Minnesota Runs 'Wild' On Toronto

It started out as a feel good story, Mike Van Ryn returns from injury and youngster Justin Pogge is called up to showcase his stuff once again. Sadly, it turned into something you would see in a slasher flick by the end of the game.

Toronto just looked flat. Maybe it was the time off that got to them, but they looked very out of place. Early on they managed few shots and chances, and found themselves down 1-0 because of it. By the end of the night the score was 6-1 for Minnesota.

Maybe its the trade winds howling that is getting to Antropov as he was unable to find the net once again. He had his fair share of chances; 6 shots early in the game but he couldn't capitalize.

For Minnesota, their fast paced style of play seemed to be the right formula to beat Toronto. Many times they caught Toronto flat footed and were in alone on Pogge, or were in two on one situations. Bouchard was the spark for the team, using his speed and determination to net a pair of goals.

Once again it was Jason Blake finding the net for Toronto. This has been the story for the last month or so now as Blake has already matched his total from last year with fifteen goals so far this season.

As for the return for Van Ryn, maybe he should have waited until Colorado to come back. The whole defense looked shaky, aside from strong play from Luke Schenn. Too many turnovers and bad decisions on offense led to Minnesota goals.

Pogge was called up again to show how capable or incapable he is of playing at this level. Was it a fair assessment tonight? Not in the least, as many of the goals were not his fault. Sure, he looked slow to move on a few goals but if Toronto had not turned the puck over so often and if the defenders didn't leave him out to dry the score may have been a little less than it ended up.

Leaving Pogge in for all the goals may have hurt his stride but its all part of the learning process. Hopefully his next outing is much better for him.

All in all it was a bad effort on all fronts. Forwards didn't look sharp, nor did the defense. Clearly a shakeup is needed, although significant deals may be far away.

However what they may need is another spark from players returning from injury. In Colorado, they may just get that as Williams plans to return from his shoulder problems, and Finger may want to play his former team again. Toronto should be ready to go Thursday as they are set to face former Leafs Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft.