By Wild Road Tripper
Crash. And. Burn.
That might just describe the effort level of the Minnesota Wild after Thursday night's 5-2 snoozefest to the Vancouver Canucks at Xcel Energy Center before 18,105 demi-moribund patrons as the Wild managed to self-destruct and end their brief two-game winning streak.
It got so bad that Niklas Backstrom, he of the stellar night Saturday against Pittsburgh, was pulled in favor of Josh Harding after two periods.
And with that as a background, we give you...
Wild Offense: What was that tonight? Kyle Brodziak's two rebound goals were all the Wild could muster.
Wild Defense: Again: What was that tonight?
Canucks Offense: If they are offensively challenged, they didn't show it.
Canucks Defense: Good enough to win.
Leader: Alex Edler. +3, two assists, went like the dickens all night long.
Lagger: Martin Havlat. -3, had three chances in the slot and didn't shoot once, according to Wild head coach Todd Richards. That's enough for us.
Stud: Mason Raymond. His name kept showing up on your TV screens often. Why? He was everywhere he needed to be when the puck was there.
Dud: Niklas Backstrom. Granted, your goalie can't save your bacon every game, but tonight he flat out blew two of the four goals he let in.
Assembled Multitude...
Chicken Little: Ah, yes, that stench is reality closing in on this Wild team...
Pollyanna: This team has done better! There's always next game!
Bottom Line: When your team plays as lifeless as the Wild did throughout the evening, you really DO deserve to lose. Vancouver had five regulars out of the line-up, and they still couldn't put the biscuit in the basket. Can't expect to do that and win...
Next: vs. Dallas, Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:00 PM Central Time, Xcel Energy Center. (TV: KSTC-45, FSSW (in HD); No XM Satellite Radio for this game)
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