Minnesota Wild Get a Rare Win In Calgary; Play Vancouver Tonight

Last night's game between the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames at Saddledome Arena was absolutely fantastic. The Wild had not beaten Calgary on the road in over 2 years and they had 1 win in their last 15 tries. Until last night that is.

Thanks to James Sheppard scoring a goal in the 3rd period to make it 1-1 and Martin Havlat scoring the game-winning goal in overtime, the Wild were able to get a rare win over Calgary 2-1 on their home turf.

The Saddledome Arena has been a curse for the Wild ever since their inception in 2000. Something about the building, the hostility of the fans against the visiting team, and the pressure of getting a win have made it nearly impossible for not just the Wild but any team to get a win there.

But the Wild were more determined than ever last night to break that curse. With a new coach, Todd Richards, and the addition of a few new players including Guillaume Latendresse, Martin Havlat, Chuck Kobasew, Greg Zanon and Kyle Brodziak, that curse was broken.

Tonight, the Wild will play on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks sit just one point ahead of the Wild in the standings. The Canucks have won three of their last five thanks to a 4-2 home win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night.

Daniel Sedin scored Vancouver’s first three goals, and Mason Raymond added one. Roberto Luongo stopped 22 shots as the Canucks opened up a monstrous eight-game homestand. The Wild will have their work cut out for them against Roberto Luongo, who is just as tough to beat at the net as Miikka Kipprusoff. If the Wild play tonight like they did last night, I think they will be able to defeat the Canucks and leave there having won three in a row and eight of their last nine games. GO WILD!!!!!!!!