Minnesota Wild vs. Ottawa Senators : Game Re-Cap

For the enemy perspective, please visit Silver Seven 

Let's face it, apart from the equipment fire last year, Minnesota and Ottawa don't have much of a connection, so it was just a ho-hum kind of game right? Wrong. This game was made meaningful because Ottawa's been having trouble in the past few years, particularly this season and Minny was coming off an embarassing loss to the Ducks. Also, it was Dino night at the X. Of course I've never seen Dino play. Hell, I've never seen the North Stars play, but Dino was/is loved by many a Minnesotan. So yes, this was a pretty important game.  The Wild needed a win to try and get things going, or else.

But then... The curse returns

Third period comeback? Nope.

It may be time for Fletch to hit the trade button now. The Wild fall to 13-13-4, losing for the 9th time in the last 12 games. This was a game the Wild simply couldn't allow themselves to lose against a winnable team. They weren't really out-played as much as out-chanced. However, if there were one less guy on the ice when the Wild scored in the second period, it would've been a totally different game. Instead, we have to continue to rue the curse of the second period. The Wild played with our hearts, showing up in the first period only to play some really ugly hockey for the next 40 minutes.

Tonight it's not Sorry Tom, it's Sorry Dino and Sorry Wild fans.

A few notes:

Hockey Wilderness 3 stars:

2. Nick Foligno (GWG, reason he's not first is because he didn't do the Foligno jump after his goal. Boo.)

3. Pascal Leclaire ( 23 saves)

Five questions:

1. Can the Wild show a killer instinct against a weaker opponent? While the Sens aren't much weaker than the Wild, the Wild showed about a period's worth of a killer instinct. Good thing the Sens didn't show much of a killer instinct either though.

2. Do the Wild defensive forwards find a way to step up while lacking in their ranks? Meh, Nystrom was robbed, but as a whole, the d-forwards weren't very good.
3. How does Theodore look in a chance to seize the throne? 2 goals allowed on 24 shots... better numbers than Backs for sure... the plot thickens.
4. Can Jarkko Ruutu avoid biting or stomping on someone? He did get a penalty, but went relatively unnoticed tonight.

5. Will SpaethCo dig until he finds his old Kuba jersey? He thinks either Bryan burned it, or the next tenant of his old apartment has it. I think Bryan burned it... seems like something he'd do!