Friday night, I attended the Wild's first home pre-season game as both a media member and as a fan. With one of my 7 year old son's with me, we made the much anticipated trip the the Xcel Energy Center for our first taste of in person pro-hockey since last season's late season push towards the playoffs that ended with the Wild 2 points on the outside looking in.
My season tickets are fourth row behind the Wild goal for 2 periods. During warm-ups, I noted the following impressions:
-Benoit Pouliot looks much different with a beard;
-Clayton Stoner's appearance reminded me of Brian Rolston;
-Brent Burns had a ton of energy;
-Colton Gillies looked skinny;
-the "B" team became the "A" team (Bouchard, Belanger and Burns all wore the Assistant Captain's patch);
-Danny Irmen has a deceptive shot that is both very quick and very hard;
-Brent Burns was skating "russian circles" hard as the rest of the guys skated in their typical half rink laps; and
-the team was led onto the ice by Backstrom and Sheppard was the last one off the ice at the conclusion of warm ups.
The Wild's starting line up was Backstrom in net, Zidlicky and Stoner on defense, and Gillies- Sheppard-Pouliot at forward. They started against Mason in net for Columbus, Tyutin and Klesla on defense and Modin-Pahlsson-Chimera at forward. The night would end up being a very tough one for Jason Chimera who left the game injured in the first series after taking a puck to the face and later returned only to be carted off the ice via stretcher in one of the scary moments ever at a Wild hockey game in St. Paul after being blind sided by Belanger late in the 2nd period.
Other forward line combinations for the Wild, at least during the first period, consisted of Miettinen-Bouchard-Clutterbuck, Hilbert-Belanger-Irmen, and Kalus-Brodziak-Boogaard. Other defensive line combinations were Ryan Lannon-Burns, and Jaime Sifers-Brandon Rogers.
The Wild were given opportunities to practice both their power play and penalty kill. The first power play unit consisted of the Miettinen-Bouchard-Clutterbuck forward unit paired with Zidlicky and Burns. The second power play unit consisted of Hilbert-Belanger-Sheppard together with Rogers and Sifers. The first penalty kill unit had Brodziak, Belanger, Zidlicky and Stoner playing together. The second penalty kill unit had Gillies with Burns and Rogers, however given the play of the game, Brodziak had not yet come off before the whistle blew and a complete line change came where Hilbert, Belanger, Stoner and Sifers entered the scene for the third penalty kill unit.
It was interesting to note during one power play that both Wild wingers were positioned low in the offensive zone a few feet from each winger's respective goal post and just a bit high from the goal line, while the Wild centerman was high in front of the Columbus net. As the defensemen moved from side to side, depending on the movement of the puck, whichever defenseman was at center ice, he had the ability to drift in towards the high center.
From the get go in this game, the players were not afraid to hit. Mason decked Clutterbuck on a series where Cal was crashing the net and in the crease. Boogaard and Burns collided sending Brent sprawling to the ice, but un-injured. Huselius nailed Clutterbuck in the face, injurying him for a moment. Boogaard was throwing vicious, yet clean body checks all night, always seeming to lead with his "booty". And the eventual hit by Belanger on Chimera that, for a while, took the energy out of the game, understandably. Yet, as the game progressed, the energy came back full force on both sides.
Surprisingly, Cal Clutterbuck was the hero of the night. Better known for his continuous on-slaught of hits on his opponents last year, Cal scored both Wild goals. The first one was assisted by Miettinen and Burns. The second one was assisted by Brodziak and Belanger.
As I sat in the stands at the game, I was able to keep notes via Twitter. Here is a full account of my blow by blow tweets from Friday night's game (start at the bottom and go up for chronological following of my tweets from my account Brad_Ratgen via twitter):
3 stars: (3) Harding; (2) Burns; (1) Clutterbuck
Thoughts and prayers with Jason Chimera
Boogey yapping Boll all the way off the ice
Boll going after Sifers at end of game
No hat trick. Wild win 2-0
Open net and Clutterbuck on ice
Harding's posts should get the 3rd star of the game tonight
Clutterbuck almost pots his 3rd goal AGAIN. They are really feeding him.
Another post on Harding
Stoner leveled Boll. Now Boll is yapping Boogie who is on the bench.
Burns is on fire, carrying the puck up the ice, hitting, he does it all
Wild kill another penalty
End of 2nd. One minute break, switch ends and start the 3rd. Feels more like old timers league than NHL. Wierd
Wild kill 5 min PP
Jackets hit post/crossbar with 40 secs remaining in PP
2nd period continued after scary injury to Chimera and immediate suspension of game and resurfacing of ice. Clbs on 5 min PP
Belanger assessed a 5 min major and game misconduct
2nd period called; will play remainder of 2nd after ice is resurfaced and then the entire 3rd; that's wierd
a fair amount of blood on ice after hitting face/head into boards
Jason Chimera taken off on stretcher awake and moving limbs, but full spinal precautions
He's moving his legs thank God but stretcher is out there
Belanger just nailed someone and he is hurt bad, uh oh
Clutterbuck just misses out on hat trick TWICE in a matter of seconds. i think he hit the post on one shot
Boll and Boogaard both get penalties before puck drop after 2nd goal
Harding in net now
Clutterbuck scores again
Gillies misses on a short handed breakaway
Clutterbuck 2 minutes for interfering with Nash, hitting him after puck was gone
Boogaard banging more Jackets player, all clean hits too
Gillies just had a great shift buzzing the Jackets' net
Boogaard lays a huge hit on another guy
Boogaard just misses destroying someone on a huge check and it wasn't one of his own guys
Wild still on powerplay
Clutterbuck scores
Wild on 2 man advantage now
Huselius nails Clutterbuck in face with elbow: cheap
Mason floors Clutterbuck in crease
Boogaard just crushed Burns!?!?!??? Oooppps
LET'S PLAY HOCKEY
In the end, despite the unusual occurrence of stopping the 2nd period early to re-surface, the Wild played a very sound home game. It was a ton of fun to see the defensemen, especially Burns and Zidlicky carry the puck out of the defensive zone and also to not be afraid to get involved in the play in the offensive zone. Both goaltenders played very sound positioning games, Harding played especially well, while Backstrom was what we've come to expect night in and night out. I don't think any of the prospects played well enough to really stand out, including Gillies who really showed some spark, but failed to finish. I truly believe that Colton Gillies should play in Houston just to get consistent, top line reps down there, as well as reps on the power play and/or penalty kill. The kid is going to be very good. I just think that, perhaps, it was a mistake having him on the team last year. Sure he could contribute, but don't you want him making significant contributions when he finally comes to stay? Who knows, that may be why promising, young, talented players like Bouchard, Sheppard and Pouliot have not met what was expected of them. Could these development teams really develop a great player into an NHL talent? I suspect so, if given the chance. The signing of Sykora gives the Wild the ability to build their AHL affiliate in Houston and to give their young prospects time to learn, grow and become better. Remember, if the Wild are on the outside looking in come the trade deadline, Fletcher could pull the trigger in a serious way in an effort to bring in additional players, prospects and/or draft picks, creating good opportunities for our young guns in Houston.
All in all, Friday's game was AWESOME. Great to have hockey back, even it it's pre-season. Great to be sitting in the stands surrounded by passionate hockey fans looking forward to another NHL season. It was great hanging with my 7 year old buddy, Owen, who managed to pack way $25 worth of treats (giant pretzel with cheese, giant pop, mini-doughnuts, Mike & Ike's and a strawberry sunday after the game) and still has a great physique (the kid is ripped). All in all, attending a Wild game is an all around GREAT experience which I recommend to everyone.
Next up, the Chicago Blackhawks come to town Sunday, late afternoon, for another pre-season tilt at the Xcel Energy Center. Will we get our first glimpses of Havlat and Sykora, along with our first home look at Zanon and Hnidy, not to mention our top guys from last year like Koivu, Nolan, Brunette, Schultz, etc.? Stay tuned Wild fans!
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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