That’s nine in a row against Phoenix, tying a franchise record for longest winning streak against one opponent (Chicago).

This one wasn’t even close. Even when it was scoreless, it just felt like the Wild had firm control and it was just a matter of time.

Wayne Gretzky called it a “good, old fashioned butt-kicking.” Said it was like an “NHL group versus a junior team.” Said “4-0 was flattering.”

As KFAN’s Brandon Mileski reminded me in the elevator after the game, the last time the Wild was in this building, it was booed off the ice thanks to an 0-for-10 power play. The Wild went 1-for-11  on the road trip, meaning it was in a 1-for-21 drought, or to go further, 5-for-43 drought.

Tonight, it went 4-for-7.

Marek Zidlicky, the dynamic offensive defenseman from Nashville, is finally looking dynamic. He had two assists two games ago in Colorado, and tonight, had two goals and one assist. The cool story? I always assumed his lack of comfort in the early going had to do with rustiness from his training camp ankle injury and a new system.

But it turns out his wife and 3-year-old son didn’t arrive in the Twin Cities until Monday, meaning in an unfamiliar place with no friends other than his teammates, Zidlicky had nobody to lean on. Tonight was wife Karina’s and son Adam’s first game at the X, and after his two 5-on-3 goals, Zidlicky pointed to them in the crowd and blew a kiss (thanks to sidekick Brian Stensaas, I knew to ask about this because I didn’t notice at first).

I like Zidlicky’s killer attitude, too. I’ve noticed it throughout my career covering him, but tonight, he said after the game every single time you get a 5-on-3, you have to score. Sounds simple. Sounds obvious. But often when the Wild gets a two-man advantage, it doens’t seem it has that attitude. Zidlicky looked like he tried to rip the back of the net when he took his six shots tonight.

Eric Belanger had a goal and an assist. Andrew Brunette scored his sixth goal — tying him with Antti Miettinen for the team lead. Owen Nolan returned and had two assists.

And Niklas Backstrom is just a Coyotes killer…8-0, three shutouts, 1.13 goals against average and .962 save percentage.

The Wild’s NHL-best penalty kill went 6-for-6. The Wild has allowed four power-play goals in 14 games this year, one at home.

Couple other story lines I’ll probably get more into in the coming days:

1. Coaches made a couple last-second power-play adjustments. They moved their pointmen wider (very obvious) in an attempt to get more shots through traffic because so many shots have been blocked lately.

2. Lemaire said Brent Burns may have to get used to playing forward for the time being. It gives the Wild three scoring lines, in Lemaire’s opinion.

3. Lemaire raved about the play of Benoit Pouliot, especially defensively. Said he looked like Mikko Koivu in the Wild end.

4. Cal Clutterbuck continued a San Antonio-Houston rivalry with Keith Yandle by getting into his first NHL fight. The 20-year-old did quite well, but he infuriated the “Great One,” who was spitting mad that Clutterbuck fought with a visor. That’s permitted as long as you don’t instigate the fight.

Talk to you after tomorrow’s practice.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 6:55 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.