Wild things

Minnesota earning respect despite two-game deficit

The state of the game in the State of Hockey is just fine, thank you. Oh, I know, the home team lost a game it was a couple of minutes from winning, but the Wild impressed again nonetheless. Minnesota lost in overtime for the second time in this series, but both losses came while short-handed.

Forget for a moment that the Wild are only in their third season, and overlook that they somehow get contributions from cast-off journeymen like Jeremy Stevenson, who played a very strong Game 4. What catches your eye is Minnesota's overall team speed.

The Wild apply that strength to play an impressive team-oriented defensive game. Often overlooked is how they use that quickness on offense, both in transition and in the offensive zone on the low rotation. To that end, they have one of the premier young players in the in NHL in Marian Gaborik, who scored both goals for the Wild in Game 4 on the rush. Gaborik has looked cool and confident all postseason, despite being just 20 years old. He is the fastest of the Wild bunch, and is really their only pure threat on the attack.

Yet, Minnesota is down 3-1 in the series, which is a credit to Vancouver. Despite all of the relative merits the Wild exhibit, the Canucks counter with an impressive array of skills in their own right. They too have tenacious forwards and good team speed. The difference in this game is the Canucks' size advantage and how they used it.

Todd Bertuzzi was a bruising belligerent force in front of the net. Trevor Linden was a workhorse in the face-off circle and on the forecheck. And defenseman Ed Jovanovski was physical in his own end and used his large frame to great advantage offensively when he joined the rush. Not to mention how Jovanovski used body positioning on the game-tying deflection.

All of that speaks volumes for what the Canucks did in sweeping the two games in Minnesota. Head coach Marc Crawford got his guys to stay patient, continue to work to their strengths and exploit their size advantage. Remember, this Canucks team is relatively young, as well. It would be easy for them to get frustrated and force the play when trailing against the diligent Wild, something they avoided. Instead, they continued to run big bodies in front of goaltender Manny Fernandez. It paid off in overtime, as Bertuzzi became a human eclipse, completely blocking out Fernandez's sight line of Brett Sopel's slapper.

So, while the Wild's success is easily the great story of this year's playoffs thus far, the Canucks are inching closer to delivering on the promise of their great season. They look like a team coming to terms with how best to be successful -- and just how much success they might be capable of.

Three Stars

First Star: Bertuzzi knocked Willie Mitchell -- the Wild's top defenseman -- out of the game with a thunderous check, and he set the tone in the second period when Crawford double-shifted him to ignite the offense.

Second Star: Gaborik: Great in the open ice and money around the net.

Third Star: Brendan Morrison made two great passes -- one on the tying goal and another on the winning goal.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com. Eliot will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason and is also broadcasting games for NHL Radio.

 

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Canucks beat Wild 3-2 in OT to go up 3-1 in series 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily Schedule

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