32 Backstrom25 Belanger47 Bergeron24 Boogaard96 Bouchard15 brunette8 burns26 foster10 Gaborik29 Harding5 johnsson9 koivu20 miettinen11 nolan2 reitz55 schultz51 Sheppard41 skoula19 Veilleux12 Weller3 Zidlicky2007-08 GAME SUMMARIESand an assist, Eric Belanger and Mark Parrish also scored andNiklas Backstrom made 25 saves...RECORD: 23-15-2, 48 pts.1/10/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 6 at Detroit 5 (SO): Marian Gaborik posteda goal and two assists and sealed the game with his first careershoo<strong>to</strong>ut goal in nine attempts, and Josh Harding s<strong>to</strong>pped 26 of27 shots in relief, as <strong>Minnesota</strong> outlasted Detroit 6-5...Eric Belangerforced OT with 49 seconds left and added an assist, whileJames Sheppard (0-2=2), Mark Parrish (1-1=2) and Matt Foy(1-1=2) each added two points...RECORD: 24-17-2, 50 pts.1/11/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 5 at Chicago 2: Josh Harding made a career-high41 saves and Marian Gaborik scored twice, lifting the<strong>Wild</strong> <strong>to</strong> a 5-2 vic<strong>to</strong>ry over Chicago...Pierre-Marc Bouchard, MarkParrish and Matt Foy also scored for <strong>Minnesota</strong>, which improved<strong>to</strong> 7-1-1 in the second half of back-<strong>to</strong>-back games on the season...EricBelanger added two assists and Mikko Koivu added ahelper in 19:17 of ice time while returning from a 24-game injuryabsence...RECORD: 25-17-2, 52 pts.1/13/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 4 vs. Phoenix 1: The <strong>Wild</strong> scored four unansweredgoals in a 4-1 vic<strong>to</strong>ry...With the win, <strong>Minnesota</strong> sweptthe four-game season series with Phoenix...Pavol Demitra, JamesSheppard, Eric Belanger and Marian Gaborik tallied goals for the<strong>Wild</strong>, which improved <strong>to</strong> 12-0-1 on the season when scoring atleast four times...Josh Harding s<strong>to</strong>pped 26 shots and posted hisfirst NHL assist on Belanger’s goal at 2:11 in the third...BrentBurns also had an assist, establishing a new career high with 26points (8-18=26)...RECORD: 26-17-2, 54 pts.1/16/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 vs. Calgary 3 (SO): Miikka Kiprusoffmade 29 saves and Kristian Huselius scored in regulation andadded the deciding shoo<strong>to</strong>ut goal, as the Flames bested the <strong>Wild</strong>3-2 in front of 18,568 at Xcel Energy Center for the <strong>Wild</strong>’s 300thconsecutive sellout...The <strong>Wild</strong>, which got a power-play goal eachfrom Brent Burns and Kurtis Foster, dropped <strong>to</strong> 1-3 in shoo<strong>to</strong>utsituations in 2007-08 (0-1 at home)...RECORD: 26-17-3, 55 pts.1/21/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 4 at Vancouver 2: Pierre-Marc Bouchardtied his career-high with two goals and four points, leading <strong>Minnesota</strong>past the Canucks 4-2 at GM Place...Niklas Backstrommade 38 saves, while Mikko Koivu and Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n each addeda goal...RECORD: 27-18-3, 57 pts.1/24/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 at Colorado 2: Pavol Demitra notched agoal and an assist, Todd Fedoruk and Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n also scored,and Nick Schultz tied a career-high with two assists, leading the<strong>Wild</strong> in<strong>to</strong> the all-star break with a 3-2 vic<strong>to</strong>ry...Niklas Backstrommade 38 saves...RECORD: 28-19-3, 59 pts.1/30/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 5 vs. Anaheim 1: Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n, MarianGaborik and Mikko Koivu scored 1:56 apart early in the secondperiod, and Pavol Demitra added two assists for 400 in his NHLcareer, as <strong>Minnesota</strong> <strong>to</strong>pped the Ducks 5-1 at Xcel Energy Center...Pierre-MarcBouchard added a goal and an assist, JamesSheppard also scored and Niklas Backstrom made 20 saves...RECORD: 29-19-3, 61 pts.2/2/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 4 at Columbus 1: Marian Gaborik scoredtwo goals, Pavol Demitra had two assists and Niklas Backstrommade 33 saves <strong>to</strong> lead the <strong>Wild</strong> past the Blue Jackets at NationwideArena...Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n extended his goal-scoring streak <strong>to</strong>five games, while Kurtis Foster also scored for the <strong>Wild</strong>, whichwon its third straight...RECORD: 30-19-3, 63 pts.2/5/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 vs. Detroit 3 (OT): Brett Lebda scored 1:37in<strong>to</strong> overtime after Dan Cleary forced the extra session with 1:40left in regulation, lifting the Detroit Red Wings <strong>to</strong> their eighthstraight win 3-2 over the <strong>Wild</strong> at Xcel Energy Center...Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>nset a <strong>Wild</strong> record by scoring in his sixth straight game...Pavol Demitra also scored and Niklas Backstrom made 35 savesfor <strong>Minnesota</strong>...RECORD: 30-19-4, 64 pts.2/9/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 4 vs. N.Y. Islanders 3 (OT): Brent Burnsscored the game-winner with 2:26 left in overtime after BrianRols<strong>to</strong>n’s second goal of the game forced the extra session with3:24 left in regulation, as the <strong>Wild</strong> downed the Islanders 4-3 onHockey Day <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2008...Kurtis Foster netted a goal and anassist and Niklas Backstrom made 26 saves for the NorthwestDivision-leading <strong>Wild</strong>...RECORD: 31-20-4, 66 pts.2/10/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 at St. Louis 1 (SO): Brent Burns securedthe <strong>Wild</strong>’s second win in as many days when he connected forthe deciding shoo<strong>to</strong>ut goal on Manny Legace...It was Burns’ firstcareer shoo<strong>to</strong>ut attempt...Marian Gaborik put the <strong>Wild</strong> ahead1-0 with his 29th goal of the season at 5:21 of the first period...Gaborik’s goal extended his point streak when facing St. Louis <strong>to</strong>14 games...Josh Harding posted 20 saves in his first start sinceJan. 22 at Calgary...RECORD: 32-20-4, 68 pts.2/14/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 5 at Vancouver 4 (SO): Mikko Koivunotched his sixth career shoo<strong>to</strong>ut deciding goal <strong>to</strong> boost the <strong>Wild</strong>over Vancouver at GM Place...Stephane Veilleux tallied the firsttwo goals for <strong>Minnesota</strong> (one in each of the first two periods)while Kurtis Foster and Marian Gaborik scored in the third period...NiklasBacks<strong>to</strong>m s<strong>to</strong>pped 24 shots, moving his record <strong>to</strong>9-3-2 (.714) since Dec. 15...RECORD: 33-21-4, 70 pts.2/17/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 5 vs. Nashville 4 (OT): Marian Gaborikscored his 32nd goal with 4.4 seconds left in overtime <strong>to</strong> givethe <strong>Wild</strong> a 5-4 win...Petteri Nummelin tallied his second goal ofthe season in the first period and, at 14:19 in the second period,Pierre-Marc Bouchard became the first <strong>Wild</strong> player other thanBrian Rols<strong>to</strong>n since Jan. 18 <strong>to</strong> record a power-play goal...NiklasBackstrom collected 24 saves for <strong>Minnesota</strong>, which moved <strong>to</strong>6-2-1 following the All-Star break...RECORD: 34-21-4, 72 pts.2/27/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 at Tampa Bay 2: The <strong>Wild</strong> captured a3-2 win over the Lightning in <strong>Minnesota</strong>’s first visit <strong>to</strong> TampaBay since Oct. 25, 2003...Todd Fedoruk opened the scoring for<strong>Minnesota</strong> with his first career power-play goal at 3:46 of thesecond and Pavol Demitra tallied another goal 1:10 later...BrianRols<strong>to</strong>n scored his team-leading ninth power-play goal <strong>to</strong> put the<strong>Wild</strong> up 3-1...Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kurtis Foster collectedtwo assists each and Niklas Backstrom blocked 31 shots for <strong>Minnesota</strong>,which improved <strong>to</strong> 26-0-1 when leading after two periodsin 2007-08...RECORD: 35-24-5, 75 pts.2/29/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 at Florida 2: The <strong>Wild</strong> defeated Florida3-2 in its first trip <strong>to</strong> South Florida since Oct. 24, 2003...StephaneVeilleux and Brent Burns (PP) added second period goals <strong>to</strong> give<strong>Minnesota</strong> a 3-1 lead...Burns also assisted on Veilleux’s tally <strong>to</strong>notch his sixth multi-point effort of 2007-08...Mikko Koivu postedthe lone score of the first period at 9:43 as the <strong>Wild</strong> improved <strong>to</strong>6-1-1 all-time against the Panthers...Niklas Backstrom recorded32 saves...RECORD: 36-24-5, 77 pts.3/2/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 vs. Los Angeles 1 (OT): Niklas Backstrommade 27 saves and Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist inhis first game as captain, as the <strong>Wild</strong> <strong>to</strong>pped Los Angeles at XcelEnergy Center...Martin Skoula’s fourth goal in two-plus seasonswith <strong>Minnesota</strong> was the game-winner with 1:15 left in overtime...The <strong>Wild</strong> moved two points ahead of Calgary for the <strong>to</strong>p spot inthe Northwest Division...RECORD: 37-24-5, 79 pts.3/7/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 at Atlanta 3 (SO): Ilya Kovalchuk pottedhis 44th goal of the season with 45 seconds left in regulation <strong>to</strong>tie the game and Erik Christensen posted the shoo<strong>to</strong>ut winner <strong>to</strong>complete the Thrashers 3-2 comeback on the <strong>Wild</strong>...<strong>Minnesota</strong>notched both of its goals on the power play as Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>ntallied his 25th goal in the first period and Brent Burns gavethe <strong>Wild</strong> a 2-1 lead at 17:38 in the third...Burns also assistedon Rols<strong>to</strong>n’s netter, establishing himself as the record holder formost single-season points by a <strong>Wild</strong> blueliner...Niklas Backstromblocked 24 shots during the game...RECORD: 37-26-6, 80 pts.3/9/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 vs. San Jose 3 (SO): The <strong>Wild</strong> played in itssecond shoo<strong>to</strong>ut in as many games, falling <strong>to</strong> the Sharks in SaintPaul when Patrick Marleau posted the shoo<strong>to</strong>ut-deciding goal...Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n scored with 29 seconds left in regulation <strong>to</strong> forceovertime and Niklas Backstrom tallied 24 saves...Tomas Plihalrecorded the first penalty shot score ever against the <strong>Wild</strong> at XcelEnergy Center in the first after Milan Michalek scored 46 secondsin<strong>to</strong> the game...RECORD: 37-26-7, 81 pts.3/15/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 vs. Los Angeles 0: Marian Gaborik scoredhis 200th career goal, Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for histhird shu<strong>to</strong>ut of the season and Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n added a score, asthe <strong>Wild</strong> bested Los Angeles at Xcel Energy Center. <strong>Minnesota</strong>moved in<strong>to</strong> a first-place tie with Colorado a<strong>to</strong>p the NorthwestDivision with 84 points...RECORD: 38-26-8, 84 pts.3/17/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 vs. Colorado 1: With two points (1-1=2)from Brent Burns and 29 saves by Niklas Backstrom, the <strong>Wild</strong>derailed the Avalanche 3-1 at Xcel Energy Center...Branko Radivojevicbroke a 1-1 deadlock with his fifth goal of the season <strong>to</strong>put the <strong>Wild</strong> up for good at 9:42 in the second period...StephaneVeilleux added an empty netter <strong>to</strong> seal the <strong>Wild</strong>’s 39th win of2007-08...RECORD: 39-26-8, 86 pts.3/19/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 at San Jose 4 (SO): Marian Gaborik scoredtwice in the third period as the <strong>Wild</strong> rallied from three one-goaldeficits <strong>to</strong> force overtime and gain a point in a 4-3 loss...The <strong>Wild</strong>tied the game for the third time on Gaborik’s goal with 29 secondsremaining in regulation on a 6-on-4 advantage...StephaneVeilleux also scored and Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n registered two assists for<strong>Minnesota</strong>...Jeremy Roenick opened the scoring for San Jose andnetted the deciding shoo<strong>to</strong>ut goal...Niklas Backstrom made 30saves for the <strong>Wild</strong>...RECORD: 39-26-9, 87 pts.3/21/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 2 at Vancouver 1: Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n recorded2007-08 GAME SUMMARIESa second period power-play goal and Branko Radivojevic’s goal1:33 in<strong>to</strong> the third period proved <strong>to</strong> be the game-winner as the<strong>Wild</strong> earned a 2-1 road win in Vancouver...Pavol Demitra recordedan assist on both <strong>Minnesota</strong> goals and Niklas Backstrom made30 saves in his season-high seventh consecutive start...SamiSalo scored a third period power-play goal for the Canucks...RECORD: 40-26-9, 89 pts.3/26/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 vs. Edmon<strong>to</strong>n 1: Niklas Backstrom made32 saves for his franchise-record-tying 30th win of the season,Branko Radivojevic and Sean Hill (1-1=2) each scored a firstperiod goal and Mikko Koivu had three assists, as the <strong>Wild</strong> defeatedthe Oilers 3-1...<strong>Minnesota</strong> moved in<strong>to</strong> sole possession offirst place in the Northwest Division by one point over Calgary...The <strong>Wild</strong> trimmed its magic number <strong>to</strong> clinch a playoff spot <strong>to</strong>four points...RECORD: 41-28-9, 91 pts.3/28/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 4 vs. Vancouver 0: With 28 saves by NiklasBackstrom, the <strong>Wild</strong> posted its 40th franchise shu<strong>to</strong>ut in a 4-0win over Vancouver at Xcel Energy Center...Mikko Koivu notched agoal and an assist and Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored for the firsttime in 19 games while Brent Burns and Todd Fedoruk added agoal apiece as <strong>Minnesota</strong> moved three points ahead of secondplaceCalgary in the Northwest Division...The <strong>Wild</strong> trimmed itsmagic number <strong>to</strong> clinch a playoff spot <strong>to</strong> one point after wrappingup its 2007-08 regular-season series against Vancouverwith an overall record of 5-2-1...RECORD: 42-28-9, 93 pts.3/30/08 • <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 vs. Colorado 2 (OT): Marian Gaborik’ssecond goal of the game and franchise-record 40th of the seasoncame with 1:50 left in overtime, and Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n tallied a goaland an assist, as the Stanley Cup Playoff-bound <strong>Wild</strong> edged theAvalanche 3-2...Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves <strong>to</strong> extend hisunbeaten streak <strong>to</strong> 10 games...RECORD: 43-28-9, 95 pts.4/3/08, <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 vs. Calgary 1: Marian Gaborik scored a pairof third period goals and added an assist, and Niklas Backstrommade 26 saves, as the <strong>Wild</strong> clinched its first-ever NorthwestDivision title and gave Head Coach Jacques Lemaire his 500thcareer regular season coaching vic<strong>to</strong>ry with a 3-1 win on FanCelebration Night...Todd Fedoruk tied the game with a first periodpower-play goal as the <strong>Wild</strong> completed their final homestand ofthe regular season 4-0-0... RECORD: 44-28-9, 97 pts.4/6/08, <strong>Minnesota</strong> 3 at Colorado 4: The <strong>Wild</strong> closed out its2007-08 regular season with a 4-3 overtime loss <strong>to</strong> the Avalanche,the team <strong>Minnesota</strong> faced in the first round of the 2008NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Keith Carney posted his first goalof the regular season and Pierre-Marc Bouchard added <strong>to</strong> hisfranchise record single-season assist <strong>to</strong>tal with his 50th on thesecond-period scoring play that put the <strong>Wild</strong> up 2-1. Josh Hardingblocked 33 shots and RW Pavol Demitra skated in his 750thcareer game. <strong>Minnesota</strong> finished 2007-08 with a 3-8 record inshoo<strong>to</strong>ut situations...RECORD: 44-28-10, 98 pts.124 2008-09 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE 2008-09 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE 125Table of contents Hockey Operations <strong>Wild</strong> THings The Players Team His<strong>to</strong>ry Team Records Playoff His<strong>to</strong>ry The NHL
32 Backstrom25 Belanger47 Bergeron24 Boogaard96 Bouchard15 brunette8 burns26 foster10 Gaborik29 Harding5 johnsson9 koivu20 miettinen11 nolan2 reitz55 schultz51 Sheppard41 skoula19 Veilleux12 Weller3 Zidlicky2007-08 FINAL STATISTICS2007-08 home/road splits# POS PLAYER GP TOI/G G A PTS +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG SOG SH%HOMEAWAY10 RW MARIAN GABORIK 77 19:35 42 41 83 17 63 11 1 8 278 15.1# PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM GP G A PTS +/- PIM96 RW PIERRE-MARC BOUCHARD 81 16:50 13 50 63 11 32 6 0 4 129 10.125 Eric Belanger 37 6 10 16 -1 16 38 7 14 21 -5 1412 RW BRIAN ROLSTON 81 20:04 31 28 59 -1 53 11 1 8 289 10.724 Derek Boogaard 15 0 0 0 -2 36 19 0 0 0 -3 3838 C PAVOL DEMITRA 68 19:42 15 39 54 9 24 2 0 1 126 11.996 Pierre-Marc Bouchard 41 8 22 30 7 20 40 5 27 32 4 148 D BRENT BURNS 82 23:05 15 28 43 12 80 8 0 4 158 9.58 Brent Burns 41 10 18 28 13 48 41 5 10 15 -1 329 C MIKKO KOIVU 57 20:53 11 31 42 13 40 2 0 2 144 7.63 Keith Carney 34 0 7 7 8 16 27 1 3 4 0 2625 C ERIC BELANGER 75 17:13 13 24 37 -6 30 7 1 3 115 11.322 Cal Clutterbuck 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 021 RW MARK PARRISH 66 14:56 16 14 30 2 16 7 0 0 95 16.838 Pavol Demitra 36 7 23 30 10 12 32 8 16 24 -1 125 D KIM JOHNSSON 80 23:26 4 23 27 -4 42 2 0 0 87 4.617 Todd Fedoruk 34 2 2 4 1 83 35 4 5 9 1 5626 D KURTIS FOSTER 56 16:24 7 12 19 0 37 3 0 2 118 5.926 Kurtis Foster 23 4 4 8 7 17 33 3 8 11 -7 2015 C JAMES SHEPPARD* 78 10:36 4 15 19 0 29 0 0 1 57 7.017 LW STEPHANE VEILLEUX 77 14:31 11 7 18 -13 61 0 0 0 136 8.183 Matt Foy 15 1 2 3 1 15 13 3 2 5 -2 1392 LW BRANKO RADIVOJEVIC 73 14:54 7 10 17 -14 48 1 0 3 91 7.710 Marian Gaborik 39 28 23 51 16 30 38 14 18 32 1 3355 D NICK SCHULTZ 81 20:10 2 13 15 9 42 0 0 0 52 3.86 Sean Hill 18 1 4 5 -4 18 17 1 3 4 -12 1434 LW AARON VOROS* 55 9:11 7 7 14 -7 141 0 0 1 52 13.55 Kim Johnsson 40 2 9 11 5 20 40 2 14 16 -9 2217 LW TODD FEDORUK 69 10:18 6 7 13 2 139 2 0 0 57 10.516 Steve Kelly 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – – – – –41 D MARTIN SKOULA 80 20:28 3 8 11 -16 26 0 0 1 63 4.89 Mikko Koivu 27 4 21 25 15 20 30 7 10 17 -2 223 D KEITH CARNEY 61 13:22 1 10 11 8 42 0 0 0 27 3.733 Petteri Nummelin 15 2 3 5 -1 2 12 0 4 4 -1 06 D SEAN HILL 35 15:12 2 7 9 -16 32 1 0 1 18 11.121 Mark Parrish 33 7 7 14 6 8 33 9 7 16 -4 833 D PETTERI NUMMELIN 27 15:20 2 7 9 -2 2 1 0 1 31 6.567 Benoit Pouliot 6 0 1 1 0 0 5 2 0 2 -1 083 RW MATT FOY 28 7:49 4 4 8 -1 28 0 0 1 38 10.592 Branko Radivojevic 38 3 3 6 -9 18 35 4 7 11 -5 3067 LW BENOIT POULIOT* 11 8:49 2 1 3 -1 0 0 0 0 11 20.012 Brian Rols<strong>to</strong>n 40 14 18 32 11 20 41 17 10 27 -12 3311 LW CHRIS SIMON 38 7:10 1 2 3 -2 59 0 0 0 27 3.755 Nick Schultz 41 1 6 7 13 16 40 1 7 8 -4 2624 LW DEREK BOOGAARD 34 3:55 0 0 0 -5 74 -0 0 0 6 0.015 James Sheppard 38 3 7 10 4 11 40 1 8 9 -4 1816 C STEVE KELLY 2 3:43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.011 Chris Simon 20 0 1 1 0 31 18 1 1 2 -2 2822 RW CAL CLUTTERBUCK* 2 7:05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.041 Martin Skoula 40 1 5 6 -10 12 40 2 3 5 -6 14# GOALTENDER GP W L OT SA GA GAA SV SV% SO A PIM MIN19 Stephane Veilleux 38 7 2 9 -5 17 39 4 5 9 -8 4432 NIKLAS BACKSTROM 58 33 13 8 1,629 131 2.31 1,498 .920 4 0 2 3,40934 Aaron Voros 28 2 4 6 1 75 27 5 3 8 -8 6629 JOSH HARDING* 29 11 15 2 836 77 2.94 761 .910 1 1 0 1,570HOMEAWAY# GOALTENDER GP W-L-OT GAA SV% SO GP W-L-T GAA SV% SO32 Niklas Backstrom 33 21-7-5 1.94 .929 4 25 12-6-3 2.83 .908 029 Josh Harding 8 4-4-0 2.77 .904 0 21 7-12-1 3.02 .910 1* ROOKIE126 2008-09 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE 2008-09 MINNESOTA WILD TEAM GUIDE 127Table of contents Hockey Operations <strong>Wild</strong> THings The Players Team His<strong>to</strong>ry Team Records Playoff His<strong>to</strong>ry The NHL
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