Window?
Mr. Whiney got to lace his skates up for the game in Dallas in an attempt to showcase his mad NHL skills to the rest of the teams in the league.  For a defenseman who's supposed to be known for his booming shots on goal and offensive play...well, that wasn't what we saw Saturday night.  Marek is apparently not familiar with the phrase "put up or shut up."  In Columbus he knocked into Backstrom, causing Nik to lose his stick.  As Falk handed Nik his stick to use Marek decided to leave his position to retrieve Nik's stick, thereby allowing CBJ's David Savard to score his first NHL goal.  I'm guessing a bag of used pucks is all we'll be offered for this loser.  Good thing we got Erik Christensen and a draft pick out of the Wellman trade.  And the signing of Nate Prosser - you better believe that's a clear indication that Zidlicky is sooo outta here. 

News Bulletin - Backstrom Sucks In The Shootout
Okay, this isn't really news to any of us Wild fans.  We've known it for years now.  And the fans are rabid to have Nik pulled in the shootout in favor of bringing in Josh Harding for a real chance at getting that 2nd important point of the game.  Russo and Gorg did a great Point - Counterpoint discussion on this subject during the Russo Radio segment on KFAN Tuesday morning: 2/7 - HR 1 - Russo Radio   I usually side with Russo on all things hockey but on this one I have to say I'm with Gorg.  Backstrom already knows he sucks in the shootout and if bringing in Hards is the answer for the time being then he should want what's best for the team, not his 'fragile' sense of confidence. 

NHL Hit Of The Year - Hands Down

It's a bird, It's a plane...It's Dan Paille :)  Sally was salivating on this play and I don't blame her.  Her boy Orpik done good - clean hit all the way.  Props to Paille for getting up and shaking it off.  That's Honey Badger Worthy!  

For Those Who Haven't Had A Ride On The Honey Badger Train