Wilderness Walk: All Saints Day

The Minnesota Wild’s win streak is stopped at two after last night’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets. On the brightside, a 2-1 game is not a blowout (something the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered at the Jets’ hands) and it shows that the Wild’s defensive game and goaltending is pretty solid overall (there might be some specific exceptions to that diagnosis worthy of discussion). Alex (Saint Alock) Stalock was solid once again for the Wild, although he doesn’t get the “W” he deserves. Last year, if you had told me that the Wild’s backup was going to be playing the 2nd place team in the Central Division, that would have been the scariest part of Halloween. Not so with the Saint backing up Devan Dubnyk. This year it was clowns.

Hopefully no one is suffering from a stomachache from all of the candy they consumed last night. The Wild will face the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night, but until then, stick around.

Wild News

Despite frantic final minutes, Wild falls to Jets - StarTribune.com
The play in front of Alex Stalock struggled to be his equal, again.

MN Wild fail to build on momentum in 2-1 loss to Jets.
Two steps forward. One step back. After getting back on track with back-to-back wins, the Minnesota Wild came out flat in a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

Latest Game is No Treat for Wild in 2-1 Loss to Jets | Zone Coverage - Cold Omaha
It's not a new narrative for the Minnesota Wild, though it hasn't shown up much yet this season. Yes, that would be slow starts for $100, Alex. The Wild fell

Wild showing early confidence in South St. Paul goalie Alex Stalock
Less than a month into the season, MN Wild coach Bruce Boudreau is showing confidence in current backup goaltender Alex Stalock than he did former backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Stalock was set to get the start for Tuesday's game with the red hot Winnipeg Jets at the Xcel Energy Center on the heels of back-to-back wins from starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

On Frozen Pond

GOPHERSPORTS.COM Schierhorn Named Big Ten First Star :: University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site :: Ice Hockey
The Official Athletic Site of the University of Minnesota - The junior led the Big Ten in save percentage (.957) and goals against average (1.00) over the weekend and now holds a 5-3-0 record on the year with all eight games coming against nationally ranked opponents.

Off the Trail

31 Teams, 31 Surprises: NHL Things That Make You Go Hmm | The Hockey News
Brad Marchand is a leading candidate for the Lady Byng Trophy, everybody scores for the Devils, the expansion Golden Knights won seven of their first eight games – and other strange happenings in the early days of the 2017-18 NHL season.

Power Rankings: Blues strike fear into opponents, Coyotes record remains horrifying | The Hockey News
Four straight wins and six victories in their past seven have put the St. Louis Blues atop the Central Division and battling for first place in the NHL.

Will NHL raise the draft age to 19? | The Hockey News
What are the chances of the league increasing the age of draft-eligible players by a year? Better than you might think.

#HockeyHalloween Hat Trick or Treat! Five Haunting Tales of the NHL
Gear up for #HockeyHalloween with these spooktacular tales of the NHL's most legendary oddities, mysteries, ghouls and phantoms.

Down Goes Brown: 10 truly frightening 2017–18 NHL starts - Sportsnet.ca
Not every NHL player or team hits the ground running. Today we look at 10 of the scariest starts we're seeing around the league.

Shipachyov drama another aspect of Golden Knights season that defies logic | The Hockey News
Vadim Shipachyov and the Golden Knights are headed for a split, and, much like Vegas' on-ice success, the saga surrounding the Russian center has caught almost everyone by surprise.