Gonna make this one quick…My bloodshot left eye doesn’t seem to be agreeing with my new prescription, or my laptop.

This game was tough to figure out because the Wild played well for much of it, initiated contact for a change and clearly showed it’s up to the physical challenge in these playoff-style games.

But again, the Wild’s blue line looked overwhelmed at times, not moving the puck fast enough or at the end, completely whiffing for some frightening scrambles that would have been killers if not for the great goaltending of Niklas Backstrom.

The one thing you can bet Jacques Lemaire learned late is 22:31 of ice time (second behind Kim Johnsson’s 22:39) is too much for Keith Carney. Carney, at age 37, gives quality minutes in the 15 minute range. Tonight, he played a season-high by far, which could explain his last few shifts of the third.

Physically, the Wild dominated, and it was interesting to see Marian Gaborik respond to Kevin Bieksa’s punishment with a few mammoth hits on Bieksa himself.

Gaborik and Demitra again had a terrific offensive game. They now have 10 points in the last 2 games, which made it awfully curious that they weren’t together in 4-on-4 OT.

Regardless of the loss, it was still a big point for the Wild, which would have won this game in the third period if it were not for some huge Roberto Luongo stops.

Minnesota moved within a point of Calgary and Vancouver, and stretched to seven points over ninth-place Edmonton.

The Wild has 67 points in 58 games. If you figure 94 points will get the Wild into the playoffs, it needs roughly 27 points in the final 24 games. Or to put it simply, 27 out of a possible 48 points. 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 12:30 am and is filed under Game coverage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.