Predictably, the Minnesota Wild lost its opening-round playoff series to the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. Chicago is one of the best teams in hockey, and the Wild just didn't match up.
The Wild's season ended with a 5-1 loss in Chicago. One of the things head coach Mike Yeo said during his postgame news conference was that they just couldn't seem to buy that first goal. That's definitely accurate. Even in game 5, the Wild got off to a good start, just like other games in the series. But they just had trouble getting the puck past Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.
One of the big problems is that the Wild just couldn't finish plays. Sure, some of it has to do with the goaltender in the net. But that has been the case for the Wild often in the playoffs. First, it was Jean-Sebastien Giguere shutting them down in the 2003 Western Conference finals. Then they met up with division-rival Colorado and Jose Theodore in 2008. Crawford played very well for the Blackhawks this year as well.
What if?
I did play with some what-ifs? when it came to goaltending. During the opening round, Vancouver made a goalie switch because of poor play, though it didn't help and they were swept out of the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins also had some issues with Marc-Andre Fleury, who looked just terrible in a loss to the New York Islanders.
Why couldn't the Wild have matched up against an opposing goalie who was less than stellar? That's more frustration than anything else though.
And how about the Wild's Niklas Backstrom getting injured in warmups before the first game? He was great for the Wild all season but didn't play a single minute in the postseason. Then Josh Harding was injured, and the pipes were turned over to rookie Darcy Kuemper.
That's just some bad luck. Not an excuse for why the Wild lost the series, but it certainly was a factor that wasn't beneficial.
Own worst enemy
I know that the Wild didn't help themselves. They couldn't score on the power play either, which put them at a huge disadvantage. It wasn't that the Wild weren't getting the opportunities with the man advantage; the referees were actually nice enough to blow their whistles. But the parade to the penalty box for the Blackhawks didn't equal goals on the scoreboard for the Wild, which was a problem.
Watching the end of game five and realizing the Wild just didn't have enough to come back was frustrating. With any sport, the excitement of the postseason is so exciting and intense, that it's always hard to see the ride end.
I hope the Wild can build off of some of the strides this year (this lockout-shortened year, remember) and come back improved next season. The Wild signed two of the biggest free agents last July 4th in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. It's the belief of many, and me, too, that the Wild needs to go out and sign a strong goaltender. Get a big name, or someone who Backstrom can pass the torch to for the Wild.
I just hope next season goes well. Too bad we have to wait until next fall for the Wild to drop the puck again.
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