Defensive breakdowns cost Wild in season opening 2-1 road loss to Columbus

On a weekend where it is a pair of football games which feature the bitter border rivalry between Wisconsin and Minnesota where both the Badgers and Packers travel to the Twin Cities to battle it out for bragging rights. Gophers Head Coach Tim Brewster's squad gave a valiant effort against the Badgers and came up short 31-28. Meanwhile Packer fans salivate at the thought of seeing their team pay some level of revenge on their formerly beloved quarterback Brett Favre who seems to mock them (and Packers GM Ted Thompson) with every touchdown pass he throws for the Purple and Gold. The rivalries is intense, so intense it almost blocks out the drama of the Minnesota Twins who are again making an improbable late-season run to possibly when the American League's Central Division. Needless to say, when you toss in the hoopla of High School football as the icing on the cake it is sort of easy to see how the Wild's season opener could be lost in the mix. For Wild fans, it has been a long summer full of change and high level of anticipation as they wait and see what Crystal, Minnesota-native Todd Richards can do as the State of Hockey's bench boss. Speaking of Todd Richards, his longtime mentor Claude Noel is an assistant coach now with the Columbus Blue Jackets the team the Wild faces off against this evening. Richards was Noel's assistant coach when they were apart of the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League. The Blue Jackets are the antithesis of change as the team made very few moves of significance during the off-season as the organization comes off its first-ever playoff appearence last season. In their minds, they probably figured; if its not broke why fix it even though some of their fans certainly would've appreciated the team bringing in a proven offensive defenseman. Right from the drop of the puck the Wild struggled to stay with the speedy top line of the Blue Jackets and Sami Pahlsson would have the first quality scoring chance from in close only to be shut down by Niklas Backstrom. Minnesota tried to counter attack by trying to establish the forecheck but they struggled to keep possession off the dump in. Jakub Voracek danced around Greg Zanon for a low-lying wrist shot that was easily dismissed by Backstrom. Moments later a bad pass would lead to a turnover by Nikita Filatov who dangled the puck for a dangerous odd-man chance but just before he could get a shot off it was poke-checked away by the Wild goaltender who was finding himself under fire early. Minnesota's forecheck was creating scoring chances for Columbus as Rick Nash swept in for a great opportunity but he couldn't lift the shot over the shoulder of Backstrom. Minnesota finally was able to get some offense going off a wicked wrist shot just missed wide of Steve Mason, and the puck was gathered up by Andrew Brunette who made a short pass to Mikko Koivu who brought it back out in front of the crease as he tried to chip a shot by the Columbus goaltender but he'd hold on for a whistle. A few minutes later, a great initial dump in by Koivu would be tracked down by the savvy Finn who battled for the puck along the boards to dig it out for a quick pass from behind the Columbus goal to a crashing Andrew Brunette who fired a quick one timer that Mason would glove. The Wild were not done swarming just yet as some more great work along the boards by Owen Nolan would lead to a shot from near the point that was redirected by Pierre-Marc Bouchard that ended up striking the pipe and the puck just fluttered out of reach of a waiting Petr Sykora. Just seconds after this close call, it was Filatov rifling a shot that struck the outside of the right post and out of harm's way. Cal Clutterbuck was making his presence felt on the forecheck as he was throwing his 211lbs frame around. A bad turnover in the defensive zone by Bouchard led to a quick pass by RJ Umberger who managed to richochet it off of Backstrom who was caught dropping a bit early and the biscuit went right to the stick of Rick Nash for what seemed to be a gimme goal but he was denied by a diving Nick Schultz much to shock of the crowd and whoever was working the horn at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets tried to establish a forecheck of its own with its energy line of Jared Boll, Raffi Torres and Jason Chimera which ended up turning into an odd-man chance for the Wild as Eric Belanger and Kyle Brodziak raced in a 2-on-1. Belanger fed the puck back to Brodziak who lifted a shot high over the goal. Owen Nolan would deliver a big shoulder to youngster Derick Brassard that would cause a small get together at center ice on a delayed Wild penalty to Pierre-Marc Bouchard for hooking. With the Blue Jackets on the power play, the Wild's passive pressure did a great job at frustrating Columbus who was trying to work the puck from low to high. A point shot by Marc Methot would trickle through a screen by Antoine Vermette but Backstrom was up to the task to make the save and Kim Johnsson immediately cleared the loose puck out of harm's way. The Wild would kill the penalty without further incident but Columbus continued to press the attack a nice give and go between Jason Chimera and Raffi Torres that had Chimera lifting a shot over the Minnesota goal. Minnesota would attempt to counter attack and a nice play by Antti Miettinen to fire a shot on goal that was stopped on a leg-pad save by Mason almost turned into a goal as James Sheppard tapped a wrist shot that hit a mess of skates that could have spelled disaster for the Blue Jackets but the period would end with both teams still scoreless. Minnesota would start the second period with good pace in its skates as it tried to create some offense early. The first quality shot of the period came off the stick of Kristian Huselius who fired a slapper that was snapped out of the air by the glove of Backstrom. Minnesota's 4th line of Eric Belanger, John Scott and Kyle Brodziak were able to create a little trouble in Columbus' end as pass from behind the goal by Belanger just caromed off the skate of Scott and wide of the Blue Jackets' goal. Columbus would answer back with its energy line as Raffi Torres would work the puck near the Wild crease and Niklas Backstrom would lay out as he hugged the post to make the save. Moments later the Wild would draw its first penalty as Derick Brassard was called for holding. The Wild's power play would produce a plethora of quality scoring chances as Minnesota moved the puck deftly from high to low and Martin Havlat came close to tallying his first goal as a member of the Wild but a sprawling Steve Mason was able to reach and make a fantastic save. Minnesota continued to pass the puck well as they worked the puck near the crease and again Mason was up to keeping the Wild off the scoreboard. The Blue Jackets would manage to clear the zone and keep Minnesota bottled up in its own end over the closing 45 seconds of the man advantage and the Wild would come up short on its first power play opportunity. Columbus would try to establish some offense of its own but Minnesota was able to deny time and space by great hustle at both ends. Minnesota was even able to create some non-conventional scoring chances as Owen Nolan flung a shot on goal that was tapped on goal by a spinning Petr Sykora that was blocked aside by Mason. Sami Pahlsson would give Minnesota its 2nd power play of the night but it would not turn out as Minnesota had hoped. The Wild struggled to enter the zone and Martin Havlat would be tied up near the blueline which would become a turnover for RJ Umberger who raced in on a breakaway beating Backstrom 5-hole with a backhander to give Columbus a 1-0 lead on the shorthanded bid. Just seconds later, Rick Nash would make a turnover of his own in the waning seconds of the Wild power play and he'd skate in and fire a quick wrister that was blocked away by Backstrom adding insult to injury. The Wild were clearly stuck in reactionary mode, and in need of something positive quick. A few minutes later, Minnesota would not help its cause when Brent Burns was given a double-minor for high sticking Kristian Huselius. Minnesota's passive pressure again worked well to disrupt the Columbus power play. It was only a matter of time before Columbus was able to get a shot on goal during the man advantage as Kristian Huselius pulled the trigger on a wrist shot that was punched aside by Backstrom. A few moments later, Nikita Filatov chipped a puck back to a charging Andrew Murray who's bid was shut down by the Wild goaltender. Minnesota's penalty killers did a great job at getting into the passing and shooting lanes and they were able to kill off the 4-minute long Columus power play. In what was a frustrating period, the Wild had to be thankful it was only trailing 1-0 going into the 3rd. The Wild set itself to the task of tying up this hockey game and Columbus appeared to be more content to defend then attack which was just fine by the Wild. Brent Burns would draw a penalty off some great hustle through the neutral zone and Nikita Filatov would earn 2 minutes for tripping. Minnesota tried to work the puck in an overload type set up but Burns' point shot wouldn't get through to test Mason. The Wild continued to apply pressure and Martin Havlat skated in and faced the goal from just about the left faceoff dot and then slid a pass down low to Mikko Koivu who drew the defense towards him as he then fed a pass to Andrew Brunette in the slot who made a nice deke to slide in a forehand shot by Mason in a move reminiscent of the one he used to end Patrick Roy's career tying the game at 1-1. Minnesota continued to try to apply pressure and Eric Belanger unleashed a wicked wrister that was held onto by Mason. Columbus tried to re-take the lead and good faceoff win turned into a quick snap shot by Sami Pahlsson that was absorbed by Backstrom. The Wild counter attacked with its top line of Koivu, Havlat and Brunette and the sneaky Czech zoomed around from behind the Columbus goal before sliding a cross-ice pass that bounced just over the blade of Mikko Koivu's stick who attempted to knock it out of mid-air. Both teams seemed to want to wait for the other to make a mistake as they played a cautious-style of hockey. That mistake would happen when Minnesota failed to clear the zone and the puck would be taken by Jakub Voracek who fed a pass cross ice to Rostislav Klesla who blistered a slapper high glove side by Niklas Backstrom who was not screened giving Columbus a 2-1 lead with just under 10 minutes left to play. Minnesota was showing some urgency as Brent Burns jumped into the play as he swept in with the puck for a scoring chance off the rush that was blocked away by Mason. The Wild were even paying the price to make plays as Owen Nolan was leveled by a good check by Mathieu Roy. Minnesota started to swarm in the Columbus end as Cal Clutterbuck and Petr Sykora were pulling the trigger whenever they could find open space in the offensive zone. A bad decision by Niklas Backstrom who bobbled the puck nearly became a Columbus goal due to an opportunistic play by Raffi Torres who's wrap around chance was blocked away by a backchecking Antti Miettinen. Minnesota was still trying to work for the sudden play off the rush as Andrew Brunette delivered a nice saucer pass that just failed to click with a crashing Mikko Koivu who just missed it before crunching into the boards. Columbus was playing rope a dope, keeping their shifts short and just dumping the puck deep as soon as they could do so without fear of icing the biscuit. The team would earn another golden opportunity thanks to the hustle of Minnesota's James Sheppard who used his 6'1" 200+lbs frame to win the battle for the puck and then take it to the net to draw a penalty on Marc Methot and giving the Wild a critical power play late in the game. Minnesota would lose the initial faceoff and Columbus was able to alleviate the pressure. The Wild struggled to enter the zone as they foiled themselves with an unfortunate offsides call. Todd Richards would call a timeout with just 1:15 left in the game. The Wild would pull Niklas Backstrom with about a minute left and Martin Havlat pulled the trigger on a wrist shot and the big goaltender Mason managed to make the save and hold on as Minnesota stormed the crease. Minnesota continued to apply good pressure as Marek Zidlicky tried to riccochet a shot off some bodies closer to the goal but the puck never quite got through on goal and Columbus was able to get a big clear. Ken Hitchcock would call a timeout of his own with 15 seconds left, to talk things over and Minnesota would lose the draw and the Wild manage just one last chance on a bullet shot by Brent Burns that was deflected away by Mason and Columbus would win 2-1. You can't blame Niklas Backstrom, who made 37 saves in the losing effort. He probably would want that last goal back but for all intents and purposes he gave the Wild a chance to win the game tonight. Defensively the Wild gave up far too many odd-man chances and without Backstrom's strong play this game could've been out of hand by the end of the first period. Offensively the Wild struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure and more or less lacked any sort of secondary scoring chances making most offensive chances a 1-shot deal. On the power play the Wild looked terrific; moving the puck with great efficiency and stretching out the Columbus penalty kill very well. Martin Havlat showcased his skill on the man advantage but needs to be more assertive 5-on-5. Umberger's shorthanded goal certainly hurt, and a veteran like Havlat should realize that hanging out near the blueline is asking for disaster. On a positive note, the Wild did manage 33 shots on goal; which is pretty good by the team's standards but it was painfully obvious that Todd Richards is still trying to find out what he should do with players like Pierre-Marc Bouchard who at times found himself on a line with John Scott. Not exactly a scoring line now is it? One other thing that was very apparent is that this is not the sit back and wait Wild of old. This Wild team was far more physical, and looked to create more offense off the rush. In that respect you can certainly say the team looked very different. Although it is highly doubtful a Jacques Lemaire-coached team would not have seen nearly as many odd-man chances as the team gave up tonight. Will every game be like this, probably not. Yet, any Wild fan would know how fun it would be to hear Lemaire in his post-game press conference after a game like this. Either way its good to have the NHL regular season back! Notes:~ Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Petr Sykora, Antti Miettinen, Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak, Andrew Brunette, Eric Belanger, John Scott, Owen Nolan, James Sheppard, Greg Zanon, Brent Burns, Marek Zidlicky, Kim Johnsson, Shane Hnidy, Niklas Backstrom backed up by Josh Harding. Derek Boogaard, Benoit Pouliot and Jamie Sifers were the healthy scratches. ~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Rostislav Klesla, 2nd Star Steve Mason, 3rd Star RJ Umberger.