Let the blaming begin: Why did the Wild fail?

It's been a tough couple of days for the Minnesota Wild and its fans alike, and it's not going to get any better as the summer wears on. After a season filled with so much expectation and promises, it was over just like that after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. So many questions remain, and the one that everybody is asking is: Who's the blame for the Wild's failure? I'm going to spread the blame out through the team, from the players to the front office, but I will admit that some are more to blame than others.

1) Jacques Lemaire: Jacques has more Stanley Cup rings in his possession than fingers on his hands, but that hasn't translated into championships here in Minnesota. It's hard to fault a guy that has shown he knows how to win, but he deserves some of the blame. The Wild make one trade at the deadline, Chris Simon, and that was originally to build up our toughness come playoff time. It turns out we didn't need the toughness against the Avalanche, therefore Lemaire decided to sit Simon. Big mistake in my opinion. Watching Simon play these last couple months of the season led me to breathe a sigh of relief; we finally had a guy that went to the front of the net and stayed there in the offensive zone (Todd Fedoruk does that too, but I'm not focusing on him right now). Simon has played in a total of three Stanley Cups, and he has a Cup to his credit, yet Lemaire decides to sit him in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I agree he may not score as often as he used to, or that we don't really need the tough side of him, but he does what no one else on the Wild does, and that is be physical while also doing your job. How are most goals scored in the NHL? By a player setting a screen and having another play take advantage of that. Chris Simon was the one who set up the screen whenever he got a chance, but Lemaire decides to sit him. And we wonder why the Wild struggled to score this series. Lemaire switched up lines so much and sat guys that could have helped the team that he definitely has to be blamed a little bit.

2) Marian Gaborik: Just to appease most Wild fans, I would have to say that Gabby should be blamed for some of the failure, but I'm in the minority when I say he doesn't deserve too much blame. Gabby is a pure scorer and has proven that in the regular season as well as the Wilds previous playoff appearances. It sucks that Gabby didn't show up in the series against the Avalanche, but is it totally his fault? Gabby played with 4 different centers this year and scored 42 goals, yet he did the same thing in the playoffs, and scored zip. I think that with a consistent center that always played along side him, Gabby could have scored even more in the regular season and definitely gotten going in the playoffs. Either way, a team should never have to count on one player scoring to win in the playoffs.

3) Doug Risebrough: Risebrough has usually had a knack for making good decisions, but this year when it counted, he screwed up big time. Just a month into the season, the Wild lost one of their most reliable centers in Wes Walz. That opened up a huge hole at the center position that was never closed, even as the trade deadline approached. There were rumblings that the Wild might go after a center like Bobby Holik out of Atlanta, and that would have been a fantastic idea. The Wild were a good team most of the season, but acquiring a quality center to play with Gabby and win faceoffs in the offensive zone would have made them a great team. So when we need a center, what does Risebrough go out and get? A forward in Chris Simon (this is not a knock on Simon, I like him and want him to stay with the team). As soon as the trade deadline passed, I immediately questioned Risebroughs commitment to winning. We could have used another solid defensemen as well, but we got nothing. All this while our first-round opponent is out getting Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, and Ruslan Salei. This made the difference in the series and I believe that most of the blame lies right here on Risebrough.

4) The Team: Usually I don't like to blame anybody other than the players, but this time I think it is split. I always believe most of the blame belongs to the team, since they're the ones playing the game, but again, I split the blame. The Wild actually played a pretty good series, but the better team won. Part of the reason the Wild lost was the defense: not because they were bad, but because they were tired. Once we lost Kurtis Foster to a broken leg, our defense was tremendously weaker. Then just a week before the playoffs start, Nick Schultz, arguably our most consistent defensemen, goes down with an appendectomy that sidelined him until game 6. That left guys like Brent Burns, Kim Johnsson, and Martin Skoula to play upwards of 30 minutes a game with back-to-back games thrown into the series. All that together is a recipe for disaster.

The Wild will undergo a major makeover this offseason, so who knows if they will make it back into the postseason next year. Hopefully with Craig Leipold now taking over as owner of the team, the Wild will be spending some money to bring in some major talent to compliment the talent they already have. Re-signing Gabby would be a good place to start, and then they should go after either Marian Hossa or Brian Campbell. A high-profile player that has proven himself will be the key to bring in, and if it doesn't get done, it will be a disappointment. Now that the Wild season is over, it is time to shift gears to the Twins and the Vikings.

Wild drop a tough one, down 1-0 in series

With a crowd in excess of 19,000 screaming fans, the Wild put forth a brilliant effort, but in the end it was the experience and poise of the Colorado veterans that sunk them. Joe Sakic scored just over eight and a half minutes into overtime to send the Wild faithful home without the expected victory.

The Wild played outstanding hockey for the first two periods, and it is definitely something to build on. They were getting their shots, connecting on hits, and making great passes, but it took a long time before bounces started coming their way. The Wild dominated the first period where they out-shot the Avalanche 11-2, most of those shots coming on the powerplay. Although they didn't connect on either PP opportunity, the Wild had a ton of momentum to build on going into the second. The first period was played with intense physicality, and it was definitely fun to watch. The Wild came out swinging, and it was apparent right from the get-go. Todd Fedoruk, Derek Boogaard, and even Martin Skoula were throwing guys into the boards from the opening whistle. Going into the second frame, the fans had every reason to believe the Wild would be the first to strike, but it didn't go that way.

Although it was fairly obvious from their first period powerplays that the Wild weren't having much luck, the second period brought about even more unfortunate bounces. It didn't take long for the Avalanche to capitalize on a Wild mistake after the drop of the puck. Just 1:29 into the second, Sakic carried the puck through the neutral zone and sped up the left side. Following close behind him was Minnesota-native Kurt Sauer, who took a beautiful drop-pass from Sakic and shot top-shelf to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead in the game. The Wild continued to dominate the game for the next ten minutes, but again nothing was falling for them. After coming close multiple times, the Wild got another unlucky break when Ryan Smyth took a pass from Jeff Finger and fired one past Niklas Backstrom to put Colorado up 2-0 with the second starting to wind down. The Wild continued to pepper Colorado goalie Jose Theodore, but Theodore was holding strong, turning away all 9 shots the Wild had in the second. Down by 2 going into the locker room after two strong periods, the Wild may have been down, but they were far from out.

Again the Wild came out swinging in the third, and it didn't take long for it to finally pay off. The Wild took advantage of a good bounce when Mikko Koivu threw the puck in front of the Colorado net and the puck bounced off of an Avalanche defender and past Theodore to cut the Colorado lead to 2-1 just over 3 minutes into the period. With the momentum back in hand, the Wild went at it again. Knowing they could get one past Theodore seemed like it gave them confidence, and that confidence paid off again just 3 minutes later when Todd Fedoruk camped in front of the net and took a pass from Petteri Nummelin and then backhanded it past Theodore to bring the Wild into a tie with the Avalanche. After the game-tying goal, the Wild seemed to go into their "shutdown" mode, where they try more to prevent a goal then to score one. It ended up working for most of the period, but towards the end it almost cost them. With the Avalanche deep in the Wild zone and pressuring Backstrom, a big pile gathered in front of the net and Wild defensemen Keith Carney was caught covering the puck inside his own crease, therefore giving the Avs a penalty shot. Taking the shot for Colorado was Ryan Smyth, who was 3 for 4 in his career in penalty shots, and in net for the Wild was Backstrom. Smyth carried the puck in and made a move to Backstroms right. Backstrom followed him and threw his leg down to block Smyth's "shot," which wasn't a shot at all, just a little bit of a push of the puck which Backs threw aside to keep the game in a 2-2 tie. The remaining 3 minutes or so of the game remained deadlocked, but the Avs definitely had more chances. Going into overtime, it was obvious the game could go either way.

Once OT started, both teams seemed to have new life. Everybody had their legs back, and the game was moving fast once again. Each team had their chances, but neither cashed in, at least not right away. At the 11:11 mark of the 4th frame, Sakic parked himself in front the Wild net and waited for a shot. That shot came from Ruslan Salei, who fired one that bounced off of Martin Skoula's skate and right to Sakic's backhand. Sakic fired the puck home and sent the Avalanche back to their hotel with a 3-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead to work with.

This was a very entertaining game to watch, but unfortunately it didn't turn out the way I was hoping. I damn near had an aneurysm multiple times during the game, including Fedoruk's game-tying goal and Smyth's penalty-shot miss. Although I would like the Wild to win games by a comfortable margin the rest of the series, if the games keep going like this it will definitely be one of the more interesting series of this years playoffs.

NHL Playoff predictions

Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been busy with work recently and am just now getting time to write anything.

With the NHL playoffs starting tonight, I figured I'd post my predictions on who I think will advance and who I think will be bounced. I'm not going to get into too much explanation with the series, just a couple of reasons why I think each team will move on.

Western Conference:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators-This really isn't a true playoff series in my opinion. I do enjoy watching the Preds every so often when the Wild face them, but against the Wings, they have zero chance of moving on. Detroit is powerful on all sides of the puck and they have the experience needed to zip past Nashville and move on without a hitch.

Prediction: Detroit in 5 games

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames-This is a very interesting matchup to start the playoffs. The Sharks are an absolute beast of a team and after watching them manhandle the Wild all season long, I like the way they're built. But Calgary is not a team that will succumb under the Sharks enormous firepower. With a guy like Jarome Iginla scoring goals and Miikka Kiprusoff preventing goals, this will be more of a challenge for San Jose than I believe they think it will be.

Prediction: San Jose in 7 games

(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche-The Wild are coming into the postseason on a hot streak, and I don't see it ending anytime soon. Even with the loss of our most consistent defensemen in Nick Schultz, the team will be able to rally together and run through Colorado without much of a problem.

Prediction: Minnesota in 6 games

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars-This is another series that will be entertaining to watch. The Ducks are a very physical team and are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but the Stars have plenty of talent on their team too. If guys like Matt Niskanen and Marty Turco can come up big, I can see the Stars easily handling the Ducks. Although I would love to see the Ducks advance so that the Wild could get a chance to play them, I just don't see them doing much.

Prediction: Dallas in 6 games


Eastern Conference:

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins-This is truly a 1 vs. 8 matchup. The Canadiens have dominated the Bruins all season and are the best team in the East right now. The Bruins are just not experienced enough to get past a tough Montreal team that consists of guys like Alexei Kovalev and Saku Koivu.

Prediction: Montreal in 4 games

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators-Just like the Bruins/Canadiens matchup, this won't be much of a series at all. The Senators started the season 15-2, one of the best starts in NHL history, and barely held on to a playoff berth. The Penguins on the other hand have many young guys looking to make a huge impression on the league by guiding this team to the Cup. With the right mix of young guns and experienced veterans, the Penguins are one of the teams to beat in the East.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 5 games

(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers-This is a really hard series to predict. The Capitals captured the division crown on the last day of the season pitting them against a tough, gritty Flyers team. Although I love what Alex Ovechkin has done this season, I do think that the physical play of Philly can shut him down enough to do what they need to. I'm not a fan of the Flyers by any means, but I have to go with my gut.

Prediction: Philadelphia in 7 games

(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers-Both of these teams are solid, but I like the scoring punch of the Devils more. Zach Parise will come up huge in the playoffs, and Martin Brodeur will shine like always as the Devils take this series fairly easily.

Prediction: New Jersey in 6 games

Western Conference Semifinals:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Dallas Stars

Prediction: Detroit in 6 games

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Minnesota Wild

Prediction: Minnesota in 7 games


Eastern Conference Semifinals:

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

Prediction: Montreal in 6 games

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) New Jersey Devils

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6 games


Western Conference Finals:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Minnesota Wild

Prediction: Minnesota Wild in 6 games


Eastern Conference Finals:

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins

Prediction: Montreal Candiens in 6 games


STANLEY CUP FINALS:

(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (1) Montreal Canadiens

Prediction: Minnesota Wild in 6 games



I'm sure it was quite predictable that I would choose the Wild to win it all, but I can't go against my hometown team. I honestly believe they have the stuff this year to make a huge run, as long as they can band together and beat the teams like San Jose and Detroit.