Boogaard grows game, not goal total

Bruce Bisping, DML - Star Tribune

Derek Boogaard, laying a hit on the Rangers' Matt Gilroy last week, is approaching the four-year anniversary of his last NHL goal.

The last time the Wild enforcer scored was 171 games ago (Jan. 7, 2006), but his next tally could be coming soon.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 5, 2009 - 7:05 AM

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The next time Derek Boogaard scores a goal, the NHL should allow the game to be stopped for a ceremony.

The Hall of Fame should swoop in and collect Boogaard's stick, gloves and skates. The beaten goaltender might want to consider early retirement.

And if the Wild bruiser's next goal comes at Xcel Energy Center, like maybe tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, bring some plugs to protect your eardrums from rupturing. "It'll be sick," Boogaard said, chuckling. "Hopefully I do it here."

In recent games, the Boogeyman has been flirting with career goal No. 3 -- and his first in almost four years. "I think it's getting close," right wing Cal Clutterbuck said. "Boogey was the first star of video this week, and he's throwing no-look backhand passes in practice.

"I'm going to say he scores, hmmm ... before Christmas."

Boogaard's last goal was on Jan. 7, 2006, or about seven NHLPA administrations ago. It was so long ago, Brett Favre was still beloved in Green Bay, nobody ever heard of Octomom, and your house was worth more than you paid for it.

Boogaard's goal-less streak is at an NHL-high 171 games. The Wild has played exactly 300 regular-season games since he scored the first goal in that 4-1 victory over Anaheim.

"I think there were a few that actually went off my shin pads since, but whatever," Boogaard said.

The first assist on Boogaard's last goal? Brent Burns. Fourth-line right wing Brent Burns.

Burns dumped the puck into the right corner, but when goalie Ilya Bryzgalov went to play it, the puck ricocheted in front to trap Bryzgalov out of his net.

While holding off Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei with one arm, Boogaard crashed the net and one-handed the puck off his backhand from a bad angle into an open net. After the game, he cracked, "Can't teach that, huh?"

It was Boogaard's second goal of his rookie season after never scoring more than one in seven previous Western Hockey League or minor league seasons.

Of course, he is not paid to score goals. He is paid to punch faces and render fear into pesky opponents. But even Boogaard couldn't envision it taking this long. "It's one of those things I have to keep working at," he said. "It'll come eventually."

In training camp, goalie Niklas Backstrom joked there would be another two lockouts before Boogaard scores next. Clutterbuck, when told the date of Boogaard's last goal, reacted, "Are you kidding?" He then did some quick math to figure out how many junior, minor league and NHL goals he has scored and hits he has dished since Boogaard last lit the lamp.

Clutterbuck's unscientific guess: 115 goals and 2,100 hits.

But, Boogaard's "Next Goal" could really, truly be coming.

He's gained so much trust from coach Todd Richards, Boogaard is playing in the third periods of one-goal games and dressing for games against fast-skating teams such as Pittsburgh. Under Jacques Lemaire, it wasn't hard for Boogaard to figure out when he'd be tattooed to the bench or scratched.

"It's awesome because I always knew I could do this and not be a liability," Boogaard said. "It was a matter of maybe somebody thinking I could do it and believing they could roll four lines and not worry about me taking that dumb penalty.

"It feels good to be a part of it. When you're sitting there in the third period and all you're doing is saying, 'Good job, guys,' I really wasn't in the game. But now I am, or he's giving me the chance to be able to be in the game."

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