Wait... Minnesota has an NHL team?

It's an exciting time to be a Minnesota sports fan. The Twins are hot, the Vikings have a cake schedule, and both the Wolves and the Wild have new regimes who have already mixed things up. I've hesitated to write about the Wild because hockey is a unique sport, and I haven't followed it for very long. Whatever though, if people who know things about hockey have problems with what I write, tell me. I'm still learning.

Most of the mass media don't like the Wild's chances this year. It is their thinking that Jacques Lemaire was the only reason they contended for a playoff spot at all. Jacques is a good coach, no doubt, but to say a system is more important than the players is foolish. The organization is thin on young prospects sure, and the big league talent can't measure up to, say the Blackhawks or Red Wings, but they will not be a pushover. They weren't pushovers last year, and they've added several good players (Havlat, Sykora, Brodziak) and Brent Burns returning is a huge boon.

I went to their preseason game tonight, and they dominated play throughout. It was rare when the Blue Jackets had possession of the puck in the Wild's zone, and even rarer when they had real scoring chances. The Wild were aggressive in bringing the puck into the offensive zone, and though they did dump-and-chase, they actually made it to the puck. Last year, they rarely dumped to do anything besides change.

Their defense and penalty kill didn't suffer much by the Wild's new aggression. Both Columbus power plays were incoherent, with very little possession in the defensive zone. Perhaps the Blue Jackets have a poor power play, which very well could be the case. During both power play kills, the Wild created some short-handed chances. Clutterbuck's second goal came on a sweet feed from Brodziak as the power play expired. That's how you win in any sport: turning defense into offense (except baseball, because that's impossible).

And Backstrom is still really good. The Wild are going to be the same: good. And exciting to watch for more reasons than fandom.