Reitz officially called up

Due to Martin Skoula's sore limb, Erik Reitz was offically called up, albeit under emergency conditions. This sort of call-up, under emergency basis, doesn't count towards the allotment that NHL teams are allowed, which is four. Minnesota has used two, on Steve Kelly and Benoit Pouliot, so far. Reitz hasn't skated since March 9th because of an ankle sprain, and now it looks like he's a gametime decision to play in his first career playoff game if Skoula can't limp it out there.
This is bad news.
The irony of me savaging the idea of carrying 8 D all year, and now we're down to 5 and 1/2 to 6 guys in the most important time of the year.

Now on to tonight:

-the Wild have to come out really hard, and play with a sense of urgency. Bury your shoulder in an Avalanche crest every chance you get; BUT, they have to play disciplined. Keeping the penalties to a minimum is a must...

-which leads me to this. The D cannot take a penalty, unless they absolutely have to. No stupid retaliations on Peter Forsberg (Burns), no leaving your position to hit someone (Hill), etc. They have to stay in this game, considering our depth is nil, and there is a chance that there is a rookie on the blueline in Reitz.

-Gaborik, Demitra, and Bouchard have to play better. 1 shot for Gaborik is no good; if these guys can establish some sort of control and are able to dictate play, that will draw attention. That in turn will leave lanes open for the other forward or a pinching D for a scoring chance.

-tighten up Defensively. The OT winner is a prime example of that; guys start to chase, and boom: you're down 1-0 in the series.

-Finally, much to the dismay of those who are still high from the action in the first game...clog up the neutral zone. This is how Edmonton beat us (and Colorado) a few times this year. With guys like Schultz, Foster, and potentially Skoula out, we have to protect guys like Carney, Hill, and maybe Reitz. Take it back to 2003; create turnovers in the neutral zone and try and capitalize off of them. Stay out of our end as much as possible, if not just try and limit what Colorado can do- keep them to the perimeter.

8pm can't come fast enough...


*EDIT* Mike Russo is reporting that Skoula will skate today and play tonight although its up in the air about who will replace Mark Parrish.