Somebody should figure this out, but what’s the fastest this late in the season a team’s squandered a six-point division lead?

The Wild might be close to the record. Seven days for a seven-point downturn in the standings. The Wild is one point behind the division-leading Flames after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat.

Wild played well, outshooting Calgary 39-16, but Wild killer Miikka Kiprusoff was fabulous and stole his team the two points.

And of course, there was controversy. The Wild felt it got the short end of Brad Meier’s washout of a tying goal in the second period. Two minutes later, what could have been a 1-1 score became a 2-0 Calgary lead.

Kiprusoff robbed Pierre-Marc Bouchard — NO GOALS in 23 games vs. KIPRUSOFF — on a breakaway. Aaron Voros, tangled with defenseman Jim Vandermeer, crashed the net. There was contact, the puck deflected in off, what looked to me, Vandermeer. But Kiprusoff fell into the net, and Meier waved off the goal citing that Kiprusoff had no chance to play the puck. The disallow rule is: If the goalie and puck enter the net at the same time when the goalie was pushed by an attacking player.

Two things: 1. Replays showed Kiprusoff entered the net after the puck. 2. There’s an argument whether Voros (the attacking player) pushed Kiprusoff.

Meier declined to comment when a pool reporter sought comment after the game.

In an email reply to me, NHL Senior VP of Hockey Ops Mike Murphy wrote: “Goaltender Kiprusoff was bulldozed into the net by Voros/ Vandemeer/ Phaneuf. The referee lost sight of the puck (which was shown on replay slow going into the far side of the net). Referee’s position did not permit him to see the puck go into the net , he lost sight of the puck as the players were sliding into Kiprusoff. He blew his whistle to kill the play because the goaltender was not permitted to do his job ( Rule 69.6, pg 95 ). He was interfered with by the sliding players, especially Voros.”

Interpret the way you want, but my question: If the rule says the goalie and the puck have to be pushed into the net together and the ref lost sight of the puck, how can Meier be sure his call is correct? He certainly looked convinced of his call when he emphatically washed out the goal.

Regardless, the Wild is suddenly one point from eighth.

The team is slipping, and things could really go south on this upcoming three-game road trip. The Southeast might be the SouthLeast, but you can’t be too comfortable playing back-to-back in Washington and Tampa against soon-to-be 50- (maybe 60-)goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, then going up against Tampa Bay’s Big Three (if 1/3 of the line, Brad Richards, isn’t traded, which I’m hearing he will be).

It seems to me like the Wild is in a fragile part of the season. The playoffs are certainly not a given for this up-and-down team, so the big question: Does GM Doug Risebrough deliver with something other than a “depth” move?

This team might not just need a spark, but a solution to some real problems that Jacques Lemaire mentioned post-game (see notebook Monday). The playoffs are not guaranteed.

Certain players simply don’t produce every game. It’s never known which players will bring 100 percent effort. I mean, in a game billed as a playoff game, the Wild had four hits! FOUR!

Could this team unearth a top player from another team, whether it be a center or a defenseman – maybe a gritty, high-scoring center like Florida’s Olli Jokinen?

After all, a fourth Florida scout watched the Wild play tonight for the fifth time in six games. Like I said a few days ago, I know the Panthers and Wild play this week, but wouldn’t you agree that’s a little excessive pre-scouting?

Of course, I can promise you the Panthers wouldn’t just give Jokinen away. It would have to be a deal that knocks their socks off. They’re under no pressure to trade him — he’s under contract for the next two years at a reasonable price. And the price could be way too much for the Wild, which is understandable.

But again, there’s suddenly pressure on management because things are slipping away. And you can bet Calgary and Vancouver will do something of note.

I was told that Columbus does plan to trade Sergei Fedorov and Atlanta Bobby Holik. Holik is 3rd in the NHL in faceoffs and would bring a physical presence. Wild cannot win a key draw. Honestly, on offensive zone draws, the Wild should just be preemptive and put a defenseman behind the defensive zone goal line because the puck is coming back guaranteed. It’s ridiculous, and a problem that hasn’t been addressed during the 3 years I have covered the team.
I also got a call from Philly on the way home from a writer, who hears Forsberg is back in play. I have not confirmed that from anyone official. I do hear Sundin is out, which means things should heat up Monday on Hossa.

Keith Carney played his 1,000th game. Does he get to 1,001 here? If the Wild trades for another defenseman, it could swing him elsewhere, or maybe Sean Hill or Petteri Nummelin (they’re scratched every night now, almost).

Talk to you from the nation’s capital Monday.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 1:03 pm 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.