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Tuesday June 18, 2013

This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses “Russo’s Rants” to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3 FM) radio and seen weekly on Fox Sports North.

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Posts about Wild practice

Wild looks to vanquish Dallas demons, makes roster moves, sends down Zucker

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: March 24, 2013 - 4:59 PM

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UPDATED

The Wild had a fun, quick practice at St. Thomas Academy this morning and is about to hit the friendly sky for a southbound flight to the Lone Star State.

Most the Wild's practice today was a small area 3-on-2 game where both nets are on the same goal line. Gloves are lined up vertically in the middle of the zone, and when the puck crosses to that side, a new 3-on-2 begins aimed at one of the nets. It's fun to watch.

Causes quick plays in tight spaces, communication, players are basically unaware as to how hard they're actually working because they're having so much fun and it triggers lots of hooting and hollering -- mostly from assistant coach Darryl Sydor, who seems to love whatever team Mikko Koivu is on.

Left wing Mike Rupp, who missed the past three games with a lower body injury, practiced today and will be on that plane for the quick trip to Dallas. He was oddly the only player to wear a white helmet today. I figured it must be his version of the yellow "Do Not Touch Me, I'm Hurt" jersey, but he simply made a faux pas and packed the wrong helmet for the dress and drive.

I am not sure if Rupp is going to play yet though. I hear the Wild is going to reassign Jason Zucker this afternoon, presumably because Pierre-Marc Bouchard has taken his spot on the second line and Zucker isn't suited for the fourth line. But it sounds to me like the Wild will recall a player as it reassigns Zucker. I'll update when I know.

I also think the Wild will flip goalies at some point. They'll need a backup to play next weekend, and Matt Hackett will have gone three weeks without a game by then.

Update: Zucker was indeed sent down and former Badger Jake Dowell recalled. Dowell is a former Star with a physical edge. I'd think Zucker will be back if there's an injury in a top-line role or a spot opened up. Could be very short-term. He'll be back. Blame Corey Perry.

The Wild also flipped goalies, recalling Darcy Kuemper. It's unclear whether this is temporary though. Hackett could start one game with Houston and then maybe be recalled to play Friday in Dallas or in Minnesota against Los Angeles next Saturday.

I can't see Niklas Backstrom starting both road-home back-to-backs next weekend. If it were me, I'd go with a Hackett-Kuemper duo Friday in Dallas and don't even travel Backstrom. We'll talk to Yeo in the morning to get his comments on the moves.

The big Stars news is they traded captain Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh. I've got to think now Boston pounces on Jarome Iginla.

Niklas Backstrom vs. Kari Lehtonen -- almost definitely -- Monday.

The Wild will be searching for its first win in Dallas since March 21, 2003. I'm no math major, but I think that's a little more than 10 calendar years!. Sixteen losses in a row (0-11-5), which is tied for the longest current losing streak by one team in one opposing building in the NHL (Calgary at Anaheim). The Wild's been outscored 62-30 in this stretch.

I have to dig up last year's file I put together of tweets I got when I asked for entries to: "The last time the Wild won in Dallas, ..."

For instance: The last time won in Dallas, Sid Hartman was still a young, up-and-coming columnist.

I'll find this file and blog em Monday morning.

The good news is the Wild snapped an 11-game winless streak in Vancouver last Monday, beat Detroit in regulation for the first time on the road since 2006 on Wednesday and half the Wild players have no clue such a streak even exists.

The Wild has said over and over lately that it feels it can beat any team in any building right now. Well, we will see. Bizarrely, the Wild plays in Dallas Monday and Friday with a home game in between vs. Phoenix.

I'll be on KFAN at 10 a.m. on Monday and on Fox Sports North during Wild Live at 7 p.m. Monday and again during the first intermission.

In some NHL news, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman fired Guy Boucher very early this morning -- strangely before the Lightning plays in Winnipeg tonight. Not often are coaches fired in the middle of a road trip, let alone after taking a plane ride with the team following a loss at Ottawa yesterday. Must have been quite the flight.

Former Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff seems destined to replace Boucher and Yzerman indicated he's got somebody lined up. The other name circulating is minor-league coach Jon Cooper.

Also, TSN's Darren Dreger reports Calgary captain Jarome Iginla has four teams he is willing to be traded to -- Pittsburgh, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Lastly, one reason why it was time for the Wild to send Mikael Granlund to Houston is he can play roles there he just wasn't able to in Minnesota. First line, first power play and even shootouts.

In Minnesota, it got to the point Granlund was either relegated to the fourth line or press box. He didn't get a shootout try because Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Matt Cullen are three of the best in the NHL (none of the Wild's four shootouts went past Round 3, Wild's 3-1 in shootouts).

In five games back with the Aeros, Granlund has one goal and five assists, and last night against Rochester scored this shootout beauty.

Tom Gilbert back on the ice for Wild

Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: March 22, 2013 - 3:11 PM

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 Wild coach Mike Yeo isn’t about to admit to any potential roster moves. But defenseman Tom Gilbert, who missed victories in Vancouver and Detroit with a lower body injury incurred in the team’s victory in Colorado March 16, was on the ice for today’s practice and is ready to go.

“I’m ready to go, ready to play,” Gilbert said. “I have full confidence going into tomorrow.”

Yeo, meanwhile, also said he expected Gilbert to be ready. But, when asked if that meant Gilbert would definitely be in the lineup against San Jose in Saturday’s matinee, Yeo smiled. “One o’clock puck drop,” he said. “Don’t miss it.”

 

While Gilbert is back, Mike Rupp (lower body) isn’t. Rupp missed practice again Friday.

 

There was one more encouraging note. Goaltender Josh Harding was at Xcel Energy Center Friday, and he looked good. “I had a brief conversation with him,” Yeo said. “And he was feeling very good. His word, actually, was great. And even just looking at him, I think he looks great. So we’ll talk some more about what the plan is going forward.”

 

Harding has not played since Feb. 7 while trying to get a handle on treatment for multiple sclerosis.

 

Meanwhile, Rupp was the only skater to miss practice today, and Yeo had the same lines going that has produced this recent hot streak.

 

That’s about it for now. Mike will be at tomorrow’s game. 

First place in the Northwest on the line Monday when the Wild visits the Canucks

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: March 17, 2013 - 5:45 PM

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First place in the Northwest Division is on the line Monday night when the Wild, winners of four of its past five, visit Rogers Arena and the Vancouver Canucks.
 
Good afternoon (early evening back in Minnesota) from Vancouver, where the Hockey God(s) provided me with a gorgeous final off-day in this magnificent city before realignment hits next season and limits me to one or two games here a season.

Mike Yeo’s got his team running on all cylinders right now. The Wild practiced this afternoon down at the building formerly known as GM Place. The only Wild player who didn’t practice was defenseman Tom Gilbert, whom Yeo expects to play Monday against the Canuckleheads.
 
Yeo indicated it was a maintenance day for the veteran defenseman, who was mugged by Colorado’s John Mitchell early in Saturday’s game and did take a shot off the leg before one of the Avalanche’s second-period goals.
 
Left wing Mike Rupp, who sustained a lower body injury in Saturday’s game, practiced today. Yeo indicated that he would play, meaning Jason Zucker, although he has been cleared to return, will have to continue to wait to get back in the lineup.
 
That means recently-signed defenseman Brett Clark would continue to wait as well. The Wild hasn’t had a lot of quality practice time lately, so Yeo said he wants to give him the best opportunity to be successful.
 
It’s also understandable that Yeo doesn’t want to fiddle with a winning lineup.
 
“The lineup that we had did a really good job last game, and the game previous to that, as well,” Yeo said.
 
With Pierre-Marc Bouchard deserving to stay in the lineup after two quality games, there’s just no spot for Zucker right now. Charlie Coyle continues to play well on the top line, Bouchard has retaken Zucker’s spot on the second, Yeo isn’t going to sit any of the veterans on the third line and the fourth line of Rupp, Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell has played real well together, brings a different and much-needed type of element (physicality, defense, energy) and played well in this building last month.
 
Asked if it’s tough not to throw Zucker back in, Yeo said, “Yeah. For sure. But it was hard taking Butch out, too. These are the tough choices that we have to make.”
 
The Wild has won two in a row for the seventh time this season. The six previous times it failed to extend that streak to three. Monday it’ll attempt to do so in an arena it has not taken a victory from in 11 visits (0-9-2, outscored 40-15). The Wild did play pretty well in last month’s 2-1 loss here though, and even though the Canucks are 2-1 against the Wild this year, the Wild has played them well.
 
The Canucks are up and down these days, getting trounced by Detroit last night at home. The Canucks are 0 for 30 on the power play in the past 11 games.
 
Niklas Backstrom, 10-3-1 in his past 14 starts, will get the nod. The Canucks didn’t practice Sunday, but the assumption by many is Cory Schneider will get the start despite Roberto Luongo holding Minnesota to one goal in his past four home starts.
 
Backstrom has been good the past month, but he has shown signs of cracking lately. He gave up seven goals in two wins against Colorado and was swimming all over the crease the first two periods before a strong third Saturday.
 
Yeo is aware of Backstrom’s workload and my guess is he would even consider giving him a game off Wednesday in Detroit. But Yeo said today: “We’ll make sure that we’re monitoring him. … It’s important to get wins. We’re going into a battle for first place [Monday], and I think it’s important that we go with our starting goalie. We want to give ourselves the best chance to win that game. We’ll make sure that we do that every night, but at the same, it’s important that we don’t burn him out. We’ll make sure that he gets enough rest, too.”
 
I wrote a big story on Ryan Suter for Monday’s paper. He has been sensational since a rocky start, and he talked to me about what helped turn it around. He is now a legit Norris Trophy contender, and that may have been strengthened if Kris Letang’s injury for Pittsburgh today was serious.
 
Suter is second among NHL defensemen with 21 assists and 23 points. He has done that in 27 games. He is one point from surpassing Jared Spurgeon’s defensemen lead in 70 games last year.  He has got a point in nine of the past 10 games.
 
Devin Setoguchi has a goal in three straight games and nine in the past 17.
 
That’s it for me. I’ll be on KFAN at 10:20 CT Monday and on Fox Sports North Plus during Wild Live and first intermission Monday.
 
Oh yes, remember, the game is on Fox Sports North Plus. Go to their site to find out what channel that is on your provider.
 
Talk to you after Monday’s skate.
 
 
 

"Really good sign" with Jason Zucker; Brett Clark arrives in Minnesota

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: March 13, 2013 - 3:12 PM

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The Wild held an extremely optional practice today at Xcel Energy Center this afternoon (more on this decision below) led by assistant coach Darby Hendrickson and goalie coach Bob Mason.
 
After practice, in a track suit, rookie Jason Zucker hit the ice for a twirl. Coach Mike Yeo said that’s a “really good sign.” Afterward, Zucker said, “I feel alright,” but wouldn’t provide the extent of his “upper body injury.”
 
“Overall, I’m happy that I’m standing here right now,” Zucker said.
 
Asked if Zucker had a concussion after getting clobbered by Corey Perry last night, Yeo said: “I don’t think he’d be allowed to be on the ice if that was the case.”
 
Zucker has had concussions before and symptoms often arise a few days after an incident. Zucker said he would see how he feels in the morning, then talk to Yeo and the medical staff before determining if he can play.
 
Perry had a disciplinary hearing with the NHL at 11 a.m. CT. He has been suspended four games. Here is the league video explaining its decision.
 
If Zucker can’t play, Yeo said Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who has been scratched in three straight games, will get in.
 
Defenseman Brett Clark has arrived in Minnesota with his Oilers’ equipment bag. The Wild signed the 36-year-old veteran defenseman for the remainder of the year at a prorated salary of $900,000. He was a longtime Colorado Avalanche and a vet of four teams.
 
He had a two-week window in his contract to talk to NHL teams. The Wild called Monday. Edmonton liked him, but the Oilers have eight defensemen. He said he had a few good options, but Minnesota was the best. I hear Dallas also pursued him hard.
 
“It’s very exciting to get back up here,” Clark said. “The lockout put a kink on a lot of things, but it helped me get fully healthy and work on a few things, maybe strength wise. I went down to OK City. I was playing a ton down there and the opportunity came and it was very exciting.
 
“I knew I had to go down there and give everything I had like I was playing in the show because I’m playing for another opportunity.”
 
He’s always been a terrific shot blocker and decent puck mover. Last year was a tough one after a quality 2010-11 when he helped Tampa to the Eastern Conference Finals. He was a minus-26 in 2011-12, which ranked 890th in the NHL. He says he blocked a shot and sustained a fracture to his ankle in December. He played all 82 games but says he wasn’t the same player after the injury. The lockout allowed him the time to get completely healthy, he says. He had 199 blocked shots last year, second in the NHL.
 
He was playing in Oklahoma City and was almost a point per game player. As of now, the Wild plans to keep eight defensemen on the roster, meaning Justin Falk and Nate Prosser stay for now. I talked to Falk about the Wild’s decision to sign Clark. He was mature about it and I’ll have quotes from him in the paper in the next few days.
 
Clark will not debut against his former Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Yeo said Clark will have to get into a couple practices first, before adding with a laugh, “if we ever practice again.”
 
“I said it this morning, it’s almost like we’re in a beer league right now. just show up and play games,” Yeo joked.
(Again more on Yeo’s decision not to have a full practice below).
 
Fletcher says “you can never have enough defensemen, so this made sense on a whole host of levels.” Fletcher says all along the Wild wanted to add another veteran NHL defenseman at some point to provide depth, help in several areas, give Yeo more options and protect the team in case of injuries. Team defense for the Wild has been the least of its concerns, so this provides insurance. The Wild’s seventh-best in goals against and shots against.
 
On Clark, Yeo said, “It’s an NHL defenseman that we’re adding to our group, a veteran presence. Depth is very important. I think the defensive group has been doing a really good job for us, but this is a guy that we can add that adds veteran presence, adds puck-moving ability and has been around and thinks the game well.
 
“It adds a little bit of internal competition, which is not a bad thing. It puts the pressure on you to make sure you’re ready to be at your best every night.”
 
Yeo said Clark “can play the power play, he distributes the puck well, he thinks the game well. He adds some poise. He’s been in situations and knows how to handle them.”
 
Basically, this adds experience at a cheap price. A lot cheaper than say Steve Montador at 2.5M. He got through waivers from Chicago the other day.
 
“You realize how quickly things can change in this league,” Yeo said. “We’ve been fortunate – knock on wood – but things can change very quickly, so to have depth is very important.”
 
After last night’s 2-1 loss to Anaheim – a game the Wild basically gave away because it’s power play was so dreadful – Yeo said the power play looked like a power play that hasn’t had any practice time lately, and that’s because it hasn’t.
 
Then Yeo made the decision today not to have a full practice? Odd, to say the least.
 
I asked Yeo to explain, and he said, “Believe me, I would love to practice. I love practicing, I love the feeling going into games that you’ve covered all the things that you need to cover. But when you talk to the guys and even when you watch the third period, you can tell that we didn’t have the energy that we needed. Coming off three in four games with travel, coming off very emotional, very hard games, we needed this today.”
 
I watched the game again in the wee hours of this morning. It’s still amazing the Wild didn’t win. I had the chances after two periods at 20-3. That’s crazy. So you just knew something bad was going to happen when you don’t capitalize on so many chances.
 
Yeo said, “Even with that game, there’s an opportunity to grow. A lLot of good things to take out of that game. Overall lately, I feel like we’re a really good team right now. That’s what we have to stay focused on. It’s so difficult not to get so wrapped up in each and every game and the result of it and what the implications of what that result are, but where we want to get to, you just have to keep marching on.”
 
On Bouchard, Yeo said, “He’s a player that we have still a lot of faith in what he can do and what he can add to our team. It’s not the ideal situation that he finds himself in right now. The next time he comes in he’ll get a very fair chance. It is what is. It’s a game to game thing right now. We have a lot of good players.”
 
Bouchard, Cal Clutterbuck, Tom Gilbert, Mike Rupp, Zenon Konopka, Clayton Stoner, Charlie Coyle, Prosser and Falk skated today with goalies Darcy Kuemper and Matt Hackett. With Kuemper healthy he was returned to Houston on Wednesday.
 
Scary incident in the practice. Somehow radio play-by-play Bob Kurtz, with an entire arena empty and the only one sitting in a lower-bowl section, took a puck to the left side of the head. He sustained a deep gash and huge knot to his forehead. Dany Heatley guessed 10 stitches would close the wound. He was right on the money.
 
He was in great spirits afterward, which might mean he has a concussion (ha). “This gives you something to blog about. Day to day with an upper body injury,” he said.
 
Konopka on the incident: “It’s not funny, … but it’s funny.”
 
Poor Kurtzie.
 

Clutterbuck returns to practice

Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: March 6, 2013 - 2:48 PM

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For the first time since sustaining a thigh contusion after taking a hit from Taylor Hall in Edmonton Feb. 21, Cal Clutterbuck practiced with the Wild Wednesday.

After taking part in a very focused, up-tempo practice, Clutterbuck -- who practiced on a line with Kyle Brodziak and Dany Heatley -- said he felt good and could play Saturday in Nashville.

"I'm making progress,'' said Clutterbuck, who began skating on his own last Saturday. "I'm feeling pretty good right now. So I can definitely see (playing Saturday) as a possibility for sure. We still have three days. We'll take it day by day, see how I feel. But I'm pretty confident right now."

Clutterbuck said his conditioning is good, and that there are no problems with his thigh. But there is still some stiffness. "I had some other stuff going on in my leg, too, not just the quad," he said. 

Wild coach Mike Yeo said Clutterbuck looked good in practice and that there was a "good chance'' Clutterbuck would be in the lineup Saturday. 

Meanwhile, after just about everybody on the team criticized the Wild's effort Tuesday in Chicago, Yeo said he saw what he needed to see in Wednesday's practice, which featured extensive battle and game-situation drills. 

"We saw it," Yeo said of the intensity he expected. "The guys battled, and the guys worked today. And that's what this group does. We came and found a way to come to the rink and try to get better today. That's the attitude you have to have."

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper and forward Mike Rupp were the only players on the ice. Yeo said Rupp -- who was acquired from the New York Rangers in a trade in early February -- was given time to visit his family. Kuemper, meanwhile, had a sore groin even before relieving Niklas Backstrom Tuesday, and that it felt worse after the game.

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher had told Mike Russo the team was considering a change with the backup goaltender, one that would give Matt Hackett some time here. But Yeo said Kuemper played well Tuesday and said he had not talked with Fletcher about a possible change. 

The Wild will have Thursday off, then practice Friday morning before heading to Nashville.

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