Former Badger befomes first-line Minnesotan

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 15, 2009 - 9:00 PM

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RALEIGH, N.C. - If Robbie Earl continues at this pace, Gophers fans who double as Wild fans might have to start to love a former Wisconsin Badger.

Earl, the Frozen Four MVP when the Badgers won the 2006 NCAA championship, scored his first two NHL goals in only his second game since being called up from AHL Houston, and helped the Wild steal a point during a shootout loss Sunday at Carolina.

"I was a Badger. Now I'm in Gopherland. I love Minnesota," Earl said, laughing.

During his Wild debut Thursday in Washington, Earl played on the fourth line. By the end Sunday, he was skating on the first line with Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette.

Earl wheeled around the net to whip in his first goal, then tied the score when defenseman Joe Corvo coughed up the puck in the third. He missed on an earlier tying goal by hitting the side of a yawning net after goalie Michael Leighton robbed Koivu with the blocker.

"The easiest was the one I missed. That's how the game goes," Earl said. "It was a great experience. An opportunity to play with world-class players makes the game really easy. This is how opportunities come about."

Another first

Twenty seconds after Earl's first goal, John Scott scored his first NHL goal, on one of his six shifts in the game.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team had two players score their first NHL goals in the same game was Los Angeles on Oct. 20, 2008 (Drew Doughty and Oscar Moller).

Scott, normally a defenseman, wasn't even sure he'd be playing until Benoit Pouliot left warmups three minutes in with a hand injury.

"I don't get that many shifts when I play forward," Scott said. "So it's good to stick the first one in there. I'm not supposed to put points on the board, so it's always nice to help the guys out. Coach [Todd Richards] was in a tough position with me up front and Boogey [Derek Boogaard]. We're kind of the same player, so there's not a lot of ice time to go around."

Positive steps

Defenseman Brent Burns, who entered the game tied with Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour with an NHL-worst minus-14, was a career-best plus-4. Burns declined to comment, but Richards said, "Whenever you look at his stats, and everyone reminds him of his numbers and what's going on, it's nice when you have nights like this.

"Hopefully he can walk away from it, get on the plane and know he did some good things."

Etc.

• Hall of Famer Jari Kurri, the GM of the Finnish Olympic team, scouted Sunday's game. The Wild's Koivu had an assist and was plus-3, Antti Miettinen had a goal and two penalties and Niklas Backstrom gave up four goals on 35 shots. Carolina's Jussi Jokinen had a goal and shootout goal and Tuomo Ruutu had his 100th career assist.

• Defenseman Shane Hnidy returned to the Wild lineup after missing Friday's game with a foot injury. The Hurricanes lost Joni Pitkanen and Scott Walker to injuries Sunday.

• Wild defenseman Greg Zanon is fifth in the NHL with 51 blocked shots.

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