wild/nhl
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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Wild GM Chuck Fletcher: We're on the right path; Yeo returning for third season
Posted by: Rachel Blount under Wild coaching, Wild management, Wild off-season news Updated: May 11, 2013 - 4:57 PM
There will be no major front-office or coaching shakeup with the Wild.
General Manager Chuck Fletcher said Mike Yeo will return for a third season before the Minnesota bench.
“He’s our coach, he’s our coach,” Fletcher said by phone this morning.
Good morning from humid South Florida, where I am down here tending to a family matter. I unfortunately had to miss this afternoon’s news conference in St. Paul, but Fletcher was good enough to give me a half-hour on the phone this morning.
Rachel Blount and Jim Souhan are at the presser and will talk with Yeo and the players, and Rachel will be on later to fill out this blog with more news.
Fletcher told me his job is not to overreact by a playoff series loss to the best team in hockey.
He said he’s done a cursory analysis already of the coaching, but he has done all the metrics he normally does at the end of every year. Despite a shortened season and a short training camp, “a couple things stood out to me. We improved in every single area with the exception of PK. PK is one area where we fell back. We’ll take a look at that. 18th in the league. That’s something we want to improve.
“Last year in an 82 game season, we outshot our opponent [24] 24 times. This year in a 48-game season, we outshot our opponent 26. Our shot differential last year was minus-4.9. We gave up 34.1 shots per game, 26th in the league. Basically, the games we won was because of our goaltending.
“We gave up a lot of shots, we were in our zone an awful lot. This year cut that down to 27.1, 6th-best in the league. To me that’s huge. This year we had the puck more than our opponent. Our shots on goal went up close to 2, a 6.6-shot swing. That’s the biggest improvement of any team in the league since 07-08.
“This year, while we think we have to shoot better and execute better, we had the puck more, we were in our zone less, we defended better, our structure was better. We were also the most disciplined team in the league. We gave up the fewest shorthanded situations.
Fletcher said that’s the sign of a well-coached team, and unless there’s something unforeseen, he anticipates all coaches will return with Yeo.
He reminded that the Wild went from the worst scoring team in a decade last year to scoring 2.45 goals a game this year. While that’s not a dramatic improvement, that’s almost half a goal a game.
“We’re taking steps and we’ve got to keep taking step.”
The next couple weeks, there will be lots of meetings, starting with amateur scouting meetings next week. But the next little while will be about evaluating what they did right, what they did wrong, where they have to get better. He wants some of the emotion to die down before he dives into the team.
He says execution must improve and that if execution was better against Chicago, the Wild would have made it a different series.
“But I look where we were a year ago today to where we are now, there’s just been a dramatic improvement, a dramatic difference,” Fletcher said. “Clearly we’re on the right path. But you play a team like Chicago, you see where you have to get better. Their talent level, their depth is pretty impressive. You see where you need to get to, but at the same token, last year we were Mikko koivu and a bunch of prospects.
“Now, we’ve got four cornerstone pieces in Mikko and Suter and Parise and Pominville. We’ve got four high-end players and a lot of those prospects we talked about for a few years are now players. And we have a few more prospects coming, so at least we’re down the path quite a bit. We still have work to do, but we’re trending the right way.
“The young guys are all going to mature and get better. Zucker, Brodin and Coyle are all going to get better. We still believe Granlund’s going to be a good player, Scandella had a good playoff, Jared Spurgeon’s been a good player, and we’re not even getting into Haula, Graovac, Bussieres, Phillips, Bulmer and Fontaine. Not all of them are going to play, but some of them will and some may still make an impact on our roster as soon as next year.”
Fletcher raved about the job Corey Crawford did in the Blackhawks series. But at some point, you are what you are, and the Wild had trouble finishing all year. It finally hurt them in the playoffs.
“There’s no question we need more depth in terms of scoring,” Fletcher said. “From that standpoint, we’re going to have a whole season of Jason Pominville instead of nine regular season and two playoff games. He’s been a really good offensive contributor throughout career and his track record speaks for itself. Dany heatley, nobody talks about, but from the time he got hurt [April 3], our record wasn’t very good. He’s a big body who can play against big teams. He gets to certain areas of the ice and he can be successful. Zucker showed flashes, but I expect him to score more than five goals next year. Some of these young guys are going to have to step up and become contributing players.”
Still, the Wild probably need external changes, too. If you read my Insider today on www.startribune.com/wild, I talked a lot about the salary cap going down to $64.3 million. The Wild has about $9 million to play with before even deciding on a No. 1 goalie or re-signing guys like maybe Matt Cullen, Spurgeon, Scandella and Cal Clutterbuck.
“It’s going to make it a little bit more difficult to be aggressive pursing players from the outside,” Fletcher said. “You always look to add. Whether we can get into that kind of conversation or whether those pieces are even there, that remains to be seen. It’s a different type of free-agent market [July 5].”
On Backstrom and Cullen, Fletcher said, “Like anybody pending unrestricted free agency, they’re going to have a vote in the matter too. We’ll sit down and talk with all of them and see whether they want to be here and what they’re looking to do and see what fits. That’s what the next two months will be about. We’ll obviously have to make some decision, but before, we have to break down our year and see where we need to put the money the most.”
On Backstrom, he is having surgery to repair a sports hernia Wednesday. He is 35, struggled down the stretch. But again in that Insider, I wrote how the goalie market is fuzzy. Do you re-sign Backstrom?
“Everything’s in play. He’s our No. 1 guy, he played well, he got hurt at the end of the year, but he’s going to be healthy by next year. He can play. He can play a lot. We’ll have to look at everything. What are his thoughts? What are our options? That’s why we told him a few months ago, ‘let’s get to the end of the year and see how the season goes and we’ll be in a better position to talk candidly. So we have a few things we have to resolve this summer.
“Every summer has different challenges. Last summer was, ‘Can we get any high-end talent to come here, can we go from the lowest scoring team in a decade to a team that competes?’ We improved half a goal a game, we made the playoffs, we’re in a better spot than we were. We certainly recognize we have a ways to go. But compared to where we were last year, the decisions we’ll have to make this summer aren’t quite as dramatic. There are ways to get things done so we can come back with a good hockey team.”
By the way, Fletcher still talks about Heatley like he doesn’t plan to buy him out. I asked if he is an automatic buyout: “That’s not the case at all. We’ll make all those decisions this summer. But no decision has been made at all. He’s a pretty good player for us. We’ll figure everything out.”
Incidentally, Granlund took Finland’s last roster spot in the current world championships. They were holding it for Koivu, but Granlund’s going.
That’s it for me. I need to write for the paper and then get back to some things. Rachel will be on later to touch up the blog.
UPDATE: In today's session with the media, Fletcher said much the same. Yeo was alongside him and added this:
When asked about his growth as a coach, Yeo said he believes he and his staff did some things that made the Wild a tougher team to play against this year--and he expects that improvement to continue next season, from coaches and players alike. He keeps notes throughout the season and will go through those in the coming weeks to identify issues and potential solutions.
"There were areas where we helped give our players a better chance,'' he said. "We have to do the same next year, We can't just hope all of a sudden we sign 12 goal scorers. We have to do more on our side when we talk about shooting percentage. Is there something we can do different or better? We'll look at that.''
Yeo addressed the speculation that Backstrom's injury may have been caused by overuse. He and Fletcher noted that seven goalies played more than Backstrom and did not get hurt. "It's what we were forced to do,'' he said of starting Backstrom in 27 of the last 28 regular-season games. "If you're going into a really important game, it's really important that the players look at the most important position and say, 'OK, we're good tonight.' Backy has that respect from teammates. We were playing crucial games, and he is an important veteran presence. I would do that again.''
Yeo said he is confident that Backstrom can play 55-60 games next season. Backstrom said he expects to get back to his regular routine three weeks after the surgery. Team officials noted one other offseason surgery: Mike Rupp, who will have a torn meniscus repaired in his knee.
Yeo also talked about the "culture change'' that has been such a buzz phrase for the Wild this season. "From the players, there's a different mentality around the feeling after you lose a game,'' he said. "That's a real important quality a winning team has to have. The level of professionalism that the athletes come to the rink with every day, that starts in the summer with how they train and prepare for the season ahead, we've seen huge improvement in that area. The work and commitment put in through a long and grinding season, we've seen large improvements in that area, too. We've got a great deal of character, a great deal of leadership on this team. I really believe we're taking the right steps toward having that winning attitude, that winning culture you need.''
Players who were at the rink Saturday were Koivu, Parise, Cullen, Backstrom, Harding, Bouchard and Coyle. Their comments included:
--Backstrom said he wants to return to Minnesota and is confident he can handle a heavy workload next year if need be. He also said he will not be motivated mainly by money as he considers where to play next season. "I've been fortunate to be here for seven years,'' he said. "It's a home for me. I love the team. I love the cities and the state. It's a great place to be ... It's business, but at the end of the day it's about where you feel good and comfortable and where you can get the most out of yourself.''
--Cullen said he feels good physically, but the uncertainty over his future--and the relatively quick end to the playoffs--seemed to be taking an emotional toll. He said this when asked about it: "It's hard to say. It's still so fresh; there's a lot to think about. I'm going to need some time to sit down and think, to spend some time with family and take a step back. You never want to make a decision when you're disappointed or emotional. Those emotions are still pretty raw from losing a couple of nights ago. I'll take some time to think things over.''
--Bouchard said it was "a big step'' to play a season in good health and that he feels great. He, too, was melancholy about the prospect of signing elsewhere in the offseason. "I've been here a lot of years,'' he said. "It's been fun. It is kind of weird; it's my first time in this situation, not knowing if I'll be back next year. So it is a little bit emotional. I would like to be back.''
--Harding said he injured his left leg when Jonathan Toews collided with him in Game 4. It wasn't serious, he said, but it compromised his quickness. Other than that, Harding said, he felt great during the playoffs, giving him confidence that he will be ready to play a significant number of games next season as he continues to live with multiple sclerosis.
He will stay in Minnesota this summer to work out with the Wild's strength coaches, hoping to regain the weight he lost this season while his treatment was being refined.
"This summer will be huge for me with getting some weight back on, getting a little stronger and getting everything dialed in,'' he said. "I'm definitely up for the challenge.''
Another Wild season comes to an end; Backstrom had sports hernia
Posted by: Michael Russo under Wild game coverage Updated: May 10, 2013 - 12:57 AMPainful end to the Wild’s season tonight as the Chicago Blackhawks dispatched the Wild in five games and nine days from its first-round series with a 5-1 win.
When it comes down to it, the Wild simply didn’t convert on its chances. Seven goals in five games as the Blackhawks advanced past the first round since beating Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Finals three years ago. The power play went 0 for 17. Mikko Koivu didn’t have a point and was minus-6. Zach Parise scored one goal and was minus-7.
Please read the “gamer” for many of the details, but one piece of news, Niklas Backstrom admitted to me after the game that he has a sports hernia. That will require surgery. One has to wonder if he has played his last game with Minnesota.
The Wild used six defensemen (Gilbert, Scandella, Spurgeon, Brodin, Falk, Stoner) that never played in the playoffs before and a goalie in Josh Harding that never started in the playoffs before. That’s pretty difficult against a team like Chicago.
That’s why the Wild’s end-of-the-year trip was so painful.
Here are some quotes:
Matt Cullen: “It’s disappointing. It’s still very fresh. It’s extremely, extremely disappointing.”
On his future (last year of his contract): “You just don’t know in this game. For sure, I know that could have been my last game as a wild player. There’s lot of things that can happen. Never take it for granted. It’s been a lot of fun, but we’ll see what happens.”
On the team: “There’s a lot of good things in place. Obviously getting Zach and Suts has made a huge difference. The culture has started to change and expectations are rising, but we still have a ways to go.”
Zach Parise: “Just the lack of finish killed us. That’s the bottom line. You have to look at yourself first. You look back at some of the opportunities throughout the series that I had and didn’t put them in. That’s the frustrating part. That’s going to haunt you the whole summer.”
On the potential that Yeo could be in trouble: “That’s out of our control. Everyone’s got to look at themselves. You look at what you can do differently and why things happen. But that’s out of our control. There’s always changes. You don’t know. That’s the way this thing works.”
Mike Yeo
On the series: “Can’t seem to buy that first goal.”
On the Koivu missed chance in the first: “Last thing I want to do is sit up here and talk about puck luck or bounces. … I feel bad for Mikko. He did a lot of the right things … and just didn’t get rewarded.”
On the lack of finishers: “We’ll never stop trying to improve our team from a personnel standpoint. You always try to address your weaknesses. But we did improve in that area. We have to get better, there’s no question. … I hate to say it, sometimes it goes that way. Generate those chances and get those same people getting those chances, I like those odds in the long run.”
On not juggling lines in the series: “This was an important experience for me too. If anyone knows me, I’ll be the first one to look back and say, ‘I wish I could have done this and that.’”
On his job security: “I don’t know. I can’t answer that. If you want to look at it objectively, statistically, … properly, there’s been a lot of improvement in our organization and our team and I feel that we’re going in the right direction.”
Now big questions have to addressed this offseason, and … I will address that in Saturday’s paper.
One, obviously has to do with Yeo. GM Chuck Fletcher is safe, I believe. If Yeo isn’t safe, it would come from the GM, not the owner. And with Lindy Ruff and maybe even Dave Tippett dangling, this will be a lasting topic unless Fletcher publicly puts it to bed.
But Fletcher will have to evaluate everything, and that includes the job he is doing.
I still think the Wild’s future is bright, but the Wild isn’t big enough up front, isn’t fast enough and doesn’t have enough finishers. The blue line is an issue. It nThe Wild will have to find a way to accomplish this. If you don’t get to pick first or second overall or third overall or whatever, like Chicago did with Kane and Toews, and Pittsburgh did with Crosby and Malkin, it’s hard to replicate that route.
But bottom line: The Wild outchanced Chicago for large portions of this series. But as has been the trend all year with the team, it has to work excruciatingly hard to finish, while other teams seemingly don’t.
That’s a problem that must be addressed. I will get more into this in Saturday’s paper after I get a good night’s sleep and can put together a proper evaluation. I'll also probably re-enter this blog in the morning and freshen some things up and add some stuff.
But I have a very early flight. As I mentioned this morning though, I need to step away from the beat for the large part for the next little bit…I am heading out of town for a family emergency.
I hope you enjoyed the coverage again from the Star Tribune this season. Sadly, another season has come to an end.
Goalie drama before Wild's must-win Game 5 against Blackhawks
Posted by: Michael Russo under Stanley Cup, Wild pregame skate Updated: May 9, 2013 - 1:41 PMThere was some wacky and wild goalie drama at today’s pregame skate for tonight’s must-win Game 5 of the Western Conference quarters against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Josh Harding, who left Game 4 after the first period with a lower-body injury, had one cage. Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper shared the other.
That was a clear indication that Harding was starting. Next, Harding took shots from the D toward the tail end of the skate. That usually cinches who is starting.
But slowly but surely, it became clearer that Harding was laboring. As Harding took shots, head coach Mike Yeo and goalie Bob Mason were talking and watching Harding. Suddenly, they turned and began watching Backstrom at the other end of the United Center’s rink. He, too, looked to be having bigtime trouble pushing off.
Yeo and Mason turned back and watched Harding. Harding skated over, began chatting with them. Finally, Yeo skated over to Backstrom and had a long conversation with him.
The final decision? Harding will start tonight with Kuemper backing up.
Why Harding? “We don’t know how he feels, but you have to trust him, and he says that he is good to go and there was absolutely no doubt about it, so that’s what we were looking for,” Yeo said.
On the crazy goalie drama, Yeo said, smiling, “You don’t know what we were talking about. I think we might have been talking about what we were having for lunch today.”
Yeo then turned serious and said, “This is what we’ve been dealt, but we were able to figure it out and now we should push all that stuff behind us. Bottom line is we’ve got 20 guys going into the game. No excuses whatsoever on our part. You’re in the lineup, you’re there for a reason, and we’ve got a group that is more than capable of winning this hockey game tonight.”
Defenseman Ryan Suter has never seen anything like the Wild’s postseason goalie situation, saying, “It’s too bad you have to deal with that. There’s so many distractions already. For us, we know whoever’s in net, we have to play hard and play our best if we want to win this game tonight. That’s been our attitude all year. It’s just someone different in net. Obviously it’s not Backy, who’s been there all year. Whoever it is, we have to go out and defend well and play in the offensive zone.”
Zach Parise said, laughing, “Honestly I don’t know who’s playing tonight.”
The Blackhawks expect the Wild’s best game. Yeo said, “If we can win this game, obviously we’d still be behind, some of the pressure would shift. We have to have a good focus of how to make that happen.”
Yeo noted that the Wild has been in similar situations. “Game 3, we knew without a doubt we had to win that game, and we played our best game of the series. Game 48, we knew we had to win that hockey game and we were able to go out and perform. Hopefully we can draw upon that.”
Yeo said, “3-1 is daunting. Tonight’s game is not necessarily that daunting.”
The reason, he says, is because even though the Wild’s execution last game wasn’t great, the Wild easily could have won that game. The Wild outchanced the Hawks, outhit them and drew six power plays. “Bottom line we didn’t score and they did. But there are a lot of things that can be taken from the last two games.”
Yeo talked about how great the Hawks have been defensively and how deep they are, saying, “If you would have told us through four games that Jonathan Toews wouldn’t have a point, we probably would have signed up for that pretty quickly. But obviously we still trail 3-1.”
As for lines, Jason Pominville will skate with Kyle Brodziak and Pierre-Marc Bouchard – his line that was playing well prior to his getting hurt.
On the fourth line, Stephane Veilleux and Mike Rupp will be game-time decisions. One will play, one won’t, on a line with Torrey Mitchell and Cal Clutterbuck.
“They’re not going to lay over for us, by any means,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “Nobody wants to have their season over. We expect them to come hard and play a tough, tight game.”
Dave Bolland and Ray Emery are both out for the Blackhawks.
Just a real quick FYI, I’m going to be away from the team starting tomorrow for a little bit. I have a family emergency and need to leave town. We have plenty of capable folks to cover the Wild in my absence, and of course, I’ll do my best to keep one eye on the team. But I've got to leave unfortunately.
Wild has arrived in Chicago for a Thursday must-win
Posted by: Michael Russo under Wild practice Updated: May 8, 2013 - 4:34 PMThe Wild didn’t practice today but held availability at the airport before flying off to Chicago.
Quick blog as I need to catch up to them. Obviously, you know the details: Win Thursday night in Chicago, or the Wild’s 2012-13 campaign is over.
The team is 7-3 all-time in elimination games. It has twice rallied from 3-1 deficits in history.
But the Blackhawks are the Blackhawks and clearly are not going to watch to come back to Minnesota for a Game 6.
Here is captain Jonathan Toews, who was quoted by Mark Lazerus in a Chicago Sun-Times blog today: "I think we'll learn from Game 3 [because] we had the chance to really take control of the series. We knew exactly what to expect from their team, that the first game in their building was going to be a really good one for them. And to be able to throw that effort back in their face would have been huge for us, showing them that even their best might not be good enough -- and we didn't do that at all. This is a chance to kind of redeem ourselves for the way we played in Game 3. Everyone's saying we haven't played our best game yet in this series. We've got to get as close to that as we can."
Wild coach Mike Yeo wouldn’t divulge the starting goalie (if he knows). All three – Nik Backstrom (whom I think starts), Josh Harding and Darcy Kuemper are on the trip.
“We like to keep the other team guessing,” Yeo said, jokingly. “So we’re not only going to not tell them who our starting goalie is, we won’t tell them who our backup goalie is. Really leave them in the dark.”
Yeo said Mike Rupp is on the trip, but Zenon Konopka and Clayton Stoner are not.
He wouldn’t discuss potential lineup or line changes, potential power-play personnel or tactical changes. He again said it’s up to the coaches to provide the proper adjustments to make the players succeed.
Veteran Matt Cullen said it’s important for players not to get overwhelmed by the task at hand. If that happens, it’ll infiltrate Thursday’s must-win game.
“You have to narrow your focus,” Cullen said. “We have to focus on our power play, we’ve got to focus on getting our energy level back to where it was a couple games ago. And I think that we see that when we do that we can win and be very successful. So for us, we’ve just got focus on the small things that you need to do and the rest will take care of itself.”
He said of the veterans: “It’s all about leading by example and if we can go out and play the way that we can, we’ll be fine.”
We’ll see what happens Thursday. I don’t see it ending in the Wild’s favor. Frankly, it’s been a weird series.
It’s been one of the more well-mannered, blasé playoff series imaginable.
Other than a few customary skirmishes, there’s been little anger or malice, at least compared to the others around the league.
There’s been no trash talking off the ice, no dueling press conference smack taking, no public gamesmanship, like complaining about diving or dirty plays. The most controversy in the series has been both teams faintly accusing the other of cheating on faceoff.
There’s been nothing but … respect.
Here’s Zach Parise after the Game 4 loss: “There’s a reason why they were on top of the league all year and why they went 20-some games without a loss. They’re a very good team. We have to play a great game to beat them.”
Here’s Patrick Sharp heading into Thursday’s Game 5: “We expect Minnesota to come in and play their best game of the series here in Game 5. They’re a well-coached team, they’ve got some hard-working players over there. They’ve got a lot of character. So they’re going through a few injuries like everyone does this time of year, but no question they’re going to show up and play hard.”
So sweet. I have to get to my gate. I may freshen this up from the air. If not, the pregame skates are 11 and noon Thursday. Talk to you after.
Wild season on the brink after shutout loss tonight to Chicago
Posted by: Michael Russo under Wild game coverage Updated: May 8, 2013 - 1:08 AMThe Blackhawks can light you up offensively. And when they want, they can completely shut you down defensively, and that’s what we all witnessed tonight at the X.
The Wild attempted 68 shots tonight. Just 25 got through because the Blackhawks, the best team in the league all year and the team that gave up the fewest goals in the NHL, tightened up, clamped down and squeezed the collar around the Wild’s neck.
Twenty-six Wild shots blocked. Seventeen shots missed, in large part because the Wild began trying to whistle pucks wide of the shooting lanes that were jammed packed of bodies. The result was a 3-0 loss and 3-1 series deficit with Game 5 – potentially the last game of the Wild’s 2012-13 season – Thursday in Chicago (8:30 p.m., Fox Sports North, KFAN).
Good early morning from the X, where the Wild lost another goalie to injury tonight (Josh Harding, went scoreless on another six power plays tonight and again just didn’t get it done tonight.
Aggravating game because it was hanging in the balance early and even late for the Wild to either take or get back into. But the Wild’s power play – now 0 for 15 in the series – failed and failed and failed, especially on back-to-back advantages to start the third period.
Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise each were minus-2 and now are a combined minus-11 in the series. Parise’s been limited to one goal, Koivu, who just doesn’t look to be skating well to me, has been limited to no points.
“We’ve got to score on them. It’s as simple as that,” Parise said when asked how much he and Koivu need to step up.
Koivu said, “You can’t get frustrated. Obviously it’s hard. It’s tough when you’re trying to create and it’s not going in. Players go through that. I have to be able to find a way to get it to the net and keep creating.”
Coach Mike Yeo said of the two forwards, “It probably wasn’t the greatest of nights, but if you know them the way I do, you are very excited to see them play Thursday night.”
It was the fifth time the Wild has been shut out in the playoffs and first since the 2003 Western Conference Finals.
“It’s do or die,” Suter said. “Every single guy has to play their best game if we want a chance to keep at this thing. It’s tough to reset. But we have to go in there with a mindset of, ‘Hey, we have nothing to lose.’”
The power play has let the Wild down over and over again. Tonight, Jason Pominville returned, played the point on the power play for the first time as a Wild and couldn’t help it break out. Kyle Brodziak, out there to win draws on the power play, lost most on the power play. They’ve seemed to stop using Parise down by the goal line. And again, Chicago just blocked shots left and right.
“It’s tough when you have a lot of chances on your power play and you have nothing to show for it. We had some good looks, but I guess it doesn’t matter if you don’t score.”
Said Parise, “They collapse well and they get into shooting lanes. They’re passive, so it looks like we’ve got a lot of time and room. But they do a good job of getting in the shooting lane. So we have to figure out how to get through that. And when we did get through, we had a lot of rebounds that popped through your legs.”
Said Koivu, “We have to find a way. They’re playing good. They’re on the lanes. We’ve got to find a way to break that down and get that puck to the net.”
The first goal came because Koivu tried to hit Parise as he was exiting the zone. Marian Hossa picked it off and seconds later, Patrick Sharp scored the first of his two goals on a deflection.
“We caught them on a turnover with their D down, so Mikko was trying to spring us for a 2-on-1,” Parise said. “It’s the right play by him. If that gets through, we’ve got a 2-on-1. Unfortunately it didn’t.”
Then, Jonathan Toews landed on Harding during a deke where he lost the puck. Harding stayed down for a bit, slowly got up and at the next stoppage was flexing his left leg. He gutted it out but Darcy Kuemper started the second.
He gave up a goal on the first shot he saw after a sloppy Parise turnover. Still, bad goal, but he was ice cold.
I’d assume Nik Backstrom starts Thursday now. He put on pads as an emergency goalie tonight and sat on the bench in the third.
Now the Wild has to somehow win in Chicago.
“You guys count us out quite a bit,” Parise said. “So we’ll have to rebound and work on winning that next game and getting this series back here.”
On the Blackhawks, Parise said, “They play well. They’re so good with the puck and when you make a mistake they make you pay. There’s a reason why they were on top of the league all year and why they went 20-some games without a loss. They’re a very good team. We have to play a great game to beat them. Tonight we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. That’s all.”
No Wild practice Wednesday. We have availability at 1:15 p.m. I’ll talk to you afterward.
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- Wild season ticket prices go up
- Backstrom has sports hernia surgery
- Harding named a Masterton trophy finalist
- Wild's Fletcher: We're on right path; Yeo coming back
- Postgame: Another Wild season ends; Backstrom had sports hernia
- Goalie drama before crucial Wild game against Chicago
- Russo blog: Wild has arrived in Chicago for a Thursday must-win
Post By Category
- Heatley injury has Wild dealing with tight salary cap
- Blackhawks lose Hossa, lose game 2-0
- Datsyuk, Red Wings agree on $22.5M, 3-year deal
- Bruins shut out Chicago to take 2-1 lead in Cup finals
- Russo: Wild trades, free agency, buyouts. What would you do?
- Will Game 3 bring more OT in Stanley Cup Final?
- Settling goalie situation is Wild's top priority
- Boogaard's death shows how easily patients can get pain pills
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