Russo's Rants

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 news

Wild Q and A: Submit questions on my blog

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 18, 2013 - 6:42 PM

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I will be doing another Wild blog-submitted Q and A for Sunday's newspaper.

If you have any questions that you want considered for my Q and A, please leave them in the comment section of this blog OR you can LIKE www.facebook.com/startribunemikerusso and leave questions in the comment field of the link to this blog.

One rule: Space is tight in the paper. So no long comments or War and Peace type questions. Just quick-hitting, brief questions please that you know can easily be answered in the paper. Read through the questions already submitted. If you see one that you were going to ask, try to come up with another.

Thanks!

Wild will officially seek approval to move AHL team to Iowa

Posted by: Updated: April 17, 2013 - 7:59 PM

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During an American Hockey League Board of Governors conference call Thursday, the Wild will officially seek approval to relocate the Houston Aeros to Des Moines, Iowa, next season.

If approved, as expected, the Wild will rename the team the Iowa Wild and host a news conference in Des Moines on Monday.

The team will play at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Wild was unable to come to a lease agreement in Houston with the Toyota Center.

In other Wild news, Mikael Granlund traveled with the team to San Jose. The team should learn after Thursday's morning skate whether or not Mike Rupp can play against the Sharks.

Granlund was reassigned to Houston on Tuesday only to be called back up on an emergency becasue Rupp was banged up. Granlund then scored against the Oilers, his first goal since Jan 19.

Cullen could play Monday in Calgary

Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: April 14, 2013 - 2:51 PM

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There weren't too many folks on the ice for Sunday's optional skate at Xcel Energy Center.

Goalies Josh Harding and Darcy Kuemper with a handful of skaters -- Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Brett Clark.

As they took turns taking shots on goal at one end of the rink, Matt Cullen was at the other, working very hard on battle drills with assistant coach Darby Hendrickson. Cullen was on the ice long before anyone else. And when he came off, he had good news.

"We're getting to the point in the season where you have to be in there," said Cullen, who has missed six games with a lower body injury. "So it was a good day to push it a little bit, see how it feels in the morning, how everything is going. But it was definitely a good day. And it's definitely getting better."

Cullen is going on the trip with the Wild, which plays its next three on the road. And coach Mike Yeo said there was a chance Cullen could be in the lineup Monday night in Calgary.

"He looked really good," said Yeo, who didn't skate Sunday but did make sure to look in on Cullen. "He looked good today. We'll see how it is tomorrow."

Yeo indicated that should Cullen be ready, he'd be inclined to reunite Cullen with Devin Setoguchi, considering how well the two clicked before. The question would be who would be the third man on that line. Yeo said it would be either Jason Zucker or Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Here are some other items from today:

--Russo blogged earlier that there would be no supplemental discipline from the NHL for his hit on Artem Anisimov early in the game with Columbus. Coyle said he wasn't surprised, that he thought it was a clean hit and that he wasn't trying to hurt anyone. But he disappoint his family, who came a long way to watch him play all of 17 seconds. The good news? His family was also around to watch the Wild game Thursday. Plus, Coyle said his two nephews enjoyed watching him fight Brandon Dubinsky Saturday.

--Yeo said center Zenon Konopka, who was wearing a cast on what is believed to be a broken foot, would not be out an extended period. "I don't think it will be a long time," Yeo said. Konopka did not fly with the team to Calgary, but Yeo said there was a chance Konopka could join them on the road trip should he heal sufficiently.

That's it. Have a good afternoon.

Bobrovsky steals extra point from Wild; Cullen close to returning; Wild's cap/roster situation

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 14, 2013 - 10:54 AM

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Sunday morning update: Charlie Coyle will face no supplemental discipline from the NHL for last night's incident. The league deemed it a full body check and that Coyle was not targeting Artem Anisimov's head.

So, yes, 17 seconds into a big game, the refs and linesmen had a conference after not calling an initial penalty and wound up blowing the call massively, handing Columbus a major power play and forcing the Wild to mix and match first-line right wings for 59 minutes, 43 seconds. I think 17 seconds into a game, if you're going to boot a first-line right wing this time of year, you better be certain you're getting the call right. Just the latest in a long list of dubious calls and missed calls against Minnesota.

Plain, simple: Sergei Bobrovsky stole the Columbus Blue Jackets two points from the X tonight with a 3-2 shootout win.

Everybody in the Blue Jackets’ room knew it and said it. Same with the Wild’s.

The good news is at least the Wild got one in a game it deserved two thanks to Jason Pominville burying Ryan Suter’s rebound with 3:15 left in regulation. The Wild could have really used that second point, but Bobrovsky, who has a 2.01 goals against average and .932 save percentage, made two more saves in overtime, then two more saves in the shootout against two of the best shootout performers in the NHL – Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu.

I was just talking to the Columbus Dispatch’s Shawn Mitchell up here in the press box and the Blue Jackets beat writer said, “He has four shutouts this year, but that was by far his best performance of the season.”

Still, Pominville said of Bobrovsky, “He’s had a good run. He made some big saves early. As good as he is, I think it falls on us to find a way to put one through. As good as he is, we’re the ones that are shooting.”

The Wild outshot the Blue Jackets 41-22, outchanced them dramatically and if not for a sloppy first 6:18 of the second period, would have skated off with two points. On the two shifts that resulted in two goals, Mikael Granlund lost Vinny Prospal on the one goal and on the second, the crowd sensed what was coming when Kyle Brodziak, who started the mess by coughing up the puck, Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Jared Spurgeon and Brett Clark got hemmed in the zone for 60 seconds of a long, long shift that actually lasted 1:34.

Finally, Niklas Backstrom left open the wickets and Fedor Tyutin fired it right through. But despite Bobrovsky stoning and frustrating the Wild to no end, finally Devin Setoguchi drew a power play late and Pominville scored his first goal at home and second with the Wild.

So, tonight could have been worse. The Wild could have sure used that second point though. Instead, it settled for one and remains seventh in the West – but only two points up on Dallas, Detroit and Columbus as it now heads on a three-game trip to Calgary, Edmonton and San Jose.

Before I continue on the game and Charlie Coyle incident, some news:

-- The Wild is 1-4-1 without Matt Cullen. He will be on the road trip, coach Mike Yeo said after the game.

-- Because of Zenon Konopka’s injury, which sources tell me is a broken foot, Jason Zucker was considered an emergency callup. Because that was considered an emergency, technically Mikael Granlund remained an emergency. That means the Wild still has exhausted only two of its four non-emergency callups – not the maximum. This is only important because there may come a point where the Wild may want to give Marco Scandella a shot.

However, for that to happen, the Wild would have to put Dany Heatley or Josh Harding on retroactive Long Term Injury Reserve to create the cap space. The Wild has so little cap space right now, GM Chuck Fletcher may go over the ceiling if he buys a coffee and a bagel (just a joke). Honestly, it’s like $6,000 or $7,000 bucks shy of the ceiling.

By the way, there is little doubt Jonas Brodin will hit some rookie bonuses, meaning the Wild will likely be charged a bonus overage next season, meaning there’s a chance the Wild’s cap ceiling next year could be a few hundred thousand less than the league’s $64.3 million.

Back to the game, rookie Charlie Coyle was assessed a match penalty for contact to Artem Anisimov’s head 17 seconds into the game. The Columbus forward never played another shift. Clearly dazed. Anisimov was reaching for a puck, so he was bent downward.

Yeo felt it was a “clean hit” and it should not have been a penalty. GM Chuck Fletcher felt the same and met with Supervisor and former ref Mick McGeough during the first intermission. We’ll find out Sunday what the league feels. I don’t even want to venture a guess. Coyle was given a warning earlier this season by Brendan Shanahan for his high hit on Matt Stajan. To me, Niklas Kronwall’s flying forearm to Coyle’s head in Detroit last month was way worse and more blatant, but who knows?

Losing Coyle meant Yeo had to mix and match right wingers on the snakebit Parise-Koivu line the whole game. Setoguchi saw time there for the first time this season. Pominville and Cal Clutterbuck saw time there, too.

Koivu has no points in seven games by the way. Bouchard scored his first goal since March 25 tonight.

Yeo loved Jason Zucker’s game. He had a game-high six shots and Yeo wants to see this continue on the road now.

I asked about Brodziak. He is minus-15, turned the puck before the second goal, missed on some golden scoring chances and only has six goals after 22 last year.

Yeo: “I’m not going sit here and throw Brodzy under the bus. There were a lot of guys on the ice at that time (Tyutin goal). For anyone that’s watching and have no idea how much a guy like Brodzy cares, you have to make sure you channel it the right way and it doesn’t affect you the wrong way.”

But he said it’s a team game.

Suter again awesome tonight. Played 30:29, assisted on the tying goal, and he probably should not have been playing with his injury. If you watched the game closely, watched how he shot, watched how he stick-handled, watched how he checked people, it should be clear to you what’s wrong.

On a personal note, great seeing Vinny Prospal after the game. I covered him briefly in Florida. Just a class act all the way around and he’s very happy with this Blue Jackets team and what they’re accomplishing right now.

OK, I have to get out of here. Early flight to Calgary and I still have to pick up a prescription tonight. I will talk to you Monday from Calgary. Kent Youngblood is covering Sunday’s practice.

Suter in tonight's lineup, Cullen scratched; Konopka injured

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: April 13, 2013 - 7:04 PM

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Update: Defenseman Ryan Suter is in the lineup vs. Columbus, Matt Cullen is not. Justin Falk and Nate Prosser are scratched. Brett Clark plays.

The Wild’s lineup is unclear heading into tonight’s oh-so important game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Veteran center Matt Cullen was a surprise presence at this morning’s skate, but defenseman Ryan Suter did not skate. However, it was an optional skate, so it’s uncertain if Suter is a gametime decision or won’t play. Devin Setoguchi, Kyle Brodziak, Clayton Stoner, Mike Rupp and Zenon Konopka didn’t skate either this morning.

It’s unclear if they all took their options or are banged up.

One guy I know is hurt is Konopka. He left the rink in a walking cast this morning and I’m pretty sure he has been playing on a broken foot. No chance Konopka, who has been playing the fourth line, would have exercised his option otherwise.

Coach Mike Yeo, usually as truthful as he can be about the lineup, was coy this morning.

“Actually I’m not going to talk about the lineup,” Yeo said when asked about Cullen.

A couple more attempts by us wretched reporters, and he said, “We’re just trying to keep you guessing. It’s working.”

A question about Suter, and Yeo said, “I’ll say this again actually. I’m not going to talk about the lineup.”

Suter has been playing hurt for a couple weeks. I guessed the other night he may have pulled a muscle in the game. I’m pretty positive that’s not the case now and he’s been dealing with another lingering issue that was aggravated the other night.

Even if he plays, he won’t be 100 percent.

Same with Cullen. When Cullen returns, whether tonight or maybe the road trip, it’s obvious it’s because of the urgency of the situation. No chance he is fully healed.

GM Chuck Fletcher told me during the skate he didn’t think Cullen would play tonight, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He said there’s a risk of aggravating the injury, so they’ve got to be somewhat cautious. Cullen certainly skated this morning like he wants to play tonight, but he hasn’t practiced in 12 days. So tonight may be pushing it.

If Suter doesn’t play, the blue line has to step up to take his 27-plus minutes a game. Assuming Stoner isn’t also hurt and Suter doesn’t play tonight, the pairs should look like Jonas Brodin-Jared Spurgeon; Stoner-Tom Gilbert; Justin Falk-Nate Prosser.

Nik Backstrom obviously in goal.

As of yesterday, the lines looked like Parise-Koivu-Coyle; Zucker-Granlund-Setoguchi; Bouchard-Brodziak-Pominville; Rupp-Mitchell-Clutterbuck.

When Cullen returns, there’s a chance maybe Granlund moves to wing and Bouchard is taken out.

But Yeo is hoping for an offensive outburst from a team that's been shut out in three of four.

The Wild apparently just had enough cap space to get Zucker here without putting Josh Harding or Dany Heatley on long term injury reserve to gain extra cap space. But if the injuries keep mounting, and Fletcher indicated there are other guys legitimately hurt, the Wild will have to LTI somebody to gain extra space. That could be a way to eventually get Marco Scandella here, perhaps?

The only way last night could have been worse for the Wild is if Detroit and Phoenix had won in overtime. Instead, the Red Wings lost in a shootout and the Coyotes lost in overtime to only get one point.

But Dallas and Columbus won, meaning those four teams right behind the slumping Wild got closer.

The Wild’s now three up on ninth heading into tonight’s game.

Basically, it’s simple. The Wild, which has lost six of eight, controls its own destiny. It must start winning.

Asked about the standings, Yeo, at first, wasn’t pleased the topic was brought up.

He then said, “It’s funny how it changes though, isn’t it? You win a game and all of a sudden you’re looking at the teams that are in front of you and you lose a game and all of a sudden you’re looking at what’s behind you. It’s very difficult not to pay attention to that kind of stuff. There’s no question about that. But the way I see it, we’re already in the playoffs. These are playoff games. When you’re in the playoffs, you’re aware of it, but you’re not really concerned who’s winning or losing their other games. The only thing you know is you got to win games and that’s what we have to focus on.”

On the state of the team, Yeo said, “Our guys are battling hard. We’ve got to be better. We know that. We have better and we know that. The one thing that is definitely a positive in this is it’s forcing us to be better. That’s what you want.”

In other words, you get wins now and get in the playoffs, you’re on top of your game. As Suter told me the other day in Columbus, if you enter the playoffs with your game not in order, it’s usually a quick death anyway.

Yeo expects a different Columbus team tonight than the one that lost to the Wild 3-0 there last Sunday. First, the Jackets have injured Brandon Dubinsky and hard-nosed Jared Boll back in the lineup. Marian Gaborik should be motivated tonight to put a stake in the Wild.

Since that loss, the Jackets shut out San Jose 4-zip and beat St. Louis, the same team that blanked Minnesota two nights ago, 4-1. Yeo said they’re playing with a swagger and loose.

Jason Zucker is back. I talked to him about the fan campaign on Twitter to get him back. I’ll write more about that in Sunday’s paper.

Again, lineup is uncertain tonight. Very, very, very clear behind the scenes, this organization is very uptight right now with the pressure mounting.

The Wild badly needs a victory for a big sigh of relief, both internally and externally.

I’ll have lineup updates during warmups on my Twitter account at @russostrib and I’ll toss up a blog before the game as well.

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Posts about Wild news

Wild Q and A: Submit questions on my blog

Wild will officially seek approval to move AHL team to Iowa

Cullen could play Monday in Calgary

Bobrovsky steals extra point from Wild; Cullen close to returning; Wild's cap/roster situation

Suter in tonight's lineup, Cullen scratched; Konopka injured

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