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:

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

1. Can anyone contain the quick, young talent of the Penguins?
   
2. Will Burns be up or back?
3. Will the Wild try to skate with the Pens, or bottle them up? East v. West, which style will win?
4. Will they stop Evgeni Malkin, who has a 13-game point and assist streak?
5. 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.

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:

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

1. Will the line shuffle work out?
   
2. Does Burns get burned out playing both winger and defense tonight, his first action in over a week?
   
3. 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)?
   
4. Can Bryzgalov get his first career win against the Wild?
   
5. Will Peter Mueller shine in front of the hometown crowd?
   

Jacques Lemaire Pre-game Interview

Vancouver Canucks 2 - 0 Minnesota Wild

Superstar goalie Roberto Luongo has historically had trouble stopping the WIld offense. However, the Wild offense has historically had no trouble stopping the Wild offense, and with Luongo on a hot streak, and the Wild offense on a cold streak, it didn't bode well going into GM Place. Well, looked like the bad feeling was a premonition of things to come.

The Wild defense, even without Brent Burns for a fourth straight game, looked good against the Canucks. Nick Schultz and He Who Must Not Be Named have been (for the most part) absent from discussion of their on-ice performance. When you're a stay-at-home defenseman, this is an excellent way to show that you are doing your job, and things didn't change Saturday night in Vancouver. Both blueliners were solid in helping keep the WIld in the game.

Unfortunately, with no Gaborik, and only one actual offensive line, the job of the defensemen and goalies becomes even more difficult than normal. You no longer have to just keep your team in the game, you need to go out and win the game on your own. Unfortunately, giving up two goals when your team can't score isn't the way to get those W's.

So, job well done to the Wild defensive corps for keeping an opponent under 30 shots tonight, and thanks to Nick and He Who Must Not Be Named for doing your jobs.

The Wild are off until Thursday night, when they take the ice at the X against the Phoenix Coyotes, in another strangely long break this early in the season. However, they desperately need the time off to get Burns, Nolan and Gaborik healthy.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Roberto Luongo (29 shots, 29 saves for his third straight shutout)
   
2. Henrik Sedin (2 assists)
   
3. Daniel Sedin (1 goal)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Can they solve Luongo? No. Three straight shutouts for the best goalie in the NHL.
   
2. Can the Wild win the shot count? No. But they didn't lose it either, so that's a start!
   
3. Can the Wild finally stop the Sedins? Nope. Sedin boys had 1 goal and 2 assists to continue their excellent play against the Wild. How about Gaborik for both Sedins?
   
4. Will Backstrom be the backbone of the team again? Yes, but to no avail. 27 saves on 29 shots with a 2.00 GAA apparently isn't good enough on a Jacques Lemaire coached team.
   
5. Anyone else hate the Canucks? No? Just me? Yes. Boy this was a sad, sad game.
   

Notes

• The Canucks’ defensemen have combined for 36 points, led by Kevin Bieksa’s 11. By comparison, the Wild’s defensemen have scored 17 points (not counting Brent Burns’ one goal as a forward and Tomas Mojzis’ assist as a forward).
• Luongo has four shutouts in six games, backstopping the Canucks to five wins. He has gone 201 minutes, 8 seconds without allowing a goal.
• This was Backstrom's first regulation loss all time against the Canucks (5-1-1)
• Colton Gillies, playing his first NHL game in his hometown, took a boarding penalty at the end of a long shift in the first period.
  

What the team is saying

"You notice there in the third, they’ve got five guys at their blue line and [their media’s] talking about our trap?" Lemaire said. "That’s a new trap."

"We could have scored easy four goals and we didn't," coach Jacques Lemaire said. "Our goalie [Niklas Backstrom] was good, too. "It could have been great for the people here who want a lot of goals, but we had to change the goalies. Different goalies, we would have had six, seven goals each."

"You think you beat him, and all of a sudden you see his long pad shoot out and make that save." - Pierre-Marc Bouchard

What others are saying

"Just because maybe they've had my number a little bit in the past doesn't mean that trend has to continue." - Roberto Luongo

On his amazing stop on Andrew Brunette's breakaway, "It kind of fell through my legs somewhere," Luongo said. "Was lucky on that play."

Ryan Kesler, on the stiff arm from Mikko Koivu: "That’s about what you expect from a player like that."

Ok, so says the guy sharing a locker room with Matthias Ohlund. Ass.

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Vancouver Canucks (8-6-0) vs Minnesota Wild (8-3-1)

GM Place @ 9:00 CST

Television: FSN and NHL Network
Radio: WCCO 830. Listen live at wccoradio.com

For the Vancouver perspective, check out Canucks Nation

Tonight's lines:

NOTES:

• Burns, Gaborik and Nolan area still in the Twin Cities, with no word oin when they will return.
• Pavol Demitra will have to wait another time to underachieve against the Wild like he underachieved for the Wild, as he's still out injured.
• Roberto Luongo, who leads the league with four shutouts, hasn't been scored on since the second period against Detroit in a 3-2 loss, a streak of 141:07. However, Luongo only has an .866 save percentage against Minnesota.

• The Wild won five of the last six meetings with the Canucks last season. Niklas Backstrom is 5-0-1 against the Canucks with a 2.02 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

• Henrik Sedin has tallied 28 points (5-23=28) in 44 games against Minnesota. Daniel Sedin has recorded 27 points (9-18=27) in 42 contests

Questions to Answer

1. Can they solve Luongo?
   
2. Can the Wild win the shot count?
   
3. Can the Wild finally stop the Sedins?
4. Will Backstrom be the backbone of the team again?
5. Anyone else hate the Canucks? No? Just me?
   

Minnesota Wild 3 - 1 Colorado Avalanche

This picture tells the story tonight. Were it not for the stellar play of Niklas Backstrom (36 shots, 35 saves), the Wild would have lost to an inferior Colorado Avalanche team. Nice to see Pierre-Marc Bouchard get back on the score sheet. He's been stricken with "unlucky bounce-itis" lately. Pucks aren't finding their way onto his stick. Tonight he took advantage of his chance.

Oh, and Darcy Tucker is nothing but a cheap-shot artist.

"My concern is at the end of the second, he tells me he's going to come and take out my knees, and then he actually does it," said Schultz, who got into a verbal exchange after a physical exchange late in the second. "It says everything you need to know about that guy."

"In the game right now, we're lacking respect for each other and to go and do something like that I think is not respecting one of the guys you're playing against. He's been that type of player his whole career, and you don't need that in the game. It's something we're trying to get away from -- hits to the head and taking out guys' knees. It's just a gutless play."

Tucker has a history of low hits, the most infamous when he took out Michael Peca's knees during the 2002 playoffs. Peca tore both his medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments.

Look for Derek Boogaard to wipe Darcy Tucker off the map in the next meeting, especially if the NHL doesn't suspend Tucker for his cheap-shot antics. There's no place for him in the NHL.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Niklas Backstrom (36 shots, 35 saves - just another night for Nik)
   
2. Marek Zidlicky (2 assists - thanks for tripling your point total)
   
3. Pierre-Marc Bouchard (1 goal - Welcome back)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Where the hell is Pierre-Marc Bouchard? Apparently he just needed to be the focus of the blogosphere to find his game again.
   
2. Where is the vaunted Wild defense? After giving huge numbers of shots in the last four games, they need to shut the Avs down tonight. Still way too many shots, especially after getting the first 8 of the game. Against a better team, this will kill them (see: San Jose).
   
3. Will the power play let the Wild down again? 1/3 tonight. I'll take 33%.
   
4. Will Kolanos build on a solid first showing? He was in the mix tonight. Didn't make any mistakes, and played a solid game. Just didn't get the bounces tonight.
   
5. Which will last longer, Gaborik's injury or the Franken/Coleman recount? Considering that the AMA line was outstanding again, and the Senate race is far from over, I'm hoping the Senate race lasts much longer.
   

Notes

• Andrew Brunette scored a goal in his first game back in Colorado. He was looking forward to getting the game done and getting out of town, so it was nice to see him pop one in.
  
• The Avalanche have lost five straight.
• Brunette played in his 800th game and 465th straight, the longest active streak in the NHL.
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard ended a five-game scoreless streak by scoring 3 minutes, 35 seconds into the game.
  

What the team is saying

"Our goaltender was super," coach Jacques Lemaire said. "It's funny. You look at him, at times you have so much confidence, you don't feel that they'll score against him. It's a great feeling when you see your goaltender like that. He was the big reason [we won] tonight."

"I'm glad it's over," Brunette, playing his 800th game, said of his return to Colorado.

We knew this was a team that was looking to get back on track," Lemaire said. "When you don't win enough games, you get fragile and we took advantage of it at the start."

"We kept taking penalties and got in trouble," Bouchard said. "We gave them life and momentum."

"I feel good," Backstrom said. "It's fun to play like this. I enjoy every day coming to the rink, even if it's practice. It's fun. That's the way hockey should be. Usually when you have fun, the better you play."

What others are saying

"We've got to be ready for the start of the game. We have to dictate how the game is going to be played," Granato said. "We can't go around seeing how the game is going to be played"

"I don't know what to say," Avs defender Ruslan Salei said. "We've got to come out ready to play, especially in our building. We can't spot a team a couple of goals before we start working. We've just got to bear down. It's never fun, and it's frustrating losing like this. But we have to go to work, try to stay positive and learn from your mistakes, and just be better."

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Colorado Avalanche (5-7-0) vs Minnesota Wild (7-3-1)

Pepsi Center @ 8:00

Television: KSTC (45/12)
Radio: WCCO 830. Listen live at wccoradio.com

For the Colorado perspective, check out Mile High Hockey, a Colorado Avalanche Blog

Tonight's lines:

NOTES:

• The Wild have lost 3 of the last 4 after starting 6-0-1
  
• The Wild are near the league lead in goals again, but the offense has been sputtering
  
• Brent Burns will fly back to the Twin Cities this afternoon to rest his upper body injury.
• Pepsi Center has not been a hospitable venue for the Wild, who are a lifetime 5-15-3 in Denver.
• Jacques Lemaire is very concerned about Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s psyche right now.

Questions to Answer

1. Where the hell is Pierre-Marc Bouchard?
   
2. Where is the vaunted Wild defense? After giving huge numbers of shots in the last four games, they need to shut the Avs down tonight.
3. Will the power play let the Wild down again?
   
4. Will Kolanos build on a solid first showing?
   
5. Which will last longer, Gaborik's injury or the Franken/Coleman recount?
   

San Jose Sharks 3 - 1 Minnesota Wild

Hmm, was Lemaire's sandbagging actually a self-fulfilling prophecy? Were the Wild too interested in the election coverage? Did they actually trade places with random Bay Area fans between the second and third period, or were they just that bad to be outshot 22-4 in the third? These questions have no answers, unfortunately, neither did the Wild for the Sharks feeding frenzy in the third (see what I did there? Sharks, feeding frenzy, get it???).

The Wild coach saw this as a moral victory and just wanted to move on. Frankly, I'm fine with that. Have lost three of the last four, they need a big rebound against (what should be) and overmatched team in the Colorado Avalanche, but without Gaborik, Nolan and Burns, things are awfully bleak right now. I should have more information on the injuries some time Thursday before game time.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Ryane Clowe (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 minor, 1 fight - Gordie Howe is proud)
   
2. Mike Grier (1 goal, 1 assist, +2)
   
3. Krys Kolanos (1 goal - welcome back to the NHL son)
   

Questions to Answer

1. Lemaire conceded the game already. Did the team? Apparently they did in the third. Signs of life, and really out played the Sharks until they scored, then it was all San Jose.
   
2. Can the team stay healthy tonight? Sounds like it. I haven't heard anything otherwise, so we'll take the small victories.
   
3. Will the Wild put the Power back in power play? NO. NO. NO. Horrible again.
   
4. Is it possible for half of the shots tonight to be generated by someone not named Antti, Andrew or Mikko? Well, since Stephane Veilleux led the team with 4 shots, and Kim Johnsson had 3 as did Mikko Koivu, I'd say the shots were evenly spread, unfortunately they were more than doubled up by the Sharks.
   
5. Can Kolanos make an impact tonight? He has the touch in Houston so far. Considering he scored his first goal in almost 3 years, yeah. I'd say he made in impact.
   

Notes

• Krys Kolanos scored his first NHL goal in over three years. The former Phoenix first-round draft pick last scored on Nov. 3, 2005 as a member of the Coyotes.
• The Wild are scoreless in their last 16 power play opportunities
• The Sharks beat the Wild for the eighth consecutive time since Oct. 21, 2006

What the team is saying

"Overall the guys played hard," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "What changed the dynamic of the game was the second goal. Backstrom made the save but the puck went back to another player and they scored. They are a top team and when you make a mistake it ends up in the net. I want [the young guys] to look at it exactly like this, they played hard. One thing I know is they can check. Now it’s a matter of playing with the puck. We’ll get there. We kept hitting. We got hit. I thought it was a very exciting game."

"That second goal was a big goal for them," Wild goalkeeper Niklas Backstrom said. "We were confident ourselves after two periods. 1-1 here, it’s good. I thought we’d play strong in the third and have a chance to win."

"They’re a big team. Part of their gameplan is try to intimidate some teams with their third and fourth lines. They’re big guys, but I thought we stood our ground." - Cal Clutterbuck

"It’s tough to lose. Winning is the most important thing. That was the priority. We hung in there. It’s just amazing how fast the momentum can shift." - Krys Kolanos

What others are saying

Sharks coach Todd McLellan: "I thought early in the game our response was poor. We had to address that between the second and third periods. After that we buckled down and played the way we should have. But it was a sloppy effort on our behalf for 40 minutes."

On his Gordie Howe hat trick, "It's a work day when you get one of those," said Ryane Clowe, still trying to catch his breath. "It's tiring."

"Any way we can get it done," said Roenick, who had an assist on McGinn's goal. "It doesn't matter who you play with or how much you play. It's just making sure you get the win at the end, and we did tonight."

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San Jose Sharks (10-2-0) vs Minnesota Wild (7-2-1)

HP Pavilion @ 9:30

Television: FSN
Radio: BOB 106.1 and KBGY 107.5

For the San Jose perspective, check out Fear the Fin, a San Jose Sharks Blog

Tonight's lines:

NOTES:

• This is the first trip to San Jose since Kurtis Foster had his leg broken.
• Nolan, Burns, and Mojzis are all listed as day-to-day. Gaborik is on injured reserve and has missed eight straight games.
• Lemaire says this league is made up of Detroit and San Jose, then everybody else.
• The Sharks haven't lost to the Wild since a 4-1 defeat at home on Oct. 21, 2006
• Krys Kolanos' equipment and sticks didn’t show up from Houston, so he couldn’t practice
• NHL All-Star ballots are now available. Gaborik, Koivu, Burns and Backstrom are all on the ballot. Go stuff the box!

Questions to Answer

1. Lemaire conceded the game already. Did the team?
   
2. Can the team stay healthy tonight?
   
3. Will the Wild put the Power back in power play?
   
4. Is it possible for half of the shots tonight to be generated by someone not named Antti, Andrew or Mikko?
5. Can Kolanos make an impact tonight? He has the touch in Houston so far.
   

Minnesota Wild 3-2 Phoenix Coyotes

So, if the Wild win 3-2 in the desert, and nobody was able to see it, does it really happen??

Brent Burns was injured in warmups and Tomas Mojzis took a shot in his second shift and did not return. Combine those with Owen Nolan and Marian Gaborik not even making the trip, and the Wild are a bit shorthanded, though did escape from the desert with the two points in a 3-2 win.

Erik Belanger, Benoit Pouliot and Mikko Koivu scored for the Wild. Olli Jokinen scored twice, Shane Doan had two assists, and Ilya Bryzgalov made 30 saves for the Coyotes.

Now, none of the analysis is mine, since the freaking game wasn't on TV. But I can tell you this, after playing both Olli Jokinen and Kristian Huselius this season, I stand by my off-season assertion that those two should have been at the top of the list of acquisitions for the WIld. My goodness they would look awfully good in a Wild sweater.

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

1. Olli Jokinen
2. Erik Belanger
   
3. Mikko Koivu

Questions to Answer

1. Will Ed Jovanovski continue his otherworldly performances against the Wild tonight? That dude has owned us. Ed Jovanovski was a -2. SCREW YOU JOVO!
   
2. Will anyone not named Antti, Andrew or Mikko shoot tonight?  8 for Mikko, 3 for Gillies, 3 for Veilleux, 4 for Mittens, 3 for Clutterbuck, 3 for Belanger, 1 for PMB, 0 for Brunette, 1 for Sheppard and 1 for Pouliot. So, 12 for the AMA line, 15 for the other 3 forward lines. Need to get the other lines to play more offensively.
   
3. Can special teams bounce back? No. One power play goal and a shorty to Olli Jokinen.
   
4. Can they put their foot on the throat of an overmatched team? Nope. Had to hang on, but injuries are really affecting the Wild.
   
5. How much do Rick Tocchet and Janet Gretzky have riding on tonight's game? Who knows, but I'm going to assume they lost.
   

Notes

• Mikko Koivu was 16/24 on faceoffs.
• Phoenix's last win in the series was Nov. 14, 2006
• Mojzis will be evaluated tomorrow. Burns is expected to play. Owen Nolan will be reevaluated Monday.
• The Wild's Andrew Brunette played in his 462nd straight consecutive game, with the Coyotes' Olli Jokinen's streak at 385. They're 1-2 on in the NHL among active players for longest active consecutive games played.

What the team is saying

"They gave me my chance tonight and I tried to prove it," Benoit Pouliot said. "That's what they want me to do, contribute. For the beginning of the season it's going good and we're winning games."

"We were forechecking pretty good and created the turnover. I was in the right place at the right time. It went right on my stick. I feel good out there and I'm playing with a lot of confidence," Erik Belanger said. "My legs feel great. I'm playing in every situation, and as a player you can't ask for any more."

"That's a huge win for us there. Come on!" coach Jacques Lemaire said. "Half of our offense is out. It's a huge game for us. I'm happy the way we played. I think we were intense, the kids played hard - there's not a lot of guys I'm not satisfied with."

What others are saying

"We had a lot of turnovers in the first half of the game," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said. "Against a team with as strong discipline as they play, you just can't turn the puck over too many times."

"The third goal wasn't a very good goal," he said. "We should have had the puck on the wall. We didn't get the puck out. It was a bad shot that went in, and it was not a pretty goal."

"I don't think we played at the level we're capable of playing, and it's very disappointing," Jokinen said. "You get the first goal, and you have to go get the second. Going into the third it was a tie game. Those are the games you want to win, especially at home."

"We came out real flat," Derek Morris said. "You take the first 10 minutes in the second period, they were all over us. We didn't have any momentum. "I don't know what it was tonight. They did a good job trapping us, but we were flat."

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