An Old Score Might Spark Wild Game Tonight
November 12th, 2009
Amanda Harris
By AMANDA HARRIS
By JoeBoltsFan.com
Should be a spirited tilt tonight as Minnesota looks to extend Tuesday’s victory in Toronto to a two-game win streak and the Lightning fight to preserve the only flawless regulation home record in the Eastern Conference.
Always fun when reigning hit man Cal “I have one of the most quality hockey names out there” Clutterbuck rolls into town.
Even better, Lightning newbies Kurtis Foster and Stephane Veilleux will be presented the first and only opportunity of the season to face their former team, which sits in the basement of the Northwest Division despite having won four of its last five.
And if rumors that Wild captain Mikko Koivu may indeed still harbor some ill will towards Mattias Ohlund for the bone breaking two-handed slash he wielded back in 2007, the game could prove quite entertaining.
In fact, seeing as Victor Hedman (who’s been cleared to play after having his world rocked by Chris Neil last Thursday) may still be looking for his first NHL fight (the kind that doesn’t result in a piddly ass double minor penalty), ‘chippy’ may just be the word of the day.
Provided the Lightning’s “gritty” persona comes out and Steven Stamkos’ momentum isn’t slowed by the after effects of Tuesday’s poke check party foul, a game (no. 16) that one year ago marked the beginnings of an epic downward spiral could very well find itself a new lease on life (or at least a key player in the Bolts’ continued playoff push).
The Wild (7-2-0 against Tampa Bay all-time) could be in for a rude awakening as the Lightning are a vastly different and much improved group than the motley crew with whom they met last October (just take a gander at the latest run of league leaders where the Bolts currently hold court in eight of the 17 key categories).
