By Jamie MacDonald
FOXSportsNorth.com
December 31, 2010
Maybe they missed Cal Clutterbuck. Maybe they missed Marek Zidlicky. The Wild on New Year's Eve missed something for what felt like 58 minutes. Whether it was the early 5 p.m. start time or the absence of two important elements -- the energy of Clutterbuck or the familiarity of Zidlicky on the power play -- the Wild lacked a certain intensity nearly throughout the final game of 2010.
On Friday, with a prime opportunity to make up ground against a team immediately in front of them in the standings, the Wild fell, 4-1, to the visiting Nashville Predators.
While it may have been hard to fully duplicate the energy Minnesota used in beating the Sharks on Wednesday, Todd Richards was hoping for at least an approximation of that effort.
"To me, the players set the standard, set the bar, the other night against San Jose," he said. "You still have to get to that bar, or get close to that bar. And, tonight, we weren't close enough."
The Wild allowed a goal in each of the first two periods before catching fire for a minute or so late in the third to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 18:06. Nashville responded with a pair of empty net goals to finish up the scoring.
THE LEAPFROG GAME
Perhaps most troubling about the loss is the missed opportunity of a leapfrog win. The Wild trailed Nashville by one point in the standings and a win would have put them in front by a point.
Instead, they are now three points behind the Predators, who moved up to the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference.
The Wild, like their fans, know the weight of these opportunities. They look at the standings. They see the teams in front of them. They understand that the best way to make up ground in the race is to earn two points at the expense of a team in front of them.
"Everybody knows that," said Kyle Brodziak. "That's why it's such a huge game. We know what position we're in. We know how huge the two points are. That's why it's frustrating."
Sitting at his stall afterward in a quiet dressing room, Brodziak searched for answers.
"I don't know," he said. "It was a huge game and we didn't come through like we needed to. I'm not a coach, I don't know why. But we just didn't do it; that's the bottom line."
COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
With every chance to mount a comeback, Minnesota was not able to close until the final minutes. Throughout the third period, there were egregious giveaways, lost puck battles along the walls and missed shots.
