The Iowa Wild have invaded the Twin Cities! Well, the communications department has anyway…
Josh Fisher and I made the trip up I-35 for today’s morning skate, and tonight’s Game 3 (8:10 pm CT puck drop on CNBC), as the Wild look to get back into their best-of-seven series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Trailing 2-0 in the series, tonight is essentially a must-win game for the Wild. Yes, four teams in NHL history have come back from a three-games-to-none series deficit (including the L.A. Kings earlier in this playoff season), but let’s be honest, no team wants to be in that predicament.
Case in point, here’s Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo at his press conference this morning: “This game is huge, we know that. This is going to be a tough test, and that’s [Chicago] a great team and they understand the importance of it too. But I obviously think that we’re going to play a very good game tonight and we gotta find a way to get a win here. We gotta find a way to get a win tonight, and [then] the series starts to take a bit of different turn.”
This time of year, coaches and players preach “hitting the reset button”. And in my opinion, there’s nothing more accurate in postseason play than this “video game analogy”. Don’t get me wrong, momentum is huge in the playoffs. But, I think you see a bigger impact from in-game momentum. In-game momentum might be building off a good shift or two, growing confidence on your specialty teams through some early game success, or at the least, solid execution, scoring a goal and translating that into a multi-goal rally, etc. On the flip side, I just don’t think that game-to-game momentum is as a much of a reality as some fans might think. Sure, a team may lose confidence as a series moves along because their opponent is imposing its will, but for the most part, each game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is its own beast.
Consider the following:
- Almost every series has a day off, or more, between games
- Just half of the 1st round series (4 of 8) saw a team win three or more games in a row
- Five of eight 1st round series were tied two games apiece at one point, and two of those series (Penguins / Blue Jackets and Rangers / Flyers) saw the teams trade wins through the first four games
- Both Eastern Conference series in the 2nd round saw its Game 1 winner fall in Game 2
There’s an old cliche in sports that goes something like this: “don’t get too high…don’t get too low”. Now I’m a bit biased, having worked in hockey for the last decade or so, but I’ve heard this statement uttered countless times around hockey dressing rooms. However, there’s a reason something becomes a cliche. And that reason is because it’s a fact – something that, over time, has been proven to be accurate.
Win a game, and feel good about it for a few hours, but quickly re-focus for the next one on the schedule. Lose a game, let it fester and motivate you to be better the next time out, and then prepare to avenge the loss. It’s that simple. No one in this business feels sorry for you when you are down. It’s up to each player to look themselves in the mirror and for the coaches to make the necessary lineup changes and strategic adjustments, and then it’s back to work. And that’s where the Minnesota Wild are right now. Coach Yeo has tweaked his forward lines, and inserted veteran defenseman Keith Ballard into the lineup (replacing Nate Prosser).
The Wild players and coaches were asked a lot about the crowd here at “The X” this morning, and how it provides energy for the Wild. Make no mistake, there’s a definitive home ice advantage for the Wild here in the “State Of Hockey”, as Minnesota outscored Colorado 8-3 in the opening round on home ice after winning 26 games at home in the regular season. Thus, it’s like returning home for Games 3 and 4 is the perfect chance for the Wild to “hit the reset button”.
When I asked Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon about needing to re-focus after every game in the playoffs he said: “It’s up to four [games]. No matter what you do, you can lose a game 8-1, but the next game you have to reset”.
That’s right, each series is a race to four wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So don’t fret, Wild fans. Down 2-0 in their series with the Avs, the Wild didn’t panic. They came home, and handled their business. And if the Wild can get a “W” tonight, they’ll be right back in this series. Either way, I’m betting that both teams will “reset” come tomorrow morning, and start preparing for Game 4 on Friday night.
– Radio
ALL THINGS WILD 