Monday, January 31, 2011

Team Lidstrom Beats Team Staal 11-10

2011 NHL All-Star GameTeam Lidstrom defeated Team Staal 11-10 in the 2010-2011 NHL All-Star Game yesterday. Wild players Marty Havlat recorded 3 assists and Brent Burns notched 1 assist. It was a fun format this year, with the two captains, Nick Lidstrom and Jordan Staal selecting the teams. Former Minnesota Gopher player Phil Kessel was selected last in the draft and was given a car because of it. On Saturday night, Brent Burns competed in the hardest shot contest and Marty Havlat competed in the accuracy competition. Both players did not win their respective contests.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Minnesota Wild Post Big Win Over Chicago Blackhawks

Minnesota WildThe Minnesota Wild beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 in Chicago on Tuesday night. The Minnesota Wild improved to 14-8-3 on the road this season. After a 2-1 first period lead for the Blackhawks, the Minnesota Wild responded with 3 straight goals coming from Chuck Kobasew, Antti Miettinen, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. It was a great victory for the team and gave a little momentum going into the All-Star break. Get your Minnesota Wild tickets with Ticket King!

Marty Havlat Headed to the All-Star Game

Martin HavlatMinnesota Wild winger Marty Havlat has been named to the 2010-2011 NHL All-Star Game as an injury replacement. Havlat is taking the place of injured forward Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers. Havlat has 13 goals in 48 games and leads the team with 30 assists. He'll join defenseman Brent Burns as Wild representatives this weekend. This is the second time in the Wild's 10-year history they'll send two players to an All-Star game. Filip Kuba and Dwayne Roloson each went in 2004. The game is this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. Congrats to Marty Havlat!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Minnesota Wild Strive For Consistency

Minnesota WildLose 3 games by a 13-2 margin. Win 3 games by a 14-1 margin. That is the story of the Minnesota Wild this season. In a 6 game stretch, they lost 3 consecutive games by a 13-2 deficit and turned that around to a 14-1 margin. The Minnesota Wild will need to establish some consistency in the 2nd half of the season. The goal should not only be to make the playoffs, but hopefully make a playoff run as well. The Philadelphia Flyers showed that last season when they qualified for the playoffs on the final game of the season, none the less in a shootout. They ended up going to the Stanley Cup. So, Minnesota Wild let's see some consistency.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks

Minnesota Wild at San Jose SharksOn Saturday, January 22nd, the Minnesota Wild will look to extend their 3 game winning streak against the San Jose Sharks. The Minnesota Wild are currently 24-18-5, 1 point from the coveted 8th spot in the playoffs. They trail the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks who sit at 54 points. San Jose is tied with the Minnesota Wild at 53 points. The Minnesota Wild are 13-7-3 this season on the road and will look to improve that mark in San Jose. Get your Minnesota Wild tickets today with Ticket King!

Minnesota Wild On 3 Game Winning Streak

Minnesota Wild CelebrateThe Minnesota Wild are on an impressive 3 game winning streak with a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, and a 6-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. The victories at Edmonton and Calgary were at their respective arenas. Anton Khudobin earned a shutout against Vancouver and only gave up 1 goal against Edmonton. Niklas Backstrom returned from injury and showed his top form against the Calgary Flames with a 6-0 victory.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Can Cam Barker Deliver?

Cam BarkerMany native hockey fans of the state and Minnesota Wild fans remember the trade that sent 1st round pick Nick Leddy to the Chicago Blackhawks for Cam Barker. It was a strange one at the time, since Leddy had been drafted as early as 6 months earlier. Barker was a #3 overall draft pick in 2004 behind Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. He started slow for the Blachkahwks but in 2008-2009 he showed promise with 40 points in 68 games (6 goals, 34 assists). However, most fans this season have been unhappy with Barker. He registered 7 points in 19 games last season and has 5 points in 35 games this season. He has been a healthy scratch in several games this season. My question is, what should the Minnesota Wild do with Cam Barker?

Friday, January 14, 2011

Colorado Avalance at Xcel Energy Center Friday, January 14th

Anton KhudobinThe Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center on at 7 PM Central Time tonight, Friday, January 14th. The Colorado Avalanche come into the game with a 22-16-6 record for 50 points. The Minnesota Wild are 21-17-5 for 47 points. Both are division rivals in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Earlier today, it was learned that Patrick O'Sullivan of the Minnesota Wild was placed on waivers. Also, Jose Theodore and Niklas Backstrom are both hurt with hip injuries so Anton Khudobin is expected to start with Matt Hackett backing him up. Purchase your Minnesota Wild tickets with Ticket King today!

Brent Burns Makes All-Star Team

Brent BurnsBrent Burns has officially been awared for his great 2010-2011 so far and has been named an All-Star. He'll be among a pool of 36 players that will be drafted by two team captains. He is the 6th Minnesota Wild player selected to compete in the All-Star game, along with Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston, Filip Kuba, Dwayne Roloson, and Niklas Backstrom. There are 11 other defenseman chosen for the All-Star game and there will be a fantasy draft on January 28th to decide the two teams.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Can the Minnesota Wild Make A Playoff Push?

Stanley CupThe Minnesota Wild won the Northwest Division in the 2007-2008 season. It was a great season that unfortunately ended prematurely to the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs. The last 2 seasons, the Minnesota Wild have just missed the playoffs. They have teased us at times playing well for long stretches and then falling just short. Is this season going to be the same? Or is the team going to make a push and qualify for the playoffs? Let me know your thoughts.

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Brent Burns Having Terrific Year

Brent BurnsThe Minnesota Wild need all the scoring they can get. Tied for the team lead in goals is defensman Brent Burns. The 25 year-old defenseman has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 38 games this season. He is on pace to record 25 goals and 53 points. His career high for goals in a season is 15 in the 2007-2008 season. I am biased because I am a former defenseman, but Brent Burns may be playing at the highlest level on the team right now, along with Mikko Koivu, Cal Clutterbuck, and Martin Havlat.

Minnesota Wild Win Back to Back Road Games

Boston Bruins
New Jersey and Boston. No big deal for the Minnesota Wild. The team won at both arenas in a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils and a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. The Minnesota Wild are now 9-4-1 in its past 14 games overall. Since December 4th they have gone 6-1-2 on the road. Furthermore, they are 4-0-1 in the past five road games. The team is getting hot and now currently sit 1 point out of 8th and even 3 points from 4th place.

In the New Jerseys Devil win, Clayton Stoner scored on a unique bounce off of the glass, but as he said "A goal is a goal." Last night, the Minnesota Wild played a hard game against one of the NHL's best in Boston and came away with a 3-1 victory. Martin Havlat, Cal Clutterbuck, and Mikko Koivu scored for the Minnesota Wild. Keep on winning Minnesota Wild!