Minnesota Wild Should Benefit from Four Day Break

The Minnesota Wild, 2-1-3 this season in games decided by one goal, don't play until Thursday. This long break is giving the Wild a great opportunity to rest injured players as well as improve.

Greg Zanon and Guillaume Latendresse, who both missed Saturday's game in Vancouver, did not practice today at the Xcel and are day-to-day. However, this four day break will be important for their rest.

One area the Wild need to improve upon is the power play. Minnesota is 0-18 on the power play in their last five games. On the season, the Wild have only scored three power play goals in 31 opportunities. That needs to be a lot better.

Wild Lose Via Power Play Goal

Post-regulation heroics would have been outstanding two games in a row, unfortunately the Minnesota Wild didn't have it in them. They ended up following their shootout win over the Oilers with an overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Sami Sale had the overtime goal on the power play, beating Niklas Backstrom.

Minnesota had gotten off to a good start, forcing the Canucks into many errors, including three penalties in a span of five minutes.

At least the Wild seem to be playing well overall. Perhaps this is the year we return to the playoffs!

My Popular-Game Picks

Don't miss these popular out-of-town visits at the Xcel Energy Center:

Boston Bruins 2/19: defending Stanley Cup champions come to town
Anaheim Ducks 10/27, 2/14
Calgary Flames 11/27, 3/11, 3/22
Chicago Blackhawks 12/14, 4/5
Dallas Stars 1/21, 3/13
Detroit Red Wings 10/29
St. Louis Blues 11/5, 11/19
San Jose Sharks 1/10, 2/26
Winnipeg 2/16: first ever trip to the Xcel Energy Center!
Vancouver Canucks: 11/3, 2/9, 3/19: defending Western Conference champion

2011-12 Minnesota Wild Schedule

Here are some fast facts regarding the Minnesota Wild 2011 season!

Games by Conference/Division

Western Conference:
Central Division (20)
Northwest Division (24)
Pacific Division (20)

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division (6)
Northwest Division (5)
Southeast Division (7)

Opponents to Visit Minnesota

Anaheim-2
Boston-1
Buffalo-0
Calgary-3
Carolina-1
Chicago-2
Colorado-3
Columbus-2
Dallas-2
Detroit-2
Edmonton-3
Florida-1
Los Angeles-2
Montreal-0
Nashville-2
New Jersey-1
New York Islanders-1
New York Rangers-1
Ottawa-0
Philadelphia-0
Phoenix-2
Pittsburgh-1
St. Louis-2
San Jose-2
Tampa Bay-1
Toronto-0
Vancouver-3
Washington-0
Winnipeg-1

Longest Homestand: 6 games

Longest Road Trip: 5 games (2 times)

Air Miles Traveled: 44,051

Length of Wild's 2011-12 Season: 183 days

Wild Try to Extend Streak to 17 Over Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are 0-14-2 in the past 16 visits to the Xcel Energy Center. Tonight, the Wild will host the Oilers again.

The Oilers' last two first-round draft b=picks both contributed to a win in the season opener. Can those two younglings tackle a bigger task tonight, a win at the Xcel?

In the three meetings between the two teams last year, the Minnesota Wild outscored the Oilers 12-5. The 16-game stretch is the NHL's second-longest active winning streak by a home team over a visitor. Nashville holds the No. 1 spot with 17 consecutive home victories over Columbus.

The Wild are beginning a three-game homestand tonight.

Let's hope the Minnesota boys can hold it together for another win over the Oilers! Let's start this homestand out right!

Pierre-Marc Bouchard Eligible Tonight

Minnesota Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard (whose name always reminds me of the days I spent in France) will be eligible to play tonight after being suspended for two games for a high stick that bloodied the face of Columbus' Matt Calvert in Saturday's game.

Bouchard asserts that the intended point of impact was the hands of Calvert, not the face. However, the league said regardless of Bouchard's intent, he is responsible for the actual result of the slash up into the face area.

He will forfeit $4,108.10 in pay as a further punishment of the act.

Bouchard is back this year after missing more than a season with a concussion.

Brent Burns, former teammate, reached out to support Bouchard on twitter, "Butchy apologizes to ants if he steps on one. No chance he even attempts to hurt anyone out there. Freak accident."

I think we have bigger problems on our hands... Bouchard talks to ants? Just kidding. Only trying to make light of a situation that should have never happened. A two-game suspension seemed steep. It is hockey after all.

Top Minnesota Wild Hockey Games

Top Minnesota Wild Hockey Game to Watch this Year!

1. Minnesota vs Edmonton 10/13
2. Minnesota @ San Jose 11/10
3. Minnesota vs Colorado 12/26
4. Minnesota @ Philadelphia 1/17
5. Minnesota vs Winnipeg 2/16
6. Minnesota @ Montreal 3/1
7. Minnesota vs Phoenix 5/7


CHECK THEM OUT and mark your calendars! What are the games you are most looking forward to?

Minnesota Wild Reduce Roster

The Minnesota Wild hockey team has reduced the roster to 47.

The team reassigned Joel Broda (RW), Justin Fontaine (RW), Mike Kramer (RW), defeseman Sam Lofquist and defenseman Kyle Medvec to the Houston Aeros.

Others reassigned were center Tyler Graovac to the Ottawa 67s, defenseman Colton Jobke to Kelowna Rockets, defenseman Josh Caron to the Kamloops Blazers and left winger Carter Sandlak to the Belleville Bulls.

The Minnesota Wild open their season at home on 10/08 against the Blue jackets.

Mike Yeo Joins Host of New Minnesota Coaches

With the exception of the Minnesota Twins, all of the major sports teams in Minnesota will be/are experiencing the transition that coincides with a new head coach.

The Vikings are 0-2 under new head coach Leslie Frazier. The Minnesota Timberwolves just hired Rick Adelman. And the Minnesota Wild... Mike Yeo. (Even the Gophers have a new boss)

Yeo has the reputation of holding a serious work ethic and pushing his players to have the same. Yeo has said this job with the Wild has been a long time coming, a story more than 20 years in the making. He started taking notes on coaching over two decades ago and has finally landed his goal position: an NHL head coach.

Yeo is looking to bring a strong defensive system to the Wild, applying tough pressure to the puck, forcing their opponents to think quickly - forcing errors. He recognizes there may be no quick fix for a team three years out of the playoffs, but is striving to bring glory back to the ice of Minnesota.

Minnesota Wild Strengths and Weaknesses to Look Forward

I felt for my last blog post of the summer, I wanted to get you guys pumped up for a bunch of blogs that I have coming up for the rest of the year. I have spent the last week or so working on the strengths and weaknesses of each member of the Minnesota week. Some time during the season, I am going to start posting those strengths and weaknesses. I spent a lot of time on them, and I think they're going to be really great. So if you're really bored and you have a bad day at work, just know that you have those to look forward to.

Ex-Wild Pavol Demitra Dies

Pavol Demitra played for the Minnesota Wild from 2006-2008 and he was definitely one of the better players on the team. Sadly, Demitra died in a plane crash today and we only have the memories of him in NHL uniforms to cherish. He was playing for a Russian hockey team and the plane crashed this morning, killing everyone on the plane. Here's the statement that the Minnesota Wild released:

"The Minnesota Wild organization joins the rest of the hockey world in mourning the tragedy involving the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey club. Pavol Demitra was a valuable member of our team for two seasons and helped the Wild claim its first-ever Northwest Division title in 2008. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Demitra family as well as all of the families that lost loved ones today."

Minnesota Wild TV Schedule

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) TV
SEPTEMBER – PRESEASON
Tue. 20 @ Edmonton 8:00 P.M.
Thur. 22 @ St. Louis 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 23 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 24 @ Pittsburgh 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 27 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
Thur. 29 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M.
FRI. 30 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.

OCTOBER – REGULAR SEASON
SAT. 8 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M. FSN
Mon. 10 @ N.Y. Islanders 12:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 11 @ Ottawa 6:30 P.M. FSN
THUR. 13 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 15 DETROIT 7:00 P.M. FSN
TUE. 18 PITTSBURGH 6:30 P.M. VERSUS
Thur. 20 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M. FSN
Sat. 22 @ Vancouver 3:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 27 ANAHEIM 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 29 DETROIT 7:00 P.M. FSN

NOVEMBER
Tue. 1 @ Detroit 6:30 P.M. FSN
THUR. 3 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 5 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 8 @ Calgary 8:30 P.M. FSN
Thur. 10 @ San Jose 9:30 P.M. FSN
Sat. 12 @ Los Angeles 9:30 P.M. FSN
Sun. 13 @ Anaheim 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 15 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 17 COLORADO 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 19 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M. FSN
WED. 23 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M. FSN
FRI. 25 EDMONTON 3:00 P.M. FSN
SUN. 27 CALGARY 5:00 P.M. FSN
MON. 28 TAMPA BAY 6:30 P.M. VERSUS
Wed. 30 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M. FSN

DECEMBER
FRI. 2 NEW JERSEY 7:00 P.M. FSN
Sun. 4 @ Anaheim 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 6 @ San Jose 9:30 P.M. FSN
Thur. 8 @ Los Angeles 9:30 P.M. FSN
Sat. 10 @ Phoenix 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 13 @ Winnipeg 7:30 P.M. FSN
WED. 14 CHICAGO 6:30 P.M. VERSUS
SAT. 17 N.Y. ISLANDERS 7:00 P.M. FSN
Mon. 19 @ Vancouver 9:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 20 @ Calgary 8:00 P.M. FSN
Thur. 22 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M. FSN
MON. 26 COLORADO 5:00 P.M. FSN
Wed. 28 @ Nashville 7:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 29 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 31 PHOENIX 5:00 P.M. FSN

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) TV
JANUARY
Wed. 4 @ Vancouver 9:00 P.M. FSN
Sat. 7 @ Calgary 9:00 P.M. FSN
TUE. 10 SAN JOSE 6:30 P.M. VERSUS
Thur. 12 @ Chicago 7:30 P.M. FSN
Sat. 14 @ St. Louis 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 17 @ Philadelphia 6:00 P.M. FSN
Thur. 19 @ Toronto 6:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 21 DALLAS 8:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 24 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M. VERSUS
Sun. 29 NHL All-Star Game (Ottawa) 3:00 P.M. VERSUS
TUE. 31 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M. FSN

FEBRUARY
Thur. 2 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M. FSN
Sat. 4 @ Dallas 7:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 7 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 9 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 11 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M. FSN
TUE. 14 ANAHEIM 6:30 P.M. VERSUS
THUR. 16 WINNIPEG 7:00 P.M. FSN
Sat. 18 @ St. Louis 1:00 P.M. FSN
SUN. 19 BOSTON 2:00 P.M. NBC
Thur. 23 @ Florida 6:30 P.M. FSN
Fri. 24 @ Dallas 7:30 P.M. FSN
SUN. 26 SAN JOSE 5:00 P.M. FSN
TUE. 28 LOS ANGELES 6:30 P.M. VERSUS

MARCH
Thur. 1 @ Montreal 6:00 P.M. FSN
Fri. 2 @ Detroit 6:30 P.M. FSN
SUN. 4 COLORADO 6:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 6 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M. VERSUS
Thur. 8 @ Phoenix 8:00 P.M. FSN
SUN. 11 CALGARY 5:00 P.M. FSN
TUE. 13 DALLAS 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 17 CAROLINA 1:00 P.M. FSN
MON. 19 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 22 CALGARY 7:00 P.M. FSN
Sat. 24 @ Buffalo 6:00 P.M. FSN
Sun. 25 @ Washington 4:00 P.M. VERSUS
TUE. 27 N.Y. RANGERS 7:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 29 FLORIDA 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 31 LOS ANGELES 7:00 P.M. FSN

APRIL
Sun. 1 @ Chicago 6:00 P.M. FSN
Tue. 3 @ Nashville 7:00 P.M. FSN
THUR. 5 CHICAGO 7:00 P.M. FSN
SAT. 7 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M. FSN

BOLD INDICATES HOME GAME
DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE