So what happened last night?

Easy to dismiss this one as a letdown following Wednesday's 8-3 thumping of the Avalanche. That is true and there absolutely is some truth to that.

However let's give credit to the Blues who are a very good team and are going to make a strong push to not only make the playoffs, but climb up the standings as well. You will recall the first meeting between the Blues and Wild was an all out assault by St. Louis, that took a heroic effort from Cam Talbot for the Wild to come out on top by a 2-0 score. The Blues controlled that game from the outset and in the end outshot the Wild 37-11 despite the final score.

So last night was a bit of a revenge match for the Blues as well as a statement game of their own to say they are the superior squad regardless of what the standings might indicate.

Dean Evason has been pushing the right buttons for the Wild all season and I am sure he told the guys to put last night's debacle behind them, but to learn from it to be better moving forward. Everything is a learning opportunity and for the Wild who are trying to assert themselves as a legitimate contender, games like last night can serve them well as they prepare for future key match-ups.

For sure the Wild were not ready for what the Blues were about to bestow upon them, and they also may have been believing that they had arrived just a bit as well. That all came crashing down in the form of a humbling 9-1 thrashing in St. Louis.

We all know for the Wild to compete with the league's upper echelon they need to play a complete game and for the full 60 minutes. They absolutely must be more physical like they were against Colorado on Wednesdat while making smart decisions with the pick.

Wednesday's game was the aberration to this point for the Wild, not the rule and they need to realize that they are not good enough by any stretch to just show up and get the two points. They have some glaring holes that will be addressed as Bill Guerin continues his work to make over the Wild roster. However the lack of a top six center is very difficult to hide or overcome when competing with St. Louis, Vegas, and Colorado who are loaded with talent up and down their lineups.

I am not one to second guess Evason as he has done a masterful job of both managing his roster and keeping his players engaged on and off the ice. He has brought about a winning, team atmosphere where everyone competes for each other and for their own spot in the lineup. However, that said, the decision to give Kahkonen the nod last night may not have been putting his rookie goalie, who has now firmly assumed the backup role, in the best position for success.

We knew prior to puck drop that there was a chance the Wild would come out flat and combine that with the last Blues-Wild contest in which the Blues absolutely had the game stolen from them by Cam Talbot. So playing into their hands a bit Kahkonen got the nod an not Talbot, who possibly could have made a few saves early that may have A. Gotten into the Blues heads a bit, and B. Enabled the Wild players to get their legs under them and possibly make the contest a competitive game.

Either way that is hindsight and tonight is a new opportunity for the Wild to step up and prove that last night was a fluke and reestablish the 10 point lead over the Blues.

It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!

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