Game #4: Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks, Saturday October 10, 2009 at 9:30pm (CDT), HP Pavillion (GAME PREVIEW)

Minnesota Wild (1-2-0) 2pts 4th in Northwest Division2.67 Goals per Game (21st in NHL)3.67 Goals Against per Game (22nd in NHL)46.2% Power Play (2nd in NHL)77.8% Penalty Kill (13th in NHL)Top 5 Scorers:1. #14 Martin Havlat ~ 1G 4A = 5pts2. #15 Andrew Brunette ~ 2G 2A = 4pts3. #25 Eric Belanger ~ 1G 3A = 4pts4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 1G 2A = 3pts5. #17 Petr Sykora ~ 1G 0A 1ptTop 3 Penalty Minutes:1. #67 Benoit Pouliot ~ 6PIMS2. #36 John Scott ~ 5PIMS3. #8 Brent Burns ~ 4PIMSGoaltenders:1. #32 Niklas Backstrom ~ (1-1-0) 2.46GAA .914SV%2. #37 Josh Harding ~ (0-1-0) 6.00GAA .739SV%atSan Jose Sharks (2-2-0) 4pts 4th in Pacific Division4.00 Goals per Game (5th in NHL)3.75 Goals Against per Game (26th in NHL)30.0% Power Play (11th in NHL)77.8% Penalty Kill (12th in NHL)Top 5 Scorers:1. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 5A = 9pts2. #19 Joe Thornton ~ 1G 8A = 9pts3. #16 Devin Setoguchi ~ 4G 1A = 5pts4. #22 Dan Boyle ~ 1G 4A = 5pts5. #12 Patrick Marleau ~ 3G 0A = 3ptsTop 3 Penalty Minutes:1. #45 Jody Shelley ~ 22PIMS2. #29 Ryan Clowe ~ 18PIMS3. #12 Scott Nichol ~ 10PIMSGoaltenders:1. #20 Evgeni Nabokov ~ (2-1-0) 3.68GAA .859SV%2. #1 Thomas Greiss ~ (0-1-0) 2.22GAA .889SV%I'm really at a loss when it comes to what to say. The truly scary part in that fact, is that tonight is only the fourth game. The horrible affliction known as writer's block generally comes in the middle of the season when the team is in a slump. Unfortunately, that affliction is happening now. However, what has to be said is not pleasant. The promises coming from the coaching staff might not be enough of a cure either.Apparently, the new buzzword on the Wild bench is accountability. It has long been the buzzword in business (however if that were the case, would our country be in the financial mess that it's in?) and education. The idea is that everyone needs to be responsible for their own actions, and that in doing so fewer problems will arise and in the end the business or school will be stronger than it was. Unfortunately, accountability usually produces nothing more than a bunch of finger pointing and empty promises.In this supposed new era of accountability on the Wild bench, fans found some players already in the proverbial doghouse in Thursday's game. Two of the Wild's top scorers found themselves riding the pine pony for quite a bit. Due to their lackluster play and mistakes, Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora found themselves as spectators rather than performers. However, head coach Todd Richards isn't laying full responsibility of Thursday's loss at the feet of those two players. Every member of the team is reponsible for that loss. One of the most glaring issues is the failure of the defensemen in being able to get the other team's forwards from out in front of their net. With Brent Burns, Kim Johnsson, and Marek Ziklicky seeming to focus more on their offensive play, they seem to have forgotten that they have to play both sides of the ice. To me, it's as if everyone seems to have forgotten that while they're trying to increase the offensive output, they still have to play defensive hockey. If you don't believe me, you only have to look at the 'goals against per game' and the 'penalty kill' numbers. Those were two areas that the Wild in the past excelled at. Just because one is trying to improve the two offensive categories of 'goals per game' and 'power play' does not mean that one can ignore the defensive categories. In fact it's downright foolish to ignore those. As the classic adage goes, defense wins championships. While the Wild and its fans have been razzed year after year for their defensive play, I don't know about you, but I miss the wins and the competitive games. Like many people out there, wins are always more exciting than a supposed "exciting, wide-open play" loss. Fans will accept the "mistakes" for only so long, especially the mistakes that are easily avoided.Comparing the Wild with the Sharks should most likely indicate tonight's winner. I refuse to be optimistic about tonight's outcome. I cannot do so until I see consistent effort and play. Until the mistakes are minimized, this season will not be a comfortable one for players, coaches, or fans. This might be one of those seasons where the experts have more closely predicted where the Wild will finish since year two.