Wild making cuts. Petr Kalus is at least one.

So, I drove everybody at the Star Tribune nuts tonight, even nuttier than normal at least.

I almost created a major catastrophe at work. At least, it would have been for the Twins crew in Chicago if the game didn’t end earlier.

At 9:37 p.m., I called our slot guy, Kevin Bertels, to check in my file-at-the-gun story for tomorrow’s first edition. I then proceeded to redial Bertels 12 times from 9:37-10:05. But like I told him, according to my call log, I gave him an eight-minute breather from 9:42-9:50, so what’s the big deal, right?

OK, first things first, Marc-Andre Bergeron needs to just play hockey. I don’t think the Wild acquired him to fight. I think it acquired him to take that Brian Rolston-like slap shot of his.

You have to admire Bergeron’s guts, but tonight, he got into his third fight in three games, and Kyle Beach taught Bergeron a lesson his broken nose won’t soon forget.

Three fights in three games! Want to know how many fights he had since 2003? ZERO!!!

Bergeron’s only NHL fight came during his rookie year in 2002-03. Jacques gave it to Bergeron for fighting, but he also said Beach was looking for it, and if he wants to fight again, he’s got a man named Boogey who would be more than happy to oblige.

Stephane Veilleux scored two tonight, one to force overtime, one to win overtime with 23.9 ticks left. Veilleux said he doesn’t think he’s ever gotten an overtime shift from Jacques Lemaire before, so maybe he made a case.

He’s flying this preseason. Remember, he served as his own agent this summer, and the more and more quotable Nik Backstrom quipped after, “As an agent, it’s easier to sell a goal scorer.”

Marian Gaborik made his preseason debut. He got 24:15 of ice time, showed off his impressive speed, made a couple nice backchecks, but all in all, looked rusty. Amazingly, Lemaire played the top line of Brunette, Koivu (26:01 of ice time) and Gaborik– the likely first line this season — all night together.

The chemistry wasn’t there, but it’ll come.

Jacques also used his likely checking line of Veilleux-Sheppard-Miettinen together all night tonight. I don’t know what to make of Miettinen yet. I can tell you he was not good at all tonight.

On Miettinen: “Looking for more good plays offensively. I’m looking for him to be not a good checker, a great checker.”

Jacques then said that trio is the likely checking line, and “If one of them doesn’t do that job well, I will turn my head and look around.”

Tyler Cuma was solid tonight again. The 18-year-old got 22:14 of ice time, blocked three shots and will play Wednesday against Buffalo. I’ve gotten a ton of emails asking about his chances of making the team.

Ain’t going to happen folks unless the Wild loses two defensemen to “Foster-like injuries,” as somebody in the front office said to me. The Wild hasn’t even talked to his agent, some guy named Bobby Orr, about a contract yet.

He’s 18. They’re not going to make him defend the Iginlas, Coles and Smyths yet. And like I’ve been saying, the Wild has eight defensemen with Foster and Erik Reitz/Tomas Mojzis.

Colton Gillies scored his first NHL preseason goal tonight. He’ll make this team, I believe, although Cal Clutterbuck is battling and impressing. Gillies got payback against Chicago for a Brian Campbell elbow last Friday that knocked out one of his teeth.

Here is the lineup against Buffalo tomorrow: Veilleux, Koivu, Miettinen, Pouliot, Brunette, Sheppard, Boogaard, Weller, Bouchard, Nolan, Belanger, Kolanos, Scott, Mojzis, Schultz, Burns, Cuma, Reitz, Harding, Backstrom.

Lastly, here’s a Scotty Bowman note I had to cut out of our late editions:

Subhed

It’s still weird seeing Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, who spent 15 years with the Detroit Red Wings (six as a consultant), wearing a rival Chicago Blackhawks jacket.

Bowman, who won nine Stanley Cups and 1,244 games, was hired by the Blackhawks as senior adviser of hockey operations. He did so to help take care of his son, Stan, one of their assistant general managers.

Stan Bowman has been battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

“It’s a chance to be with him,” Scotty Bowman said. “He’s had a tough time. He’s gone through a lot. It was tough for me to leave Detroit, but at the same time, it’s a family decision.

“He’s had chemo, radiation, stem cell [transplant]. He’s in remission, but he already had one recurrence, so I just want to be close.”

Bowman, who lives in Sarasota, Fla., will  have the same role in Chicago as Detroit.

“I’ll talk to [coach] Denis Savard a lot, watch their farm team and keep an eye on their opponents,” Bowman said.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Training camp. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.