Wild’s Losing Streak Against Vancouver Extended

Even the return of Devin Setoguchi and Casey Wellman couldn’t save the Minnesota Wild from being shut out 3-0 by Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks. Goals in the first period by Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows carried through into the 3rd period when an empty netter by Manny Malhotra sealed the Wild’s defeat.

There was little for us in the State of Hockey to be positive about tonight beyond the return of Setoguchi and Wellman. While the PK unit was effective, even that provided concern during an unexpected 3 on 2. The Wild’s previously dominating forecheck barely made an appearance tonight, and to call the neutral zone “neutral” is too kind; the Canucks dominated between the blue lines.

More in-depth analysis to follow tomorrow, but here are some of my random notes from the game:

– Clutterbuck was one of the only Wild players willing to put his body in the game tonight

– 0-4 on the power play is pathetic. You cannot score on the power play if you spend your time chasing the puck.

– We got lucky on the penalty kill. Giving the best power play in the league multiple appearances could have been deadly.

– All the Wild’s shots seemed to be targeted right at Luongo’s crest. You have to beat him laterally, or you’ll get shut out.

The game was perhaps best summed up in the last 90 seconds when even with an extra attacker the Wild spent the majority of their time battling for the puck and eventually giving up a game-ending goal.

More to come tomorrow, including reaction to Mike Yeo’s post-game comments. Bed for now…these late games are nasty.