Blogs| Final - 11.18.2008 | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota Wild
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Pittsburgh Penguins
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Minnesota Wild @ Pittsburgh Penguins: Game 16
by neide
on Nov 18, 2008 4:00 PM CST
in Events
Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-2) @ Minnesota Wild (10-4-1)
Mellon Arena @ 6:00 CDT
Television: VS (HD)
Listen live on WCCO.com, or locally at 830 AM
For the Pittsburgh perspective, check out Pensburgh.
Tonight's lines:
|
Minnesota Wild |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
|
Nolan - Koivu - Bouchard Reitz - Schultz Harding |
Talbot-Crosby-Satan Orpik-Letang Sabourin |
Notes
- Marian Gaborik is still out with that lower body injury.
- Third goalie Nolan Schaefer has been recalled from AHL Houston on an emergency basis. To make room, the Wild placed defenseman Tomas Mojzis on waivers, sources say.
- Derek Boogaard, Craig Weller and Mojzis looked to be scratched.
- Marc-Andre Fleury will not be in the lineup for the Penguins. Fleury is listed as day-to-day and a return date is unknown.
- With Fleury out of the lineup, Dany Sabourin will make his first start at Mellon Arena against Minnesota. "We played a really good game last year against the Wild," Sabourin said. "It was really intense, like a playoff game. They trap, they crash the net hard and like to play behind the net. We have to be ready for that."
- Grand Rapids' own Alex Goligoski is off to a hot start for the Pens, with 4 goals, 5 assists in 16 games on the blue line.
- Pascal Dupuis will play against the Wild for the first time since the trade two seasons ago to the Rangers.
- Mikko Koivu has a goal and assist in his last eight games, while MIttens has three assists in that span, although he scored the winning goal in Saturday's shootout.
Questions to Answer
- Can anyone contain the quick, young talent of the Penguins?
- Will Burns be up or back?
- Will the Wild try to skate with the Pens, or bottle them up? East v. West, which style will win?
- Will they stop Evgeni Malkin, who has a 13-game point and assist streak?
- Will Cal Clutterbuck pass out in his own vomit tonight, on this, his 21st birthday?
Ok folks, have a great night! I'll be out with the misses for our 8th anniversary, and will speak to you on the other side of the evening.
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All the Gabbin' About Gaborik - Bob McKenzie
Gaborik, thus far, has rejected all contract offers from the Wild and it doesn't look like he's about to put pen to paper in the Twin Cities any time soon.
But the reality is Gaborik hasn't played an NHL game since Oct. 14, the Wild's second game of the season, sidelined with the mysterious "lower-body" ailment, which for the finely-tuned Slovakian speedster means he's continuing to have issues with his musculature (quads, hamstrings, adductors, glutes, take your pick) somewhere above the knees but below the abdomen.
about 10 hours ago
neide
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The Next Big Thing: More Moneybags Talk
by buddhafisch
on Nov 18, 2008 10:44 AM CST
The Next Big Thing is a series of posts, focusing in on what has the Team of 18,000's collective minds buzzing.
In this vast world of 24 hour news, stock tickers, and news crawls, there is little that makes me smile anymore. At least, beyond family and friends. Today is not much better. Apparently, we are going to bailout the auto industry, despite the best minds in the world telling the feds it is a bad idea, and will do nothing except waste $50 billion dollars.
However, then comes the chance to read the full details on the extension Colorado signed with center Paul Stastny. The deal is reportedly five years, for a total of around $33 million. Quick elementary math tells us that that is just over $6 million per year as a cap hit.
Not bad for 78 points in 82 games his rookie season, and 71 in 66 games last season, eh? Oh, and he's on pace to have near 80 points this season as well. Sakic who?
Why you ask, would this make me smile? Maybe we haven't been acquainted long enough. I'm a sadistic, sarcastic, mean spirited kind of person when it comes to sports figures and their quest to make more money than God. You see, this signing puts yet another big kink in Uncle Moneybag's plans to become the highest paid player in the league. It's just not in the cards any more. I know NHL GMs are generally unintelligent hacks when it comes to free agents, but even they can't screw this up, can they?
Stastny has shown he has pure abilty to play, score, and lead. He plays arguably the second most important position in the game (behind goaltender), and has nearly a point per game average. While Gaborik also caries a points per game average, he is completely unreliable, and as the Wild's 10-4-1 start has shown, he is completely unnecessary.
So, you the fans can be the judge on this one. If Stastny, arguably a better player, in a more important role, who is young and will only get better, can only sign for $6 million per, how much is Moneybags worth?
Yes, I am smiling from ear to ear, just thinking about the phone call Moanybags is going to get from his agent today.
Next smiling moment comes from TSN. Gaborik's trade value is plummeting, if we didn't all already know that. Here is the best line in the entire post:
"..there are precious few NHL teams who appear to have even a scintilla of interest in Gaborik."
Duh.
My latest trade proposal is this. Trade him to the LA Kings. In return, the Wild get a bag of pucks (no less than 50 will be acceptable), an Anze Kopitar autograph, and a fourth round pick.
Justification for this trade is easy. The pucks provide long term, stable value. A puck will be a puck, every game, no questions asked. The value never drops. With the fourth round pick, the Wild get a player. Notice I didn't say a good player. Why would the Kings give up a good player? Finally, the Kopitar autograph. This is where the Wild can score big. Maybe get it on an Upper Deck rookie card, one of those that they only made 10 of. Someone find a card geek and pick the right card. Then, when Mikko Koivu's contract comes due, sell the card so you can pay the guy who actually deserves it.
Yeah, I'm smiling again.
I'll leave you with this. It's a clip I found over on Puck Daddy. Enjoy.
-Buddha
PS- Please, if you disagree, let me know. Comment section, email, whatever you like. I can take it.
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Beyond The Team of 18,000
by neide
on Nov 17, 2008 7:13 PM CST
in News
Good evening Hockey Wilderness! This has been an interesting week around the NHL. So, let's get to it!
- The New York Islanders are facing economic issues without a new stadium. Hmm, where have we heard that one before? - James Mirtle, From the Rink
- Barry "The Mullet" Melrose is out as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. - From the Rink
- More Melrose fallout - From the Rink
- Melrose on Melrose - From the Rink
- Speaking of changes, anyone hear anything about Brian Burke? - From the Rink
- Hmm, where on earth could Brian Burke end up? - Pension Plan Puppets: Toronto Maple Leafs Blog
- Did we mention that Toronto might be the new home of Edina's own Brian Burke? - Pension Plan Puppets: Toronto Maple Leafs Blog
- Season to date analysis of the Colorado Avalanche - Mile High Hockey: Colorado Avalanche Blog
- Pittsburgh sends Daryl Sydor back to from whence he came in exchange for Philippe Boucher - Pensburgh: Pittsburgh Penguins Blog
- Breakdown of Philippe Boucher - Pensburgh: Pittsburgh Penguins Blog
- Jordan Staal: Under the Microscope - Pensburgh: Pittsburgh Penguins Blog
- Die By the Blade starts a great feature: Today in Buffalo Sabres History. Check it out every day! - Die By the Blade: Buffalo Sabres Blog
- The Sabres remember "The Aud" - Die By the Blade: Buffalo Sabres Blog
- The new team at Fear the Fin takes a look at their skaters' efficiency ratings - Fear the Fin: San Jose Sharks Blog
- The Sharks faithful pimp Devin Setoguchi for the All-Star Game - Fear the Fin: San Jose Sharks Blog
- A look into the lives of your friendly neighborhood NHL GM - Lighthouse Hockey: New York Islanders Blog
- You have to love when Euros give interviews to the hometown press. You never know what to expect. See: Mikhail Grabovski - Pension Plan Puppets: Toronto Maple Leafs Blog
- By the way, there's new blood in the second city. Stop by and say "Secord Sucks" - Second City Hockey: Chicago Blackhawks Blog
- Speaking of new blood, welcome John Fischer to the fold as the new New Jersey Devils blogger at In Lou We Trust: New Jersey Devils Blog
- Christy at Winging it in Motown had the pitiable task of interviewing Chemmy and PPP, the two clowns from Pension Plan Puppets for this week's "Behind the Blog" - Detroit Red Wings Blog
- To rub our noses in it, Winging it in Motown also takes a look at how Marian Hossa is settling in with the Wings - Detroit Red Wings Blog
Ok folks, I think I've given you enough material to waste your entire evening. Now, have at it, spread the love and let me know if you find any great nuggets during the week for next weeks edition of Beyond the Team of 18,000!
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Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets: Game 15
by neide
on Nov 15, 2008 5:00 PM CST
in Events
Columbus Blue Jackets (8-7-2) @ Minnesota Wild (9-4-1)
Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 CDT
Television: FSN
Listen live on WCCO.com, or locally at 830 AM
For the Columbus perspective, check out Light the Lamp.
Tonight's lines:
|
Minnesota Wild |
Columbus Blue Jackets |
|
Nolan - Koivu - Bouchard Reitz - Schultz Harding |
Nash - Umberger - Huselius Klesla - Tyutin Leclaire |
Notes
- Marian Gaborik is still out with that lower body injury.
- Jacques Lemaire reiterated today that defenseman Brent Burns will continue as a winger for awhile.
- Columbus beat Buffalo 6-1 last night. It will be important to not let them get out early.
- Oh, and since we've likely already forgotten about the whining, here's a bit from Light the Lamp. "You better believe the Jackets haven't forgotten that hose job by the stripes in last time they were in Minnesota. That should be all the motivation this squad needs to get up for that one. Time to for a little payback"
Questions to Answer
- With Burns at the forward again, will the defense play yet another very solid game?
- Does Rick Nash continue to be an immovable object?
- Will the power play stick with whatever new technique they used against Phoenix to great success?
- Will the line shakeup start to click in game two?
- Does Backstrom continue his Jedi mind trick to see the game in slow motion?
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The NHL's top defensive defencemen: The early returns - From The Rink
Kim Johnsson, Nick Schultz, He Who Must Not Be Named and Marek Zidlicky all make appearances on Mirtle's Top Defensive Defensemen list. Go check it out and talk up our boys.
4 days ago
neide
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Phoenix Coyotes @ Minnesota Wild: The Morning After
by neide
on Nov 13, 2008 10:30 PM CST
in News
Minnesota Wild 4 - 0 Phoenix Coyotes
The Minnesota Wild, led by Marek Zidlicky's two goals and one assist, combined with Niklas Backstrom's 24 saves, shutout the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 in front of 18.568 at the Xcel Energy Center Thursday night. After a slow first period with little action, Zidlicky started the scoring in the second with a pretty feed from Marc-Andre Bergeron in the high slot. The two teams battled back and forth until 4:17 remaining when Andrew Brunette scored on a beautiful no-look feed across the low slot from Zidlicky. In the third period, the Wild scored their third power play goal, 3:10 into the frame. Erik Belanger notched one on an absolutely gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing game with the man advantage. As time wound down, there was 1:07 left as the Wild ended the scoring with yet another power play marker. It was Zidlicky's second of the night on a bomb from the point.
The power play really saved the Wild tonight, as without the man advantage, I wasn't impressed with the offensive output. Lemaire's line juggling didn't impress. The thought was to add more punch to the offense. Well, there weren't a large number of even-strength chances tonight. The best chances came either on the power play or the two shorthanded opportunities on which they should have cashed-in.
Cal Clutterbuck continues to wreck havoc on the ice, though tonight he has as many minutes as penalty minutes. Umm Cal, I understand throwing down when someone goads you on, but next time think of your PT. Oh, and although the other guy didn't take his helmet off, you should still drop yours if you wear a visor. Gretzky was correct there.
It's certainly fun to watch this team when they're clicking, and my goodness did they look good on the power play. Every single time they gained the zone with the man advantage, you assumed they were going to score. It was just outstanding. Now, if only they can do that once in a while on even strength.
Also, Kevin Porter, you should be absolutely annihilated for running Backstrom. That was a cheapshot and the fact that the ref was staring right at you as you bowled him over full speed doesn't change that fact. That was absolutely out of line, and someone at Toronto should be calling you to tell you so. That was a very, very dangerous play. Jerk.
Oh, and welcome back Owen Nolan and Brent Burns. It was nice to have you out there. Burnsie, feel free to stay up front as long as necssary, so long as He Who Must Not Be Named continues to stay out of the post-game analysis. He's doing a fantastic job right now.
Hockey Wilderness Three Stars
- Marek Zidlicky (2G, 1A)
- Niklas Backstrom (24 shots/24 saves)
- Marc-Andre Bergeron (1G, 1A)
Questions to Answer
- Will the line shuffle work out? Well, actually even strength didn't impress me tonight. Yeah, they drew seven penalties, and had decent pressure, but that didn't transfer to a lot of solid scoring chances. So, I'd say it was neither effective nor did it hurt.
- Does Burns get burned out playing both winger and defense tonight, his first action in over a week? Didn't seem like he was really putting on pressure in the third period. Part of that might have been all the special teams play, but it might have been that he was tired. He had 18:07 of ice time tonight.
- Will these two teams (1st and 3rd in the conference in goals against) put up as many together as the Pens did last night (7)? No, and frankly, if it weren't for the power play chances for the Wild, I don't think this had the makings of a 4-0 game. The power play was just that dominant.
- Can Bryzgalov get his first career win against the Wild? Nope!
- Will Peter Mueller shine in front of the hometown crowd? Mueller had 17:04 of ice time tonight, and was on the top line with Olli Jokinen, but never really got going, with as many shots on goal as penalty minutes (2).
Notes
- Tonight was the 9th straight victory over Phoenix.
- Phoenix was 0-for-6 on the power play, and is 2-for-28 in its past five games.
- Backstrom is 43-0-3 when leading after two periods. He's also 8-0 against the Coyotes with a 1.13 goals-against average and three shutouts.
- Marek Zidlicky notched his third career two-goal game and first since February 11, 2006 vs. Columbus.
- The Wild has outscored its opponents 15-7 in the second period this season.
What the team is saying
"Our special teams has been really good," said Jacques Lemaire, who spoke to his team prior to the game about spreading out while on the power play. "And this is why we have the points we have now, because, five-on-five we [haven't scored] a lot of goals so far."
"I think this was one of the best games for us this season, to play the whole 60 minutes of hockey. We didn’t give them anything. Our PK was really strong today. We got a lot of penalties, but they killed them. I think that’s a sign of a good team." -- Niklas Backstrom
"That was for my wife. That's what I do over my career. I was on my own for two months. All by myself. It was a big game for me." - Marek Zidlicky
On the power play. "Sometimes when the players don't know what they're doing, it works." - Erik Belanger
What others are saying
"It was a good, old fashioned butt-kicking. It was almost like an NHL group vs. a junior team. Four-0 was flattering. If it wasn't for Bryzgalov it would've been 8-0." - Wayne Gretzky
"It comes down to the power play," Phoenix captain Shane Doan said. "We had some opportunities. They capitalized on theirs and we didn't on ours. That was the difference in the hockey game."
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Phoenix Coyotes @ Minnesota Wild: Game 14
by neide
on Nov 13, 2008 4:00 PM CST
in Events
Phoenix Coyotes (8-6-0) vs Minnesota Wild (8-4-1)
Xcel Energy Center @ 7:00 CST
Television: FSN (HD)
Radio: WCCO 830. Listen live at wccoradio.com
For the Phoenix perspective, check out Coyotes Hip Check
Tonight's lines:
|
Minnesota Wild |
Phoenix Coyotes |
|
Nolan - Koivu - Bouchard Reitz - Schultz Harding |
Boedker - Jokinen - Mueller Jovanovski - Morris |
NOTES:
- The Wild look to make it nine straight wins over the Phoenix Coyotes.
- Coach Jacques Lemaire scrambled all his forward lines today, and that meant the line of Andrew Brunette-Mikko Koivu-Antti Miettinen landed on three different lines. Koivu skated with Nolan and Bouchard, and Brunette and Eric Belanger skated with a right wing named Brent Burns.
- Gaborik is expected to miss his 12th straight game on Thursday with a lower-body injury while Burns will return after sitting out the past four contests with an upper-body injury.
- Owen Nolan was reactivated and Krys Kolanos was sent back to Houston. Too bad, as I thought the kid had been playing really well.
- Brent Burns dressed for defense this morning, but lined up on the wing. He hasn’t practiced as a defenseman all week and Lemaire wanted him to get used to it again since he’ll play both positions tonight.
- The Coyotes will be playing on back-to-back nights after winning 5-2 at Columbus on Wednesday.
-
Shane Doan leads Phoenix with nine goals and is tied for the team lead with 16 points. "He's playing as good as I've ever seen him," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said.
-
Ilya Bryzgalov has never beaten the Wild, going 0-5-0 with a 3.28 GAA in six games.
- The Wild have 10 of their next 12 at home.
Questions to Answer
- Will the line shuffle work out?
- Does Burns get burned out playing both winger and defense tonight, his first action in over a week?
- Will these two teams (1st and 3rd in the conference in goals against) put up as many together as the Pens did last night (7)?
- Can Bryzgalov get his first career win against the Wild?
- Will Peter Mueller shine in front of the hometown crowd?
Jacques Lemaire Pre-game Interview
28 comments | 0 recs
Hockey Wilderness Receives Facelift
by neide
on Nov 13, 2008 9:47 AM CST
in News
Thanks to the fantastic development team at SBN, the NHL blogs are now receiving some exciting new features.
* TEAM PAGE: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/MIN
This page includes all posts associated w/ the team, the team
news and the next game. Also, anytime you click the name of another
team on your schedule you have a page for them too. If you have
attached their team name to any posts they'll be aggregated there
along w/ news and their next game. For example the San Jose Sharks page on
Hockey Wilderness: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/SJS
* TEAM ROSTER: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/MIN/roster
Self-explanatory, but the best part is that all the player names link
to the.....
* PLAYER PAGE: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/players/l.nhl.com-p.1753
Now, in the story editor we can attach players by name to stories. Members of Hockey Wilderness can do the same on FanPosts and FanShots. Along with the basic player info, headshot and current year stats, all the content from your blog will be aggregated on this page. And just like team pages you also have pages on your blog for every other player in the league. For example the Ovechkin page on
Pensburgh: http://www.pensburgh.com/nhl/players/l.nhl.com-p.1841
Note that player pages will be linked at the end of any stories that
you attach them to as well. For example, on this story, someone attached Rob
Scuderi so his name is linked to his player page at the end of the
story in the same way we do that for teams and games:
http://www.pensburgh.com/2008/11/12/659483/rob-scuderi-injury-specula
* TEAM STATS: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/MIN/stats
Pretty self-explanatory, but again the player names link to their
player pages.
* TEAM NEWS: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/MIN/news
* TEAM SCHEDULE & SCORES: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/nhl/teams/MIN/schedule
When you click the 'coverage' link on the schedule, the
event page now shows a full linescore and will link to the preview &
recap of the event if we have those stories from Sports Network. As
always we aggregate all stories that have had the event attached to
them. Here is an example:
http://www.pensburgh.com/event/l.nhl.com-2008-e.10486
2 comments | 0 recs
View From The Frontier
by HockeyJoe
on Nov 12, 2008 11:09 PM CST
I was watching what was being billed as the Be-All, End-All game of the year featuring Detroit and Pittsburgh. You know, the one where Versus suggested that Pittsburgh was looking for revenge.
Apparently the Stanley Cup is now treated like the WWE Championship Belt and this was the rematch clause being enacted by the Penguins. What I did notice at times through the game was that those same Penguins were going to be on Versus again next week. Crosby! Malkin! Fleury! Godard! Er, yeah. Suffice to say, the opponent wasn't important, but Pittsburgh was playing and that's that.
Getting the cold shoulder of ignorance and probable date with Joe Beninati waxing poetic about Marian Gaborik's wonky groin were the Minnesota Wild, the sacrificial lambs-to-be. As usual, however, Versus is going to miss the boat on some good things happening across the ice.
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