HELLO NHL HOCKEY SEASON!!

 It’s official! We’re going to have an NHL Season! (Yes, I know I’m a few days late with this news).

I woke up Sunday (okay, late Sunday morning) to the news that the NHL season is officially going to start on January 13. I was happy and excited knowing that there will be NHL hockey this year!

First of all, the 2020-21 NHL Season is going to be a 56 game season without any preseason games. The goal for the NHL is to get back to a September training camp, October regular season start, April end of season/beginning of Stanley Cup playoffs with the season officially ending with the Stanley Cup being awarded sometime in June. The upcoming schedule should be released today (Dec. 22. They also have a couple of contingency schedules in case the Canadian/provincial governments don't allow the Canadian teams play in their home cities). 

The critical dates for 2020-21 (courtesy of nhl.com)

The other major difference is that the divisions are going to be different just for this season. I believe it’s something about reducing travel. However, if you look at the realignment for this season, the Minnesota Wild got the short end of the stick being stuck out in the Western Division (and stuck with late night games, but that will be determined once the schedule is officially released on December 22). These divisions are only for this season. What will be interesting is all of the Canadian teams being in one division for this season. 

The divisions for the 2020-21 season (courtesy of nhl.com)

As a hockey fan, this is great news! It means I'll have something to watch on TV (or have on in the background when I'm working evenings), along with having topic ideas/material for this blog (as I've stated previously  in this blog post, I'm tired of football already). 

I also mentioned in a previous blog post that I appeared on episode 105 of The Sota Pod podcast, but I didn't post the link. The link to it is here. I come on half way through after Isha and @StateofHoppy (twitter) discuss Malt Madness. 

This season, it should be a national holiday! 

Are we going to see any kind of a season for the NHL this year?

 

Two weeks ago, I wrote my last piece about what should the NHL do about the 2020-21 season. I also discussed this very topic when I made my debut on The Soda Pod podcast on November 29h.. This first week of December is basically going to be “do-or-die” for both sides to get a deal done so that the season could potentially start on January 1, like the NHL has been eyeing.

 Since November 29, I’ve seen everything ranging from another *GASP* lockout to the season possibly starting in mid-February. There had been reports that both sides (NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Don Fehr) had not spoken for over a week. I had been seeing so much out there that I had to rewrite this post twice…

During that time, players were traveling to their team cities. There was the whole thing on social media about new Vancouver Canucks goalie Braden Holtby needing U.S. Federal paperwork to bring his two tortoises across the border into Canada (read about it here)

 

Kirill Kaprizov skating at the
Wild's practice
facility (courtesy of the Minnesota Wild)

Now, I’m rewriting this for a third time with the news that the NHL and the NHLPA are looking at starting on January 13 with a 56 game season. The divisions for this season have been redone apparently to reduce traveling (as usual, the Wild got the short end of that stick with being in a division with Anaheim, Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vegas, Dallas, and Colorado).  According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, training camps could open as early as January 1. From what I’ve seen from the Minnesota Wild’s social media, players have already been skating at their practice facility in downtown St. Paul (yes, including Kirill Kaprizov!) 

There are still some other items to be worked out and the NHL board of governors are meeting soon (December 9^th I believe via conference call).

 As of right now, it looks like we’re going to have a NHL season for 2020-21!

 And this hockey fan is excited!!

What should the NHL do about a 2020-21 season? (A fan’s perspective)

 I am going to start off with the opinions in this piece are purely my own. 

 

We all know how crazy 2020 has been so far. We saw the NHL suspend the season and then resume play in August with the playoffs. We saw the usual with the Wild not making it past the play-in round, losing to the Canucks in that round. It was nice to see hockey on TV again—at least some sense of normalcy (if that is what you want to call it.) I’m not going to go into about attending NHL games again, because that is a whole other argument that I am not going to get into.

If there were a normal NHL season, we’d be in the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer month. Even though they are recognizing and still doing all the promotional stuff for it, it’s not the same. I’d be at the Wild’s Hockey Fights Cancer game with two good friends (who lost a sister and aunt to breast cancer recently). I’d have my “Hockey Fights Cancer” sign with the names of two cousins and two friends who have fought Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Lymphoma. Hockey teams would be honoring those fans who have fought the battle against cancer. But as of right now, it’s not the same. There aren’t any NHL games being played right now (I know, “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”)

Pretty much describes me...

However, I get to watch some hockey—thanks to college hockey that is being played (thanks to my alma mater, the University of Minnesota), but it’s not NHL hockey and it will work for the time being.

Back to the NHL—so far, we’ve had the release of the third jerseys for all 31 teams (Reverse Retro as what they’re being called by Adidas and the NHL), the NHL draft and free agency, the announcements of the 2021 Winter Classic at Target Field (Minnesota) and the 2021 All-Star Games being postponed until 2022 because of the realistic possibility of fans not being able to attend either event.

So, now that we’re approaching Thanksgiving—what is going on with the NHL? If you’re like me, I want to see hockey on my TV when I’m working in the evening (yes, I work from home in the evening as part of a work-related project I’m working on). I’ve been working through a list of TV shows to watch (or binge watch again like Friends, Gossip Girl, Schitt’s Creek, Bob’s Burgers—to name a few), but that can get old after a while. The last news that has the NHL and NHLPA still aiming for a January 1, 2021  (or February 1, 2021 seen recently on social media) start date with a condensed/shortened regular season schedule and the playoffs not taking all summer so that the 2021-22 season can start on time. I’ve seen posts on social media about the NHL and NHLPA still negotiating that and the NHL wanting the NHLPA to consider another pay deferral (or something like that). Then there are the logistics such as players needing to quarantine (depending on the location), hub/bubble sites, etc.—and the clock is ticking if there is going to be any sort of training camp next month. 

Here’s my perspective—both the NHL and NHLPA need to get these negotiations done and get a regular season start date set in stone. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other hockey fans who feel the same way as I do. There needs to be some sense of normalcy right now in a time were there isn’t any. I would love to have the distraction of an NHL game on my TV (and leave politics out of the game). I would like to see my twitter feed be filled with complaints about NHL officiating or so-and-so is a crappy player—the stuff I MISS seeing right now. Having an NHL season would provide material for bloggers (such as myself) to write about. It isn’t easy trying to come up with ideas for blog posts that are hockey related when there’s no hockey being played—NHL games I mean.

Someone may comment that hey, the NFL and College football are on. Yes, they are having games televised on TV. It isn’t the same without fans in the stands (the fake crowd noise is obvious) and the politics being included. I haven’t watched as many football games this season because of it. It is something that I don’t want to see and I’m going to leave it at that. Besides, football season gets old for me around the time the NHL regular season should be starting.

Enough about football and back to hockey…

The NHL and the NHLPA need to get this hammered out soon. I can’t speak for ALL hockey fans, but I am hoping for some kind of an NHL season so that the NHL can get back to the regular September training camp, regular season opening in October, and the Stanley Cup playoffs done in June schedule again. I want to be at the Winter Classic at Target Field. I want to see that, since I was at the Stadium Series games at TCF Bank Stadium bank in 2016. But most of all, I just want to see NHL hockey back on TV and for there to be somewhat of a season. 

2016 World Cup of Hockey…and what does that mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics?

Today, in Toronto, the NHL and the NHL Players Association announced the World Cup of Hockey and the format for the tournament that is scheduled to take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto from September 17-October 1, 2016.

With this announcement today, what does this mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea? As of right now, there isn’t an answer on the NHL’s involvement in the South Korea games. When asked about the impact of the World Cup of Hockey (which hasn’t been played since 2004), Gary Bettman told the AP “I don’t think one has anything to do with the other.” However, both sides have dodged answering about the Olympics. The AP did state that the players "made it very clear they want to keep going to the Winter Olympics every four years," along with the sentiment of the team owners "don't seem to like shutting down their league for two-plus weeks in the season while hoping their stars don't get injured at the Olympics." (The issue was raised about stars being injured in the Olympics when the Islanders' John Tavares suffered an MCL and meniscus while playing for Team Canada in the 2014 Sochi games and missed the rest of the season). 

Talks have not been scheduled regarding the NHL's involvement in the 2018 games in South Korea with the International Ice Hockey Federation. 

The two week tournament will feature approximately 150 NHL players. 

NHL.com had the following quote from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the creation of Team North America and Team Europe:

"Those two teams, they're more competitive than any other country team would have been for this event, so it will make the competition more competitive as well...Otherwise, you would have had a country with maybe just a couple of NHL players. Now you have what are going to be two very strong teams highlighting more NHL players being included than any other way we could have done it."

However, the World Cup of Hockey is not without it's critics. Tom Gulitti (Devils beat writer for The Record) posted this criticism on Twitter:

(courtesy of bleacherreport.com)

The level of play at this tournament will have to wait to be seen. I'm pretty sure there will be more coming out in regards to questions about the level of play as the tournament draws closer. 

Meanwhile...

The following format was announced, along with the team pools, and schedule for the tournament:

Team Groups:

Group A:

Team Canada
Team Czech Republic
Team Europe
Team USA

Group B:

Team FinlandTeam North AmericaTeam RussiaTeam Sweden

(Team North America will be made up of North American players who are 23 and younger, while Team Europe will consist of players from other countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, et al). 

The schedule is:

Preliminary Round (round robin)

Saturday, Sept. 17
Team Europe vs. Team USA, 3:30 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Czech Republic, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18
Team Russia vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Finland vs. Team North America, 8 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Europe, 3 p.m.
Team North America vs. Team Russia, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 20
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 21
Team North America vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Europe, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22
Team Finland vs. Team Russia, 3 p.m.
Team Czech Republic vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Semifinals (single elimination; A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2)

Saturday, Sept. 24
Semifinal 1, TBD

Sunday, Sept. 25
Semifinal 2, TBD

Final (best-of-three)

Tuesday, Sept. 27
Final Game 1, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29
Final Game 2, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1
Final Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

(Schedule and group information courtesy of nhlnfa.com)

According to nhl.com, the tournament will be played using NHL rules and officials. 

It will be interesting to see how this World Cup of Hockey plays out, considering it's going to be taking place during teams' training camp, leading up to the start of the 2016-17 NHL season. 

(link to NHL.com article NHL, NHLPA unveil plans for 2016 World Cup)

NHL GM Meetings taking place in Boca Raton, FL, no agreeable consensus on goalie interference

The General Managers of the NHL have begun their annual three days of meetings today (March 16) in Boca Raton, FL.

One of the issues that is on the docket is goaltender interference. I find this really interesting that this is being brought up, considering I wrote about this in a previous article (link to it is here). The question is should goalie interference be subject to video review. Given what I stated in my previous article, it should be up to a video review. 

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen wrote this:

"The main question being discussed in regard to the goaltenders is should video review be expanded to include goals scored as a potential result of goalie interference. The NHL does not allow for video review of goals scored where there is the potential of goaltender interference having occured. Those calls are left to the discretion of the on-ice officials." 

If you ask me, there needs to be a clear consensus on what goaltender interference is and I don't think there really is one. The 2014-15 NHL Rule book states:

(NHL rule book can be found on NHL.com and downloaded)

Rosen went on to state that "The managers have watched video clips of goals which likely would be covered by an expanded review and discussed those plays, formally and informally, but rarely have reached a consensus. Often on GM thought a play should be ruled a goal only to have another argue passionately for a clear-cut case of goalie interference." 

If there isn't clear consensus among NHL GM's on what goaltender intereference is? What about the refs? Is there clear consensus among the NHL refs on what it is? That is a topic that needs to be discussed.  Rosen stated " There has been some hesitancy by the managers to allow video review on goals scored where goaltender interference could be an issue because of the lack of role interpretation plays in such cases, as well as the time added to the game with the potential for additional reviews."

That statement in Rosen's article is a clear argument for needing an agreeable consensus of what goaltender interference is and what has been reported from the first day of these GM meetings shows that consensus isn't there at all.

In reading Rosen's article and other articles on the first day of the GM meetings, there are a wide range of opinions on this subject alone. Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray stated "I don't think we're going to video replay, for example, with goaltender interference...I think that has to be left to the officials to make a judgment call on the ice. Some nights we're not happy, but the majority of the calls that I've seen anyway so far have been the right call." 

A judgment call by the officials? If that is going to be the consensus, then what is the point of having a rule on goaltender interference? 

It is going to be real interesting to see what, if anything, comes out of this year's GM meetings about goaltender interference. There are other topics being discussed--such as the diving and embellishment penalties and possible changes to the overtime format. 

This is just the first post on the NHL GM Meetings and there will be another blog post on this subject sometime next week after these meetings wrap up. 

Dan Rosen's entire article can be read here.

The NHL Stadium Series in California--why I was not a big fan of it.

For the second season in a row, the Los Angeles Kings were part of the NHL Stadium Series. Last season, the Kings hosted the Anaheim Ducks at Dodgers Stadium.

On February 21, the San Jose Sharks hosted the Los Angeles Kings at the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

I was not impressed with either game. I barely watched both of those games. 

First of all, California isn’t exactly a hockey “hotbed.” Yes, the Los Angeles Kings have been around since 1967 and was the only hockey team in California until the Sharks came along in 1991. (The Ducks were founded in 1993.)

The Stadium Series set up at Dodger Stadium on January 25, 2014

So, why was I not a fan of the NHL Stadium Series being in California for two years in a row? Well, there are a number of reasons why. Having grown up in Minnesota all of my life and have grown up playing and watching hockey, I’m used to seeing outdoor rinks with snow around and skating outside when it's like 15 degrees out. The idea of green grass around an ice rink in February just doesn't sit right with me. There was even a sand volleyball court set up at Dodgers Stadium for last year's Stadium Series game between the Kings and the Ducks (I believe the air temperature during that game had to have been in the 80's). With temps in the 70's-80's, the quality of the ice had to be impacted because of those temps (even with all of the refrigeration piping underneath).  I don't understand why the NHL would want to take that risk of injuries with their players to have these games in California. 

"Many NHL players have expressed concerns about ice conditions in very warm-weather cities during the Stanley Cup playoffs. They fear the outdoor temperature may be hot enough to soften the ice inside the building.” (http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/ice-rink4.htm) The same could be said for the air temps affecting the ice for these two outdoor games. 

The Stadium Series set up in Santa Clara, CA at Levi's Stadium

When the league announced that there was only going to be one Stadium Series game this season, I was shocked that the location was chosen as Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA (the new 49'ers stadium). A Stadium Series game for the second year in a row in California? To me, that was just wrong. The San Jose Sharks haven't exactly been selling out their home games as of late (and currently sit three points out of the last wild card spot). I suppose the NHL wanted to capitalize on the rivalry between these two teams after San Jose's epic play-off collapse last year in the Conference Semi-Finals. Both the Kings and the Sharks aren't necessarily locks to make the play-offs this year (the Kings are currently sitting in 3rd place in the Pacific Division with 70 points, and I previously mentioned where the Sharks are currently sitting). 

When I was at the WIld Wednesday edition of the Jeff Dubay show that was being recorded from Bennett's this past Wednesday night, Tony Dean (from hockeybuzz.com) asked how many of those 70,000 in attendance at that game really knew anything about the game of hockey or where they there just to say that they were able to attend an outdoor hockey game in California. Yes, there were probably die-hard Sharks fans in attendance. But really, how many people in the San Jose area really pay attention to hockey? That question probably would have some interesting answers. 

The Sharks ended up losing this game on "home" ice by a score of 2-1. 

I would seriously like to know who is/was responsible for choosing the uniforms the Kings wore during this game? White breezers? Those uniforms were ridiculous. I don't know which uniforms were worse--these Kings ones or the uniforms worn during the All-Star game. 

Next season, I will be very happy to see a Stadium Series game played outside in places where there is actual winter weather...at TCF Stadium on February 21, 2016, when the Minnesota Wild take on the Chicago Blackhawks. 

I cannot wait.

Remembering Jean-Paul (J.P) Parise

In my previous blog post (posted 1/7/2015), I stated it had been announced that J.P. Parise had made the decision to stop chemotherapy treatments and had been receiving hospice care.

I knew this sad update was going to have to be made...eventually. 

The Minnesota Hockey community lost a great member when J.P. Parise passed away Wednesday night after a year-long bout with Stage 4 lung cancer at his home in Prior Lake with his wife and kids by his side. Mr. Parise was 73-years-old.

Even though J.P. was born in Canada and was a member of Team Canada when they faced off against the Soviet Union in the Summit Series in 1972 (in which he played in six of eight games), J.P. started to make a name for himself in Minnesota Hockey when he played for his first Minnesota team—the Minneapolis Bruins (of the old Central Professional Hockey League) back in 1964.  

J.P. Parise, #11 for the Minnesota North Stars

After playing with games with both the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, J.P. returned to the Twin Cities when he was traded from the Leafs to the Minnesota North Stars in December of 1967. J.P. was an NHL All Star during his first stint with the North Stars, having made the All Star teams in 1970 and 1973. His second stint with the North Stars came in 1978, when the Cleveland Barons merged with the North Stars. J.P. retired from the NHL after the 1978-79 season. He played in 890 NHL games during his career and scored 238 goals, along with appearing in 86 play-off games.  After his playing days were over, J.P. still remained with the North Stars as an assistant coach from 1980-84 and 1985-88. He was the head coach of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (an affiliate minor league team of the North Stars) for the 1984-85 season. 

Tom Reid had this to say about his close friend and former North Stars teammate:

"J.P. was probably one of the best cornermen in the game,” Reid said. “When he went in the corner, he was going to come out with the puck. But he was a very honest hockey player. No cheap shots out there" (startribune.com, 1/9/2015)

Zach and his dad in his dad's office at Shattuck-St. Mary's
Photo Coutesy of Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto on twitter)

J.P. later moved on to being the coach and hockey director at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, MN. His son, (current Minnesota Wild star forward) Zach, played there--along with current NHL players Jack Johnson, Sidney Crosby (who was a frequent dinner guest of the Parises), Jonathan Toews, and Kyle Okposo. 

Sidney Crosby had this to say about J.P., "As a Canadian kid and knowing the history with that series, he (JP) just had so many stories all the time…He played for so long. I always found that to be pretty fun, to listen to him talk and tell stories about that.” Crosby also stated that during his time at Shattuck-St. Mary's that JP and his wife, Donna, were "both really good to me." (Jason Mackey, triblive.com, 11/4/2014).

Later on, J.P. would go on to serve on the Board of Directors and the Board of Legends for Defending the Blue Line (an organization that Zach is a big supporter of). 

J.P Parise being announced to the crowd 

Last January, J.P. was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. It wasn't publicly announced until this past September. Right before the Olympic Break, J.P. did the "Let's Play Hockey" call, (video is here). 

Zach stated this to the Star Tribune's Michael Russo in an article about him and his dad, 

“I can’t wait for the season to start because he loves coming to games so much. Everything about the game, the way I play, he has taught me everything. Every kid’s dad is their role model, but it goes beyond that with him. It’s so much more. The life lessons he taught me have been unbelievable.” (Michael Russo, startribune.com 9/28/2014).

Zach and J.P. last March in Arizona (courtesy of startribune.com)

When Zach signed with the Minnesota Wild back in 2012 (along with good friend and now-current teammate Ryan Suter), he based his decision on "going home" (Zach grew up here in the Twin Cities). 

In Michael Russo's article I had previously mentioned (Parise family embraces life's good moments during tough times, startribune.com 9/28/2014), Zach had mentioned that he told Ryan (Suter) about the news he had recently received. As a result of Ryan talking with (Wild GM) Chuck Fletcher, J.P. joined Zach and the rest of the Minnesota Wild on a road trip to Arizona, Los Angeles, and Chicago ( a raod trip in which they went 2-0-1). It was at the game in Phoenix where J.P. witnessed Zach scoring his career 239th goal, surpassing J.P.'s career total. 

Besides, son Zach, J.P. Parise is survived by his wife (Donna), two other sons (Marc and Jordan), daughter (Colette), and six grandchildren. 

Josh Cooper had this to say in an article on sports.yahoo.com about Zach and Ryan's decision to both sign here back in 2012 (Ryan's dad, 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic team member Bob Suter, died suddenly in September 2014 in Madison of a heart attack):

“Now it’s clear both made the right choice… And the proximity of both parents to their children to see their kids play before they died made their 2012 decision seem so much clearer, especially with 2015’s 20/20 hindsight. 

“I’m so happy I got to be closer the two years prior,” Suter said to Puck Daddy in early December. “He came to a lot more games and we were able to spend a lot more time together since he was closer. In that regard it worked out great.”” 

For Zach (and for Ryan), the past two years being with the Minnesota Wild has to be absolutely priceless to be able to be close to family. There is no monetary value that can be placed on that at all. 

Yesterday, after it was announced about J.P.'s passing, I was on twitter (my personal twitter account, not the @stickshappen account), and I saw this tweet that sums it up best:

The Minnesota Wild had a tribute for J.P. prior to the start of their game with Chicago on Thursday night. The video that was played can be seen here. 

While I was writing this article, I also was thinking about the recent passing of well-known ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott (he passed away on Sunday morning after a seven-year battle with cancer) and what he said at the ESPY awards back in July when he was honored with the Jimmy V Perseverance award:

"You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."

Even though I never knew or met J.P., from what I have read, Stuart Scott's statement can definitely apply to J.P. 

My condolences go out to Zach and the Parise Family.

Josh Cooper's article can be read here.

Link to the Star Tribune article from 9/29/2014 is here.

Another round of favorite NHL Memes....

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU to everybody who has read this blog! It has been an interesting process for me and I'm learning as I go here. I also apologize for not posting anything within the last week and a half, real life has gotten a tad busy for me. 

I will be attending the Minnesota Wild game on Saturday night (11/29) when they take on the St. Louis Blues, so I will have pictures from that game!

On that note, Happy Thanksgiving everybody (and safe travels to those who are traveling)!

Here we go with the memes that have been sent to me, posted on Facebook, or I have found online (from Twitter, Pinterest, or from google/bing searches).

This isn't exactly a meme, but this is cool what @AK47_Studios did with Maggie Simpson and the Wild logo...

To see what more of the Simpsons meeting the NHL logos, go here.

This was posted on Facebook on Zach Parise's first game back after suffering a concussion.

I love this one!

This isn't a meme, but this was posted on Twitter by the Stars' Jamie Benn.

Hockey games USUALLY don't get weather delays. 

After all these years, yes, Norm Green still SUCKS!!

Courtesy of Erik Rousu. He posted this on Facebook. There have been games where
the officiating has just sucked!!

Appropriate for tonight's game since the Wild's opponent is the Kings.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody! If you have a meme that you would like to see on a future favorite memes post, feel free to send it to me at stickhappensblog@gmail.com.  

Hello Hockey Season!!!

I don’t know about you, but I was counting down the hours on Thursday until the puck dropped on the 2014-15 Minnesota Wild season.

For the Minnesota Wild, they were coming off a play-off run that included beating the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the play-offs. Ironically, the Minnesota Wild was the team that Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy last faced as a goalie before he retired after the 2002-03 season. It seemed very fitting that the Minnesota Wild handed him his first play-off series loss as an NHL head coach. As we all know, the Wild ended up facing the Chicago Blackhawks and lost that series in six games…

Fast-forward to October 9, 2014. The date of the home and season opener for the Minnesota Wild and their opponent that night—none other than the Colorado Avalanche, 

who the Wild knocked out in the first round courtesy of an overtime goal scored by Nino Niederreiter.

The State of Hockey flag going around in the stands during
 the introductions (courtesy of the Minnesota Wild on Twitter)

The Wild came out with all cylinders firing from the start. They must have gotten the memo that it was okay to shoot at the net because they were making shots on goal. The Wild did take two minor penalties within the first seven minutes in the first period and held the Avalanche to ZERO shots on both times they had the man advantage.

The first goal of the season was scored by Jason Pominville at 14:54 in the first period with assists by Mikael Granlund and Ryan Suter. The Wild had the shot on goal advantage at the end of the first period 17-5. The Avs were unable to get any kind of offense going and the Wild’s defense looked solid through one period of play.

Then came the second period….

Jared Spurgeon opened the scoring in the second period to make it 2-0, followed with goals scored by Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter, and Ryan Suter. Again, the Wild outshot the Avs in the second period 21-8. The Avs had their third power play opportunity and were held without a shot again. 

The Wild's Erik Haula taking a shot against
Avs Goalie Reto Berra
(Courtesy of Chad Graff, Pioneer Press)

Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov was pulled from the game and replaced by Reto Berra at the beginning of the third period. The Wild managed 10 more shots during the third period and basically made Nathan MacKinnon (2014 Calder Trophy winner) and Gabriel Landeskog non-factors in their first game of the season. Landeskog didn’t take a shot during the game.

The Wild broke a franchise record for shots on goal in a single game with 48. Darcy Kuemper recorded his first shutout of the season, having only faced 16 shots from the Avs. In addition to the offense, the Wild’s penalty kill held the Avs to zero shots on all four power play chances they had. The Wild totally dominated the first game of the season, but they knew Saturday night was going to be a whole different story in Colorado. 

The Wild simply outplayed the Avalanche on Thursday night. Avs' Captain Gabriel Landeskog made this statement to the Star Tribune's Michael Russo:

"...that's what happens. A team that wins battles looks that good against a team that doesn't" 

Patrick Roy did make an idiotic and controversial statement to the Denver media on Friday. I am not going to repeat that statement or discuss it because (in my opinion) it doesn’t need to be rehashed. I will say is that it shows the idiotic and “goon” mentality on the part of Roy and his statement is uncalled for. 

Round two Saturday Night in Denver----

Heading into Saturday night’s rematch in Denver, the Wild knew the Avs were not going to make it easy on them. It was the Avs home opener and they knew they got embarrassed on Thursday night in Saint Paul.

The Wild once again came out at the start shooting at Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov. Charlie Coyle started the scoring for the Wild with his first goal of the season coming in at 1:51in the game, with assists from Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin.  The Wild had their first power play of the game and managed to rack up eight shots on goal during the man-advantage. They also outshot the Avs in the first period 15-9.

The Avs' Jan Heidja pushing Nino Niederreiter into Semyon Varlamov
 that resulted in a goal for the Wild being waived off. (Andy Cross, Denver Post)

The Avs definitely brought the physical game, even though there were cheap shots made. Minnesota native and former Gopher Erik Johnson was assessed a major penalty and tossed from the game for his hit on Erik Haula late in the first period.  The Wild ended up with three minutes of power play time (two minutes of the five minute major were negated due to an “interference” call on Thomas Vanek). 

Thomas Vanek and the AVs Jan Heidja battling for a puck
during Saturday night's rematch in Denver
(courtesy of twincities.com/David Zalubowksi, AP)

Jason Zucker added his first goal of the season at the 11:50 mark of the second period from Thomas Vanek and Matt Dumba to make it 2-0 Wild. The Wild still managed to pull off 10 shots on goal, while the Avs managed to post 11shots on goal during the second period. 

Roy pulled Varlamov with 2:58 left in the game for an extra attacker and they had a 6-on-4 power play when Matt Cooke got called for interference with 2:33 left to play. The Wild managed to kill off that penalty with some spectacular goaltending by Kuemper. Parise scored on an empty net to seal the deal for the Wild with three seconds left for a 3-0 win. The Avs managed to out shoot the Wild 10-9 in the third period, but the Wild still held the shot advantage 34-30 for the game. 

Darcy Kuemper’s play in the net Saturday night was amazing to watch. Charlie Coyle stated in the Pioneer Press that “He came up huge on a number of occasions and bailed us out a few times when we had a defensive lapse…We didn’t play bad, but he definitely helped us out big time.” (Chad Graff, Pioneer Press 10/12/2014). Right now, I would have to say Kuemper is definitely making his case known to be the Wild's #1 goalie. 

After watching these first two games of the new season, I think it's safe to say the Wild are a much different team than they were this time last year (after starting the season 0-1-2 in their first three games). All eight Wild goals were even-strength goals. However, the Wild need to work on their power play. They are 0-8 so far this season with the man-advantage, even though they have taken more shots on the power play. Overall, the Wild have definitely added excitement to this new season and it's going to be a fun season to watch!

The Wild are one of two clubs to start of the season with back-to-back shut outs (the San Jose Sharks are the other, both Antti Niemi and Alex Stalock have each recorded a shut out this season for the Sharks). Darcy Kuemper is the youngest goaltender to open the season with back-to-back shut outs at 24 years old. 

It was also announced this morning that the Wild have come to terms on a six-year contract extension with Jonas Brodin. I haven't read anything on that new deal, yet. But knowing he's now locked in for a while, that is a good thing. 

The Wild are off until Friday.