The team departed for Chicago without five regulars who stayed home because of various ailments.
When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.
Exhibit A? The Wild.
Only three days ago, optimism was at its highest since the Wild reeled off six consecutive victories to start the season. After all, Marian Gaborik was back and red-hot, and the team had just returned to Minnesota having won three games in a row on the road.
Life was grand ... until the Wild played host to Edmonton on Tuesday.
A team that sort of resembled the Wild climbed onto a charter airplane Thursday afternoon bound for Chicago, where it plays the Blackhawks tonight in the first of back-to-back games (the Wild plays host to Dallas on Saturday night) before the All-Star break.
Not on the plane's manifest were five vital players -- forwards Pavol Demitra and Todd White; and defensemen Kim Johnsson, Kurtis Foster and Keith Carney.
Johnsson (groin) will miss his fourth game. Foster (knee) and White (leg), who have been placed on injured reserve, and Carney (back spasms) were injured against the Oilers.
Demitra apparently was also injured in the Edmonton game. Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn said Demitra suffered an "upper body" injury.
"He was very sore yesterday and today, so we'll try again Saturday," Lynn said.
It's a huge loss because Demitra, who scored the shootout-deciding goal Sunday in Chicago, is more successful against the Blackhawks than any other team (22 goals, 48 points in 39 games).
But it's typical of this season. After losing 140 man-games to injury last season, the Wild will already reach 133 tonight.
To put that in better perspective, the Wild didn't recall a single player from the minors from Nov. 18, 2005, to March 8, 2006. So far this season, the Wild has recalled seven players a total of 12 times. Right wing Joel Ward, just sent back to Houston on Monday, was called up for the third time Thursday.
"It's scary," coach Jacques Lemaire said, referring to how the Wild went from healthy to unhealthy again in a snap. "You get one [injury to a top player], it's not bad as long as your team's strong enough to get over it.
"Now, you've got Demitra, Johnsson, White, ... it's tough. I'm looking for [rookie defenseman Erik] Reitz to do just OK. We're going to get Ward back. So I want these guys, like [rookie defenseman Shawn] Belle, not to make too many mistakes so we'll have a chance to win."
Lemaire was forced to shuffle his forward lines dramatically at Thursday's practice.
With White out, left wing Brian Rolston moved to center between Pascal Dupuis and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Mikko Koivu centered Stephane Veilleux and Mark Parrish. Gaborik stayed with Wes Walz and Branko Radivojevic.
"Roli's not as good at center as he is on the wing," Lemaire said.
Lemaire has flirted with moving Rolston to center before, but that hasn't lasted long.
"Yeah, I might last one shift," Rolston said, laughing. "But I feel very comfortable there. The defensive responsibility is a lot greater, but I've played there extended periods throughout my career."
In Lemaire's system, the center is the third player high in the offensive zone so he can quickly retreat and become almost like a third defenseman in the defensive zone. That could affect Rolston's offense, especially since many of his goals recently have come from rebounds at the goalmouth.
But Rolston says, "If the puck's down low and we're cycling the puck, I am going to go down low. I hope [defense] is why Pascal's on the line. If we all support each other, we should always have a third man high regardless of who's down low. I'm not going to change my game in the offensive zone."
Rolston said this is a chance for the Wild to show its character.
"We lost all these guys last game and we still dominated Edmonton," he said. "There's no reason why we can't continue to do that."
===
Wild gameday
Preview: The Wild, 6-3-1 in its past 10 games, looks to sweep the season series with the Blackhawks after defeating Chicago for the third time in an overtime/shootout situation with Sunday's 4-3 shootout victory in the Windy City. Chicago has lost seven in a row and nine of its past 10.
Players to watch: RW Marian Gaborik has five goals and an assist in his past four games and 20 points in 19 games against Chicago. C Wes Walz had three goals in his past four games. F Mark Parrish has two career hat tricks against Chicago, including the first of his career at the United Center. G Manny Fernandez has allowed more than three goals once since Dec. 12.
Numbers: Chicago has three goals in its past 47 power plays; Minnesota is 2-for-40 on the power play in the past seven games.
Injuries: RW Pavol Demitra ("upper body"), C Todd White (leg), D Kurtis Foster (knee) D Kim Johnsson (leg) and D Keith Carney (back) are out for the Wild. For Chicago, RW Peter Bondra (shoulder), D Adrian Aucoin (groin), D Jassen Cullimore (shoulder), LW Rene Bourque (ankle) and F Michal Handzus (knee) are out.
When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.
Exhibit A? The Wild.
Only three days ago, optimism was at its highest since the Wild reeled off six consecutive victories to start the season. After all, Marian Gaborik was back and red-hot, and the team had just returned to Minnesota having won three games in a row on the road.
Life was grand ... until the Wild played host to Edmonton on Tuesday.
A team that sort of resembled the Wild climbed onto a charter airplane Thursday afternoon bound for Chicago, where it plays the Blackhawks tonight in the first of back-to-back games (the Wild plays host to Dallas on Saturday night) before the All-Star break.
Not on the plane's manifest were five vital players -- forwards Pavol Demitra and Todd White; and defensemen Kim Johnsson, Kurtis Foster and Keith Carney.
Johnsson (groin) will miss his fourth game. Foster (knee) and White (leg), who have been placed on injured reserve, and Carney (back spasms) were injured against the Oilers.
Demitra apparently was also injured in the Edmonton game. Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn said Demitra suffered an "upper body" injury.
"He was very sore yesterday and today, so we'll try again Saturday," Lynn said.
It's a huge loss because Demitra, who scored the shootout-deciding goal Sunday in Chicago, is more successful against the Blackhawks than any other team (22 goals, 48 points in 39 games).
But it's typical of this season. After losing 140 man-games to injury last season, the Wild will already reach 133 tonight.
To put that in better perspective, the Wild didn't recall a single player from the minors from Nov. 18, 2005, to March 8, 2006. So far this season, the Wild has recalled seven players a total of 12 times. Right wing Joel Ward, just sent back to Houston on Monday, was called up for the third time Thursday.
"It's scary," coach Jacques Lemaire said, referring to how the Wild went from healthy to unhealthy again in a snap. "You get one [injury to a top player], it's not bad as long as your team's strong enough to get over it.
"Now, you've got Demitra, Johnsson, White, ... it's tough. I'm looking for [rookie defenseman Erik] Reitz to do just OK. We're going to get Ward back. So I want these guys, like [rookie defenseman Shawn] Belle, not to make too many mistakes so we'll have a chance to win."
Lemaire was forced to shuffle his forward lines dramatically at Thursday's practice.
With White out, left wing Brian Rolston moved to center between Pascal Dupuis and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Mikko Koivu centered Stephane Veilleux and Mark Parrish. Gaborik stayed with Wes Walz and Branko Radivojevic.
"Roli's not as good at center as he is on the wing," Lemaire said.
Lemaire has flirted with moving Rolston to center before, but that hasn't lasted long.
"Yeah, I might last one shift," Rolston said, laughing. "But I feel very comfortable there. The defensive responsibility is a lot greater, but I've played there extended periods throughout my career."
In Lemaire's system, the center is the third player high in the offensive zone so he can quickly retreat and become almost like a third defenseman in the defensive zone. That could affect Rolston's offense, especially since many of his goals recently have come from rebounds at the goalmouth.
But Rolston says, "If the puck's down low and we're cycling the puck, I am going to go down low. I hope [defense] is why Pascal's on the line. If we all support each other, we should always have a third man high regardless of who's down low. I'm not going to change my game in the offensive zone."
Rolston said this is a chance for the Wild to show its character.
"We lost all these guys last game and we still dominated Edmonton," he said. "There's no reason why we can't continue to do that."
===
Wild gameday
Preview: The Wild, 6-3-1 in its past 10 games, looks to sweep the season series with the Blackhawks after defeating Chicago for the third time in an overtime/shootout situation with Sunday's 4-3 shootout victory in the Windy City. Chicago has lost seven in a row and nine of its past 10.
Players to watch: RW Marian Gaborik has five goals and an assist in his past four games and 20 points in 19 games against Chicago. C Wes Walz had three goals in his past four games. F Mark Parrish has two career hat tricks against Chicago, including the first of his career at the United Center. G Manny Fernandez has allowed more than three goals once since Dec. 12.
Numbers: Chicago has three goals in its past 47 power plays; Minnesota is 2-for-40 on the power play in the past seven games.
Injuries: RW Pavol Demitra ("upper body"), C Todd White (leg), D Kurtis Foster (knee) D Kim Johnsson (leg) and D Keith Carney (back) are out for the Wild. For Chicago, RW Peter Bondra (shoulder), D Adrian Aucoin (groin), D Jassen Cullimore (shoulder), LW Rene Bourque (ankle) and F Michal Handzus (knee) are out.
