A streak ends (sort of) but Clutterbuck and Wild deliver in 2-0 pre-season home victory over Columbus

"It can't last forever" is often the catchphrase of your tireless cynic or relentlessly optimistic. Well a streak quietly ended last night as the Minnesota Wild failed to sellout its first home pre-season game, for the first time ever. Now, in a lot of NHL cities the fact the home team failed to sellout would not even be a story. Yet in the State of Hockey, a place that has managed to sellout every single game including exhibition and playoffs in franchise history the end of this streak may have some alarming undertones. Like many places around the U.S., Friday night is High School football night but in the past the team has still managed to sellout the Xcel Energy Center regardless but for whatever reason that didn't happen. So the sellout streak of ALL games is officially at an end. I certainly will have to re-think my ranking of Minnesota fans for next season because of this. Yet is it a really big deal? Probably not. Although it may be a harbinger of something bigger, if this happens during the regular season perhaps it will be time to sound the alarm. At this point its just something that registers as a mild shock. As far as the game goes, the Wild deployed a "B+" calibre squad to go against an "A-" roster for the Blue Jackets. On paper it looked like a decided mismatch as Minnesota did not dress many of its offensively gifted players but Minnesota fans got a great taste of how effective the forecheck can be as the Wild took it to the Blue Jackets. Early on Columbus tried to set the tone as former Blaine Bengal Trevor Frischmon delivered a nice hit on the much bigger, Wild hopeful Ryan Lannon that drew a big "ooh" from the crowd. Niklas Backstrom had to be sharp early and over time the Wild started to find its rhythm and they started to move their feet. The youngsters especially started to step up the intensity as Wild forwards were taking the body with some moxie as they punished the Blue Jackets along the boards. The forecheck was taking away the time and space from the Blue Jackets and there was also evidence that the defense was pinching in to take chances of its own. Wild blueliners Jamie Sifers and Brent Burns had some great scoring chances early on, and Burns especially seemed possess as he was making plays all over the ice. A bit of a scary moment came when Kristian Huselius got his stick up in the face of Cal Clutterbuck that left him a little worse for the wear and after being attended too by the Wild training staff he'd return to the Minnesota bench. Huselius' hit gave the Wild a power play and right away Minnesota was moving the puck around very well and Columbus' first ever draft pick, Rostislav Klesla helped the power play's cause by clearing a puck into the stands for a delay of game giving the State of Hockey a 5-on-3 man-advantge. Right off the bat Minnesota was looking to shoot, and Marek Zidlicky unloaded a laser from the point that was snagged out of the air by a snazzy glove save by Steve Mason. Moments later, Antti Miettinen centered a pass that glanced off the skate of the Blue Jackets' David Liffiton right to the stick of Cal Clutterbuck who promptly buries it by Mason to lift Minnesota to a 1-0 lead. With the crowd roaring, the fans got back their feet as they thought Minnesota added to its lead when Andy Hilbert appeared to beat Mason 5-hole only to find it was the blade of his stick that actually made it through the wickets and the Wild would carry its 1-goal lead into the 2nd. In the 2nd period, the Wild would find themselves on the penalty kill early when Cal Clutterbuck found himself called for interference. Yet it would be tough to tell the Wild were on the penalty kill as Colton Gillies steals a puck and turns on the speed to race in all alone on Steve Mason who stonewalls him with a nice pad save. Columbus was unable to really threaten Josh Harding with any quality chances on the power play and Clutterbuck would exit the penalty box and he found some space off a nice pass by Eric Belanger and he beat Mason with a wrist shot to lift the Wild to a 2-0 lead. After the goal, Wild Head Coach Todd Richards felt it was time was right for a change between the pipes as Niklas Backstrom headed to the bench and Josh Harding ventured towards the Minnesota crease. With the crowd energized, Minnesota almost added to its lead as Brent Burns dangled the puck around two defenders and then threaded a pass to the slot that reached Clutterbuck who snapped a quick shot that rang off the pipe. With the crowd still very much excited, it would turn into something rather uncomfortable and very scary. Columbus' Jason Chimera would be rocked by a big hit delivered by Eric Belanger which caused the Blue Jacket forward's helmet to pop off and he laid on the ice motionless. Chimera was clearly in serious trouble and he would be attended too by the training staff of both teams and a stretcher was brought out to the ice. As he regained consciousness he was described as being coherent and he gave a 'thums up' to the crowd as he was taken off the ice. Meanwhile, the officials decided to call the 2nd intermission early even though there was 6:17 left to play. More on the hit a bit later in the article. Belanger was assessed a 5-minute major for boarding and when play resumed the Wild had a long Columbus power play to deal with. Despite having a penalty kill unit that featured AHL journeyman Clayton Stoner, Jamie Sifers and Ryan Lannon the Wild did an excellent job of moving their feet and getting their sticks into passing lanes as well as being physical at the right times. It does not mean that Columbus did not have its chances, as the young talented forward Derrick Brassard nearly cut the Wild lead in half when his wrister clanked off the post and Josh Harding leaned onto his back to make the snow angel save. The crowd gave the team a standing ovation for the big penalty kill and Minnesota held its 2-0 lead going into the 3rd. The 3rd period started with both teams looking a bit emotionally deflated after the Chimera hit. Clayton Stoner would recieve a penalty for a big hit he levied on Jared Boll near the Wild bench that caused the feisty Boll to get into the face of a few Wild players, but the ultimate result was another Columbus Power Play. Harding again answered the call and he'd make a great save on a blast from the point by Daniel Steiner. Minnesota would get the kill but Columbus was pressing the attack and it the Wild really seemed to be on their heels. The Wild would answer back as Colton Gillies just missed sending a Blue Jackets player into his own bench. This near hit seemed to get the Wild's feet moving, and Minnesota did its best to start putting shots on Columbus' Kevin Lalande who came in to relieve Steve Mason. The intensity drew a hooking call on Grant Clitsome, and on the ensuing power play Clutterbuck had another chance to attempt a hat trick but his high shot was denied by Lalande. Minnesota continued to attack and Lalande found himself under seige until the final horn sounded that sealed a 2-0 Wild victory. There is little doubt the Wild should feel real good about their win tonight over Columbus. This was a game where Minnesota was without most of its most gifted scorers but through tenacity and hard work they pulled off a victory. It demonstrates that the players; especially the youngsters have bought into the new Wild philosophy. Clutterbuck is a player that seemed custom-built for an up-tempo forechecking style of hockey and perhaps that could bring about an offensive transformation in the former Oshawa General much in the same way up-tempo play turned the Canucks Alexandre Burrows into nice secondary scoring option. Brent Burns played like a man possessed and both Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding demonstrated they give the Wild two very solid options between the pipes. Now more about the hit. Columbus' Head Coach Ken Hitchcock did not mince words when he said, "It was a reckless hit. He was really in a tough spot." Eric Belanger, who clearly felt terrible about the hit tried to defend himself by stating, "you guys know I am not that kind of player, I didn't want to hurt the guy, I didn't leave my feet, I didn't hit his head, its just bad luck." While some may accuse me of being a homer, there really is little in Belanger's history to indicate he'd try to intentionally hurt just about anyone. Minnesota is 1-1 in pre-season, with a game against the young and talented Chicago Blackhawks on late Sunday afternoon. Wild Notes:~ Minnesota Wild sign young defenseman, Bjorn Krupp, the son of former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Uwe Krupp to a pro contract. Bjorn, like his father is a big stay at home defenseman at 6'2", 189lbs. Currently, Krupp plays in the Ontario Hockey League with the Belleville Bulls. ~ On Wednesday, the Wild reduced their training camp down to 41 players as they assigned the following players to training camp with the Houston Aeros the team's American Hockey League affiliate: G - Barry BrustLW - Brandon BuckLW - Jon DiSalvatoreD - Jamie FraserD - Maxim NoreauD - J.P. TestwuideC - Brian KaufmanC - Morten MadsenC - Peter ZingoniIn addition the Wild sent 4 players back to their junior squads. Goaltenders, Matt Hackett and Darcy Kuemper, as well as center Tyler Johnson and left winger Kristofer Foucault.