Apr 11, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; St. Louis Blues forward Andy McDonald (10) scores a goal on Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom (32) during the third period at the Xcel Energy Center. The Blues defeated Wild 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Wild were shut out by the St. Louis Blues Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center.  The final score was Blues 2, Wild 0, zip, zilch, nada. For the second game in a row and the third out of four the Minnesota Wild failed to score.  Over the last two games the Minnesota defense has given up a total of 3 goals.  A goal and a half average sounds pretty damn good to me.  For all the people ready to hang Wild defensemen from their skate hooks in the locker room, IT’S DARN HARD TO WIN A GAME ZERO TO ZERO. The Wild are missing the scoring aspect of the game, not the defensive one.  They ran into the HOTTEST GOALIE IN THE LEAGUE tonight in Brian Elliott.  He has now shut out his last three opponents, while the Blues have run their winning streak to six straight.  Yes, they scored two goals on dubious defensive plays but the Wild scored o on all of their chances and 23 shots on goal.  The closest they came was Jason Pominville‘s shot off the post just 1:10 into the first period. No Parise goals, No Koivu goals, No Bouchard assists and No Suter assists.  In fact there was precious little of Ryan Suter tonight after he suffered an injury early in the second period.  He left the Wild bench for several minutes then returned for a few shifts but never saw the ice again after the 17 minutes mark of the second.  We’ll see what happens as the Wild practice tomorrow.  Losing Suter for any amount of games would be a huge blow to the  Minnesota team.

After tonight’s game Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo faced the media and opened with a little statement about his squad and their recent performance, “Before the onslaught begins, I’ll start by saying my message to the team and the way that we feel is we have nothing to apologize for and nothing to feel sorry about. We played obviously a strong team and we played a good game. I’m not saying we can’t be better in a couple of areas, but bout obviously the complexion of the game changes if we score first. We’ve got to quit giving up the first goal, but right through the lineup we competed hard. We did a lot of good things.  Obviously we made a couple mistakes, but we’ve got nothing to hang our head about.  That’s for sure!”  I think Yeo was sending this message to the assembled media members and the Wild’s fans some of whom chose to “Booo” their effort Thursday night.  In addition I would guess Yeo delivered a similar message to his team after the end of the game.  These last two games have shown the Wild and their fans just where they stand right now against some of the elite teams in the Western Conference.  Later in his post game comments the Coach Yeo said, “I know there’s been so much losing around here for so long that it’s almost like we’re waiting for it to happen again.  One thing that we’re learning is that the final push is the hardest. Let’s not be afraid to write that that’s a pretty good team we played tonight. They’re a pretty strong team, we played a good game. We didn’t win it and certainly we’re not happy about that. I know what’s going on and we want to write a negative story and we want to feel sorry for ourselves and I’m telling you, It is NOT happening in the dressing room.”  It’s sounds like Head Coach Yeo is also trying to keep his team thinking with a positive state of mind and not sink into a self-pitying moras.  The Minnesota squad gets to get right back at it on Saturday when the Columbus Blue Jackets come to town.  This is the same Jackets team the Wild shut out just three games ago in Columbus.  The Wild are still in 7th spot in the Western Conference where they started the day.  The Detroit Red Wings lost in a shoot out to San Jose, the point earned moved Detroit to within 2 points of the Wild.  GonePuckWild.com will be back with a full game preview Saturday at the Blue Jackets come calling with newly acquired Marian Gaborik in t0w.

Tonight’s loss was a frustrating and maddening one to say the least.  This loss belongs to the Minnesota Wild as a team, not just the defense or the suddenly lackluster offense.  The Wild need to figure out what is wrong and or going wrong and fix it soon.  There are just 8 games left on the roster, 4 home and 4 away.  Minnesota need to win 5-6 of those if they hope to make the playoffs.  i just hope we are not seeing another second half swoon by our Wild team.  A win against Columbus will go a long way towards that goal.  I’ll be back with the game preview and until then, this is Scott Drain positively shouting, “Let’s GO Wild!”

Jan 27, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom (32) flips the puck away as St. Louis Blues center Jaden Schwartz (9) slides in during the third period at the Scottrade Center. The Blues defeated the Wild 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Wild take on the St. Louis Blues tonight at the Xcel Energy Center.  Puck drop is slated for 7pm in the midst of an April Snowstorm, but that won’t deter Wild fans from filling the arena.  Tonight is an important game, aren’t they all at this juncture of the season?  Entering tonight’s action Minnesota is 7th in the Western Conference while the Blues are 6th.  The teams are tied with 46 points apiece but St. Louis holds the tie-breaker of more regulation and overtime wins 18 to 17.  Tonight’s victor will gain some valuable breathing space between them and the teams in 7th, 8th and 9th positions.  That means the WILD NEED TO KICK SOME BUTT TONIGHT.  Minnesota is 13-5-1 on home ice this season and they must keep that rolling tonight.  With 5 home games out of 9 remaining the Wild must capitalize on that or start cleaning up the golf clubs.  If this sounds serious that’s because it is!  Detroit is in 8th spot with 43 points, Phoenix is just one point out of a playoff spot, Dallas and Columbus are only 2 points out.  Just a couple of losses in succession could be disastrous to Minnesota’s playoff hopes.  I’m sure that this article is being mirrored by the writers for the St. Louis Blues as well.  This is a great time to be a NHL hockey fan, the playoff positioning push is in full swing and it’s going to be the last games on the last night of the regular season before we know where teams will end up.

The Wilds forward lines will look the same as in Tuesday’s game.  That’s because all healthy wings and centermen will be on the ice.  Dany Heatley is done for the season after shoulder surgery.  Matt Cullen is skating but there is not a date set for his return to action.  His line mates are definitely missing his presence.  One in particular, Devin Setoguchi needs to step up his game and leadership role according to Head Coach Mike Yeo.  The lines for tonight are:

Pominville – Koivu – Parise

Coyle – Brodziak – Clutterbuck

Bouchard – Granlund – Setoguchi

Rupp – Konopka – Mitchell

Defensively Minnesota Head Coach Yeo is trying another combination for the third pair tonight.  Tom Gilbert will return to the lineup and pair up with Justin Falk.  Nate Prosser will be scratched along with Brett Clark.  The Pairs for tonight will be iron man Ryan Suter with rookie sensation Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon with the mistake prone Clayton Stoner and the previously mentioned Falk and Gilbert.  St. Louis is a big team so Yeo is going with keeping the big Stoner and Falk in the lineup. Look for a physical game tonight with lots of finished checks from defenders and forwards alike.

Tonight we’ll see if the Wild can turn things around after a disappointing loss to Chicago.  Niklas Backstrom will be in net as usual, his 20 wins have him tied with Fleury of the Penguins for the NHL lead.  Minnesota will need a strong game once again from their workhorse goaltender. St. Louis will counter with Brian Elliott who has been hot lately.  The old mantra of a quick start is repeated here once again.  The first goal is key again tonight as both of the teams play better with a lead.  The Blues have taken the first two games in the season series.  Special teams will be critical as well as the Wild penalty kill has performed well while the powere play has been inconsistent at times. Basically the Wild need to dig deep and do whatever it takes to win this game. No shifts off, NO coasting, NO losing puck battles, No give in at all!  GonePuckWild.com will be back after the game with analysis and recap.  Until then this is Scott Drain confidently shouting, “LET’S GO WILD!!”