Wild: Roadblock awaiting in Calgary

Crummy hosts, those Calgary Flames. As soon as they get you in their building, they try to run you out of the rink.

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune

Last update: February 26, 2007 - 11:42 PM

Crummy hosts, those Calgary Flames. As soon as they get you in their building, they try to run you out of the rink.

Those in the Wild dressing room after Monday's practice are more aware of this than most. The Wild has played 16 games in Calgary, winning only twice, the last time in November of 2003. Wednesday will bring another opportunity.

But will it mean a different result?

"We're going to talk about this, collectively, as a team, before that game," promised Wild center Wes Walz, who has been with the team since its inception. "And then we'll see what happens."

Here's what usually happens when the Wild enters the Pengrowth Saddledome: It gets a Calgary team that, bolstered by one of the more intense crowds in the league, plays with a lot of grit and physical force. Defensemen such as Rhett Warrener, Dion Phaneuf and Roman Hamrlik play in-your-face hockey, making it hard to keep the puck in the Calgary end. A physical forecheck puts constant pressure at the other end.

It's not as if the Wild is the only team subject to this. The Flames, who beat Phoenix 5-2 on Monday, have the NHL's best home record (26-6-1), which has enabled them to stay in the playoff hunt even though they continue to struggle on the road. The Flames are 8-1-1 in their past 10 home games, 1-5-4 in their past 10 on the road.

Now would be a good time for the Wild to figure out a way to win in Calgary. Through Monday, the Wild was in seventh place in the Western Conference standings with 75 points. Calgary also has 75 points, but the Wild has the tiebreaker (35 victories to Calgary's 33). The Wild and Flames are two points behind Vancouver, which leads the Northwest Division and thus holds the No. 3 seed.

The Wild, which struggled so badly on the road earlier this season, has learned to win away from home of late. Indeed, the last time the Wild lost in Calgary -- Jan. 9 -- was the peak of the team's 11-game road winless streak. Two days later the Wild won in Vancouver, the start of a four-game road winning streak.

The Wild, 7-3 in its past 10 road games, needs to bring that confidence to Calgary this time.

"You don't match their intensity right away, it's going to be over before you know it," captain Mark Parrish said.

Backstrom honored

Three big games, a lot of big saves, three important victories. Finally, a much-deserved honor: Goalie Niklas Backstrom was named the NHL's Star of the Week after victories over Dallas, Colorado and Edmonton last week. Backstrom, who is 9-2-1 since taking over for the injured Manny Fernandez, went 3-0 last week with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, allowing only five goals on 75 shots faced.

"He's been very steady for us, and strong," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "It's well-deserved, and I'm very happy for him."

Staying home

Meanwhile, Fernandez, still recovering from a knee sprain, will not accompany the team to Calgary, said General Manager Doug Risebrough. If Fernandez improves enough to practice with the team, Risebrough said the goalie could join the team during the three-game trip that continues Thursday at Edmonton and Sunday at Vancouver.

Kent Youngblood • kyoungblood@startribune.com