Minnesota Wild vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Game Re-Cap

by BReynolds on Sep 28, 2010 9:15 PM CDT in News

This gives a pretty good picture of what happened.

Minnesota Wild 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets (Shoot Out)

For enemy perspective, please visit The Cannon.

OK, OK. You win. Five losses in the preseason, this one with the A team out against the Blue Jackets' C squad is definitely time for concern. Zidlicky did go down hurt early in the game, but that can't be an excuse. The fact of the matter is, the Wild simply were outplayed by a bunch of guys who are going to find pick slips in their lockers in the morning.

Not. Good.

The game started off in a manner that could only be described as "improved." The Wild were out shooting the Jackets, the lines were buzzing, and forcing Mathieu Garon to make some big saves. Matt Cullen hit a cross bar to end the first period, and then opened the second with a quick goal. They had momentum, and they had the Jackets right where they wanted them.

Eric Nystrom added a tip in goal from Mikko Koivu at the 15:12 mark, and the Wild looked to be cruising. However, after a Drew Bagnall tripping call, the Wild's penalty kill made a fatal mistake. They forgot Nikita Filatov was on the ice, leaving him completely alone on the right side of Backstrom, and Filatov buried a very nice, sharp angle shot to pull the Jackets back within one.

Momentum? Gone.

The Wild came out flat in the third, and then, inexplicably, the feed for the game died. When it came back up, Columbus had tied the game, and the Wild were deflated. They created only a few chances to end the game, relying heavily on some big saves by Backstrom, and allowing the Jackets to do pretty much what ever they wanted to do. Nothing seemed to be working, and the game headed for overtime.

In the extra frame, the game turned into a shinny game with both team going back and forth, playing absolutely no defense. Nick Schultz ended up behind the offensive net at one point, though he did recover in time. Backstrom was beaten at least twice, but the shots at the open net went wide, allowing the Wild to advance to the shootout.

That was the end of the road, as only Koivu could manage to score in the shootout, and the Jackets farm team would take home a win, putting the Wild at 0-3-2 for the preseason.

By all accounts, this was the first of two tests. This was the first part of the pass or fail for the Wild, and this has to go squarely in the fail column. Even if they can pull out a win against the Jackets in two days, it is going to be difficult to convince anyone that the pre-season was a success. The Wild have no momentum headed into the season, and they have shown nothing that resembles what it takes to win once the games count.

Time to hit the panic button? No. However, it is certainly time to look in the mirror and ask some serious questions.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars:

1. Anton Stralman (2A, 25:53 TOI, kept top line in check all night)

2. Nikita Filatov (1G, 3 SOG, 15:31 TOI)

3. Matt Cullen (1G, 3 SOG, 20:08 TOI)

Five Questions:

1. How will the team look with the season ready line up together for the first time? Looked good for the first half of the game, then fell apart. Lost to the bottom of the depth chart in Columbus. Not good.

2. Sounds like Backstrom for two, Borat for one. Can the two goalies show some solid backstopping today? It ended up Backstrom for all three. It made no difference.

3. How will Clutterbuck do, playing out of position and on a scoring line? He certainly was not mentioned much tonight. He looked to have changed his game a bit to fit with what the second line is intended for. A non-factor.

4. With injuries mounting, can the Wild escape back to Saint Paul unscathed? Negative. Marek Zidlicky was injured early on and would miss nearly the entire game. Listed day-to-day with a charley horse.

5. Can the team defense finally play... you know... some defense? For the first half of the game, yes. For the second half? Nope.

Tweet Comment 23 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Just a question

Is this on Richards?

by wild.twins.ravens.win on Sep 28, 2010 9:25 PM CDT reply actions

Who is it on? The players on the ones who have to play the game. They are the ones making the big money to get it right, but you can bet the coach is where the fault is going to fall. If I were Todd Richards, I would have those guys lined up on the goal line in the morning.

Hockey Wilderness
Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Sep 28, 2010 9:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I haven’t seen them play yet this year, I don’t know if you have gotten to yet either, but I mean…are the players really just not performing, or what? Is anyone on the Wild actually playing well or does the whole team just look like a mess?

by wild.twins.ravens.win on Sep 28, 2010 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Falls on the coach

A lot should fall on the coach. You can put a lot of high paid players on the ice, does that mean they all perfectly together? NO. Someone needs to organize, motivate, plan, train etc. A good coach can take a mediocre team and build a winner, He sees where his team needs to go and takes them there. I get the feeling Richards sees where this team needs to go, but doesn’t have a clue HOW to get them there.

by Givinchy on Sep 28, 2010 9:58 PM CDT up reply actions

I think you may be on to something here

I don’t know if I’m going to jump ship on the SS Richards just yet, but I’m certainly sounding the alarm bells. If he can’t get this team to play some inspired hockey this year, he’ll be out by the end of the season IMO.

I think this team could be good under Richards. It certainly needs an upgrade at some key personnel positions, but not much can be done about that right now. Richards needs to take the guys he has right now, and mold them into a cohesive unit that wants to work for him. I don’t see that yet, I saw flashes in the second period tonight, but they left quickly. Seeing some drive out this team is the only shot Richards has of saving his job, and getting another year to try and put something together.

by nemo1107 on Sep 28, 2010 11:28 PM CDT up reply actions

There's a possibility

he could be out before the end of the season. CF did a lot to improve the roster over the offseason and I would hate to see it wasted because of a coach.

However, Richards still has plenty of time to prove that he’s worth it.

by ADN on Sep 29, 2010 7:12 PM CDT up reply actions

How many shots hit the post? how many shots went wide? Good effort by the Wild, but get some accuracy! Bad D is gonna kill this team yet! Players play, thats what they do. Its up to the coach to motivate and tell these guys their responsibilities on the ice each game. I’m certainly not inspired by Richards, he can’t get this team together! If he can’t do his job he needs to go

by Givinchy on Sep 28, 2010 9:40 PM CDT reply actions

On the brighter side...

this gave me a good opportunity to watch Anton Stralman, who was this close to getting dropped by the Hakan Loobies yesterday. His +/- was scaring me a little, but I liked what I saw from him though.

by nemo1107 on Sep 28, 2010 11:12 PM CDT reply actions

I have Stralman on another fantasy team, and I’m pretty excited to see how he can contribute. He had 35+ points as a dman on the Blue Jackets. That in itself is an accomplishment.

by ADN on Sep 29, 2010 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions

I am starting to get a little worried...

"Danny Valencia is a fricking stud! Hide your daughters!"
-Denard Span

by taralynn09 on Sep 29, 2010 12:21 AM CDT reply actions

Yep.

by shleske on Sep 29, 2010 8:04 AM CDT up reply actions

Bagnall

How did he look and/or do tonight?

by JMarushin on Sep 29, 2010 1:27 AM CDT reply actions

He played well enough. Took a stupid tripping call that led to the Filatov goal, but penalties happen. The worst mistake was his fight in the first period after Zidlicky went down. Sticking up for a teammate, but put them down to four d-men for a full five minutes. Should have let someone else handle it.

Hockey Wilderness
Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Sep 29, 2010 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions

Ahh, awesome, thanks. What are the chances he beats out stoner or scandella for the sixth spot in the line up?

by JMarushin on Sep 29, 2010 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions

I think Falk gets the nod at #6. Stoner will be the #7, and he better make the most of it. Bagnall and Scandella will be top call ups.

Hockey Wilderness
Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Sep 29, 2010 8:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Ready for a Red Wings been there done that perspective?

Don’t panic just yet. Don’t blame anyone just yet either.

Is the team even focused on playing? or are they to hyped up and excited for the games in Finland?

Last year the same thing happened with the Red Wings and their trip to Stockholm. Having I believe it was 8 Swedes that traveled with the team to Sweden the team was not focused on playing in the preseason ~~nor the first tome games of the regular season that they lost to the Blues in Stockholm.~~

~~Maybe after the guys get back from Finland things will turn around… we can hope right?~~

~~by MMcAlister on Sep 29, 2010 12:23 PM CDT reply actions~~

I believe

that everyone is worried because the Wild are still showing the same problems that finished the team last season.

First, the defense falls apart too quickly. Granted, the Wild were down to 5 (and even 4) defenders for awhile, but the concern still stands. There are certain times when it looks like the entire team has a brain fart and forgets how to cover their own zone. The St. Louis games were a total disaster defensively. Columbus scoring 2 with their AHL bound skaters is not a good sign.

Second, the Wild will have to play a rookie d-man (barring a trade or addition), and any injury to the blue line forces a rookie to step into the hardest position to adapt to in the NHL; hence, the reason why defenders generally take longer to develop. Last year we were thin, and we still are. That may be the only reason why I’m sad to see Shane Hnidy go unsigned. The Wild is really young on the blue line, and that could be a problem if the injury bug continues to ravage this team.

Third, the offense is still having problems scoring. 8 goals in 5 games…that works out to 131.2 goals in an 82 game season. Granted, the team should finish with more goals than that once the real squad has a chance to play more, but that’s still some cause for alarm. In addition, Lats is injured and hasn’t looked all that inspiring. This begs the question: was last year the real Guillaume Latendresse or just a one-hit wonder?

All in all, there are still a lot of questions that were not answered. Hopefully, the team looks better once the regular season starts, but with injuries mounting already as well as inconsistent play, there is cause for some concern. I’m not ready to hit the panic button either, but I’m starting to lose some of that pre-pre-season confidence.

by JDesthubert on Sep 29, 2010 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions

Wow. Even the signature line has strike through. Impressive.

Hockey Wilderness
Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Sep 29, 2010 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions

I know

Now if only I knew how to undo all that…

by JDesthubert on Sep 29, 2010 11:10 PM CDT up reply actions