Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks: Game Recap

by BReynolds on Jan 4, 2012 11:43 PM CST in Events

Minnesota Wild 0 - 2 Vancouver Canucks

For the Vancouver perspective, please visit Nucks Misconduct.

This game was scheduled to start at 9:00 PM central time. As the old cliche goes, someone forgot to tell the Wild that. The first period was 99.9% Canucks, with the Wild simply allowing them to do whatever they wished to do. Blue sweaters below the circles without a white sweater between them and Josh Harding, guys still standing around watching, no movement in their feet whatsoever, getting pushed around by players much smaller... it was disgusting hockey at its finest.

At one point,the question had to be asked... was Todd Richards coaching this team?

The second period was an... "improvement." The Wild did get a couple chances, put some, and we mean some, pressure on Luongo, but even a second power play resulted in nothing. A two on one developed as Alexander Edler did his best Martin Skoula impression. Yet, Devin Setoguchi was content to lollygag down the ice, allowing the Canucks to catch up, all in the name of waiting for Dany Heatley to get involved in the play.

The break led to a weak shot directly into Luongo's chest, and Luongo skated into the locker room with five straight periods of shutout hockey under his belt against the Wild.

The only good news? They didn't give up any more goal to the Canucks.

Now, you would think a team being beaten up by a division rival, in the midst of an ugly streak of hockey would come out in the third and make a statement that they were at least present in the game. Instead, the Wild curled up in a ball and held on for dear life hoping the Canucks wouldn't make it worse than it already was.

Once again, the Wild leave without scoring a goal, Wild now scoreless in two straight games in Vancouver. This is a team in crisis, and if they don't see it, they are in more trouble than anyone knew.

We are perilously close to needing to ask how Mike Yeo wakes this team up. They have one win in the past 11 games, just one win in nearly a month of hockey, and have scored more than 2 goals just twice in that stretch. They slip a little more with every passing game, and the decisions they are making with the puck are simply uncreative and flat out predictable. You always want to think that pros shouldn't need a butt chewing, but these guys need a butt chewing.

The Bennett's Chop & Railhouse Stars of the Game:

Roberto Lunongo (28 saves, shutout)
Daniel Sedin (1G, 1A)
Henrik Sedin (2A)

Five Questions:

Can the turn of luck that is needed start in Vancouver? Ha ha. Yeah. Sure. Good one.
Are the Braineaters stoppable? Nope. Not a chance.
Does Devin Setoguchi make a difference? Good to see him back, but he was a non-factor.
Casey Wellman on the fourth line. How long does that last? The entire game, mind boggling.
Who has something they would like to say to support Jack Jablonski? Not good news tongiht, as doctors say he will never walk or skate again. He remains in out thoughts and prayers. Long fight ahead, folks. Don't forget the kid.

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Comments

A couple of thoughts from this one:

1) Terrible start to a brutal January. Strength of schedule is definitely not in the Wild’s favor. The worst team the Wild will play are the Flames in Calgary, and this current play earned the Wild an uninspiring 2-1 loss last time around.
2) Yeo’s postgame interview wasn’t all that inspiring either. His comments that the Wild were in the game and that it was hanging there for his team to take had me wondering, “Did he coach the same game I just watched, or was he lost in his head in a game earlier in November?” I’m guessing that he’s just trying to “say the right things” in front of the camera, but I would prefer an honest coach who is upset with the effort and heart instead of the politically correct coach.
3) Wild should be in full-fledged “Panic Mode”. Even if the Wild “regressed to the mean”, they shouldn’t lose 10 of 11 games. They should still be able to tread water at .500, not <.100 winning percentage. This is beyond regression. The Wild are having a serious crisis of confidence. PMB even said that there is zero confidence on the power play. Good to know that the guys don’t even believe they can score. What a waste of two minutes at a time.
4) Yeo should be concerned right now. It’s not going to take the Minnesota fan base too long to start turning on Yeo. If the Wild get crushed in January, there could be some rumblings. Like I alluded to before, this will not be an easy month. The Wild could feasibly lose 7 of 10 and fall out of postseason relevance. If the Wild miss the playoffs after being #1 to start December, can Yeo come up with a good enough argument to keep his job?
5) By extension, Fletcher has to be sweating, too. If Yeo receives a pink slip from the owner, then Fletcher would almost certainly get his as well. He would be 0 for 2 in hiring coaches. To make matters worse, he passed on Hitchcock, who has the Blues competing for the Central Division title against two damn good teams in Chicago and Detroit, while Nashville is nipping at their heels. Fair or not, Hitch’s success in St. Louis will play a major factor in a decision like this.

Maybe these are just emotional rants, but the season is spiraling down the drain, and I haven’t seen a lot in recent weeks to make me believe the Wild can buck the trend. 15 goals for in the last 11 games, compared to 34 goals against.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.
Mikael Granlund = Suomi Savior

by JDesthubert on Jan 5, 2012 12:49 AM CST reply actions

I would think Fletcher’s job is a little safer than Yeo’s if the full collapse happened. Fletcher atleast has results. He can point to the farm system and say something along the lines of I was tasked with rebuilding this team, look at the talent when I started and look at it now. You can’t fire the guy before the majority of his work is even in the NHL.

by ThatGuy22 on Jan 5, 2012 9:49 AM CST up reply actions

I think both jobs are probably safe this year no matter what

Let’s say the collapse completes itself and we are yet another year w/o playoffs in Minnesota. Isn’t that kind of what we thought might be the end result at the beginning of the year?

Taking all circumstances of the season into account—the injuries, the one goal games (both ways), the lack of goal scorers (for some frustrating reason) but still having opportunities (sometimes)—I don’t think either Fletch or Yeo have any fear of not coming back in ‘12-’13.

Now, if the playoffs are missed and next year starts off slow, then their respective seats will be blazing.

Being from Minnesota, it would be rude to put something clever here.

by redheadzeb on Jan 5, 2012 10:16 AM CST up reply actions

Expectations can change quickly when your first in the league in December, and while Leopold made it clear prior to the season he was more willing to rebuild a bit that could have easily changed.

But its probably a little two early to worry about that, another two weeks of this garbage no heart playing may change that.

by ThatGuy22 on Jan 5, 2012 10:34 AM CST up reply actions

Very true… I was hoping that hot start wouldn’t come back to bite, but it very well could… I just hope they don’t overreact because there really is a ton of good talent coming—talent that could be used in a system we [think we] know works. It would be a real shame to blow that up.

Being from Minnesota, it would be rude to put something clever here.

by redheadzeb on Jan 5, 2012 11:07 AM CST up reply actions

Both are safe, remember, we weren't supposed to win this year anyway and neither are the problem here.

by cgp711 on Jan 5, 2012 6:56 PM CST up reply actions

While I do agree that the Wild weren’t supposed to win this year, losing like this is unacceptable, regardless of previous expectations. Teams that lose 10 of 11 usually see some pretty big shakeups. Leipold can’t release or deal the entire roster, so the coach is usually the sacrificial lamb, usually to calm the fans.
The fan base, fair or not, is the group that needs to be appeased. The fans wanted Todd Richards served up after one year. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the fans become upset with Yeo if the slide continues through January. The great start makes the slide hurt even worse. Losing another 7 or 8 games out of 10 isn’t going to win him over any popularity points with the fans.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.
Mikael Granlund = Suomi Savior

by JDesthubert on Jan 5, 2012 7:05 PM CST up reply actions

Poltergeist

The ghost of Todd ‘hot rod’ Richards needs to be exorcised. (Nathan beat me to it). The last month has looked like RI hardship hockey.

This team/coach showed too much promise in the first two months to start talking about pink slips. Hopefully this stretch puts a little gray in Yeodas beard and he gains some Bowman-esque coaching wisdom from the shit storm this team is in.

On a positive note I saw Gillies crush a Canuck last night. And I didn’t notice him falling forward as he was chased the play. There’s hope for him yet.

by Pewterschmidt on Jan 5, 2012 9:13 AM CST via mobile reply actions

RI Hardship

This was meant to be Richards hockey, but I like RI Hardship better.

by Pewterschmidt on Jan 5, 2012 9:19 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Trade talks

In his blog, Russo mentioned that there could be trade talks with the Wild. I seriously hope there’s a LOT of truth in those rumors. This team is lost right now. It needs goal scoring in a bad, bad way. I thought that concern was addressed with Heatley and Seto. Seems like, with the exception of a VERY few games, the Wild simply struggle to score. They need goals. Lots of ‘em. But then, for THAT to happen, you need to put shots on goal. And for THAT to happen, you need to spend some time in the offensive zone. Especially when you have the f’n man-advantage. How terrible has the Wild PP been? Seriously!! It’s progressed from ‘average’ to ‘mediocre’ to ‘bad’ to ‘hilariously awful’ to just downright ‘atrocious’. Sorry if I seem bitter. Watching last night’s game just made me cringe the whole time.

Son-of-a-bitch is dug in like an Alabama tick!

by Mark It Zero! on Jan 5, 2012 10:21 AM CST reply actions

This makes me ill to say but Mooney was sort of right.

One of the biggest weaknesses of our defense is their inability to start an effective breakout and hold the zone. For the most part they are all solid defensively but between the youth back there and certain veterans not stepping up their play, the defense is a huge question mark right now. They are carrying far too many defensemen and probably just need to play the same six to find chemistry and learn the game at the pro level.

As for trades, I think this team needs to seriously take a good look at itself right now. They can go one of three ways with trades. Make a trade for the sake of making one to shake up the room. Make a trade for some more offensive players. Or they can start selling off what they can and gather some picks for this year’s draft. I’m not sure where I am leaning right now.

If Wellman is going to play on the 4th line, why have him up here? Honestly he should be on the second line and move Clutter back to the third. I like Nick Johnson but his game has started to fall off. Powe is good on the PK and not much else. Bump either of them to the 4th line for Clutter. We need to see what Wellman can do. I was pleasantly surprised by his play when he was on the second line. Not that they could find a taker for Cullen, but I would be okay with Wellman being the second line center too just to see what he’s got.

I think our expectations for Setogutchi were way too high, mine as well. He is a nice player, but he is a 2nd/3rd line guy and can’t be expected to carry a team. He is fast but careless with the puck. He doesn’t have the best shot but it is still pretty decent, but there is not much more to him. He doesn’t have the best hands and can’t really deke much either. He is what he is. He was unfortunately/unfairly billed as a savior of sorts but remember, Fletch said at the time he did the deal with Burns because of Coyle, Setogutchi was just the roster player we took back.

A shakeup of some sort is needed. I am not sure what that is going to be. This team seems to have chronic character issues, everytime they start to lose they quit on their coach and each other. It was easier this year to buy in and play the system because it was working. Now parts aren’t working and they are starting over but this time they are not listening. I am not really sure what they do. In my mind they can’t move any of the top six players. Koivu? Yeah right. Heatley? Doubtful and no takers. Setogutchi? Even though he is pretty much what he is, a 40-50 point guy, he is still 24 and the roster player we got for Burns, no chance they move him. PMB? Contract, injury history, has been decent but disappears a bit too. Cullen? Contract, age, MN guy, etc. Harding, Zanon, Falk, Lundin and Gillies seem to be the only moveable parts and only Harding has any value. What will he fetch? Not the answer to this team’s problems that’s for sure.

by cgp711 on Jan 5, 2012 6:55 PM CST up reply actions

Zanon has some value, IMHO

Especially to a team like Tampa that needs strong defensive defensemen. Honestly, I think that is why he’s been in the pressbox; so he doesn’t take a shot that knocks him out and then can’t be traded.

Being from Minnesota, it would be rude to put something clever here.

by redheadzeb on Jan 5, 2012 8:18 PM CST up reply actions