Minnesota Wild vs. Calgary Flames: Game Recap

by nathaneide on Jan 6, 2010 10:09 PM CST in Events

Minnesota Wild 4-1 Calgary Flames

This game is a perfect example of why they play em. Sure, things looked bleak after Niklas Backstrom gave a HUGE rebound right to Olli Jokinen and he potted it to put the Flames up 1-0 just 1:34 into the game, but honestly, after that, it was all Minnesota. The offense was clicking, Niklas Backstrom was back to being himself, Eric Belanger scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season, the defense got into the play and picked up four assists (two each by Nick Schultz and Marek Zidlicky), the power play scored a goal and the Martin Havlat - Guillaume Latendresse connection secured a nice goal for Kyle Brodziak.

Eric Belanger's two goals were a nice way to celebrate his 600th NHL game, and to get the win against a division rival was even better. Sure, MIikka Kiprusoff made quite a few massive saves to show off why he thinks he should be the Finnish started in Vancouver, but the Wild were so solid tonight that Niklas Backstrom didn't need to show off, he simply did his job, made 24 saves and got the big win.

This was a big win for a team on the slide. Not only did it break a four game losing streak, but the way they played should provide a nice boost for the rest of the homestand, especially considering it was the second game of a back to back.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Eric Belanger (2 G)

2. Kyle Brodziak (1 G, 1 A)

3. Marek Zidlicky (2 A)

Questions to Answer

James Sheppard has found himself again on the outside looking in. If Robbie Earl plays, he will have to clear waivers in order to be sent back to Houston, as will James Sheppard. So ... if Robbie Earl plays well again (as he has every game he's played up here) is there any way they don't keep him on the roster the rest of the season? Owen Nolan and Robbie Earl ended up playing instead of Petr Sykora and Sheppard. Russo indicated that Sheppard and Sykora are healthy scratches. If that is the case, the Earl is not an emergency call-up, and needs to clear waivers to go to Houston now.
Martin Havlat is the hottest player on the roster. He seems to click with Andrew Ebbett and Guillaume Latendresse nicely. Can he continue his excellent performance? Well, Havlat and Latendresse once again found themselves with Kyle Brodziak, and that line got a nice goal. Guess the magic pair is Lats and Havlat!
The Wild power play is anemic at best, can they find some energy? One goal on five power plays. We'll take the baby steps!
Jarome Iginla has more points against the Wild than anyone else in NHL history, yet is goalless in the last eight games. Any chance that continues tonight? Let's make that nine games and counting.
Most importantly, can the Wild break the losing streak against a fantastic Flames squad? Damn right!

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Comments

Great Effort

Glad the boys finally put on a good show when I was at the X. It felt good to watch Phaneuf spend all night following the ref around and crying about being hit or something. His tears must be what was causing everyone to fall down on the ice. I actually fault Hnidy more than Backs on the Flames goal. Hnidy was just coasting backwards and if he had just turned around he could have seen the puck and cleared the rebound.

by Chris Winner on Jan 7, 2010 8:12 AM CST reply actions

Iginla is still awesome

Honestly — watching him roll in through the blue line and just cut between defenders like they weren’t even there is amazing to watch in person. We see flashes of that every now and then with Koivu and Havlat, but Iginla takes it to a whole other level.

It was a fun game to watch overall last night, not just because we got the win, but more because of the overall effort from the Wild on both offense and defense. We played a complete game and got lucky on the bounces in the same game.

I know people say momentum doesn’t carry over between games, but I’m hoping the confidence boost will help us through our next game against the Hawks and Saturday.

by SpaethCo on Jan 7, 2010 3:48 PM CST reply actions