In a game that was completely dominated by the Minnesota Wild in every aspect except on the scoreboard, the Calgary Flames won 1-0 in a shootout Tuesday in St. Paul. The Wild out shot the Flames 38-24, including 14-5 in the first period which featured a Mark Parrish goal being disallowed and complete domination by the Wild. Flames goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff was the obvious number one star stopping anything and everything the Wild threw at him. Niklas Backstrom was as impressive, stopping all of Calgary's 24 shots, including an incredible toe save with under a minute to play in regulation to help Minnesota gain at least a point. Despite the loss, the Wild clinched a playoff spot with Vancouver defeating Colorado. The Wild currently sit 6th in the Western Conference with a franchise record 98 points. Calgary and Minnesota will play again Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center.
One Man's View
A few things upset during the review of the Mark Parrish goal in the first period. First off the game had tremendous flow and pace. You not only blow the call (and given the replays we were shown on television i think you all can agree) but you slow down the game and ruin a teams momentum (which in this case happened to be the Wild's). Secondly why should a call need to be forwarded to Toronto (who ends up making a final decision) to determine whether a goal should or shouldn't stand? Football has a simple system; you need conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field. Shouldn't hockey do the same? At least if there was a replay which showed obvious and conclusive evidence to overturn the goal show the fans. We should have a right to know and see why a call was overturned. If there was no other view, and the replay officials made a decision based on the replays we were shown on television, then I'm sorry but the replay officials should be fired because there is absolutely no way you could tell me you saw that puck hit off of Parrish's stick and that his stick was over the crossbar.
Looking Ahead
The Wild will play host to the Calgary Flames again Thursday before traveling to Colorado for their final road game of the season. They then finish up with two games at home against division rival Edmonton. The season finale will be Saturday April 7th against the St. Louis Blues. The Wild have a real shot to take down the division. Their final three games are against non-playoff teams, all of which are home games. The Wild are 26-11 which ranks towards the top of the western conference. Some keys down the stretch for the Wild is to get their special teams rolling. Special teams play a huge roll in the playoffs and can make or break a team. The Wild rank 10th in the NHL on the power play and are 2nd in the NHL when it comes to penalty killing. Obviously home ice advantage would be ideal, but the Wild have played solid on the road the past month and will be a force to be reckoned with regardless of the venue.
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6 comments:
Nice fist piece Nate.
You mentioned the Wild ranked 10th this year in power play offense. As a VERY casual follower of hockey, I don't know exactly who comprises our PP line(s) and how exactly having Marion Gaborik out for so much of the season may have cost us in the rankings, because I remember at the very beginning of the season, our PP really carried us to a string start and once Marion disappeared so did the PP numbers, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Furthermore, does Gaborik's history of injury ever make you think we'd be better of trading him for someone who may not be as talented but at least would be on the ice all the time? I for one would really love to see the Wild make an attempt to acquire a legitimate power forward, it would give our offense an aspect I don't feel its ever really had, and I can't help but think that with Lemaire's man-love of the forecheck that it would be a perfect fit.
I think Rolston is damn close to a power forward. He might not chop someone's head off like Keith T. but he's a big, strong player with a hard shot.
I suppose what I'm really looking for is someone who sits in front of the net, screens the goalie and can redirect pucks.
Nice post my man! Looking forward to reading more as the Wild play in the postseason.
If you are looking for a big strong guy who can control the front of the net Mark Parrish is your guy. He has made a living camping in front (especially on the power play) and making things extremely tough on opposing goalies.
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