Weekly Wild Update: Week of 2-20-2012

Coming into last week, if you would have said the one game of the four the Wild would win would be against the Bruins, I would have taken every bet you threw my way. Good thing I don't run book.

We listed the four games last week as a chance to get four points, those coming from Anaheim and Winnipeg. They got three, coming from the defending champion Bruins and loser point from the Jets. How all that works out is beyond me. Sometimes, playing up or down to your opponent works out for the best. Other times, not so much. To be sure, most of the time, not so much.

While beating the Bruins was certainly fun to watch, the reality remains that the Wild won three of the eight points available for the week. For a team still harboring playoff hopes, that's not going to cut it. Maybe they can build on the big win and get some mojo back.

Let's take a look.

Last Week

Again, with four games, and only winning three points, the week was not a success. The week started much like the previous week had ended. The Wild gave the Ducks a Valentine's Day present by scoring just one goal and allowing the Ducks to leave with the win. The Ducks weren't even overly impressive, and yet the Wild scored their one goal and shut down. It's become a bit of a trademark.

Against the Jets, the X was rocking, with Peggers flooding the building. Wild fans seemed a bit lost on how to drown out the Jets fans, but overall did an OK job of it. The Wild, however, couldn't overcome the shock of scoring three goals, and lost in the shootout. The Wild lost the shootout... stop me if you've heard this one. It was a disappointing loss for a Wild team that had certainly played well enough to win.

Then, the trip to St. Louis. The Wild lost their captain to an undisclosed injury, went into St. Louis and received an epic beat down. The Wild had zero chance in the game, putting just 13 shots on goal, and allowing the Blues to basically do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. On top of it, they turned into a bunch of frustrated hacks and Warren Peters took a light suspension for cross checking David Backes in the ear.

Not exactly their proudest moment.

Then, there was yesterday. A game no one in the world, myself included, gave them any shot to win. Yet, they did. Backstrom shutout the might Bruins, and a couple of Minnesotans scored to put the Wild in the W column for the first time in seven games. After the game, we learned Kyle Broziak was sticking around for another three years.

And all was right again in Mudville.

The Coming Week

This week likely didn't look all that bad when the schedules came out, but it could be a rough one. The Wild head to Florida to face the surprisingly good Panthers on Thursday, which gives us a chance to see the number of story lines we can find. John Madden and Jose Theodore are both there, Russo was a reporter there for years, and a former member of the Wild PR staff is now part of the Panthers web team. Should be a fun one.

The next night, the Wild are due in Dallas for another crack at breaking the curse. It's been nine years since the Wild won there, and haven't shown much of a desire to end that streak. After beating the Bruins in a no chance game, maybe the Wild see this as a chance to overcome another hurdle. Wild fans likely see it as a chance to take a night off from watching.

The week ends back at home against the Sharks. Sunday is also camouflage sweater night, so make sure to bring a camera and get there for pregame warm-ups. The sweaters will go up for auction a couple days later, with all funds raised going to Defending the Blue Line. Last year, this was a really cool event and raised a pretty solid amount of money for DTBL. This year gives you another shot at getting one of those sweet, sweet sweaters.

Plus, Brent Burns will be here. You know you want to be there for that.