Minnesota Wild's John Madden receives Stanley Cup ring
The Wild made a show of remembering their first 10 years of operation Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center, but new Wild center John Madden got to experience a whole different kind of memory.
After his team's morning skate, Madden was presented his Stanley Cup ring by Chicago Blackhawks vice president Al MacIsaac.
It's the third Cup ring for Madden, 37, who was playing in his 794th NHL game Thursday night against Edmonton and twice won rings with the New Jersey Devils. His second ring, after the 2002-03 season, was unique because the Devils rewarded previous winners with an extra perk, so Madden's ring had two Cups on it.
"I'm excited to get it," Madden said before MacIsaac delivered it. "It's amazing. It kind of hits home even more when you've got the ring and you're sitting there and looking at it and going, 'Wow, this is it. We did it.' "
Former Blackhawks teammates sent Madden cell phone pictures of their rings, but he said he just glanced at them, preferring to examine his ring thoroughly once he had it in his possession. He said he never wears his rings, but might after he retires.
Chicago beating Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Finals last spring offers "a good lesson for our team," Madden said. "The Flyers squeaked into the playoffs in a shootout and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final Game 6, so anything can happen if you trust each other and believe in each other. I know that sounds like a clich?, but the more I've been around, the more I really believe it."
Zidlicky returns: Marek Zidlicky absolutely hated missing his team's first two games of the season against Carolina last week in Finland.
Zidlicky, who returned to the lineup Thursday night against the Oilers after being sidelined by a groin injury, said he "was really upset" that he couldn't play against the Hurricanes because he played in Helsinki for five seasons before reaching the NHL "and I have a lot of memories of Helsinki."
He said before the game he's not quite 100 percent, but added, "I feel much better and I'm ready to play,"
Briefly: Forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard continues to work out with the Wild daily and says he's getting closer to being subjected to contact during practices. After missing 81 of 82 games with post-concussion symptoms last season, he still feels occasional pressure, he said, "but it's not getting any worse."
Coach Todd Richards says he plans to ease Bouchard back into heavier workouts at a slow pace, so the former first-round draft pick is not expected back in the lineup soon. Bouchard says he's staying positive about a comeback.
Defenseman Clayton Stoner was the Wild's healthy scratch Thursday night.
The Wild went into the game with an 8-0-1 record in home openers and a 13-game winning streak against the Oilers on home ice.
Going into the game, Minnesota's Mikko Koivu and Matt Cullen ranked 1-2 in winning faceoff percentages, Koivu at 72.7 percent and Cullen at 70.7 percent.
