Well, the gong show in Minnesota just got gongier. Despite eeking out a shootout win last night in Phoenix, the Wild's season of "hey, it can't get worse!" just can't seem to find the bottom of the rabbit hole.
Principal among the issues is that Matt Hackett is the only healthy, NHL-contracted goalie in the entire organization. Backstrom is out another 2-3 weeks (at least). Kuemper is out with an upper body injury from the San Antonio game that, Russo is reporting via the Wild, could have him out the rest of the season. He's flying up to Minnesota to get checked out by the Wild's doctors, so that sounds pretty serious.
And then, last night, Harding tweaked something lower body (degree of seriousness is unknown thus far), leaving Hackett at the helm of this wayward ship, which he seems pretty jacked about. I'd be crapping my pants, but that's why he's in the NHL and I'm in Women's League.
Not having seen the Aeros 7-6 SO win and 4-1 loss to Abbotsford this week, I don't want to judge the goaltending of Joe Fallon and Matt Keetley sight unseen, but I think we can all agree that letting in 4 or 6 goals a game isn't exactly paving your own path to the playoffs, regardless of the cause (bad team, bad goalie, whatever... it just can't continue).
And that's just the goalie problems. Clutterbuck appears to be out with a vague "feeling unwell" which of course means he almost certainly has a concussion, though nobody wants to say it. Either that or mono. Either way, he's probably out for a while. Guys are sick left and right. Holy moley.
Personally, I'm skipping right over the Panic button. Panic implies there's something that can be done. I'm pressing the Resignation button instead, where I'll just be grateful for some wins (from either team) and embrace whatever hockey I can get while the gettin' is still good.
Per Russo, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is looking for a goalie, but that's really just to back Hackett up. Down here, I suspect what we have is what we get until something changes. And maybe Harding isn't as dinged up as it seems, but really, what are the odds?
Anyway, my offer of my goaltending services stand, Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Mill. I'm absolutely awful at it but I'll probably be too nervous to leer at your players in the locker room. My knees are feeling pretty good lately, though, and I'd get a kickass story out of it.
And I could say stuff like, "When I played for the Aeros..."
That's all for now. SEE YOU tomorrow night! I don't even care who is on the ice now. I'll just be damned happy to be back at the rink.
Friday, March 9, 2012
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6 comments:
I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored.
Question: On your list of "injured and called-up" it says Peters, Ortmeyer, and Kassian will not return. Does that mean they won't even return if the Aeros make the playoffs?
Oh, my ..hope does spring eternal. Play offs? What's that?
But joking aside, resignation seems to be THE operative word. Just go to games and have fun watching hockey, any kind of hockey.
The ones I am feel for are those players that have plugged away hardily and are seeing their hopes dwindle. BUT that is hockey!
An Aero-Ms. Conduct between the pipes.. that I would LOVE to see! Go for it!
Oh dear the word (one of them) is ominous.. an omen?
Cuma would have been the Wild's league-high 45th player to dress this season. The NHL record is 55 set by the 1991-92 Boston Bruins.
Peters, Ortmeyer and Kassian are not on the clear list...so we can't have them for the rest of the season or playoffs. From the Wild we can get Hackett, Kampfer, Palmer (if he gets better), Palmieri, Prosser and Scandella to use in the playoffs--assuming I understand the clear list properly.
http://theahl.com/2012-clear-day-lists-announced-p176440
And I think Kuemper has been injured longer than that...he was scratched in one of the games in Cedar Park and Joe O'Donnell said on his twitter that Kuemps had been banged up the past couple of weeks, hence the reason for him sitting when we had Nolan still (and this was 2 weeks ago)--so this injury the reason Hackett played so much when he was here?
Why on earth wouldn't Peters, Ortmeyer and Kassian be on the clear-day roster? We're doomed.
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