Wild Transactions: Chad Rau And Jed Ortmeyer Called Up To Minnesota

The Wild have made a few moves to bolster their roster after a few losses in a row, and it is hoped that the transplants from the Houston Aeros will help them right the ship. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Wild have called up forwards Chad Rau and Jed Ortmeyer to the big club:

Ortmeyer is tied for the Houston team lead with a plus-11 rating. He has six goals and 10 assists. Rau, the Eden Prairie native who played at Colorado College, could make his NHL debut in Vancouver. If that happens, Rau would become the sixth native Minnesotan to play for the Wild this season. Rau had 13 goals and 40 points for the Aeros last season.

To make room for them on the roster Cory Almond was sent back to Houston and Casey Wellman was placed on injured reserved. Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Mikko Koivu are still questionable for Monday's divisional game with Vancouver.

Blackhawks Vs. Wild Final Score: Wild Fall 4-3 In Shootout Loss

A showdown between the Eastern Conference's top two teams lived up to its billing in entertainment value on Wednesday night, but it ended sourly for the Minnesota Wild, who fell 4-3 after a shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in St. Paul.

Matt Cullen and Danny Heatly were stopped by Ray Emery while Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both hit wristers past Niklas Backstrom in the shootout. The home loss strings, particularly since Minnesota came back from a 2-0 deficit in the first place.

Chicago outshot Minnesota 11-2 in the first period, but they were unable to break through against Backstrom until the second period, when they took a 2-0 lead on goals by Marian Hossa and Michael Frolik. But the Wild struck back with goals by Kyle Brodziak and Cullen less than three minutes apart to tie the game 2-2 heading into the third period. Toews struck for Chicago first but Minnesota was relentless in outshooting the Blackhawks 16-7 in the final perid, and Mikko Koivu finally tied it back up with just over five minutes to go in regulation, setting the stage for overtime, where neither team attempted more than three shots.

The Wild next face the New York Islanders at home on Saturday before departing for Vancouver to start a three-game western road trip.

Blackhawks Vs Wild: Preview, Time And TV Schedule

The Minnesota Wild had their seven-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night in Winnipeg and, unfortunately for the home team, it won't be easy to get back on the winning track. The Wild are scheduled to play the Blackhawks on VERSUS in a game that is scheduled to have the puck dropped at 6:30 local time.

The Wild and Blackhawks are the top two teams in the NHL's Western Conference, and while injury concerns remain, the experts over at Hockey Wilderness summed up Wednesday night's questions quite well in their preview.

Whoever skates best be ready to go after an exciting game last night. Every player has to be tired after the end to end action, and Chicago is rested and ready to go. Look at the top two lines. Take a shift off, this game is over. They also have solid goaltending from Crawford, and elite defense from the likes of Keith and Seabrook. Also, Big John Scott makes a return to the X.

Five Questions:

Will the Wild have legs after the wild one in Winnipeg?
The Wild need a hero. Who will it be?
Does Backstrom have his A game for back to back nights?
Does the top line continue to put up points?
Can Wild fans Occupy the X and make some noise?

One other question -- Will the Wild be able to increase their lead in the conference standings?

Wild Vs. Jets Final Score: Minnesota's Streak Snapped in 2-1 Loss

All good things must come to an end, and while that won't do much to subdue the disappointment, the Minnesota Wild's seven-game winning streak was nevertheless halted by the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

The Jets scored a surprising, come-from-behind 2-1 win after Bryan Little netted the game-winning goal with just five minutes to go in regulation.

Minnesota struck first on a power play goal by Guillaume Latendresse assisted by Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley in the second period, but Zach Bogosian tied the game for the Jets less than four minutes later.

Winnipeg was outshot by Minnesota 35-27 on the night, but Jets netminder Ondrej Pavelec was up for the challenge.

Minnesota hasn’t won eight in a row since a franchise-record nine-game run March 8-24, 2007.

The Wild, who hadn't lost since Nov. 27 before tonight, will not have much time to lick their wounds: They now go home to host the Chicago Blackhawks, who lead the Central Division, on Wednesday,

Wild Vs. Coyotes Final Score: Minnesota Earns Seventh Straight With 4-1 Win

The Minnesota Wild extended their Northwest Division lead over the Vancouver Canucks to six points on Saturday night with a 4-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. It was their seventh straight win overall and seventh straight on the road, where they are now 10-3-1. Also, the Wild become the NHL's first 20-win team and they did it in just 30 games (it took them 40 games last year). 

The Wild got the scoring going early against the Coyotes, scoring just a few minutes into the game on the power play. Kyle Brodziak lunged after a rebound and slid it through the five-hole of Coyotes netminder Mike Smith, who had to be pulled on Thursday night against the Red Wings. 

Minnesota added three more, two via the power play, over the next 37-plus minutes to take a comfortable 4-0 lead into the third period. From there, it was all Niklas Backstrom who stopped 16-of-17 shots in the third period to help Minnesota hang on. In all, Backstrom was exceptional, stopping 35-of-36 shots. 

The NHL's point leaders are 4-0 on their current five-game road trip and cap it off on December 13 against Winnipeg, who just lost 7-1 to the Red Wings tonight.

Wild Vs. Coyotes Preview: Minnesota Looking For Seventh Straight Win

The Minnesota Wild are set to play their fourth game of a five-game road trip on Saturday when they take on the Phoenix Coyotes. Minnesota is undefeated through the first three games on the trip, and have won six games straight overall. They're doing great on the road, and play six of their next nine as the visitor. Minnesota is looking for its franchise-best seventh straight win away from from the Xcel Energy Center.

They're also looking to further their lead over the Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest Division and, really, over the rest of the NHL. With a league-best 41 points, the Wild are riding high. Sitting six points above the Canucks in second place in the division, they want to really drive home the point that they're here to stay, and that they'll be playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Phoenix had won two straight games, beating the Chicago Balckhawks 4-2 and then the Nashville Predators 3-2, but dropped their most recent outing, a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Exchanging wins and losses has been a theme for this team this season, so they'll try and break that trend on Saturday when they host the Wild.

The game is set for 8:00 p.m. eastern on Saturday.

Wild Vs. Kings Final Score: Minnesota Gets Sixth Straight With 4-2 Win

With Thursday's strong 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota Wild increased their lead in the Northwest Division even further. Not many folks saw the Wild as a team to threaten in the division, even after making some blockbuster offseason trades that needed them three-years' worth of first-round picks from the San Jose Sharks, with guys like Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley changing hands. 

Now they're in the middle of a six-game winning streak following the win over the Kings, their longest winning streak of the season. They also had two other five-game winning streaks.This six-game streak is a franchise record for victories on the road. Matt Hackett, in his first career shot, stopped 42 shots from the relentless Kings and is riding high at the moment. Marco Scandella, Mikko Koivu, Darroll Powe and Cody Almond scored for Minnesota. Almond is a recent call-up as well.

Minnesota isn't just on top of the Northwest division, they lead the entire NHL with 41 points and they're off to the best start in the franchise's 11-year history with a 19-7-3 record. Next, they'll take on the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Devin Setoguchi Out Vs. Los Angeles Kings

Tuesday's 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks was costly for the Minnesota Wild, as winger Devin Setoguchi received what has only been described as a lower extremity injury. Setoguchi will miss Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Kings now, and could be out for even longer:

"I hope not, but with these things, we won't know until we get word from a doctor," said coach Mike Yeo, who was consoling a disappointed Setoguchi after Tuesday's game and told him to "keep your head up."

"We've overcome injuries so far and we're going to have to keep doing it. I don't think too many people are going to feel sorry for us."

Setoguchi has been a solid performer this season for Minnesota with eight goals and five assists in 13 games. He is coming off the best season of his career last year in San Jose when he had 22 goals and 19 assists for the Sharks.

Wild Schedule: Minnesota Can Increase Division Lead

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