Wilderness Walk: Dan's 21st Birthday / Game Day Edition

Greetings and salutations Wilderness! At the time of my last walk we here in Minnesota and much of the U.S. were stuck firmly in an icebox with seemingly no hope of ever returning to tolerable temperatures. Weather can be a funny thing, and that kick in the knickers we experienced certainly makes these more reasonable temperatures feel like a cool spring day now don't they? Feels like its time to dust off the grills and bust out the shorts and beach shirts.

Your Minnesota Wild suffered a loss on home ice to the Colorado Avalanche last night, which is a complete bummer because they seemed to dominate the play for large swaths of the game. Charlie Coyle lit the lamp twice in 40 seconds in the second period which made the 6 minutes previous to that when the Av's scored 2 goals a moot point. Unfortunately as things tend to go, the bounces were just not there and the Wild dropped this one 4 - 2 in front of 19,000+ at the Xcel Energy Center. This was the kind of game that drives fancy stat heads mad.

In other news, on behalf of everyone here at your favorite Minnesota Wild hockey blog I would like to wish one of our own a very happy 21st birthday! Dan (WIMinnesotaWildFan) and I came onto the team here at Hockey Wilderness at the same time and despite him being relatively new to the world of hockey super-fandom the kid has really impressed me with his knowledge of the sport and his fanatical style he brings to the site. So happy birthday kiddo! I know your from Wisconsin were drinking is second nature to the natives, but try not to get yourself into too much trouble tonight!

Wild News

Minnesota Wild: Though win streak ends, coach Mike Yeo isn't displeased - TwinCities.com
Andy Greder bring your gamer from the East side paper factory.

Colorado ends Wild's winning streak at four games | Star Tribune
Kent Youngblood brings you his version of events from the West side paper factory.

Colorado snows Wild's 4-game winning streak in 4-2 Avalanche win | State of Hockey News
SOHN with a breakdown, period by period of last nights action.

Charlie Coyle and Dany Heatley show chemistry in Wild's loss | FOX Sports on MSN
Charlie Coyle set a record for fastest two goals by a Wild player at the Xcel Energy Center and had the first two-goal game of his career last night.

Tom Powers: In Wild's NHL world, just about every game is a toss-up - TwinCities.com
His bit on adversity is spot on, of course I'm not being asked by reporters what went wrong on a daily basis so why would I harp on it?

Wild-Nashville game preview | Star Tribune
Quick hits for tonight's game. Puck drop is at 6 pm Central Time today so be ready a little earlier than last night.

Tending the Fields

Hockey roundup: Iowa Wild, D.M. Bucs fall on road | The Des Moines Register | desmoinesregister.com
The Iowa Wild take a loss in foreign lands.

Gladiators salvage shootout win over Orlando | Gwinnett Daily Post
The Solar Bears get a point against a divisional foe in a loss to Grand Rapids.

Mallards shut out by hot goaltender
Mallards lose in a close one to the Arizona Sundogs.

Lacsidasicle Meanderings

Vantastic! Stealth make noise with 8-5 win over Swarm in home debut | National Lacrosse League
The Swarm drop to 0 - 2 on the young season.

Off the Trail

Michael Russo's Sunday Insider: Penguins' Crosby looking like Hart Trophy favorite | Star Tribune
Not going out on a limb with any of these picks in my opinion.

NHL could draw more fans with a simple shift of season schedule - NY Daily News
Hockey in the Summer? I don't know about that buddy. Maybe start a month ahead of where they do now, but to fire it up right after Basketball is done? Just gross.

U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team Scrimmaging Against Dexter Southfield, Other High School Boys Teams Ahead of Sochi | NESN.com
The ladies are going to battle against the guys in a series of scrimmages for the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team.

Ducks win sixth in a row, Hiller extends personal streak to 13 | ProHockeyTalk
Simply put, the Anaheim Ducks rarely lose, and seemingly never lose when Jonas Hiller is between the pipes.

NHL Recap - Boston Bruins at San Jose Sharks - Jan 11, 2014 - CBSSports.com
The San Jose Sharks handed their first home shutout loss in almost a year.

NHL Recap - Chicago Blackhawks at Montreal Canadiens - Jan 11, 2014 - CBSSports.com
The Blackhawks fall on the road yet earn a point in the loss.

NHL Recap - Pittsburgh Penguins at Calgary Flames - Jan 11, 2014 - CBSSports.com
The Calgary flames avoid another shutout with a goal half-way through the final period.

Tomas Tatar honors late father with game-winning goal for Red Wings | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
Not sure I'd feel much like playing on a day like that, let alone be able to focus on the ice.

Jagr passes Lemieux for 7th all-time in scoring in Devils’ win | ProHockeyTalk
Next on the list, Steve Yzerman with 1,755 career points.

UMaine men’s hockey team lands youngest recruit: 13-year-old from Yarmouth | Bangor Daily News
When is one too young to recruit for college?

Mikhail Grigorenko refuses demotion, apologizes for it | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
Kid should really just take the demotion and be grateful for it. Your day will come kid, patience.

KHLer Yegor Milovzorov dons tinfoil fish head, scores bizarre shootout goal (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
The KHL All-Star game is a weird event.

Strangest goal ever? Swedish team scores from own zone after opponents no-show faceoff (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
Wow! No excuse for that at all.

Nashville News

NHL Recap - Ottawa Senators at Nashville Predators - Jan 11, 2014 - CBSSports.com
The Nashville Predators lost their last game in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators.

Nashville Predators update Pekka Rinne's injury rehab status | The Tennessean
Predators goalie Pekka Rinne is still recovering from a hip infection suffered after arthroscopic surgery on October 24th, 2013.

On the Forecheck - For Nashville Predators Fans
Your best source for quality Nashville Predators news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.

The Official Website - Nashville Predators
Head on over to the Predators website to catch up on all the latest on tonight's foe.