Gameday: Kings @ Wild - 2004-01-14

First game with the Kings this season.
The Kings went to OT with the Predators on Tuesday night, so they'll be a bit later getting into town. I'm not sure how they've been on back-to-backs, but we'll take all the help we can get at this point. The Kings haven't lost in the last five times they've come to the Xcel Energy Center (3-0-2), but they've got injuries enough for three teams. This game should be within reach for us. I think it will come down to goaltending. Chechmanek stopped 29 shots on Tuesday... he's around .900 with 2.2+ GAA or so.
For us, our goalies are doing quite well. And Kuba had a multi-point game on Monday, and now is up to 15 points on the season. Hooray. We are the only team in the league without a double-digit goal scorer. Walz and Daigle have 9 each. Daigle was a healthy scratch the other night, and Walz's shoulder appears to be worse than initially thought. Reports say he sat out of Tuesday's practice and is unlikely to play Wednesday night.

Wild 4(4? I must need sleep), Kings 2. Zyuzin, Wiemer, Wanvig... and Gaborik, what the heck.

Wild need to start winning if they want to get into the playoffs. Gabby needs to get it going!

I'll say 3-1 Wild. Goals: Wanvig, Park, Mitchell(hey it could happen! :joker: )

Daigle was a healthy scratch the other night

Has his play been poor, or was he getting a rest?

Has his play been poor, or was he getting a rest?

Up until just the other day, Lemaire hasn't been too clear on why certain players have been getting scratched. He basically said he's got to pick someone, so being scratched doesn't necessarily mean the guy needed a rest, or was playing worse than expected, or anything specific.
However, that tune has changed a bit lately. A quote from today's Pioneer Press:

Offensive urgency: With competition for playing time and the search for offense at their most intense in the Wild's four-year history, Lemaire said defensive acumen is no longer a sole criterion for staying in the lineup.

Expect to see more unproductive regulars scratched if others can add a spark.

"We have a lot of guys playing the same way — very well defensively, and not creating enough offensively," Lemaire said. "As soon as you start to create offensively, and you do your job defensively, you're ahead of the other guy. It's a little competition, but it's not bad."

So, depending on when he started on this new "generate some offense or get a scratch" plan, Daigle was either scratched because of that, or just because. He looked decent enough in the game just prior to the scratch, I thought.

So, depending on when he started on this new "generate some offense or get a scratch" plan, Daigle was either scratched because of that, or just because. He looked decent enough in the game just prior to the scratch, I thought.


I agree. I think it also had to do with the fact that Burns and Wanvig were back and Daigle has been sitting on 9 goals for what seems like forever. I think he needs to pick it up, cause we all know Daigle doesn't play defense that well. So I think he needs to score more consistantly to stay in the lineup. :dunno:

Hey guys, I hope tonight will be a great game. Here's some Kings info for ya:

Kings record for the second of back to backs - 5-2-1-0
Currently, they are on a 12 game winless streak (it's been frustrating for us Kings fans, lol :p )
No Palffy, No Straka, No Aaron Miller (of course Deadmarsh and Allison are M.I.A.)

lines for tonight I think will be:

Frolov - Belanger - Laperriere
Robitaille - Armstrong - Klatt
Pirnes - Stumpel - Tripp
Sim - Avery - Chartrand or Barney

Norstrom - Corvo
Visnovsky - Modry
Holland - Norton or Gleason

(we look pathetic, eh?)

Finally a Power Play Goal!!! 1st PP Goal in a Month at home. Nice Play Bruno. 1-0 Wild.
GO WILD!!!

Pooooor Rollie!

I haven't been able to see tonights game, how has Wanvig looked?

Wanvig looked pretty good. Returned a bit to his old ways... "Me skate hard at puck then me fall down." Heh, no, that's mean. He wasn't that bad. Just trying very hard on a night when most of the team wasn't, or at least wasn't trying hard in sync. In the post-game Lemaire said he was pretty pleased with Wanvig's play, and expected him to get a goal sooner rather than later, just because of the way he's been bringing the puck to the net. Gaborik also got praise in the post-game, and I'd agree with that. He looked pretty good again.. just no goal to show for it. He's just snakebit right now. He's got to come out of it soon. It's not like he's been hesitating on the shots or looking like he doesn't know what to do with the puck, like he was earlier in the season. He's just not gotten the points. Lemaire had some pretty good comments in his post-game. If you're a member of that wildinsider website be sure to check it out when they put it up. I wonder if I'd get in trouble for putting a copy of it up just temporarily. Probably, I suppose.

We completely robbed LA of a point tonight, if you ask me. Didn't see much desire on our part to go after the puck in the corners or along the boards. Luckily a lot of the Kings' shots were from the outside and Roli had a pretty good look at them. Not to take anything from Roli, though.. he made some great stops. If he's not our rep at the All-Star game I'll be bummed out; I think he deserves it. He hasn't let in more than 2 goals in a game since Nov. 15th or something like that...4-3 loss to the Canucks. And it's not like we've been playing our typical defense this season.

Thanks!