House Keeping Stuff
Backstrom out for the time being with hip issues - Read Russo. Khudobin (The Hobbit) is with the team to back up Jose. Zhidlicky has separated shoulder and Miettinen has the flu.
Battle of the Goalies
Man, was that a great game or what? Pittsburgh is a tough team to play against, even without Sid the Kid in the lineup. Nice to see the Wild skate with them for the majority of the game and put in another terrific effort all the way through 3 full periods. Theodore vs. Fleury - wow, that's all I can say. Two goalies who were zoned in but as Sally pointed out - the difference between our teams tonight is one of them had defense in front of their goalie and it wasn't hers. All I can say to that is "been there, done that, for the better portion of this season, girlfriend.'
Normally for a Wild/Pens tilt Sally, my favorite Pens friend and fan, would be here sporting her Pens jersey and purse. This weekend Sally is actually back home in Pittsburgh so we exchanged some lively texts throughout the game.
First Period
It's always great to see former Wild players and Pascal Dupuis's monobrow is no exception. How great for him to have found a home with the Pens, getting the playing time and line mates to keep him successful. Also good to see former Golden Gopher Alex Goligoski doing well, okay - just not for this game. He had a rough night.
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Me: "I see your nancy boys are wearing their baby blues tonight."
Sally: "Ya, you betcha!"
Sally: "Nice flukey goal for Kobasew."
Me: "Be it ever so flukey, we call it a 1-0 lead."
Havlat scores, like 10 seconds later making it 2-0.
Sally: "Shut It."
Me: ;<)
Second Period
Powerplays galore in the second period for Minnesota, who are enjoying the second best powerplay percentage in the NHL right now. Too bad for us that Pittsburgh has the number 1 penalty kill in the NHL - and they showed us how it was done. Sally, not so impressed...
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Sally: "Pens leading the league in penalties is NOT a good thing."
Me: "But it's balanced out by Wild giving up 3 shorthanded attempts to Pens while on powerplay."
Me: "Matt Cook sucks, just sayin"
Sally: "I know."
I thought for sure we were going to be in trouble after turning over the puck 3 friggin' times on our powerplay. I had that sinking feeling in my tummy that we were about to be in real trouble. Then we rebounded with our own shorthanded attempt on the ensuing penalty kill when Mikko went off for highsticking. Wild could have been a lot better at going after rebounds - Fleury was handing them out like candy at Halloween there during the second. The Wild got trapped in their own zone late in the period but battled like their lives depended on it! Clutterbuck blocked a Paul Martin shot which left him literally crawling down the tunnel on all fours once he got off the ice. The Pens never let up in the second and the Wild responded with the same - Nice!
Third Period
Gorg - I don't care what the announcers and Mike Russo are saying, I love your tie! I also loved the way Bouchard is battling in the corners without fear. Michalek rips one at the net and hits the post so hard the ping sounded like it was in the room with me! I can only imagine how loud it was in the arena. The Wild again found themselves pinned down in their own zone for the better part of the first half of the third. Finally, the Pens turn over the puck and the Wild are off the races. O'Sully to Clutterbuck for the third goal as he slides into the boards head first. Cal takes a moment to get up and the expression on his face as he's greeted by O'Sully is priceless: 'Hey! We got a goal, eh?!'
**Side Note: It dawns on my why Robyn is so in love with Cal - his expressions are identical to her hubby, Rich's. I don't know why it's taken me this long to see it but now that I do it's unmistakable. I'm sure Rich is comforted in knowing that his wife is puckbunnying over a guy who really resembles him when it comes down to it ;)
Back to our regularly scheduled program...
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Sally: "Nice pass play to Cal."
Me: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."
Wild appear to be getting stronger and are battling 100% right along with the Pens - outstanding effort! Our guys get another powerplay late in the period but void it out with a penalty of their own. Four on four hockey coming up, but Pens pull Fleury for the man advantage. They applied the pressure big time. Brodziak finally gets the puck on his stick and hurls it up in the air hoping for a lofty clock killer and a breather for his linemates. The puck hits the ice, turns end over end and starts rolling, wobbly, towards the Pens empty net...and in the words of Carl Spackler (quick, what movie is this quote from) "It's In The Hole!" The Wild are up 4-0 in the waning moments of the game and the S word is very likely for Theo. But wait, the Wild are their own worst enemies, with or without Zhidlicky in the lineup, and they take a penalty to put them a man short for the remainder of the game. For the second time tonight the Pens ping the post, but Jose comes away with the shutout and gives the Wild their 4th straight win!
Holy Uphill Climb, Hockey Fans - Wild are definitely moving up in the Western Conference! We were in 14th place on December 18 and after tonight's game I think we're in 9th - or possibly the coveted 8th spot. I get confused with the number of games played and the non shoot-out game wins vs losses parts of the equation. The team is making great progress in terms of giving 100% for all 60 minutes and not giving up when their opponent is outworking them. All of this is happening on the road, not a bad thing. But let's see what they do at home on Sunday - less than 24 hours after the Pens game. I'm going to go out on a limb and figure that The Hobbit will be in net for Sunday's throwdown against Dallas. Really it's just more wishful thinking than any kind of 'hockey sense'.
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