Minnesota Wild Recap at the Arizona Coyotes – ❤️February 14th, 2024

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Robb
Minnesota Wild Recap at the Arizona Coyotes - February 🩷14th🩷, 2024

The Minnesota Wild went to Arizona to face the Coyotes who had lost 6 games in a row so you could look at it as a trap game, especially after a huge win in Vegas on Monday night. That means this is a test of where this Minnesota Wild team is mentally. Do they show up and play their game? Or do they let an Arizona Coyotes team get their game going? 

There was some redemption for the Minnesota Wild in this game as well since they were embarrassed at home in a 6-0 win one month ago on January 13th.

AND… it’s Valentine’s Day so… I’m not sure where this is going but…

We LOVE Hockey, though! from Saucy Mitts & Red Bubble

2023-24 Minnesota Wild Schedule and Results
Record:
24-23-5 (53 points)
6th in NHL Central Division

NHL Hockey Wild Card Standings

NHL Western Conference Wild Card Standings before the games on February 14th, 2024

Arizona wore their Desert Night jerseys or as we like to call them, their tablecloth & napkin jerseys:

Here are starting goalie Connor Ingram’s goalie pads:

“I can’t believe I have to wear this!”
A goalie… ➡️ uhh… goalie  ➡️ ugh… goalie ➡️ UGLY!

See…that looks like a napkin design:

Alright. Enough words. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild Projected Lineup at the Arizona Coyotes - February 14th, 2024
Arizona Coyotes Projected Lineup vs the Minnesota Wild - February 14th, 2024

Game Recap

1st Period

It looked like Minnesota Wild F Matt Boldy was going to get to the puck first 2 & a half minutes into the game but the linesman whistled the play down for icing.*

*Icing rule? Is it a race to the dot? No but kind of!

2023-24 NHL Rulebook – Rule 85: Icing – the rule on a race to the puck

Wild F Freddy Gaudreau was called for a trip because he put his stick in the feet of Arizona F Nick Bjugstad.

Arizona F Nick Bjugstad blocked a shot and got a breakaway but Minnesota Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury made the save.

Wild D Dakota Mermis was called for holding but both players may have been holding. Mermis was trying to get away but couldn’t because he was also being held but the official didn’t see that. We’re not fans of the holding penalty and/or the way it’s called. A lot of times it’s called as Touching instead of Holding.

Minnesota Wild F Marcus Johansson was hit in the face with a high stick from Arizona D J. J. Moser to give the Minnesota Wild their 1st power play of the game.

14:01 – Goal (PPG) – Joel Eriksson Ek (24) from Matt Boldy (21) & Kirill Kaprizov (30) 

A shot went wide and Minnesota F Kirill Kaprizov was the first to the loose puck beneath the goal line. He quickly sent the puck behind the net to Matt Boldy who immediately took it to the front of the net then made a backhand pass through the feet of Arizona D ? to Joel Eriksson Ek for a one-timer just over Arizona G ? left pad and a 1-0 lead!

Minnesota Wild 1 | 0 Arizona Coyotes

The Wild outshot Arizona 21-7 in that period!

2nd Period

Wild F Marco Rossi was obviously tripped in the defensive zone and there was no call. Arizona F Matias Maccelli even looked back at the official as he was getting to the loose puck. The in-zone official was blocked by the net, the goalie and a couple of players as he was in the opposite corner. The neutral zone official has to see that then & if he can’t, then maybe there should be another official on the ice because that’s an obvious penalty.

Later in the period, Matt Boldy went through the Coyote defensemen with another Coyote trailing him with a slick move and almost scored. He is taking the next step before our eyes. He has looked like a different player in the last few games as he’s starting to realize he has the talent to take over a game. 

16:22 – Goal – Arizona – Nick Schmaltz 

Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury was bumped by Arizona F Barrett Hayton while he was trying to make the save so Wild coach John Hynes challenged the play for Goaltender Interference and…

No Goal!!!

The goal was taken off the board so it was still…

Minnesota Wild 1 | 0 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona had a scoring chance a minute later with a couple guys driving the net but the Wild defenders made plays on sticks to make those chances difficult and Fleury was able to freeze the puck. 

On the ensuing faceoff, Arizona won it and they eventually had the puck in the right corner (to Wild G Fleury’s left) on the stick of D Sean Durzi. He tried to take the puck to the net and Wild D Jonas Brodin broke it up* but he was able to get a shot off as he was falling down. The shot was weak and easily stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury. Brodin the took the puck, went around the net to break out of the zone then passed it to Connor Dewar going up the right side. Dewar had Durzi pursuing him on the backcheck but he pulled the puck back to avoid the poke check then found Brodin alone in the right slot and he shot it to the blocker side. The puck hit J.J. Moser’s leg then bounced off the ice and went over Connor Ingram’s right pad.
*He may have tripped him to make him lose his balance and the puck. The official was in the corner again and didn’t make a call. It’s in the highlight video at the 4:30 mark.

19:39 – Goal – Minnesota – Jonas Brodin (3) from Connor Dewar (3) & Marc-Andre Fleury (1)

Arizona D J.J. Moser (#90) turned to skate forward to get even or take away a pass to driving Wild F Jake Lucchini but that meant he couldn’t see who had the puck or where it was until he turned. He probably could’ve changed the play and guided the back-checkers to defend the trailing players but nobody accounted for Jonas Brodin or Vinni Lettieri:

Minnesota Wild 2 | 0 Arizona Coyotes

At the end of the period after a Coyotes shot on goal, Arizona & former Wild draft pick F Jack McBain stopped short of going to the net to put his shoulder into Wild F Mats Zuccarello so a scrum developed quickly with a lot of Wild players going after McBain. Jonas Brodin was pushing McBain’s head down and apparently took McBain’s helmet off so the official called Roughing on Brodin and nothing else. That’s terrible officiating. McBain went in long after the horn to end the period.

You can hear the official say, “I got 25 & that’s it. You took his helmet right off!” Obviously said official didn’t see what McBain did to start the whole thing. Again, terrible officiating! Brodin is pushing him down and his helmet came off. McBain put a shoulder into Zuccarello. Also, why does it matter that he took his helmet off?

You have to wonder if the Wild scores another goal or two if someone asks McBaim to throw down. 

3rd Period

2022 3rd overall pick & former Minnesota Gopher F Logan Cooley is showing why he left for the professional ranks. He has immense talent and showed it on this play.

5:21 – Goal – Arizona – Logan Cooley (7) from Jack McBain (10) & Juuso Valimaki (8)

Logan Cooley got a pass as he was skating up the left side in the neutral zone. Wild D Brock Faber looks like he lost an edge and that might be what makes the play possible. Cooley faked to the inside then pushed forward to get some space then took a shot but Faber’s stick got a piece of the shot &/or a piece of Cooley’s stick to effect the shot and it snuck through the 5-hole of Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the lead in half.

It’s pretty crazy that his just his 7th goal of the season!

Minnesota Wild 2 | 1 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona D Matt Dumba took a high-sticking penalty on his former teammate Kirill Kaprizov after he had a scoring chance. Dumba put his stick around his head and it looked like he got him somewhere. Dumba was incensed in the penalty box but it’s just like every other stick infraction…

Don’t Put Your Stick There!

*Careful with that! No Jokes!

If it looks like a penalty, most of the time it’s going to be called a penalty so the only way to avoid those calls are to not put your stick in a player’s hands, feet or near his head and SKATE TO DEFEND! It’s either that or keep being frustrated with the calls! It seems like a no-brainer decision, doesn’t it? 

Minnesota Wild F Joel Eriksson broke up a play in the neutral zone, corralled the loose puck then passed to Matt Boldy on the far side. Boldy made an immediate move when he caught the pass to get a step on the Arizona defender then used his speed to get in alone on the goalie and shot at the 5-hole. It appeared Arizona G Karel Vemelka made the save but the puck was still loose under him so when he moved his feet, he kicked it into the net as Matt Boldy was skating behind the net to have the perfect view of the puck crossing the goal line for his 19th goal of the season. YESSSS!!!

Minnesota Wild 3 | 1 Arizona Coyotes

The Wild had to sustain a push from Arizona in the waning minutes including a Nick Schmaltz shot off the post but the score did not change and that’s 4 straight for the Minnesota Wild as continue to push for the playoffs!

––––– CP –––––

Final

Shift Chart

––––– CP –––––

Next up: 

The Minnesota Wild return home for a Saturday matinee as they will look to make it 5 in a row:

🆚: Buffalo Sabres
🏟️: The X / Xcel Energy Center
⏰: 4:00 pm 🕓
📺: Bally Sports North

––––– CP –––––

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on 

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Posted in Wild Game Recaps, Minnesota Wild, NHL Hockey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Minnesota Wild Recap vs the Nashville Predators – January 25th, 2024

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Robb

The Minnesota Wild tried to make it 4 in a row in a big division game against the Nashville Predators. It was big because it’s in the division but it was bigger because Nashville still held on to the final playoff spot by just 4 points in the standings and Nashville had lost 3 of their last 4 games.

2023-24 Minnesota Wild Schedule and Results

NHL Hockey Standings

Alright. Enough words. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild Lineup vs the Nashville Predators - January 25th, 2024

Status Report

Gustavsson will make his fourth start in five games. … Fleury is day to day; the goalie has missed two games. … Lettieri, a forward who has missed 13 games, took part in the Wild morning skate Thursday in a non-contact jersey.

Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators Lineup at the Minnesota Wild - January 25th, 2024

Status Report

The Predators did not hold a morning skate Thursday.

Game Recap

1st Period

Nashville scored just over a minute into the game but it was ruled no goal due to the puck being tipped in off a stick that was too high by McCarron. 

This game was not very exciting as both teams didn’t want to give up anything.

The Minnesota Wild were outshot 11-6 in the 1st period but it was still scoreless.

2nd Period

The Minnesota Wild were the better team in the 2nd but part of that was due to Nashville taking 3 penalties in the first 11:58 and the Wild finally made them pay when he was parked in front of the goalie and tipped in a Kirill Kaprizov shot from the left slot to put them up 1-0!

It’s kind of a weird play because Wild F Mats Zuccarello’s pass forced Kirill Kaprizov to catch the puck on his backhand and quickly move it to his forehand to take a shot. You’d think that would’ve given the Predators time to block his shot but Cole Smith wanted to get down to block the shot but forgot to extend or lead with his stick so Kaprizov was able to get the shot through and it went off of Minnesota Wild F Joel Eriksson Ek’s right knee the Nashville Predators G Jussi Saros’ glove and in the net.

12:44 – Goal (PPG) – Minnesota – Joel Eriksson Ek (21) from Kirill Kaprizov (25) & Mats Zuccarello (29)

Nashville Predators 0 | 1 Minnesota Wild

The Wild outshot Nashville 11-4 in the 2nd period.

3rd Period

The Minnesota Wild are 14-0-1 (W-L-OTL) when leading the game going into the 3rd period & 8-0-0 at home. The loss was a shootout loss against Ottawa in Sweden but you still have to play the game. Records don’t mean anything.

90 seconds into the 3rd, the Minnesota Wild kind of won a faceoff in the offensive zone but Nashville F Kiefer Sherwood got his stick underneath Kirill Kaprizov’s stick to knock it back to give his team control of the puck. D Alexandre Carrier sent the puck to his defensive partner Jeremy Lauzon. He sent it into the neutral zone in an attempt to get it to F Yakov Trenin but Minnesota Wild D Dakota Mermis broke it up. The loose puck went into the Wild’s zone. Wild D Jake Middleton tried to swat it out of the zone with a one-handed swing but it hit Preds F Kiefer Sherwood and “it was just lying there” for Yakov Trenin. Meanwhile, Wild Fs Kirill Kaprizov & Mats Zuccarello are coasting and watching the play and even when Kaprizov sees Trenin get the puck, he doesn’t take a full stride to try to get to him as quickly as possible. He shuffles to gain some speed but Trenin was still able to take a look and find Alexandre Carrier skating into open ice for a Grade A scoring opportunity and he beat Wild G Filip Gustavsson to the upper left corner to tie the game at 1-1.

12:44 – Goal – Nashville – Alexandre Carrier (4) from Yakov Trenin (3) & Kiefer Sherwood (7)*

*The scorers didn’t give Sherwood an assist! The goal doesn’t happen without him being in the way of Middleton’s clearing attempt.

Nashville Predators 1 | 1 Minnesota Wild

Are players & coaches yelling at Kaprizov & Zuccarello to find the trailing player?

Jake Middleton probably could’ve played the puck a little better than just taking a one-hand swing at the puck. He could’ve been more physical or used his body to protect the puck. The swat is kind of a prayer play in that you hope it works but if it doesn’t, it can go bad quickly.

53 seconds later, the Minnesota Wild were down 2-1 after Predators F Filip Forsberg tipped a Roman Josi shot past Filip Gustavsson! Oh, boy!

2:19 – Goal – Nashville – Filip Forsberg (23) from Roman Josi (32) & Ryan O’Reilly (24)

Nashville Predators 2 | 1 Minnesota Wild

A tipped shot is probably the hardest shot to make a save on for any goaltender because they can’t expect it. They have to read & track the puck, not what might happen.

About 8 minutes later, the Nashville Predators F Ryan O’Reilly carried the puck into the right corner of the offensive zone with Minnesota Wild F Matt Boldy harassing him most of the way but O’Reilly protected the puck well enough to drop it off to F Gustav Nyquist and he passed it to D Roman Josi at the right point. Josi took a shot from about the top of the right circle near the right boards. Wild D Brock Faber was covering O’Reilly in front of the net and the puck was coming right at him so he jumped to block it or brace for it to hit him. Wild G Filip Gustavsson looks like he knows where it’s going to be and he had his catching glove ready to make the save but the puck hits part of Brock Faber’s jersey and somehow goes over Gustavsson’s glove and into the net.

11:34 – Goal – Nashville – Roman Josi (10) from Gustav Nyquist (25) from  & Ryan O’Reilly (25)

Nashville Predators 3 | 1 Minnesota Wild

What should we take from this goal? Maybe do a better job of letting your goaltender see the shot so he can make the save but that’s about it.

Down by 2 now, the Wild had a lot of work to do and they got a power play when Preds D Jeremy Lauzon tripped Matt Boldy.

With 3:59 remaining in regulation and 41 seconds left in the power play, the Minnesota Wild won a faceoff at the right faceoff dot and Kirill Kaprizov sent it back to Brock Faber at the right point. Faber sent it to Matt Boldy at the right half-wall and he was pressured by Gustav Nyquist but Nyquist was more concerned with taking away the pass to the point then taking the puck away from Boldy. That allowed Boldy to move toward the faceoff dot. Nashville D Ryan McDonaugh was trying to take away the pass to Joel Erikkson Ek at the right of the net so Boldy was able to pull the puck back and fire a shot that beat Jussi Saros just over his extended right let pad and it was a 1-goal game once again.

3:51 – Goal – Minnesota – Matt Boldy (16) from Brock Faber (25) & Kirill Kaprizov (26)

Nashville Predators 3 | 2 Minnesota Wild

The Wild had some life and still time to pull the goalie to try to get the equalizer.

With 5.1 seconds left and an offensive zone faceoff, the Minnesota Wild still had some hope if they could win the faceoff. Joel Eriksson Ek was tossed out of the faceoff so Matt Boldy had to take the draw. He sent it to the left boards then was tripped by Brock Faber’s stick when Predators D Jeremy Lauzon got his stick in to disrupt the play. Mats Zuccarello went to the puck to try to get to it and throw it at the net and Lauzon put him into the boards maybe a little harder than he needed to and Zuccy didn’t like it so a scrum ensued.

These two teams play two more times this season. The first is on Leap Day, February 29th in Nashville and then on March 10th at the X so before & after the Trade Deadline. Where will they be in the standings then?

––––– CP –––––

Final

Game Summary - Minnesota Wild vs the Nashville Predators - January 25th, 2024

Shift Chart

––––– CP –––––

Next up: 

The Minnesota Wild will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when they close out the 18th annual Hockey Day Minnesota with a game against the Anaheim Ducks at 8 pm on Bally Sports North!

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on 

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Bring the Clutter Every Day in Every Way!
Posted in Wild Game Recaps, NHL Hockey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Daily Clutter for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024 – Issue #16

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Robb

What is The Daily Clutter? 

It’s pretty simple. The Clutter is us but it’s also the news about Minnesota hockey & hockey in general and we want to Bring The Clutter to you, our fans or The ClutterPuckers, daily!

Alright! What do we have for today’s Clutter? The ranking of best under-23 players & prospects, does the media know more than the teams they cover? even in Canada?, Trade Deadline stuff how crazy it is how confidence flips a switch to help teams and the Minnesota Wild win!

We might sprinkle in some other fun things, too. 

––––– CP –––––

Ranking the top NHL players and prospects under 23: Connor Bedard leads the list – The Athletic

It’s always fun to see how your favorite team’s players & prospects rank in these lists and how many they get on the list. The Minnesota Wild have 9 players on this list of 169 players:

Tier 4
NHL All-Star
11. F Matt Boldy (NHL)

Tier 6
Top of the lineup player
30. D Brock Faber

Tier 6
Top of the lineup player
30. D Brock Faber (NHL)

Tier 7
Bubble top and middle of the lineup player
54. F Danila Yurov (KHL)
56. G Jesper Wallstedt (AHL)
58. F Marco Rossi (NHL)

Tier 8
Middle of the lineup player
125. F Caeden Bankier (AHL)
129. F Liam Ohgren (SHL)
143. F Charlie Stramel (NCAA)
169. F Marat Khusnatdinov (KHL)

––––– CP –––––

How Canucks’ management sticking to their guns despite media pressure is paying off

Jason Brough and Mike Halford praise the Vancouver Canucks’ management for how Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin proved doubters wrong by not folding to the pressure of the media and sticking to their guns when it came to retooling the team.

I just found this headline to be kind of stupid because has any team changed anything they’ve ever done due to “media pressure?” I haven’t read the article because of how stupid that is. I might post something later but… I doubt it. It’s actually a video so I listened to it and it was just as stupid.

Why would a team care what the media thinks or says or wants or anything? Thank you for promoting the team but we’re good on how to run the team. If you have anyone in the organization who needs help in deciding what they need to do to improve the team, they probably shouldn’t be there in the first place.

It is Canada and a lot of the media could be former players so they might have an idea what they’re talking about but that doesn’t change anything about it. Teams hire people to do the job because they’re qualified to do it. How many of the people were even paying attention to any of the media? 

Here’s another thing. Current Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet hasn’t even been there for a full year or a full season since he was hired on January 23rd, 2023. So… why would he change anything until his system and the structure and the culture were in place and then see how it goes for at least a full season?

WOW! This is so ridiculous! Does the media in Canada really think that much of themselves? That they could do a better job and they won’t give a coach even a full season to evaluate the team? That’s just sad but… come to think of it, that’s kind of how it goes in Minnesota too except the media aren’t former players, they’re idiot media personalities saying stupid things to get clicks and that is why I don’t listen or read it anymore.

Here’s a crazy idea. If you think you’re that good and can do it yourself, stop talking about it and go do it! Or, in other words…

BRING THE CLUTTER!!!

––––– CP –––––

The Trade Deadline isn’t until March 8th but teams are starting to figure out what they need to go on the long ‘Cup run!

The NHL Trade Deadline is still 52 days away on March 8th but every team is figuring out what they need and/or what future assets they can get for their players.

Since Tampa Bay Lightning F Steven Stamkos is an impending free agent, there have been rumors that he might be moved but Lightning GM Julien BriseBois squashed that today by saying Stamkos ‘is not getting traded’ That’s interesting because if the Bolts, who the Minnesota Wild play tomorrow night, are currently in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference which would make you think they would be open to trading him if they were going to miss the playoffs. It’s also interesting because it must mean that they think they will be able to re-sign him or they’ll just let him go to free agency as one of the most important players in that franchise’s history.

Five teams that could define the NHL trade market in 2024 from SportsNet

In more Trade Deadline news, SportsNet gives us 5 teams they think could define the 2024 Trade Deadline. They list the Colombus Blue Jackets, the Vancouver Canucks (Canuckleheads!), the Calgary Flames, the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators.

It’s usually fun to look at who your team might be able to go get but unfortunately, this season, the Minnesota Wild will likely not be active unless they can someone create some cap spaces by assisting on a couple of trades like they did last season. They simply have no cap room though so they probably can’t even do that!

You still have to wonder if Billy G has anything up his sleeve because he believes in his team and we’ve seen him go get help for them at the Trade Deadline every season since he’s been here.

––––– CP –––––

Minnesota Wild
The Record: 18-20-5 (W-L-OTL); 41 points, 7th in NHL’s Central Division 

2023-24 Minnesota Wild Schedule and Results
from
Hockey Reference

The Minnesota Wild snapped their 4-game losing streak and are now 2-7-1 in their last 10 games after 11-3-0 after the change to coach John Hynes. It just goes to show how much confidence plays into winning. That’s not the surprise for us. The surprise is how often teams of professional players lose confidence and doubt rises in their games even though they are in the NHL and getting paid to play a game. They’re getting paid to play a game & they’re getting paid a lot more than most people to do it!

They had the players-only meeting and played a great game last night in a 5-0 win against a New York Islanders team that is also trying to get back into the race for the postseason. 

Subscribe to The Athletic – It’s worth it! They have a deal for $1.99/month right now!

From the article above from Joe Smith, Senior Writer for the Wild & the NHL from The Athletic:

“Minnesota Wild fans let their reeling team have it Saturday night, booing the players off the ice after an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.

Then the players let each other hear it, airing out their issues in a long postgame meeting. The doors to their dressing room were closed for 22 minutes following the final horn. Former Wild defenseman Matt Dumba had already showered, changed, met up with family and made it to the Coyotes bus by then.

This wasn’t the first players-only meeting, and judging by how the year has gone, it won’t be the last.

The Wild have hit rock bottom a few times, but this might be a new low, the team having lost eight out of its last nine. In what leaders called a pivotal stretch of the season, the Wild have tallied three points out of their last 18 possible, with their last regulation win Dec. 27.

This group has been battered with injuries in the past month. A bunch of guys have been sick recently.

But right now they look like a team that’s lost its identity, or at least lost its confidence, a stark contrast from the 11-3 run to start John Hynes’ tenure.

“Sometimes you go through a stretch like this where you feel like nothing works,” Zuccarello said. “That’s why you have to believe in each other, give each other confidence. That’s the only way to get out of it.

“We’ll see Monday who is showing up or not.”

The Wild have done plenty of talking this season, from the three players-only meetings to president and GM Bill Guerin giving the group a “kick-in-the-ass” ripfest on the eve of its Sweden Global Series trip in mid-November. They’ve already got one coach fired in Dean Evason, let go on Nov. 27 after a seven-game losing streak.

The Wild need to back up that talk with action before their season is a lost cause. We’re almost there now, with Minnesota eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with the Oilers holding three games in hand and on a 10-game winning streak.”

It’s crazy to think they just decided they need to start winning and playing with confidence. As a group, they knew they had to start winning & do it immediately or this season could very easily be over. They did it last night with a 5-0 win to help G Marc-Andre Fleury earn his 552nd career win to take sole possession of 2nd place for All-Time Wins in the National Hockey League. It was also his 74th career shutout.

The big question now is… Can they keep playing that well? Do they do the same things they did last night in Tampa Bay on Wednesday night, just decide to play with confidence and play their game of aggressive hockey?

We’ll find out at 6 pm on Wednesday night on ESPN+/Hulu! 

––––– CP –––––

Minnesota Gophers

Cinematic Recap:
Gopher Men’s Hockey Sweeps Robert Morris

Are the Minnesota Gophers heating up at the right time? They’ve won 3 out of 4 since the holiday break. Or is it because those were non-conference games?

They have 12 games remaining, 6 at home & 6 on the road and all 12 of those games are conference games so will they be able to keep rolling on Friday & Saturday against the Ohio State Buckeyes? Both games are at 7 pm. Friday night’s game is on FOX9 and Saturday’s game will be on the BIG Ten Network.

––––– CP –––––

If you’ve missed or want to read older issues of The Daily Clutter:

Daily Clutter – Issue #1

The Daily Clutter for Monday, January 1st, 2024 - Issue #1

Daily Clutter – Issue #2

The Daily Clutter for January 2nd, 2024 - Issue #2

Daily Clutter – Issue #3

Daily Clutter – Issue #4

Daily Clutter – Issue #5

Daily Clutter – Issue #6

––––– CP –––––

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Posted in News/Transactions, Hockey In Minnesota, Minnesota Wild, NHL Hockey, Wild Prospects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Daily Clutter for Saturday, January 6th, 2024 – Issue #6

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Robb
The Daily Clutter for Saturday, January 6th, 2024 - Issue #6

What is The Daily Clutter? 

It’s pretty simple. The Clutter is us but it’s also the news about Minnesota hockey & hockey in general and we want to Bring The Clutter to you, our fans AKA The ClutterPuckers, daily! We have to live up to our slogan Bring The Clutter Every Day in Every Way!

We might sprinkle in some other fun things, too. 

What do we have today? Who Won GOLD, a big NHL injury will likely affect who wins the Best Rookie trophy, can the Minnesota Wild survive through all of these injuries?, & the Minnesota women’s professional hockey team shattered the attendance record for women’s hockey!

––––– CP –––––

Who Won GOLD?

Team USA & Team Sweden battled for World Junior supremacy yesterday in Sweden. Let’s see who came out on top!

If, for some reason, you weren’t able to see the game & still don’t know who won, you can watch the entire game here!

Quick recap coming soon!!!

––––– CP –––––

Conner Bedard hit Hard!

Big injury as Calder Trophy* favorite F Connor Bedard was hit by New Jersey Devils D Brendan Smith and he immediately left the ice and didn’t return.
*That’s the trophy for Rookie of the Year if you didn’t know.

This is the best video we could find on it but we recommend muting the audio & there’s no need to watch any further than when Bedard walks down the tunnel.

Chicago Blackhawks & rookie phenom F Connor Bedard was carrying the puck into the offensive zone with some speed. He had to make a move to get around New Jersey Devils F Dawson Mercer but that move caused the puck to roll off of his stick so he had to take his eye off of the defense to find the puck &, specifically, Devils D Brendan Smith who had intentions to play the body. Dawson Mercer’s stick check went between Bedard’s legs and caused him to lose his balance too so Bedard losing the puck & his balance didn’t allow him time to prepare for the oncoming body check even if that was just to make a slight move to evade most of the contact. Because of that, Brendan Smith’s shoulder ended up hitting Bedard’s head causing him to go down to the ice and he immediately grabbed at his face.

One scary thing to look at is how close Bedard’s skate comes to Brendan Smith’s face. It’s probably more than a foot away but did Smith think, “RELIGIOUS POOP!!! That was close!!!”

More on the Bedard Hit & a discussion on what the NHL should do about these hits if they won’t be called

––––– CP –––––

These Injuries are Wild, maybe too Wild!

Wild’s Bill Guerin on rash of injuries to key players: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it’ – The Athletic

“If you include the $14.7 million of dead space they entered the season with, the Wild will be icing a team Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning minus $50.9 million worth of players. According to PuckPedia, the Wild have so many call-ups that they only have $1.28 million left of the $6 million cushion they received to exceed the cap ceiling by placing Brodin on LTIR.”

How many NHL teams could sustain losing their top 2 forwards (Kirill Kaprizov & Mats Zuccarello), top 2 defensemen (Jared Spurgeon & Jonas Brodin), and their starting goaltender (Filip Gustavsson) in a matter of days and all of those injuries ending up week-to-week if not longer? And we didn’t even mention Marcus Foligno. Well… now we have.

“See? No monster in here… well… now there is.!”

That would be…

Edmonton Oilers: 
McDavid & Draisaitl, Bouchard & Ekholm, & Skinner

Toronto Maple Leafs:
Matthews & Nylander, Rielly & McCabe

Vegas Golden Knights:
Eichel & Stone, Theodore & Pietrangelo, & Thompson

Pittsburgh Penguins:
Crosby & Malkin &/or Guentzel, Letang & Pettersson, & Jarry

Colorado Avalanche:
MacKinnon & Rantanen, Makar & Toews, & Georgiev

Winnipeg Jets
Scheifele & Ehlers (or a healthy Conner), Morrissey & Pionk, & Hellebuyck

Boston Bruins:
Pastrnak & Marchand, McAvoy & Lindholm & Ullmark

Vancouver Canucks:
Miller & Pettersson/Boeser, Hughes & Hronek, & Demko

Just to name a few!

––––– CP –––––

The State of Hockey Showed Up & Set an Attendance Record for Women’s Pro Hockey

Minnesota broke the record by 4,998 people!

The previous record of 8,318 was set 4 days ago in Ottawa! Sorry, Canada! If it helps Minnesota is the closest you can get to Canada, so there is that!

Most hockey fans, especially male hockey fans, scoffed at the women averaging 4,000 fans per game in Minnesota. That is still yet to be determined but one thing they’ve done that will help them is they avoided having their home games on nights when there are a lot of Minnesota girls high school hockey games. They also have no games on Fridays and all weekend games are afternoon games to avoid most state college hockey games so we’ll see if they can average 4,000 for the season. They covered 3+ with 13,000+ in game 1!

PWHL Minnesota’s 2024 Home Schedule

––––– CP –––––

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on 
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Posted in News/Transactions, Hockey In Minnesota, Minnesota Wild, NHL Hockey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Minnesota Wild Recap at the Dallas Stars – January 10th, 2024

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Robb

The Minnesota Wild were looking to snap their 4-game losing streak and their 5-game losing streak to the Dallas Stars* and this is the last regular-season game so it’s now or wait until the postseason or next season. 
*Look at that stupid Dallas Stars logo! Uhh… NORM GREEN STILL SUCKS!!! At least it’s not glowing in the dark! Oh No! Good Lord! You didn’t think it could get worse, did you? Well, there it is! Come On, Wild! Don’t get swept by the Dallas Stars! BRING THE CLUTTER like we know you can!

The Minnesota Wild had a secret weapon though! It was the NHL Debut for G Jesper Wallstedt, the Minnesota Wild’s top prospect & their Goalie of the future! He’s played for the Minnesota Wild’s minor-league club, the AHL’s Iowa Wild, for the past two seasons. He was just named to the AHL All-Star Classic today along with teammate F Nic Petan. 

Really? You’re going to highlight a Texas Star

Here’s how G Jesper Wallstedt’s 2023-24 season has gone down in Iowa so far. In the AHL this season, he was 14th in Goals Against Average, 10th in Save Percentage & tied for 5th in wins with 11. Here are his game logs and totals, including what he’s done at home, on the road, in wins, in losses and how he did over a 14-game span from November 2nd to December 15th:

Jesper’s WallStats! HA! See what I did there? Do you see it? 
Do NOT make me explain it to you! It’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll be alright! JESPER!!!

Alright. Enough words. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Wild projected lineup

Forwards
Matt Boldy — Joel Eriksson Ek — Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson — Marco Rossi — Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno — Frederick Gaudreau — Pat Maroon
Brandon Duhaime — Connor Dewar — Adam Raska

Defensemen
Jake Middleton — Brock Faber
Alex Goligoski — Zach Bogosian
Jon Merrill — Dakota Mermis

Goalies
Jesper Wallstedt
Marc-Andre Fleury

Scratched:
Daemon Hunt, Nic Petan
Injured:
Filip Gustavsson (lower body), Kirill Kaprizov (upper body), Vinni Lettieri (lower body), Jared Spurgeon (lower body)

Status Report

Foligno and Johansson each is a game-time decision because of illness, Wild coach John Hynes said. … Wallstedt will start and make his NHL debut.

Dallas Stars

Stars projected lineup

Forwards
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Tyler Seguin
Craig Smith — Radek Faksa — Sam Steel

Defensemen
Ryan Suter — Thomas Harley
Esa Lindell — Jani Hakanpaa
Joel Hanley — Nils Lundkvist

Goalies
Scott Wedgewood
Matt Murray

Scratched:
Ty Dellandrea, Nils Lundkvist
Injured:
Jake Oettinger (lower body), Miro Heiskanen (lower body)

Status Report

Murray was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and is expected to back up Wedgewood, who will start for the 12th time in 13 games.

Game Recap

1st Period

Did Minnesota Wild Fs Marcus Foligno & Marcus Johansson play?…

Yes for both & Nic Petan was also in the lineup so no Adam Raska.

It took 9: for the first whistle and that whistle was for a Minnesota penalty for tripping at center ice after he tried to knock the puck out of the air and missed then tried again and his stick went into the feet of a Dallas player so… another stick penalty. 

Dallas had almost 2 minutes of extra-attacker time on the delayed penalty. 

The Minnesota Wild killed it off and had a good response with some time in the Dallas zone. 

Foligno probably should’ve shot this puck…

Dallas scored off a flip play but it was challenged for offsides and overturned.

  • Should these be automatically reviewed? It wasn’t that close and the Wild had to challenge it to get it overturned. Where was the linesman? Not on that line, apparently!

Minnesota Wild F Mats Zuccarello tried a cross-ice pass on the neutral zone and it was intercepted and quickly turned into a 2-on-1 by Joe Pavelski and he just shot it past G Jesper Wallstedt!

16:45 – Goal – Dallas – Joe Pavelski – Unassisted 

  • Jesper Wallstedt is the 150th goaltender to be scored on by Joe Pavelski. That is 2nd to someone named Alex, who has scored on 172 goalies!

Minnesota Wild 0 | 1 Dallas Stars

Minnesota Wild F Marcus Foligno had a chance right after the ensuing faceoff but missed the net.

Shots were 10-5 in favor of Dallas & the Minnesota Wild didn’t have a shot for the last (?)

2nd Period

4:28 – Goal – Dallas – Matt Duchene from Ryan Suter & Nils Lundkvist

A wicked bounce came out in front of the net right to Dallas F Matt Duchene and he may have scored because he didn’t get all of it so it deflected up & over Minnesota Wild G Jesper Wallstedt.

Minnesota Wild 0 | 2 Dallas Stars

Why does the Dallas arena make the backup goalie sit in the hallway to the locker room? Is there really not enough room on the bench? That’s weird and stupid and it seems amazing that is even a problem.

The Minnesota Wild got another good chance and Brock Faber hit the crossbar.

Leaving the Dallas zone beside Dallas F Jason Robertson, Minnesota Wild F Matt Boldy tried to get to the other side of Robertson and he maybe fell but Jason Robertson’s left glove hit him in the face. The official called penalties on both players, Interference on Matt Boldy & Embellishment on Jason Robertson.

Minnesota Wild D Dakota Mermis is hooked in the neutral zone by Dallas F Mason Marchment but there’s no call then Dallas went the other way when Mermis’ shot missed the net and the puck is sent to Marchment for a 2-on-1 and for some reason Wild D Alex Goligoski goes to Marchment so all he has to do is pass it to F Roope Hintz and it’s 3-0.

Minnesota Wild 0 | 3 Dallas Stars

Is that a penalty? Dakota Mermis may grab Marchment’s stick but the stick is still there so is the official saying him holding the stick is canceling out the hook? Or should they just call both? How often have Minnesota Wild fans seen a stick in the midsection called even if it’s barely there? What about the call in the Finland vs USA game in the World Juniors? Does every official not make that call or just some of them? If it’s just some of them, that’s a problem. Each official should know what each penalty is and call it accordingly. They shouldn’t have different ideas of what each penalty is. Hooking is not an “up to the discretion of the official” penalty. 

This is exactly why officials should have to do a postgame press conference! “Why didn’t you call that a hooking penalty in the 2nd period?” It’d be nice to hear why wouldn’t it?

The frustration is building on the Wild as Brock Faber snapped his stick on the boards after the 3rd goal!

Brock Faber got a Delay of Game penalty after trying to clear the defensive zone.

3rd Period

Down 3 going into the 3rd period, how will the Minnesota Wild play in the 3rd. Who’s going to get something going for them? Throw a big hit? Start a fight? Get the forecheck going? Score a goal, maybe?

4:22 – Goal – Minnesota – Matt Boldy from Brock Faber & Joel Eriksson Ek

Brock Faber got the puck at the right side of the blue line and walked towards the middle and threw the puck at the net and may have gone off of Matt Boldy’s rear end! Hey, they don’t ask how! They ask how many & that’s Matt Boldy’s 14th goal of the season!

Minnesota Wild 1 | 3 Dallas Stars

Get the Mo-mentum and Let’s Go, Boys!!!

Rossi off the post a couple of minutes later! OHHH!!! We have LIFE, ‘PUCKERS!!!

2 minutes or so later, that life was quieted when the Minnesota Wild were too aggressive and Jason Robertson had the puck on a 2-on-1 and wired it past Wallstedt for another 3-goal lead!

81 seconds later, 5-1 Dallas.

Dallas then got a Delay of Game penalty then a tripping penalty so the Minnesota Wild had a 5-on-3 and they scored on a backdoor feed to Ryan Hartman from Mats Zuccarello to make it 5-2!

Broadcast analyst & former NHL goalie Darren Pang was talking about his first game in the NHL which was against the Minnesota North Stars. He allowed a goal on the first shot to D Curt Giles and said Steve Payne scored twice in a 4-1 loss. He was playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. The goal by the Blackhawks was scored by another NHL analyst, Eddie Olczyk. That game was on February 22nd, 1985. The Minnesota goalie was Don Beaupre. The other North Stars goal was by Bo Berglund who I don’t remember. The assists were from D Gordie Roberts & Fs Dennis Maruk, Dirk Graham, Dino Ciccarelli, Bo Berglund, Brian Bellows & Keith Acton.

Goals from Tyler Seguin & Sam Steel made it 7-2 and the Minnesota Wild were once again embarrassed by a Dallas Stars team!

That was ugly like the other 2 games against Dallas. The Minnesota Wild would probably like to play them again this season only because that would mean they made the playoffs.

It was pretty much complete domination by Dallas. The Wild played better in the 3rd and had 14 shots but they left their young goalie out to dry for most of those goals. 

The big question is how will they respond when they take the ice again at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night!

––––– CP –––––

Final

Shift Chart

We applaud you if you read this far & give you a standing ovation if you watched the high… lowlights! That’s Bringing the Clutter! Hopefully, you liked the intro because the rest of it was pretty sad! We could give you a 30-day pass to The Athletic if you want it. Email us at ClutterPuck@gmail.com!

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Posted in Wild Game Recaps, NHL Hockey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment