No disputing it: Wild get what they deserve in controversial loss to Blue Jackets
Things are looking a little unpleasant these days for the Wild as they stutter-step into their 10th NHL season.
Even coach Todd Richards, who generally finds a silver lining in every cloud, gave his men an "F" for effort Saturday after the Columbus Blue Jackets got a disputed short-handed goal in the third period to escape the Xcel Energy Center with a 3-2 victory.
"Regardless of the call, or what we think or what really happened," he said, "we got what we deserved tonight."
Richards said there "wasn't any compete" in the Wild -- they recorded two shots on goal in the first period and headed for the dressing room to scattered boos from the 17,336 customers -- until after officials awarded the final goal following a video review at 10:58 of the third period.
Sluggish start notwithstanding, this game turned on two five-on-four plays when the score was tied 2-2 in the final period, two plays that illustrate the chronic malaise that seems to dog a team with a roster good enough that -- according to voting by its fans announced Saturday -- it still has five of the six best players in franchise history.
In the first, with the Wild short-handed, Antti Miettinen won a race to the puck behind the Columbus net, flipped a perfect pass to Mikko Koivu streaking alone down the slot for a one-timer that Blue Jackets goalie Mathieu Garon got a piece of to knock wide.
Less than four minutes later, R.J. Umberger corralled a loose puck while the Blue Jackets were short-handed, broke in on the right side, shot and then whacked at it as goaltender Niklas Backstrom fell on top of it, part of Backstrom's body in the net and part not.
"I think it was under my stomach the whole time," Backstrom said. "When I got up, it's under my pad and at that point it hasn't crossed the line. The ref behind the net, he said it wasn't a goal. I don't know who called it a goal because you look at the replay, I don't think you can see when the puck crosses the line there."
Richards was in no mood to say the Wild were robbed, but after repeated questioning he admitted he "never saw it cross the line."
But the coach said the Wild put themselves in position to lose this one, and veteran center John Madden seconded the motion.
"We've got no one to blame but ourselves," Madden said.
Backstrom made it unanimous. After disagreeing with the pivotal call, he, too, admitted that this game would not rank among the team's finest.
"To be honest," he said, "we didn't play that well tonight."
Now a team with a lineup that includes Koivu, Backstrom, Andrew Brunette, Nick Schultz and Brent Burns from the fans' list of six best all-time players -- only Marian Gaborik is absent -- dropped to 1-2-1 and stands just a point ahead of the dismal pace it began with a year ago en route to finishing 13th in the NHL's Western Conference.
Richards said players seemed to be looking around Saturday night, waiting for someone to step up, and some fans apparently have become impatient.
The Wild's regular-season streak of 383 consecutive sellouts at the Xcel Energy Center ended when just 17,336 purchased tickets at the 18,064-seat arena. Through nine seasons, Minnesota had sold out every one of its 382 NHL games, and a standing-room crowd turned out for the home opener Thursday night.
Including exhibition games, the Wild had sold out 409 home games in a row through last season, but that streak ended when the team's first three exhibition games did not sell out.
