Minnesota Wild: Not So Wild

The Oilers are a team on the edge. They know they can still make a run at the play-offs. They’re hungry for it.

The Wild have been the division leader, or close to it for a while now. They feel confident they’re going to make the play-offs.

The Wild lost to Edmonton last night 5-3. They were badly outplayed. Granted, it was the fourth and final game of their four game road trip, but it’s play-off time and with the Northwest Division so tight, they can’t afford this type of play anymore.

The Wild have given up ten goals in the last two games. Their record for this road trip stands at 1-2-1. The Wild now have a one point lead over Calgary, and are three points ahead of Vancouver and Colorado. However, the Flames have one game in hand and the Canucks have two.

This can’t be all blamed on the defense’s struggle either. True, they are down to six defensemen, as I discussed recently, but the offense needs to do its part as well. What we witnessed last night in Edmonton was the furthest thing from a Wild game.

Edmonton skated through the Wild neutral zone trap as if it wasn’t there. In the first shift, the Wild turned over the puck three times and Edmonton scored three goals on four attempts in the first five minutes of the game, which resulted in Backstrom being pulled in favor of Harding. After Harding gave up a particularly soft goal by Kyle Brodzniak, Backstrom was back in goal.

Usually, Brian Rolston can be counted on for a point a game. He’s been shut out lately. The big scorers (Koivu, Demitra, Gaborik) have also been quiet. Check the stats sheets from the past few games and you see the other guys making the goals. Obviously, the second and third lines are trying to step up. That’s great, but the team desperately needs to be running at full offensive throttle.

The Wild have had eight power play opportunities in the last two games and did not manage a power play goal. Although they only took three penalties last night, all three were bad penalties and sloppy play.

A few weeks ago the veteran players asked Lemaire for optional rather than mandatory practices. He agreed. However, last night he called the team out. “We played a little bit in the third because some of the guys were upset and they had to do something. Besides that, forget it. Not ready to play,” he said.