Wild vs. Avalanche (Game #62) 2-22-07 @ 8:00PM CST at Pepsi Centre

LemaireisGOD · February 22nd, 2007, 06:38 AM

MINNESOTA WILD (33-23-5) 71pts 2nd Northwest

173 Goals For (ranked 20th in the NHL)
157 Goals Against (ranked 8th in the NHL)

16th ranked PP (17.4%)
4th ranked PK (84.8%)

Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Brian Rolston ~ 26G 24A = 50pts
2. #38 Pavol Demitra ~ 18G 28A = 46pts
3. #96 Pierre-Marc Bouchard ~ 16G 28A = 44pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 13G 25A = 38pts
5. #21 Mark Parrish ~ 16G 16A = 32pts

Top PIM's:
1. #24 Derek Boogaard ~ 81 PIM's
2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 50 PIM's
3. #5 Kim Johnsson ~ 48 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):
1. #35 Manny Fernandez (22-16-1) 2.57GAA .911%SP
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (11-7-4) 2.25GAA .923%SP
3. #29 Josh Harding (0-0-0) 0.00GAA 1.000%SP

VS.

COLORADO AVALANCHE (29-27-4) 62pts 4th Northwest

194 Goals For (ranked 7th in the NHL)
190 Goals Against (ranked 21st in the NHL)

5th ranked PP (20.6%)
24th ranked PK (80.1%)

Top 5 Scorers:
1. #19 Joe Sakic ~ 26G 46A = 72pts
2. #15 Andrew Brunette ~ 23G 33A = 56pts
3. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 21G 32A = 53pts
4. #23 Milan Hejduk ~ 22G 23A = 45pts
5. #8 Wojtek Wolski ~ 19G 21A = 40pts

Top PIM's:
1. #14 Ian Laperriere ~ 102 PIM's
2. #27 Ossi Vaananen ~ 55 PIM's
3. #40 Marek Svatos ~ 44 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):
1. #31 Peter Budaj (18-14-3) 2.79GAA .906%SP
2. #60 Jose Theodore (11-13-1) 3.35GAA .889%SP

This is a classic 4-point swing game. If the Wild can get a victory it will gain more separation from a team that is hoping to make a late run and could very well doom Colorado to not making the playoffs this season. The Wild need every point it can get, and it would be nice to see them earn a regulation victory tonight. Pepsi Centre has always been a place this team has struggled; hopefully they start to reverse that trend. GO WILD!!!

Socodawgs · February 22nd, 2007, 10:13 AM

Dont you just love saying Budaj!

MtAvsfn · February 22nd, 2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LemaireisGOD

Pepsi Centre has always been a place this team has struggled; hopefully they start to reverse that trend. GO WILD!!!

We're hoping that tradition keeps up.

Should be a good game. Good luck. I know we'll need it.

MtAvsfn · February 22nd, 2007, 10:45 PM

That turned into quite the exciting game at the end. Congrats. You started a new trend, happy now?

Socodawgs · February 23rd, 2007, 09:48 AM

As much as I would like to see Boogard on the ice, you can't argue with wins!

LemaireisGOD · February 23rd, 2007, 10:34 AM

The State of Hockey News | MVN - Most Valuable Network » Blog Archive » Role players add offense as Wild hold on for huge 4-3 road win over Colorado

Role players add offense as Wild hold on for huge 4-3 road win over Colorado

By Derek Felska | February 23rd, 2007

If you look at almost any team that has makes a good run to the playoffs, let alone during the post-season it is often the unsung role players that step up at key times to have a big impact. A few seasons ago during the 2002-03 playoffs, it was Minnesota’s Darby Hendrickson who blasted a slap shot that brought back the Wild from a 3-1 deficit for the 2nd time to put away the Vancouver Canucks. Tonight it was Minnesota’s role players that delivered the offensive punch in a big 4-3 road win over the fading Colorado Avalanche.

In the first period the Wild demonstrated tremendous poise as they patiently controlled the pace of the game as it was clear the desperate Colorado Avalanche wanted to play a wide open style of game. Even though the Wild were patient, Minnesota also exhibited great quickness as they won the races to the loose pucks as well as most of the battles along the boards. The Wild’s hustle would pay off when Todd White would dig the puck loose on the boards and pass the puck to Mark Parrish who deftly found Adam Hall breaking towards the net and he moved in and backhanded a shot top shelf over Peter Budaj to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Colorado tried to rally back on the power play, but Minnesota would having nothing of it as they kept the Avalanche from even registering a shot with the man advantage. Niklas Backstrom was not tested much, having only to make a few token saves and the Wild would skate away from the 1st leading by one.

In the 2nd period the game would take significant turn in favor of the State of Hockey. The Wild started to establish their forecheck; especially their “energy” line of Branko Radivojevic, Stephane Veilleux, and Wyatt Smith. As the Wild’s “Energy” line started to create pressure in the Avalanche zone, the other forward lines started to get quality scoring chances on Peter Budaj. Yet as the Wild scoring chances were mounting without reward it almost felt as if at some point the Avalanche were going to get lucky and somehow tie the game. With just over 2 minutes left to go in the 2nd, Stephane Veilleux fed a pass to Wyatt Smith who cut across the slot area and beat Budaj with a wicked backhander for his 1st goal of the season (and the first since February of 2004). With the stunning effect of Smith’s 1st goal of the season the Wild would add another goal just about over a minute later on the power play. Minnesota’s power play unit demonstrated some swift puck movement before the puck ended up on the stick of Marian Gaborik who feinted at a shot before delivering a tremendous cross-ice pass to Todd White who one-timed a blast past Budaj to put the Wild up 3-0 going into the 3rd.

With momentum seemingly complete control for the Wild the game would take a dramatic turn, morphing a game that basically seemed to be pretty well in hand into a frantic affair that had Minnesota breathing a collective sigh of relief when it was all said and done. The Wild who had been so successful at stifling the Avalanche on the forecheck for whatever reason decided to back off and gave Colorado a chance to go on the attack. Just past the halfway point, former Wild forward Andrew Brunette hit Minnesota’s Kurtis Foster along the boards, and he promptly took the puck worked the puck to Paul Stastny. Stastny then fired a quick wrist shot on Backstrom who gave up a big rebound in the slot where a waiting Ken Klee rifled home to re-energize the 18,007 in attendance at Pepsi Centre, cutting the Wild lead to 3-1. As much as the goal hurt, it was Kurtis Foster who was probably feeling it the most as he suffered from the affects of the hit Brunette gave him. When Foster hit the boards he was leaned over so his head made contact with the boards; Foster would leave the ice and head to the Wild lockeroom and did not return. The goal completely changed the complexion of the game. With the Avalanche aggressively establishing their forecheck all the Wild could seem to do was to scramble about their own end. About 3 minutes after Klee’s goal, a crazy scramble near the net had Andrew Brunette working his magic down low as he did for years for the Wild. Brunette moved out from behind the goal line and fired a quick shot on goal that Backstrom kicked out onto the stick of Brad Richardson and he shoveled it in to cut the Minnesota lead to 3-2. The game seemed to be at a turning point, the crowd was in it, the Avalanche were outhustling and outworking the Wild. As Colorado was again working their forecheck, the puck moved out to the point the Avalanche’s Jeff Finger wound up for a slapper but his stick shattered and Mark Parrish would take the slow sliding puck and move in on a 3-on-2. Demonstrating incredible patience as he entered the Colorado zone he fed a beautiful cross ice pass to Mikko Koivu who waited until Adam Hall had sent up a great screen and ripped a wrister that clanked off the crossbar as it went in giving the Wild a big 4-2 lead. The goal seemed to have taken the wind out of Colorado’s sails, but the drama wasn’t finished yet. Just 30 seconds after Koivu’s goal, the Avalanche would have a faceoff in the Wild zone. Off of the faceoff the puck would get onto the stick Marek Svatos who fired a sharp angle shot that somehow caught iron and went in, cutting Minnesota’s lead back to one, 4-3. In a furious next two minutes Colorado threw everything they had at Backstrom, but the 28-year old Finn did a masterful job at keeping the puck out of the net having the Wild escape with a 4-3 win.

The two points earned in regulation was a huge dagger to the Colorado Avalanche who have been fading as of late. They could’ve potentially shortened the distance behind Minnesota to just 7 points and instead trail now by 11. Niklas Backstrom had a good game with 28 saves, even though in the last 10 minutes he gave up 3 goals. The Wild have to feel good about the production they got from players like Hall, Smith, White and Koivu. It is nice to know that guys like these will potentially deliver some offense when the “usual suspects” of Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston and Pierre-Marc Bouchard do not.

Wild Notes:

~ Wild scratches were forward Derek Boogaard and defenseman Petteri Nummelin. Manny Fernandez is still out with an injury, but is expected to return next week, whether he gets to start right away is still a matter of debate.

~ Todd White’s goal in the 2nd period was his 10th of the season becoming the 7th Wild player to go double-digits in goal scoring this season.

~ Montreal Canadiens scouts were once again sighted at Minnesota’s game against Colorado perhaps adding some more creedence to the trade rumors swirling about between the two teams.

LemaireisGOD · February 23rd, 2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MtAvsfn

That turned into quite the exciting game at the end. Congrats. You started a new trend, happy now?

Although the game never should've gotten that close; I'm glad we had enough killer instinct to close it out. No, I'm not happy yet...Ask me in Mid-April, ok?

GO WILD!!!

MtAvsfn · February 23rd, 2007, 05:04 PM

LOL In mid-April, I'll have to pick a fave to go to the SC, since my team will be on the links this year. Sigh.

LemaireisGOD · February 25th, 2007, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MtAvsfn

LOL In mid-April, I'll have to pick a fave to go to the SC, since my team will be on the links this year. Sigh.

You said it!

February 22nd, 2007, 06:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
LemaireisGOD Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 504	Wild vs. Avalanche (Game #62) 2-22-07 @ 8:00PM CST at Pepsi Centre MINNESOTA WILD (33-23-5) 71pts 2nd Northwest 173 Goals For (ranked 20th in the NHL) 157 Goals Against (ranked 8th in the NHL) 16th ranked PP (17.4%) 4th ranked PK (84.8%) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #12 Brian Rolston ~ 26G 24A = 50pts 2. #38 Pavol Demitra ~ 18G 28A = 46pts 3. #96 Pierre-Marc Bouchard ~ 16G 28A = 44pts 4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 13G 25A = 38pts 5. #21 Mark Parrish ~ 16G 16A = 32pts Top PIM's: 1. #24 Derek Boogaard ~ 81 PIM's 2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 50 PIM's 3. #5 Kim Johnsson ~ 48 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #35 Manny Fernandez (22-16-1) 2.57GAA .911%SP 2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (11-7-4) 2.25GAA .923%SP 3. #29 Josh Harding (0-0-0) 0.00GAA 1.000%SP VS. COLORADO AVALANCHE (29-27-4) 62pts 4th Northwest 194 Goals For (ranked 7th in the NHL) 190 Goals Against (ranked 21st in the NHL) 5th ranked PP (20.6%) 24th ranked PK (80.1%) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #19 Joe Sakic ~ 26G 46A = 72pts 2. #15 Andrew Brunette ~ 23G 33A = 56pts 3. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 21G 32A = 53pts 4. #23 Milan Hejduk ~ 22G 23A = 45pts 5. #8 Wojtek Wolski ~ 19G 21A = 40pts Top PIM's: 1. #14 Ian Laperriere ~ 102 PIM's 2. #27 Ossi Vaananen ~ 55 PIM's 3. #40 Marek Svatos ~ 44 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #31 Peter Budaj (18-14-3) 2.79GAA .906%SP 2. #60 Jose Theodore (11-13-1) 3.35GAA .889%SP This is a classic 4-point swing game. If the Wild can get a victory it will gain more separation from a team that is hoping to make a late run and could very well doom Colorado to not making the playoffs this season. The Wild need every point it can get, and it would be nice to see them earn a regulation victory tonight. Pepsi Centre has always been a place this team has struggled; hopefully they start to reverse that trend. GO WILD!!! __________________ "Why mess around with PT Boats when you can have a Destroyer?" ~ Al Strachan (Hockey Night in Canada)

February 23rd, 2007, 10:34 AM	#6 (permalink)
LemaireisGOD Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 504	The State of Hockey News \| MVN - Most Valuable Network » Blog Archive » Role players add offense as Wild hold on for huge 4-3 road win over Colorado Role players add offense as Wild hold on for huge 4-3 road win over Colorado By Derek Felska \| February 23rd, 2007 If you look at almost any team that has makes a good run to the playoffs, let alone during the post-season it is often the unsung role players that step up at key times to have a big impact. A few seasons ago during the 2002-03 playoffs, it was Minnesota’s Darby Hendrickson who blasted a slap shot that brought back the Wild from a 3-1 deficit for the 2nd time to put away the Vancouver Canucks. Tonight it was Minnesota’s role players that delivered the offensive punch in a big 4-3 road win over the fading Colorado Avalanche. In the first period the Wild demonstrated tremendous poise as they patiently controlled the pace of the game as it was clear the desperate Colorado Avalanche wanted to play a wide open style of game. Even though the Wild were patient, Minnesota also exhibited great quickness as they won the races to the loose pucks as well as most of the battles along the boards. The Wild’s hustle would pay off when Todd White would dig the puck loose on the boards and pass the puck to Mark Parrish who deftly found Adam Hall breaking towards the net and he moved in and backhanded a shot top shelf over Peter Budaj to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Colorado tried to rally back on the power play, but Minnesota would having nothing of it as they kept the Avalanche from even registering a shot with the man advantage. Niklas Backstrom was not tested much, having only to make a few token saves and the Wild would skate away from the 1st leading by one. In the 2nd period the game would take significant turn in favor of the State of Hockey. The Wild started to establish their forecheck; especially their “energy” line of Branko Radivojevic, Stephane Veilleux, and Wyatt Smith. As the Wild’s “Energy” line started to create pressure in the Avalanche zone, the other forward lines started to get quality scoring chances on Peter Budaj. Yet as the Wild scoring chances were mounting without reward it almost felt as if at some point the Avalanche were going to get lucky and somehow tie the game. With just over 2 minutes left to go in the 2nd, Stephane Veilleux fed a pass to Wyatt Smith who cut across the slot area and beat Budaj with a wicked backhander for his 1st goal of the season (and the first since February of 2004). With the stunning effect of Smith’s 1st goal of the season the Wild would add another goal just about over a minute later on the power play. Minnesota’s power play unit demonstrated some swift puck movement before the puck ended up on the stick of Marian Gaborik who feinted at a shot before delivering a tremendous cross-ice pass to Todd White who one-timed a blast past Budaj to put the Wild up 3-0 going into the 3rd. With momentum seemingly complete control for the Wild the game would take a dramatic turn, morphing a game that basically seemed to be pretty well in hand into a frantic affair that had Minnesota breathing a collective sigh of relief when it was all said and done. The Wild who had been so successful at stifling the Avalanche on the forecheck for whatever reason decided to back off and gave Colorado a chance to go on the attack. Just past the halfway point, former Wild forward Andrew Brunette hit Minnesota’s Kurtis Foster along the boards, and he promptly took the puck worked the puck to Paul Stastny. Stastny then fired a quick wrist shot on Backstrom who gave up a big rebound in the slot where a waiting Ken Klee rifled home to re-energize the 18,007 in attendance at Pepsi Centre, cutting the Wild lead to 3-1. As much as the goal hurt, it was Kurtis Foster who was probably feeling it the most as he suffered from the affects of the hit Brunette gave him. When Foster hit the boards he was leaned over so his head made contact with the boards; Foster would leave the ice and head to the Wild lockeroom and did not return. The goal completely changed the complexion of the game. With the Avalanche aggressively establishing their forecheck all the Wild could seem to do was to scramble about their own end. About 3 minutes after Klee’s goal, a crazy scramble near the net had Andrew Brunette working his magic down low as he did for years for the Wild. Brunette moved out from behind the goal line and fired a quick shot on goal that Backstrom kicked out onto the stick of Brad Richardson and he shoveled it in to cut the Minnesota lead to 3-2. The game seemed to be at a turning point, the crowd was in it, the Avalanche were outhustling and outworking the Wild. As Colorado was again working their forecheck, the puck moved out to the point the Avalanche’s Jeff Finger wound up for a slapper but his stick shattered and Mark Parrish would take the slow sliding puck and move in on a 3-on-2. Demonstrating incredible patience as he entered the Colorado zone he fed a beautiful cross ice pass to Mikko Koivu who waited until Adam Hall had sent up a great screen and ripped a wrister that clanked off the crossbar as it went in giving the Wild a big 4-2 lead. The goal seemed to have taken the wind out of Colorado’s sails, but the drama wasn’t finished yet. Just 30 seconds after Koivu’s goal, the Avalanche would have a faceoff in the Wild zone. Off of the faceoff the puck would get onto the stick Marek Svatos who fired a sharp angle shot that somehow caught iron and went in, cutting Minnesota’s lead back to one, 4-3. In a furious next two minutes Colorado threw everything they had at Backstrom, but the 28-year old Finn did a masterful job at keeping the puck out of the net having the Wild escape with a 4-3 win. The two points earned in regulation was a huge dagger to the Colorado Avalanche who have been fading as of late. They could’ve potentially shortened the distance behind Minnesota to just 7 points and instead trail now by 11. Niklas Backstrom had a good game with 28 saves, even though in the last 10 minutes he gave up 3 goals. The Wild have to feel good about the production they got from players like Hall, Smith, White and Koivu. It is nice to know that guys like these will potentially deliver some offense when the “usual suspects” of Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston and Pierre-Marc Bouchard do not. Wild Notes: ~ Wild scratches were forward Derek Boogaard and defenseman Petteri Nummelin. Manny Fernandez is still out with an injury, but is expected to return next week, whether he gets to start right away is still a matter of debate. ~ Todd White’s goal in the 2nd period was his 10th of the season becoming the 7th Wild player to go double-digits in goal scoring this season. ~ Montreal Canadiens scouts were once again sighted at Minnesota’s game against Colorado perhaps adding some more creedence to the trade rumors swirling about between the two teams. __________________ "Why mess around with PT Boats when you can have a Destroyer?" ~ Al Strachan (Hockey Night in Canada)

February 22nd, 2007, 10:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
Socodawgs Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 73	Dont you just love saying Budaj!

February 22nd, 2007, 10:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
MtAvsfn Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 328	That turned into quite the exciting game at the end. Congrats. You started a new trend, happy now?

February 23rd, 2007, 09:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
Socodawgs Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 73	As much as I would like to see Boogard on the ice, you can't argue with wins!

February 23rd, 2007, 05:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
MtAvsfn Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Montana Posts: 328	LOL In mid-April, I'll have to pick a fave to go to the SC, since my team will be on the links this year. Sigh.