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IT BEGINS
So. The Minnesota Wild. A lot will be made about the '91 North Stars and how they beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks in the first round and how this is a clearly harbinger of things to come. It really shouldn't be, but the media is dumb, as evidenced by the Hawks getting scolded for AHLing it in their last game of a compressed season with first place sewn up.
Hawks played the Wild three times this year and didn't regulation-overtime-lose any of them. The Wild gave the Hawks their first loser point of the year with a shootout victory in the game where Josh Harding was summarily chased and Backstrom stood on his head. The Hawks beat the Wild 5-3 in the waning days of the point streak in a game where they went up early, dicked around too much, and almost let it get scary. The third game was a 1-0 shutout where Emery was good enough (20/20) and Hossa undressed Clayton Stoner for the lone tally. If you're into aggregate scores, the aggregate score is thus 8-5 Hawks, 8-6 if you want to give the Wild the shootout tally, though we've no reason to be concerned with those as we enter the land of infinite sudden death. (Remember that guy who called B&B and said Q was saving Hossa's shootout moves for the playoffs and they were like "hmm, good point"?)
The Wild were in third place for a good deal of the season before tumbling down the standings and finishing 8th but for the grace of the shitty Avalanche. 26-19-3 in silly standings, 22-20-6 in a land without shootouts (which is finally pertinent!). They're one of two teams, along with their eighth-place counterpart Islanders, to enter postseason play with a negative goal differential. In the case of the Isles, it's a mere -1, whereas the Wild are seven under, which means even if you were to strike that recent pantshitting against the Oilers in a must-win game, which you shouldn't because it was a must-win game, they're still -2 over the other 47. They're 12-5-1 within their division, but look at their division.
It's not really a bad team so much as it's just kind of underwhelming for long stretches. It's the kind of team that can pick up points here and there without ever distinguishing themselves. I mean, once you get past the Justin Bieber-looking Zach Parise and the Gary Suter-looking Ryan Suter, there's not a lot to be afraid of. Matt Cullen, Clayton Stoner, Nate Prosser, man, those are just guys. Fuckin' all-star Dany Heatley is out for the year. Jason Pominville has a concussion and even if he makes it back, he's a tender little fellow. Cal Clutterbuck and Zenon Konopka are world-famous dipshits, though what a pair of names on them. Backstrom is getting old and hasn't fared all that well against the Hawks. They finished 23rd in scoring with 118 goals (2.458/gm), and tied with Phoenix for 15th in goals allowed with 125 (2.604). They'll reckon with the Hawks' league-best goal prevention (97 goals, 2.021/game), and second-best scoring (149, 3.104/game).
For the Hawks, Bolland and Emery are out. I'm a big Bolland fan, but he was probably busted down to #4 center, with Shaw centering Bickell and Stalberg for continuity's sake while Bolland was to center Kruger and Frolik. I suppose this means Mayers stepping in for Grit and/or Veteran Leadership, though I suppose it could just as easily be Carcillo or Bollig providing Grit and/or Being Stupid with Kruger returning to center. Or it could be a black ace. Who knows.
I'm more worried about Emery being out. I knew it was always going to be Crawford in net, but I have this fear that without a security blanket in Emery, he could give himself the ol' mental cramps and overthink himself into having a shitty game from which he cannot be saved. We're down to Goalie #4 as the backup, since Carter Hutton really failed to distinguish himself against the Blues. I guess I'm saying this could get out of hand and then...really out of hand. So let's hope it doesn't.
My ex-girlfriend is engaged to a Minnesota Wild fan. What I've lost won't be unlost by the outcome of a series of sporting events, but pending a positive conclusion, at least I can snicker about it in between wondering if I'm ever going to have another meaningful long-term relationship again. So go Hawks.
_________________ Molly Lambert wrote: The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.
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