Wild vs. Rangers - 10/20/10 GDT

Wild vs. Rangers post-game and more

Boogaard's hit sparks Rangers in 5-2 home loss for the Wild

Written by Derek Felska
Saturday, 20 November 2010 15:41

"And when you ask them how much should we give, they only answer more, more, more!" this is part of one of the verses to Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic song Fortunate Son which seems appropriate as the Wild are about to 'welcome' back two of its former players in Derek Boogaard and perhaps most accurately Marian Gaborik the franchise's first true star. Both players left the team on very different terms with the Wild fanbase; Boogaard left as an immensely popular player despite the few people that took great joy in making fun of his meager hockey skills, and Gaborik who was seen by many Wild fans as a cold blooded mercenary who never really wanted to be in Minnesota. The Wild passed on extending Boogaard a contract this summer, and many fans admitted that with so few fighters willing to drop the gloves with him had really eroded the Boogeyman's value to the team. In the case of Gaborik, the Wild tendered him a very generous contract but he passed on it and then got hurt effectively ruining any chance the organization had to trade its most valuable asset. In fact, if you bring up Gaborik it won't be long before it turns into an angry profanity-laced rant against former Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough (who ironically now serves as a consultant for the Rangers) who waited too long to pull the trigger on a deal and prevented the team from at least forcing another team to put up a king's ransom to at least re-stock the team with talent from Gabby's departure. That didn't happen and the organization has been in the doldrums since. While current Wild owner Craig Leipold denied it, but many considered Risebrough's failure to trade Gaborik to be unforgivable (and I agree it was) and the reason he terminated him as the team's general manager following the 2008-09 season. Either way, the return of Boogaard and Gaborik make for an interesting storyline as they return to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time. Last season, many fans purchased tickets for Gabby's return to Minnesota only to have the glass groin forward suffer an injury and putting him out of the lineup for that game. This time he expected to be there so it will be interesting to see the reception he receives this evening.

The Wild come into tonight's game in a pretty good mood after showing great resiliency in a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime road victory over the Detroit Red Wings. No one will accuse Minnesota of playing pretty hockey, but they certainly are playing smart, responsible hockey and while that may not mesh with "high speed up-tempo" game that fans were promised two years ago but it has been winning games (knock on wood) and at the end of the day that's what really counts. So how will Wild fans and players welcome their former teammates? Will they welcome them with a loss or will the good feelings from last night cloud their effort and squander an opportunity to gain another two points in the standings? (click on the link for the rest of the article)

It was another horrible 2nd period that doomed the Wild. There is a full post-game report, another Aeros update, as well as prospect updates on Brett Bulmer, Jason Zucker and Darcy Kuemper. There is also some funny stuff about watching the MSG Network feed...enjoy!