And the award goes to...

...giving credit to those who deserve it.

You can't make this up

Check this out.

No Bologna

-I got a new column at faceoffcircle.net, which you can enjoy over tea and crumpets here.

-check out Mike Russo's Q & A's with Doug Risebrough and Jacques Lemaire

-since we can look toward the Draft, NHL.com has some nice writeups about prospects you'll see get their name called this June.

From the Driving Range...

Its funny how the season ends, and I have a hard time getting myself to write something here; there is still plenty to talk about, maybe all summer long...
-Erik Reitz and Benoit Pouliot were reassigned to Houston, where the Aeros are tied 1-1 in their Calder Cup Quarterfinal with the Rockford Ice Hogs. I asked Mike Russo about James Sheppard possibly heading south with to join the team (Nick Schultz spent some time with the Aeros during a playoff run a few years ago, and he was just 19 at the time) but Assistant GM (and Aeros GM) Tom Lynn said Sheppard couldn't go because he wasn't on the "Clear Day Roster", which was set around the time of the Trade Deadline. The "Clear Day Roster" essentially names players who are able to play with the team come playoff time, with the exceptions being amateur try-outs; Colton Gillies and Ryan Jones (who scored the game-winning goal off a Danny Irmen feed in the 2nd OT to tie the series at one) would be examples of this.
-Turns out Branko Radivojevic tore his right ACL early in the series, and Russo said Doug Risebrough seemed to indicate that Radio wouldn't be resigned. His knee surgery and rehab will keep him off the ice for at least 4-6 months.
-I actually agreed with Jim Souhan's column today. Does that make me sick?

I heard an interesting question posed on KFAN: Did this season match your expectations?
It depends on the person answering, but I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Considering how we finished last year in the Divison (we were in the hunt for the title until the end), everyone should have expected that we would contend for the Division Title after having a "new roster" with a full season under their belt. Granted, around the trade deadline things looked pretty hairy, but they pulled it out. Now, taking that same period of inadequacy along with everything else, did anyone really expect a Cup run?
I didn't foresee another unceremonious 1st Round dismissal (again, credit goes to the Avs), but I don't know I could see them getting past the first round- there were to many contingencies and question marks, and like it was illustrated plain as day, injuries will occur, and our depth was exploited. On top of that, the West is just too good for a fragile team to keep advancing, barring some sort of mysticism. Could you see us moving past a Detroit, San Jose, or Dallas, three teams who OWNED us all season.
But before we get too down, we did come back from the near-dead to win our first Division Title, giving us something to celebrate this fall when the banner is raised; however with that banner comes raised expectations.
In a way that magical run of 2003 has spoiled us all; its now the high water mark for a franchise, ironically it was a team far less talented than the editions we see year after year. Who would have ever thought over-achieving could be detrimental? Now this year's early exit stings a bit more, not just because its a first round exit; this, coupled with last year's trouncing (and subsequent knee-jerk reaction to getting tough), have become a trend that many are now highlighting- that the team that Minnesota ices still hasn't accomplished as much as the plucky little squad from 2002-2003, when on paper they should have. (If you think its bad here, just imagine what its like in Detroit when they continually rack up the President's Cups, but no Stanley Cups.)

So here's what's left; questions.
1. Marian Gaborik
2. The UFA's...Rolston, Demitra, and Co., and to an extent Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
3. Jacques Lemaire
4. Doug Risebrough, who has enough on his plate even without having his name thrown around for the vacant Toronto GM spot
5. The Entry Draft

Stay tuned...

#6...Colorado 2, Minnesota 1...Colorado wins the series 4-2...so when's the tee time?

...mine is at 12:45.

Well, outside of a 10 minute spurt after scoring their only goal (a beauty from Aaron Voros off Marian Gaborik's only point this postseason), I felt that Minnesota just didn't come to play; it never really seemed like there was a sense of urgency, or desperation, and it showed. Truly disappointing as a Minnesota fan, to watch and see no spark.
I will give all things Colorado Avalanche serious credit; Jose Theodore, who if he were to stay hot like he is, could propel the Avs beyond just the next series. He was very good in the sense that he rarely had to make that acrobatic, highlight reel save, but was on top of everything, blocked everything, smothered nearly every rebound...and those that he didn't always seemed to trickle away from the crease area with no repercussion. They got contributions from a lot of players; Wojtek Wolski and Andrew Brunette in particular, but also a cast of worker bees who lack star quality; David Jones, Cody McLeod (yeah I said it), Ruslan Salei, etc. This is exactly what you need from a team in order to advance; the star players are going to get an immense amount of energy and attention (see Marian Gaborik and his 1 point), so the other players have to step up, and in Colorado's case they did. Ryan Smyth sure picked a great time to come alive this season...
Minnesota lead in this series for about 4-5 minutes total. When that happens, the toll of tying the score or trying to go ahead justs that much more exhausting, and when you're constantly playing catch up, the opposing team can just go into a shell and make you do all the work; last night was a perfect example. Stack 'em up at the blueline, make us dump it deep and chase after it (which is the only option we had, much to the chagrin of a lot of folks watching the game), and make us make a play; otherwise they just retrieve the puck, make a pass in transition and go, or at the very least just flip it out of the zone. And then just repeat until there is no time on the clock.
Its a fashionable time for Wild Nation to start with the excuses; the injuries, the bounces, luck, the refs, etc; maybe that's easier than just admitting we got flat out beat by the better team.

What they are saying:
-Mike Russo
-Denver Post
-Adrian Dater
-Tom Powers
-Pioneer Press
-Draft Dodger from In The Cheap Seats
-View From Section 216
-Freaking Jim Souhan
-Rocky Mountain News


And finally this, also from the Rocky Mountain News.

The season's on the line...

-Justifiably so, a lot of talk this morning concerns Marian Gaborik and his lack of production so far in this series.

-Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press talks about how you're gonna see a repeat of 2003.

-Dave Krieger of The Rocky Mountain News talks about how The Avs can't afford to drag their feet tonight.

-I don't even know why I am posting this. Souhan will be the first guy (unless Pat Reusse gets there first) to champion Minnesota if they do get out of the first round.

-After Sean Avery did his best to get under his skin, Martin Brodeur didn't shake Avery's hand following the Rangers eliminating the Devils last night.

-Ok...a little preface here. This might be offensive to some, but I thought it was pretty damn funny. Hitler's reaction to the Vancouver Canucks missing the playoffs.

-This is exactly why the NHL has a tendency to suck serious scroat. What is the harm, and why tamper with tradition? That's why they have Zamboni's...also check this out. 25 octopi per game!

-The lineup tonight will be the same from Thursday, unless one of the "taxi squad" shows something incredible in practice.

Dear god, we need a win.

#5...Colorado 3, Minnesota 2...No Time For Moral Victories

The beauty of hockey...you can take it to a team for 40 minutes, yet get nothing, and in fact lose the game. Jose Theodore deserves all the credit for this game; he made big saves on Brent Burns, Brian Rolston, James Sheppard, Todd Fedoruk, Marian Gaborik, the fan sitting in section 122 row 12 seat 10, Wally The Beer Man, his own defenseman after a gaffe, the usher who sits by the elevators, and finally the nice old lady who works the carved meat sandwich station. You get the picture(so does Woody Paige.)
The beauty of hockey...after dominating the first two periods (with only one goal to their credit), they come out and have a bad first shift, take a penalty, give up a power play goal, and set the tone for the third period, which also meant Paul Stastny getting off the schnide with a beauty of a back handed goal to make the lead an almost insurmountable 3-1 lead.
The beauty of hockey...the home team now has to go to enemy territory, with their backs absolutely against the wall and win, otherwise the local Minnesota golf courses will be seeing a spike in business. Even the numbers are against us, considering the team that wins game 5 has won 80% of every playoff series.
How confident can Minnesota be when considering how well they played last night, and lost to a team that admittedly came out "flat"? Even yet, manage to get more than one puck past Jose Theodore, who apparently is channeling Ken Dryden?
Minnesota desperately needs Marian Gaborik to find his game, or to approach this game in a manner where he can succeed in some form or another. Immense credit does go to Adam Foote and Kurt Sauer, but I believe Gaborik has to alter his game in the sense of the way he attacks. This time of year no team in their right mind are gonna give you the space to go wide around a defender, or let him push the puck through their skates to get around the D. That's the half of it; there is no doubt that Gaborik has put just an insane amount of pressure on himself to be the man, especially this time of the year, and its a huge reason why Minnesota is now down in the series 3 games to 2.
I thought Erik Reitz was solid, considering last night was his first game in a month, and his first NHL game this year. He played smart, making a nice poke check to negate a 2 on 1 and had a few nice hits. If it were up to me, he'd be in the lineup tomorrow night. On the whole the D played well, until that Sean Hill penalty which turned the tide at the beginning of the third.
So that's where it stands; They have to win Saturday, but the mindset could be very fragile; either build off of last night and move forward, or shrink back into pity me mode. You can count on Colorado moving in for the kill.
-Judd Zulgad wrote a piece ripping Dan Terhaar and Mike Greenlay for the amount of pissing and moaning made about the calls and non-calls that Minnesota isn't getting.

Brunch Time

-Mikko Koivu gets some love.


-Mark Kiszla is at it again. Man, Stephane Veilleux is getting hammered in the media- I'm not saying he should have ran Paul Stastny into the glass, but for someone to tell me that Ian Laperriere or Cody McLeod wouldn't be running people if the Avs were down 4 goals is pure ignorance.

-Alot of talk about how The D core need to regroup and play better. Looks like Erik Reitz, a veteran of 6 NHL games, is in tonight for sure. Reitz has said his ankle is good to go, but you have to question how rusty he is since he hasn't played in nearly 6 weeks. If he is up to speed, I do like his mobility and he does play with a bit of sandpaper, and has some decent offensive acumen.. The times I have seen him, he does wander a bit like Sean Hill to make a hit, but I think if it gets drilled in his head that he has to stay at home we could be in good shape; at least we got a pair of fresh legs on the back end. Still a risky proposition.
Russo also insinuated that there were to be some changes at forward; Lemaire said Reitz is in for Petteri Nummelin, although there is a chance that Nummelin could be moved to forward. I've said it before, and Russo is on the bandwagon, but I'd like to see Benoit Pouliot get some shifts...like I said before, he can play any forward position, can skate, shoot, and score.



and finally, to cheer up the crowd and whet some appetites...

#4...Colorado 5, Minnesota 1 (no OT)...Not Enough Schnapps For This One

Ya, well the score says it all; it isn't one of those scores that can give a misrepresentation of the actual play. Colorado flat out came to play tonight, and I think the presumably tired Wild squad just didn't- The Avs skated around us all night, which inevitably led to frustration, which then lead to penalties, and in the end we can all revel in the immense amount of penalty minutes accrued by our favorite team (NHL.com says 25 penalties for 91 minutes, but I think its like 111 or so. Impressive nonetheless.)
It wasn't a pretty game to watch from a Minnesota standpoint penalties non withstanding; defensive zone turnovers (which led to a couple goals), heavy legs, very little chemistry and flow, and just an overall lack of crispness. When you come out as poorly as we did tonight, its easy for a team like Colorado (or any team really) to jump up to an early lead and continue to extend it. I do want to give Colorado credit, because they capitalized on an out of sync and frustrated team.
I was disappointed with the officiating; not so much in the "I'm a homer and everything should go Minnesota's way", but in the sense that I think the game was poorly handled as the game went on. There were some incredibly dicey calls, some you could consider complete reaches. I can understand the need and want to keep the game from spiraling out of control; obviously the league doesn't want some sort of incident to happen (not specifically talking about Chris Simon here, but a bad hit, intent to injure, etc.) but on the same hand, let the guys play. This is the playoffs. There is a fine line between guiding the game and controlling it, and to me I thought that the refs began to control it. (before I get jumped on about this, I want to explain that alot of the stuff I am talking about happened after the score was out of hand. Is there really a need for a gray-area, ticky-tacky hooking call when the score is 5-1?)
Just watching Jacques Lemaire's presser, he was correct in his assessment that while some guys just weren't ready to play (not an excuse), that the bench were taken off whatever game they had by focusing in on what wasn't getting called, or that some of the Avs were diving (Insert Peter Forsberg's name here.) In the grand scheme of things, that sort of thing is best left for the fans; we are the ones that should complain about that sort of thing while the players play.
This series would be over by now if we didn't have Mikko Koivu, who seems like he is bound and determined to carry this team. He scored his 4th goal of the series, a shorthanded goal, early in the third period. He tied a team record by scoring in his fourth consecutive game. And on the flipside, Marian Gaborik was shut down again. Its easy to digest a scoreless effort when there are 9 shots attached to it, but he just wasn't anywhere on the map tonight, which is now a very disturbing trend. A lot of folks are under the assumption that he will break out and score, but time is starting to run out, and the stakes are getting higher.
So it is what it is- a chance to go home with a 3-1 series lead is met with a resounding ass-whipping. Now the series is tied at 2, and all is left is essentially a three game series.

What everyone else is saying

-
Ken Campbell of the Hockey News

-Joe from Mile High Hockey

-Draft Dodger from In The Cheap Seats. This is a great blog, check it out when you get the chance.

#3...Minnesota 3, Colorado 2 (OT...again)...Race Against Time

Now before I go any further, please indulge yourself in this piece of so-called journalism. The author Mark Kiszla sounds bitter and jaded, not so much about our favorite hockey team, but against THE ENTIRE STATE OF MINNESOTA. Odd, I know. He must have not liked the movie "Fargo".
(Its amazing to me that guys like Kiszla and Adrian Dater are paid journalists for the Denver Post.)
Now, somehow I was afforded the luxury of catching the game on local television (Foooorty-Five) and on Versus (which I thought was blacked out?) Vs. may have well just been Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, considering the sentiment during the telecast, and on Hockey Central is that this is Colorado's series to lose, even though they are the 6th seed (not like that means much) and lost the season series to Minnesota. On the whole, its not unlike 2003; its all about "the upstart Wild trying to upset the mighty Colorado Avalanche" and "how Colorado lost again."
The notion of fly-over country just won't die.
Should we have expected anything less than another overtime? If you haven't caught on now, these teams are matched up so evenly, if not painfully, that for a third game in a row our heart rates were forced to race and our blood pressure continued to raise. More hits, saves, shots, goals (ranging from the ugliest of ugly to pretty little set-ups), and all around drama which does great from the ratings and notoriety standpoint (this series by now should be the series to watch) but nevertheless continues to shorten the lifespan of all the parties involved.
In a bit of irony it was what Colorado does that did them in; the puck control along the wall which leaves space in the middle of the zone for a scoring chance. I'm not going to dramatize the Brian Rolston/Jeff Finger play of the puck, saying that it was a footrace, or that it was anything more than one of those "playoff bounces"; the puck could have easily gone off the back of the net and around, which would have made Finger look like a genius when he split off from Rolston. However it didn't, which enabled Rolston to get the puck, and control it along the half wall until he caught Pierre-Marc Bouchard streaking down the middle of the zone, who subsequently fired the puck past a down Ruslan Salei and Jose Theodore for Bouchard's "biggest goal so far."

Again Minnesota was shut out for the first two periods, only to come storming back in the 3rd period which is in stark contrast to the regular season. The Modus Operandi of Minnesota all year long was to play hard the first 40, and then coast (or just come out lacking the same intensity) only to let the opponent back in the game. Looks like they picked up at the right time; they're getting goals when it counts, which can shift the momentum in their favor, although inevitably, it seems, that Colorado will score late (under some dubious circumstances) to tie it, send it to overtime, and keep people up late past their bed time.
(I would like to think that bosses everywhere are just a little more empathetic this time of year.)
I want to praise the penalty killers, snubbing Colorado's man advantage 6 times (I know it was 7 penalties, but one of them was coincidental with Sean Hill and Peter Forsberg serving time and feeling shame. Although anytime you get Forsberg in the box you can call it a minor victory.) The 2nd period was incredibly dicey, when it seemed like the Wild took penalty after penalty after penalty, and responded with a beauty of a 2 on 1 with Brian Rolston converting a dandy of a Pavol Demitra feed.

The two teams go again tonight; I've already heard alot of people giving Colorado the win before they return to St. Paul (and back to that more sensible 8pm starting time.) Sure, the Avalanche had a record of 6-4 in back-to-back games; but Minnesota had a stellar 8-4-2 record. Will the aging Avalanche have anything left in the tank, or will it be Minnesota that comes out stale?

Hot off the Press

I have a new column at Faceoffcircle.net, which you can enjoy here.

The AM Wire...Rocky Mountain Way

Anyone else think that Joe Walsh may be slightly retarded?

Anyways...

-A Tale of Two Blogs: The Strib's Mike Russo is getting needled for picking the Avs in 6 while Adrian Dater of the Denver Post is pleading for Avs fans to make some noise. Dater is such a tool.

-Here's a story about Colton Gillies and his play in Houston so far.

-In Russo's Blog he mentions that Branko Radivojevic is wearing a knee brace; Jacques Lemaire says he is out for tonight, while Doug Risebrough says he isn't; that Branko is day-to-day. This could really hurt, considering now we are in Denver. If he truly can't go, I wonder how the Wild will attempt to matchup with Colorado's scoring lines, now that Joel Quenneville has the last change.
The key for tonight is Marian Gaborik; he has to have an impact in this game. I am not necessarily talking about scoring 4 goals (which would be nice), but dictating the play; using his teammates and even drawing penalties will do. If he can establish himself early, then Colorado will have to focus on him even more. Taking the wind out of the Pepsi Center will be key (although maybe that won't be that hard- see above.) Hell, I'd like to see him just crash the net once or twice.

Easy, like Sunday Morning

-John Shipley's got a nice story about Todd Fedoruk, and how he's been a huge find. Personally, I'd give Fridge a new deal at season's end; not only is he contributing on the ice, but he's a good locker room guy, and a funny quote to read in the paper.

-Apparently Brian Rolston is going to be sought after by The New York Rangers. It seems like Rags go after everyone...

-Apparently Peter Forsberg never considered signing with Minnesota. Thanks goes to Adrian Dater's succinct explanantion. I can see why Avs fans hate the guy.

-Hockey's Future has a Q&A with Minnesota's Ryan Jones.

What an Enterprising Young Man

Douglas Murray, a defenseman for the San Jose Sharks, was apparently an enterprising guy during his days at Cornell.

Interested in said product? Go Here.

#2...Minnesota 3, Colorado 2 (OT)...High Anxiety

After last night's game, the second installment of overtime, fans of both team have to wonder out loud "how much more can my heart take?" At this rate, I'll have to hook up a car battery to my heart via jumper cables.
Again, what a clash. More up and down action, overt physicality (The Demitra hit on Peter Forsberg may have drawn the biggest response the entire night), great saves, a semi-breakaway, etc. It makes for great drama (and stress!) how it seems like there is a constant ebb and flow of momentum, that it seems like neither team can emerge with a vice grip on the play. For instance I thought Colorado controlled the play for the most part; they would gain the offensive zone and just keep the puck in; and if the puck got out, usually a Wild player got pasted into the boards by one, sometimes two, Avs. Even then, Colorado would block a shot or two if they ever got pinned down in their zone (The Avalanche blocked 23 shots last night.)
Peter Forsberg is emerging as a force now; aside from his "style of play", Forsberg is producing now- a nice goal late in the first, and also an assist. His clashes with Brent Burns are becoming epic, but the beauty of Forsberg's game is that the harder you play him, the more effective he is. He's not like other players in that aspect. You can hit him, cross check him, pancake him in the boards, but its not going to stop him- in fact there is a greater chance that whoever is on Forsberg detail will get sucked into some sort of retaliation, and perhaps a penalty. We all know the "act", so I think as this series goes on Burns, Johnsson, etc. have to create a distinction between being effective and going too far; Burns has gone to the box twice already this series due to Forsberg run-ins, and considering how much the blueline corps is leaning on Burns to be The Guy, he, and the team, and Wild Nation, can't afford to lose him, even for two minutes.
If Forsberg isn't got Burns on his back, then he has to contend with Mikko Koivu, who was far and away the best Minnesota player on the ice yesterday. Two goals and an assist so far, and also won 11 of 20 faceoffs. Patrick Reusse has a column talking about how Koivu is becoming a star.
But now heading to Colorado, the question lingers about Branko Radivojevic's injury. He had to be helped off the ice after getting knocked down, but gutted it out and kept playing although there was a noticeable limp from time to time as he went back to the bench. This could be a key injury; Radio is a key cog in a line that will see an insane amount of time now that Colorado bench boss Joel Quenneville will have the last change and be able to dictate the matchups. If Radio can't play, then someone will have to fill in, or that checking line will have to be split up.
I think a thing worth mentioning was how Colorado used the center of the offensive zone; for example Peter Forsberg's goal. He came down the wing, and cut across to the middle of the zone (around the top of the circles), and whistled a shot through a screen, against the grain, past Nik Backstrom (another great effort from him) for the goal. I saw this happen a few more times; this is something to work on, considering how shaky Backstrom can be when he gets caught moving laterally.

But for now, everyone gets a few days to try and lower their heart rate.

-About the Johnsson hooking call at the end, I thought it was dicey, considering Smyth was already falling. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post thinks the fans at the X were being babies about it. The funniest part are the comments; I've been told that Dater is extremely disliked by Avs fans.

-What series is this guy watching?

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.

Freaking awesome news

Apparently there is something amiss with Martin Skoula, reports Mike Russo. He's reportedly got a "sore leg" and is possible for tomorrow's game. Erik Reitz is in town, however he is still working his way back from an ankle sprain that has sidelined him since March 9.

So, in a nutshell, we are very close to being immensely screwed. Someone go give Nick Schultz some HGH or something to heal that wound of his...

GAME 1...Colorado 3, Minnesota 2 (OT)...Take It On The Run

What can you say about tonight's game, just the first of what could be seven? In no order we saw:
Post shots
No Goal Calls
Penalty Shot (honestly who else was dreading that moment?)
Highlight Reel Saves
Great Passing
Huge hits
Great crowd
Toe Drag
Overtime
...and a bit of fighting.

Yes, its disappointing that we come out on the bad end of the score, but man, what a game. Minnesota had chances to score throughout the game, but had just as many sequences where they were pinned in the zone fending off Colorado; that's a dangerous game to play. For me, its not so much that we didn't score more (that Brent Burns/Stephane Veilleux 2 on 1 was such a golden opportunity), but that we got too caught up in the end to end style of play.
As a fan, you can't really fault just one person for playing poor- on the whole I thought the Wild were really good, if not dominating at times, and that its just a lucky bounce that went Colorado's way. I really thought James Sheppard was very good, and it surprised me that Jacques Lemaire showed that much confidence in the 19 year old; along with the youngster I thought Derek Boogaard was exceptional, considering what he is and what he is supposed to do. Boogaard was effective in all 3 zones (I can't believe I just wrote that) and maybe he can be more than just a 3 minute-a-game guy. But like I said, I thought everyone was good.
The main question now is how is Mark Parrish doing- the tv telecast only showed one replay of the Ruslan Salei hit on Parrish, and even then it was a poor angle (filmed somewhere up in the rafters or something.) On Mike Russo's blog he mentions that all he was told was that it was a head injury, which doesn't bode well for Parrish, or the overall depth of Minnesota. We've already lost Nick Schultz, and now Parrish- if it was me, I might go with Benoit Pouliot. I know the kid's still green, but he can play the wing and center, and can be effective offensively, and could provide some time at center so guys like Demitra, Koivu, and Belanger can catch an extra breather.
Now that game one is in the books I'd say the focus will be trying to eliminate the prolonged sequences of play in the Wild end; I felt that the forecheck was pretty good tonight, but maybe they could drop a guy back (there were times where I saw two forecheckers coming in for the puck) just to clog up the neutral zone a bit, to where to don't have the initial Avalanche player gain the blue line and drop it back for the trailing teammate for a shot. That's where I thought things got iffy.
B
ut anyways, it sucks to lose, but it was great entertainment. Bring on Friday.

On the eve...

-You have to check this out. Poor Pierre McGuire...

-And finally...LET US REJOICE! No more Mick McGeough!

Play by the Rules

Jibble Scribbits, an Avs blog, has put forth rules for inter-blog trash talk.

Celebrity Lookalikes

All in the spirit of the playoffs...

Toward the end of the write-up marathon

-I wrote a Wild Playoff Preview at FaceoffCircle.Net, which can be found here.

-Adrian Dater from the Denver Post Has got the Wild winning in 6.

-Just in time for the playoffs, get to know your Minnesota Wild Nicknames.

-The Sale of The Wild to Craig Leipold gets the Final OK.

-Brent Burns was named to "Pierre McGuire's All-Monster Team", Burnsie was on The 2nd team defense with Mike Komisarek of Montreal. If I can find video of it I will.

-Tampa Bay Tampa Bay officially won the Steven Stamkos Sweepstakes.

-The Top Plays of The Week:

The Final Report Card

82 games down; 16 to go. Here's my thought on each one of the Wild players from this past year.

Marian Gaborik...A...What can you say? A 5 goal game, a team record 42 goals and 83 points, and the C. This summer looms though...

Pavol Demitra...C...His lowest offensive output ever, and I just don't see him being here this fall.

Mikko Koivu...A...Despite missing 24 games, Koivu is a beast out there. He's only going to get better.

Brian Rolston...B...Don't let the 3rd consecutive 30 goal season fool you, there were long stretches of indifferent play this season.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard...B...Another career year, broke the assist record, but again there were stretches (17 games and 18 games) without a goal. He had 20 last year, just 13 this year.

Eric Belanger...B-/C+...Started strong, but his offense stopped; however he played with as a checking line center until he broke his foot and has emerged as a locker room leader.

Mark Parrish...C...Wasn't he a captain last year this time? Still got 16 goals despite his playing time getting usurped.

James Sheppard...B...Wasn't supposed to play a team record 78 games as a rookie; shows flashes of what he can do, but also is quiet.

Aaron Voros...C...Came out hot, now relegated to taking bad penalties and sitting in the press box.

Derek Boogaard...INC...one dimensional, but has missed alot of time with a janky back.

Todd Fedoruk...B+...what a find on the waiver wire; he's gone from fight fodder to first line winger.

Chris Simon...INC...much maligned, but I think his value will show in the playoffs.

Benoit Pouliot...INC...he's starting to show what he can do, but again its a matter of numbers so he's sitting.

Steve Kelly...INC...Who?

Stephane Veilleux...B...Played great early in the year, got hurt and hit a lull, and is back to playing great. Very unheralded.

Branko Radivojevic...C+...Went from the edge of the waiver wire to playing fantastic shutdown defense.

Matt Foy...C...I don't get it with Foy; whenever he scores, he ends up sitting the next game.

Brent Burns...A...The sky is the limit.

Nick Schultz...A...quietly the most consistent guy on the team; that appendectomy is gonna kill us.

Kim Johnsson...B+...he's quietly been playing great over the past 2 months.

Martin Skoula...B...you take the good with the bad; but along with Johnsson they've had a great run over the past 2 months.

Keith Carney...D...nothing like the Carney of last year; bad turnovers, penalties, and his last run as a Wild player.

Sean Hill...D...nevermind the suspension, he has to stop running around in order to hit people. Especially now.

Petteri Nummelin...D...almost quit the team a few months ago, and now is thrust into the light for the playoffs. The pokecheck > you.

Kurtis Foster...C...I'm not the biggest Foster guy around, but the horrific injury has hurt us real bad right now.

Josh Harding...C...he's still a "rookie", but he's really struggled at times; his puck handling is atrocious.

Niklas Backstrom...B+...was iffy at first, but is dynamite right now; thank god there aren't shootouts in the playoffs.

The Coaching Staff...A...Lemaire got #500, Tremblay is developing Burns, Bob Mason has gotten Backstrom back on track, and Mike Ramsey can almost fly; the team has suffered without Rammer on the bench.

Overall...B+...While some things are desired, they still got their first banner.

#82...Minnesotans Abroad

"Well I hope I'm not like them, but I'm not so sure..."

So goes the song "Americans Abroad" by Against Me!; for a bachelor party, myself and four other fellas (and Wild fans) flew out to Denver to catch the season finale, and what ended up being the precursor to the first round of the playoffs.
I recommend dropping yourself in enemy territory (well maybe not Calgary) and attend a game. It was fascinating; you feel apart of a fraternity of sorts, nodding heads and talking to other Wild fans whom you otherwise would ignore back in St. Paul. To be honest, it was nice to see so many Wild jerseys in the crowd, although our seats in the Club level kind of singled us out.
Aside from some young kids who were egged on by their parents to talk a little smack (all in good fun), I found many of the Avalanche fans who came up and talked to us at Brooklyn's (a bar right next door to the Pepsi Center) to be very nice, complimentary, and relieved to be playing Minnesota this week, and not San Jose. Likewise with the other Minnesota fans who came and congregated around our patio table; some drunker than others, but it was nice to meet those who remain faithful despite being in Avalance territory (Chris and Tammy you better read my blog!)
As for the game, you could tell that Minnesota came into the game that there wasn't any real reason to sacrifice life and limb; this game meant little, aside from dictating what playoff matchup will occur. It so happened that if Colorado won, The Avs would be St. Paul bound.
So for the most part you saw a team going through the motions, until it seemed like they really gave it some effort at the end just push it to overtime; I think the message was that "we're not gonna roll over" despite fielding what you could consider their JV squad. Conversely, the win still gives the Avalanche a bit of confidence going into the playoffs, knowing that they can hang with the Wild.
Josh Harding really needs to work on his puck handling skills; he was atrocious, and again gave up a few chances based off of poor decisions and puck handling. I thought Sean Hill regressed in his play, returning to running around the defensive zone in order to make a big hit. This cannot happen come Wednesday, especially with the news that Nick Schultz will be out at least this first series; Hill is going to be asked to shoulder some of the load, and running around taking penalties is not going to work.
The tone was set toward the end of the third period with some dust-ups between Ian Laperriere and Marian Gaborik. The Avs, who were privately displeasured with the physicality enacted on Peter Forsberg last week, sent the message that Gaborik will get physical attention this series; after a semi-dirty hit by Laperriere late in the 3rd, the two met up at the end of overtime to trade punches. Imagine my surprise when the horn blows and I look down to see Marian Gaborik, sans gloves, throwing punches.
So its all set; a harkening back to 2003, but the roles are reversed. The Wild and the Avs square off tomorrow night.

Ouch.

This is no good.

Wild Prospect Receives Honors

The ECHL announced its All-ECHL First Team yesterday, with Wild Prospect Anton Khudobin getting the honors for goaltender. Khudobin was a 7th round pick in 2004, and signed an entry level deal last summer, and has seen time with the Houston Aeros this year.

Ryan Jones tidbits plus more treats

Watch for Todd Fedoruk dancing at the end. Funniest thing ever.


-Here is an article from the Chatham Daily News and another one from College Hockey News about Wild Signee Ryan Jones. It appears that Tommy Thompson feels that Jones can contend for a roster spot right away this fall.

-Here is an editorial I found which talks about Hockey Blogging and Journalism. Interesting read.

-Minnesota getting the gas face from NBC?

-Since they bombed out and missed the playoffs, Everyone can laugh at Vancouver.

-Terry Frei feels that Canada just does it better.

#81...The Biggest Game of The Season WAS TONIGHT...07-08? Ya, it was a Banner Year

How does that Notorious B.I.G. song go; "went from ashy to classy...haha, I like that."

By way of Marian Gaborik's 3 goals, I mean 2 third period goals (apparently the play is dead even when the ref is thinking about blowing the whistle. Odd. So does that mean if a ref is hedging on whether or not to blow the whistle during play that the entire sequence is dead because he's thinking about it?), strong play from the checking line (Jarome Iginla = 1 assist, as harmless as you can get with him), some finesse play from Todd Fedoruk, and the calming bench presence of Fedoruk and Chris Simon, Minnesota beat Calgary to hang their first ever Division Title Banner. It's not just me that felt this was the biggest game of the season; last night the Xcel Energy Center was full, but not just the traditional 18,568- the building was freaking packed from top to bottom. You could cut the excitement in the air with one of those chef knives you see getting hawked on the Food Network.
Despite the inauspicious start, The Wild responded with Todd Fedoruk's power play goal to tie it up, and essentially restarting the game. I can't tell you how well The Fridge played last night; crashing the net, even going wide on a Flames Defender and cutting in toward Miikka Kiprusoff for a prime scoring chance. T-Fed can flat out play; despite what it may look like on paper, Fridge fits in seamlessly with Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra.
But this is what got people really into it; and despite what Jacques Lemaire worries about, I am willing to guess that the team got a boost from this:



Now here's the Rogers Sportsnet broadcast of the same fight:



Seriously, were the announcers bitching about how Burns' sweater came off? Funny how Greenlay and Terhaar called Phaneuf's hit an elbow, and the Rogers team is talking about how Burns' should get a penalty for his jersey coming off.
Fellas- the jersey came off because your boy was hanging onto Burns' sleeve, and in order to not get knocked around without a fight, Burns had to get his hand free.
Then it was over for Dion. Not just the fight, but also for the game. You could hard pressed to find anything of note that Phaneuf did afterwards.

What impressed me most was how The Wild came out in the Third Period determined to put their foot on Calgary's neck. It was the killer instinct that I harped about that they lacked nearly all season. Gaborik takes a long pass, tips it past Adrian Aucoin, and the rifles a shot past Kiprusoff, throwing the crowd in a frenzy. An absolute frenzy; I've been to my fair share of games, but nothing has ever been as loud as that third period- Gaboriks's goal, Gaborik's no goal, and Gaborik's 2nd goal. Lemaire credited Fedoruk and Chris Simon for keeping the bench calm during the no-goal; Simon also gave the fans credit for the roar the Wild received after killing Brian Rolston's holding penalty early in the 3rd.
Finally; the roar that began to build with 2 and a half minutes left in the game was monstrous. Everyone (except the little packs of Flames nerds that were sprinkled in amongst the crowd) was on their feet for the countdown, erupting when the final horn blew.
It was awesome, not just for those who were there, but for everyone in Wild Nation.
-Congrats to Jacques Lemaire on his 500th win, and to Nik Backstrom for his 33rd win, a franchise record. Backstrom, aside from overplaying the Daymond Langkow's goal, was superb last night. He has returned to the form of last season.

This says it all...for now.

Got a nice ring to it.

More on tonight's game tomorrow (or I guess yesterday's game today.)

Tonight's Da Nite

-As expected, newly signed Ryan Jones was selected to to Hobey Hattrick, along with Kevin Porter of Michigan (the heavy favorite) and Nathan Gerbe of Boston College.

-Mike Russo and Kent Youngblood, along with some players, break down tonight's tilt with Calgary as a playoff primer.

-Minnesota Gets some props over at NHL.com.

And just because I feel like it, Here's some classic Redman for that ass.

Grab Bag

-Here's the transcript from a Jacques Lemaire teleconference call.

-According to Mike Russo, Ryan Jones will be signing a 1 year deal and an ATO this afternoon. He'll finish the year in Houston.

-There is a new Hockey Ops Blog At Wild.Com, although I never really get what sort of insight they are trying to give us, except that Mike Ramsey and Doug Risebrough will be enjoying each others company as they drive through Nebraska en route to Denver for Sunday.

-I have a new column at FaceoffCircle.Net talking about The Scouting Staff of Minnesota.

-Check this out...What a Tough Crowd.

-Colorado and Calgary both won last night, meaning tomorrow will be HUGE. Good thing I'll be there in person to make sure both sides play fair.

-Here are the Top 10 hits of the week...in HD.

Donald Duck in Math Magicland

Here is how it breaks down for Minnesota to win the Northwest Division:

Minnesota has 95 points, with 2 games to go.
Colorado has 91 points, with 2 to go.
Calgary has 90 points with 3 to go.

Calgary can end with a maximum of 96 points, Colorado with 95. Minnesota takes the Divison if:
- They win 1 of their final 2 games.
- They get at least one point, and Calgary loses no matter if its regulation or OT (Calgary could only finish with 95 points), and then Colorado doesn't matter.
- I think that if we finished tied with Colorado, we win the Divison because of the head-to-head tiebreaker; I'm not sure, but I believe that's the case.

Calgary plays Edmonton Tonight (Go OIL!) and Colorado plays Vancouver. If either team loses, Minnesota has the Division Title (and Home Ice) locked up before we even play on Thursday.