With important trip next, Wild gets encouragement

Jacques Lemaire told his players to believe in themselves as they prepared to head out to the West Coast.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: January 19, 2008 - 11:56 PM

Before the Wild took the ice for a relatively brief but very intense practice Saturday at Parade Ice Garden, there was a team meeting.

There have been a few of those during this up-and-down season. Some have been, well, let's say louder than others. But on Saturday, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire's message was one of encouragement. Maybe that's just what his players need as they head out on yet another critical road trip.

Lemaire's message: Believe in yourselves.

"It's all about this group, in this locker room, believing," center Eric Belanger said. "We have the players to do it, the personnel to do it, and we have to believe that."

Easier said than done. After going 1-1-1 in the recently concluded homestand -- the Wild beat Phoenix, lost in a shootout to Calgary and lost 4-2 to Anaheim on Friday -- the Wild is tied Vancouver with 55 points, one point behind Northwest Division-leading Calgary. The Flames have played two more games than the Wild and one more than the Canucks, who lost 4-3 to Los Angeles late Saturday night.

The Wild will travel to Vancouver today and play the Canucks on Monday night, the first of three consecutive road games against division opponents. Minnesota is in Calgary on Tuesday and in Colorado on Thursday before the NHL All-Star break.

And there is a real need to believe. Because, so far this season, the Wild has yet to win at Vancouver (0-1), Calgary (0-2) or Colorado (0-2).

That's an 0-5 record, and in those games the Wild has been outscored by a total of 21-10.

"The thing is, we have to respect our opponents, but not worry about our opponents," Belanger said. "We have to set the tempo instead of letting the other team do it. Sometimes you approach a team like Anaheim, maybe you worry about them too much, instead of knowing what we have here, what we can bring to the table."

Lemaire clearly appears to feel that criticizing his team after Friday's loss -- one in which Anaheim built a 3-0 lead -- would not be productive. After practice he talked about needing more from the team. But he also made a point of noting the Wild is in the thick of the Western Conference playoff chase despite not always being in top form.

"Some nights we have passengers, guys who don't play as well as they can, like we did [Friday] night," Lemaire said. "but you know, we feel we had 13 [scoring] chances [against the Ducks] and they had 11. When you look at it, that's why I'm positive we can win some games.

"There is parity in the league. That's what I see. Anaheim is great, Calgary is great, Vancouver, they're great. Colorado, Dallas. ... Put our points beside them, we're not that bad."

Even so, a bad road trip could put the Wild in a difficult position following the break.

"This might seem like a broken record, but every game, every point is crucial," winger Mark Parrish said. "Seems like we've been playing must-wins since Game 1. That's the way it is, and that's the way it will continue to be."

Etc.

• Winger Derek Boogaard left practice early Saturday and received treatment on his back long after practice ended. But Boogaard, who played nine-plus minutes Friday after missing the previous 15 games, said he would be able to play on the road trip.

• Lemaire said injured defense- man Sean Hill (ankle) would not make the road trip.

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