The Hanson Brothers Would Be Proud

By TwinsWin83


In what might be a first here on AH! I am going to dedicate an entire article to Minnesota’s pro hockey team. I was already planning on writing an article on the Wild’s playoff series yesterday and prior to last night’s game my focus was going to be on a ridiculous article written by a Denver Post journalist named Mark Kiszla. If you haven't read it yet, check it out here. The moronic author of the article not only lampooned the Wild for being ‘goons’ but also ripped their jerseys and the very state they come from, calling Minnesota the land of “10,000 dead car batteries.”

Now I’ll admit I was a little upset as I read the article but tried to tell myself it was coming from a bitter sports writer who knew nothing about the sport or the rules of appropriate journalism and was upset that his team was down two games to one. I was planning on writing about what an idiot Kiszla was in order to rally AH! readers against any sports journalist who dares write such a preposterous article about our fair team and state. And then I sat down and watched Game 4 last night.

Not only did the Wild seemingly give up down 4-0 halfway through the second period but they reduced themselves to throwing down with every Avs player that gave them a dirty look. I’m all for a hockey game full of big hits, checks and even a fight or two, and I know players must defend themselves and their teammates, but for the final thirty minutes of this game every time there was a stoppage of play there was four or five players getting into meaningless scrapes.
People will say, “well they needed to show Colorado that they wouldn’t back down and that they can be physical throughout a seven game series.” I think all they showed was that if they get down early by more than a couple goals they get taken right out of playing their game. I know it was 4-0 eight minutes into the second period but that means there is still over thirty minutes to be played. Throw in a rebound goal and a power play score here or there and all of a sudden its 4-2 with an entire period left to play. Instead, the Wild resorted to ringing up 26 penalties for 111 minutes, completely taking themselves out of the game.

The question now is can they snap back into playing their style in Game 5 after removing themsleves from it for half a game, or will they be reduced to ‘goonery’ should they get down early again? The Wild did a lot of things right in the first three games of the series and they need to get back their aggressive, yet controlled, style of play or they will be heading back to Colorado for Game 6 staring elimination in the face.
As much as I would love to rip Kiszla for what is truly one of the worst sports articles I have ever read, it is hard to do so on the heels of last night’s game. But you should feel free too here if you'd like.