Wild vs Islanders tonight?

Pug aka NHL IDO spokesman – tell us how this one is going to go?

7 p.m. on FSN.

Go Wild!

The only good news I have is that we are playing the Islanders at home. That at least gives us a chance.

The bad news is Koivu joins Butch, Latendresse and Setoguchi on the injury list. It also appears Casey Wellman has a wrist injury and will be out. The Wild have had a rash of injuries starting with defense, the the goalies and now the forwards. They have obviously prevailed in the past weathering the injuries to the top spot in the NHL. But we are now talking about injured forwards who as a group, although they were improving recently, were at the bottom of the goals per game stat.

Its hard to say how the game will go, all things considered. But if you look at how they have dealt with injuries so far this season, they should be able to get past the Islanders. The lower scoring the game, probably the better chance we win.

The key player to watch is leading goal scorer Kyle Brodziak. Last year he stepped up when the injury bug hit and he thrived. And even though he leads the team in goals, he is still kind of the unsung hero that flies under the radar to the casual fan.

They should be able to beat the Islanders despite the injuries. The Islanders are not that good. But they do have some talent in Tavares and Moulson. PA Parenteau is also a nice playmaker, but they are a young team with no depth. Without Koivu, the key is finding a center that can shut that line down.

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Thanks for starting this post after my coffee. There is 15 minutes I can’t get back.

What? No mention of Kyle Okposo? Shameful! Must need another 15 minute break to clear the mind… LOL… Good summary!

I am not sure what you want me to say about him other than he returns? I was going to mention him, but his stats aren’t that impressive. He’s is coming on after a slow start though. 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 11 games. He’s streaky, so maybe we should be concerned. Coming back home might be the sort of incentive that sparks him to a 2 goal 3 point effort.

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He’s streaky, so maybe we should be concerned. Coming back home might be the sort of incentive that sparks him to a 2 goal 3 point effort.

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Yup – exactly what was going thru my mind. Didn’t work so well for Leddy the other night… He looked non-existent. Hope it’s a barn burner with Wild pulling away from Brodziak’s 4 point night!!!

Speaking of a homecoming, Jarrod Palmer, a MN native will be making his first appearance tonight! He will be wearing #79. He makes the 5th MN born player to play for the Wild this year.

Palmer picks up 2 points while looking like he’s played this level for years…. Go Wild!!!

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Speaking of a homecoming, Jarrod Palmer, a MN native will be making his first appearance tonight! He will be wearing #79. He makes the 5th MN born player to play for the Wild this year.

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Shoot! I forgot to mention him. Actually my post was longer, but I must have deleted his mention. I shortened it to keep from boring people.

Palmer is from my hometown of Fridley. Although he was born there, I think he played on the under 18 team in Michigan for High School.

With all the injuries I’ll be sure to have my gear in my truck at all times just in case I get the call.

Boy this is not going to be a fun stretch as a Wild fan. Its obvious we are going to have issues with teams that have more than just 1 good line.

It’s going to be tough just getting one point on this upcoming 3 game road trip. I expect a dirty game from Vancouver on Monday. They are chasing us and would love to put a couple more people on the IR.

Injuries? Every team goes through them…. Hope things don’t swing too low… Bertuzzi SUCKS!!!

Take 3 top 6 forwards off any team, plus the best player on the team and see how they do. If there is a team that can do well through that, I honestly think it is the Wild and that is because we have Yeo as a coach. He appears to be able to get the most from his players.

I wonder how Chicago would do without Toews, Sharp, Hossa and Stalberg. Or Philli without Giroux, Jagr, Briere and Read. Or Pitt without Malkin, Neal, Dupuis and Kuntiz. And those teams score lots of goals, you’d think Minnesota is in a more decimated position with their lack of scoring.

I’ve liked how Backstrom has played the last few games, so maybe he can steal a few victories for us until we get healthy again.

The good news is we are in a good position to get into the playoffs. At the beginning of the year this was about all a Wild fan was hoping for this year. It would be pretty hard for them to miss now and in the playoffs, anything goes. And we have the type of goalie and team that can make a surprising run.

By then hopefully we are healthy. I am more concerned about Latendresse and Buchard, since with Lats we are talking about a relapse of a concussion and who knows if Butch is concussed. Seto and Koivu are not done for the season.

Sounds like Setoguchi, Butch and Koivu will travel with the team, so that is the good news.