Happy soon-to-be Halloween from high above a vacant Xcel Energy Center, where the Wild lost to the defending Stanley Cup champs 3-1 tonight.

Definitely a different Chicago team than the one that got trounced on home ice by Edmonton last night, especially defensively. Also, this group might have lost nine guys from last year's team, but they are still a fast, puck possession team. They lost a lot of role players from last year, but the guys they picked up may be as gritty and are definitely faster.

Wild just didn't have it tonight. I liked the first. And if Marty Turco wasn't on the money during that first-period power play, maybe it's a different game. Turco made four saves on the advantage, two at the doorstep on Eric Nystrom chances.

But the second was awful. You can see the Wild just didn't have it immediately. Sluggish. On two early dumps in the first five minutes, the Wild didn't even try to win the foot race. There literally was indecision and then barely any forechecks mustered. And when they didn't have their legs, it didn't help that Turco had his. Sometimes Turco can kill ya with his puck-handling. Tonight, he killed the Wild. Not just with his saves, but with his Marty Brodeur-like forecheck-extinguishing puck-handling.

The Wild was sloppy in its own zone, getting caught numerous times with the long change, reaching for pucks and turning them over just inside the blue line.

It looked like they'd escape until Duncan Keith's rebound was popped in by Troy Brouwer. The third was better, but Keith -- last year's Norris winner and a guy leading the league with 29 minutes of ice time -- scored on a wraparound.

Marek Zidlicky scored with 5:54 left, and then coach Todd Richards dramatically shortened the bench in hopes of tying. He basically kept throwing out Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette and Marty Havlat, and Matt Cullen basically played the final four minutes straight as a defenseman until Jake Dowell's empty-netter.

Havlat got a chance with the top line and top power-play unit the final 10 minutes, starting when Chuck Kobasew was off the bench. Didn't result in a goal, although on the first shift it resulted in a Wild power play.

Like I said, the Wild just didn't have it the final 40 really. Poor puck management again resulted in less puck possession, fewer forechecks and more time spent in its own end. Not very good.

Wild will gather at the X for at least a meeting in the morning. Richards will decide then if the team practices or refreshes for a Monday practice and Tuesday's game vs. San Jose. I'm spent, too. I've got the next 2 days off. Kent Youngblood's on the team, and you can follow him on here and on twitter at @bloodstrib.

I did run into Antti Miettinen in the press box tonight, and he says he has been diagnosed with a mild concussion. You can read the gamer for further game details and the notebook for some cool notes, and a Miettinen quote.

Happy Halloween.