Less than 24 hours after being HUMILIATED by the L.A. Kings the Wild pulled on their big boy pants and gave it 100% from the first drop of the puck to the final buzzer Sunday night in Anaheim. Sure, they saw a 3 goal lead in the first period dwindle down to a 1 goal lead when the third period ended but they won. Sure, the Ducks came out in the second period and took control of the game for the next 20 minutes and well into the third but the Wild won. Sure, the Wild were definitely showing their road legs early in the second period but they didn't back down and kept on battling; in the corners, in the faceoff circle, in front of the net and on the blue line. And they won. On nights like this you can't help go to bed smiling.
Wild 3, Ducks 2
Now, on to Columbus and the franchise's sister team. A team the Wild should beat without even trying but all too often plays down to, or worse - lower than, the Blue Jacket's talent level.
Worst player of the 1st period is undoubtedly Zidlicky with Heatley following on his heels. The bad news: Zidlicky's hurt in what appears to be the third concussion victim for the Wild. The good news: (just being brutally honest here) I didn't really notice his absence other than the remianing D had to pick up his minutes. Good for Falk and Prosser to show their stuff. Great work by Stoner who's playing with a broken finger that isn't anywhere near healed enough to be playing. I know about broken fingers.
Props to Coach Dave for getting me going on this: Hey San Jose...got room for another Wild player trade...we got a slightly bruised waste of a Dman up for grabs. Just send us a bag of used pucks and we'll call it even.
The second period had the Wild coming out with their legs under them and a look of sheer determination on their faces. Cullen scored on the powerplay to cut the lead in half and 20 seconds later Johnson sent a beautiful wrister into the net to tie the game. Our shots on goal doubled, no thanks to Koivu who continues to pass up on point blank opportunities by passing the puck off to a team mate with no clear shot at all.
The Wild were tired and it showed in the third period but they continued to battle. Props to Bouchard on the blueline for the Wild powerplay. Props to Koivu for actually taking a shot on goal, while on the powerplay. Clutterbuck scored off a textbook pass from Bouchard and the Wild take the lead. Just a minute later the Blue Jackets give Backstrom a run for his money but Niklas says "oh, no you don't!". Backstrom was kept busy in the second half of the third period to give Columbus their due credit. Which is a really nice way of pointing out that the Wild couldn't clear their own zone for love nor money. Columbus getting way too many shots on goal and Backstrom had to be sharp on a number of them. Jackets pulled their goaltender with 1:33 left. It took several attempts and a turnover gift from the Jackets onto Setoguchi's stick but the empty netter by Devin seals the deal for the Wild.
Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2
Tough road trip deserves: Hysterical post gamer from Youngblood at the Strib from a grammatical standpoint. He apparently filed the article via his smart phone which had the Auto Speller functionality on. Click Here!
Deep Thoughts
- HUGE WIN by Wild to wrap up what feels like month long road trip into Western Time Zone black hole.
- The remaining 5 Dmen were outstanding, especially SPURGE!
- Cullen continues to amp up his game, no doubt thanks to his wife's uh, vocal support ;)
- Clutterbuck is starting to show he's more than just a hit specialist.
- The bad news: Wild's top line can't score for love nor money. The good news: Wild's other lines are getting the job done.
- I'm wondering what it is that Heatley and Setoguchi bring to the team...maybe it's time to drop Koivu from the top line and insert Cullen or PMB? Just a thought.
- The bad blood between these 2 teams continued tonight in the first period with 4 misconducts and 2 majors handed out. PMB definitely not in the running for the Lady Bing trophy this year.
At The End Of The Day, He's A Hockey Dad
Alex Dagget, Coach Dave's daughter, plays defense for the Apple Valley High School girl's hockey team. Apple Valley hosted the East Ridge Girls team Tuesday night. Most folks remember that Kelvin Walz played for East Ridge last year, his senior year, and that Wes was a part of the coaching staff there. Wes also has a couple of daughters and one of them plays for the East Ridge girls team. He was on hand at AVHS Tuesday night to watch his daughter's team, which also includes The Wild's head coach's daughter.
Apple Valley beat East Ridge 3 - 0 and, for now, boast an undefeated record for the season (3-0). Next up: The AVHS girls take on Wayzata this Thursday. Hey Coach!, who's got the tickets for the Wild game Thursday? ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment