I have to confess that when I posted yesterday's blog all but conceding the Northwest division to the Wild, I forgot that the Canucks and Flames still had a game in hand before hitting their last eight. If the stupid Avalanche and Oilers can lose to the Nucks and Flames, they shouldn't have any problem losing to the good guys later.
It should be a very interesting Wild/Canucks tilt tonight. With Matt Cooke traded and Mattias Ohlund done for the year, the Wild skaters will have a lot less agitation to worry about. And if anyone tries to pick up their slack, the Boogeyman is back and on the prowl! If Jacques Lemaire plays his cards right, he'll ditch the usual defensive counterpunching strategies and come up with a game plan that allows the Wild to dictate the pace, forcing the other team to play the game on our terms for a change (what a radical concept, eh?) Vancouver's Swedish Chef line is far superior to anything we have, but the good guys have better depth almost everywhere else, so the Wild should theoretically get the better of the play for at least 40 minutes of this game.
It'll be huge to get two points tonight, because the guys will be dog tired going into Calgary tomorrow. The Wild have enough trouble with the Flames without giving them a handicap to boot, so expect to see some firewagon offense tonight. Prediction: Wild 4, Canucks 2, the good guys will be up three points again, and my blog entry from yesterday will look slightly less stupid than it does right now. We're way overdue for a nice, boring win.
If my former ex-wife to-be or not-to-be is watching, the nickname "Trojie" comes from another thing in my life that spends more time in my wallet than on my body. To the rest of you, thanx for tuning in, and keep your stick on the ice. GO WILD!!!