Wild's Zidlicky not tied down

Asked Monday if he got away with one, Marek Zidlicky smiled nervously like a child caught with his hand in the leftover-candy pumpkin.

Two days earlier, the Wild defenseman dropped the gloves with Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby after the two clashed behind the net, then in front of it with a nasty slashfest.

The YouTube clips combined for more than 56,000 views by Monday evening. But the video also shows one other subtle yet very vital detail.

Zidlicky's jersey wasn't tied down.

If the refs had noticed, Zidlicky could have been assessed a game misconduct and the Wild would have been down to five defensemen in the third period of an eventual hold-on-for-dear-life first road win of the season. The tie-down rule is in place to protect the player from having his jersey lifted over his head by the opposing fighter.

"That was my mistake. I remember for next time," Zidlicky said, laughing hysterically.

In a one-goal game, Zidlicky took the Penguins' best player off the ice for seven minutes (five for fighting, two for slashing), a tradeoff most would consider advantage Wild.

But Zidlicky didn't look at it that way. He felt the Wild needed him during those seven critical minutes. "I think it's important for me to be on ice, so I didn't like I was seven minutes off," he said. "That's an embarrassment. I like to play, and I put us in bad spot."

Zidlicky, 32, known as an offensive defenseman, has actually been slow to get points in the new Todd Richards' system that allows defensemen to run free. During his first year with the Wild, Zidlicky set Wild records for defensemen with 30 assists, 10 power-play goals and 24 power-play points.

This season, his howitzer of a slapshot hasn't hit the back of the net yet, although he leads Wild defensemen with six assists. "The goals are coming," Zidlicky said, smiling.

Defensively, he has been a lot more consistent than he was last season, when he took a team-high 38 minor penalties and tied Martin Skoula for the lowest plus-minus among defensemen (minus-12). Most unforgettably, Zidlicky drew some pointed criticism late in the season from then-coach Jacques Lemaire for carbon-copy, neutral-zone mistakes in New Jersey and Detroit that caused critical goals against.

"It was harder on us than it was on him," joked assistant coach Mike Ramsey, retained from the Lemaire staff. "He's got a little bit of an edge in his game where he might do things that are a little out of character for your normal defenseman.

"You can look at that as positive sometimes because it keeps other teams a little honest because he's unpredictable. But on the flip side, you want some predictability in his defensive game. And he's given us that [this season]."

And as he's shown since he's picked up injured Kim Johnsson's added minutes, Zidlicky can play physically. Paired with Greg Zanon (they're nicknamed "ZZ Top"), Zidlicky's played some good, solid hockey.

"When Z wants to bear down and be defensively responsible, he can do it," Ramsey said. "He's kind of a wild stallion out there. He likes to go a little bit. But he competes. You don't have to worry about Z competing."

And he showed that by going toe-to-toe with Crosby.

"I can't wait until the rematch [at home Jan. 11]," kidded enforcer Derek Boogaard.