After hearing all week how good of a home team it was, the Wild fell on its face tonight during a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
What happened?
"Probably because we've spent all week talking about what a great home team we are and we tried to talk our way through that second period," coach Mike Yeo said.
After a great first 16 or 17 minutes in which the Wild left a bunch of goals out on the ice but still led 1-0, the Wild got sloppy in the final few minutes of the first, wasted that good effort by giving up the tying goal and then somehow didn't come out with any juice whatsoever in a horribly-played second period.
The winning goal was technically allowed in the third period, but this game was destroyed in the second.
The one very good piece of news I have for you this evening: I'd be very surprised if Zach Parise, who has missed eight games since spraining an MCL on Nov. 5, doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving by practicing with the Wild for the first time since the injury Thursday.
That doesn't mean he'll come to the rescue this weekend, but reinforcements are getting close. We'll see if Justin Fontaine is able to return though. The Wild's lack of depth was obvious tonight. Yeo basically cut his forwards to a group of eight or nine in the third period as the Wild tried to battle back from a one-, then a two-goal deficit.
In the third period, Chris Porter played four shifts, Christoph Bertschy three, Erik Haula two and Kurtis Gabriel.