10 Copyright (c) 2012 Yahoo!, Inc. All rights reserved. en-us 126 15 http://sports.yahoo.com http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/b/ysp_logo_rss.gif Latest news and information about the Minnesota Wild. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/teams/min http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13faahtqh/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/los-angeles-kings-does-rest-become-rust-stanley-203150221.html It's late May. You've played three rounds of hockey. The bumps and bruises are there, but you're playing for the Stanley Cup, man. The three teams left in the race for the Cup are all feeling the effects of playing an extra month and a half of hockey. And while the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers will be playing their 18th and 20th games of the playoffs (respectively) tonight, the Los Angeles Kings have breezed their way through three rounds with a meager 14. The Rangers played that many through the opening two rounds and according to STATS, LLC., no Cup-winning team has ever played more than 18 games to get to the Final. By eliminating the Vancouver Canucks in five games and the St. Louis Blues in four, the Kings are used to having time off between series. With eight days between Game 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes and Game 1 of the Final, is that too much rest for the Kings? Fri, 25 May 2012 13:31:50 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,db9d2c2b-0002-3b8b-8e33-5be492ea9017-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12l0rcgaa/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/granlund-leads-bevy-young-talent-075016655--nhl.html It's a new era in Minnesota as the Wild plans to infuse a horde of young talent into the system this summer. Fri, 25 May 2012 00:50:16 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,6ea46457-fc7a-37ae-996e-5efc20e7478c-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12qhgdspg/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/finnish-star-granlund-signs-minnesota-154022673--nhl.html Mikael Granlund's arrival in Minnesota has been eagerly awaited by frustrated Wild fans looking for more star power and offensive skill on a team stuck in mediocrity since entering the NHL 12 years ago. Wed, 23 May 2012 15:14:50 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,fd930a81-2764-3817-91ea-243a7f50ee3b-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13r087mun/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/learned-embarrassing-la-sports-media-moments-while-covering-135822855.html Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,f879fe6a-83b0-3bf8-9dad-82774f5c572e-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13v48sf5f/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/charlie-coyle-uses-his-puck-handling-magic-to-help-steer-sea-dogs-to-another-memorial-cup.html Sat, 19 May 2012 06:47:30 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,6f09a26a-420b-3596-94d7-14286a05c993-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12mih1ahf/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/finns-russia-slovaks-upset-canada-190002318--nhl.html Holders Finland advanced to the semi-finals of the world ice hockey championships with a last-gasp winner against the United States on Thursday, but Olympic champions Canada were shocked by Slovakia. Thu, 17 May 2012 14:23:16 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,9a2a75b1-43e2-3b6d-a808-fbeb6c4da478-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=129jissrq/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/finland-beats-us-3-2-185228425--nhl.html HELSINKI (AP) Finnish forward Jesse Joensuu's winning goal with nine seconds left lifted Finland past the United States 3-2 Thursday for a place in the semifinals of the hockey world championships in Helsinki. Thu, 17 May 2012 11:52:28 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,593f7dbe-5d1e-395a-a1fc-1a42493f6e5e-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=134cpl80r/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/last-13-stanley-cup-champions-didnt-repeat-part-200700022--nhl.html In the past 13 years, all 13 Stanley Cup champions fell short of raising the Cup another consecutive time. The first part of this series looked at how the champions from 1999, 2000 and 2001 failed to repeat. Last week, part two studied how the 2002, 2003 and 2004 champions missed the chance to win again. This week, part three explains how the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 champions were undone the next year. Wed, 16 May 2012 13:07:00 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,2becc6d8-e8f7-3c51-8ada-41cfdce54753-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13jl7ot9t/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/marek-vs-wyshynski-radio-kevin-weekes-michael-russo-172512950.html Wed, 16 May 2012 10:25:12 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,a1c53573-9319-3359-a024-55f95f701e16-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13ig7kl05/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/inside-los-angeles-kings-twitter-feed-social-media-225509441.html Tue, 15 May 2012 15:55:09 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,c320cba9-d9d4-3342-8caa-1d1d9b2dc95e-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12lpg0q65/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/blue-jackets-name-richards-coach-172234343--nhl.html Todd Richards, who took over as interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets midway into this past season, was named the National Hockey League team's coach on Monday by general manager Scott Howson. Mon, 14 May 2012 10:22:34 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,e6401f72-53a6-3c67-9dd5-f500932541e8-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12jjs128e/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/blue-jackets-keep-richards-two-152017568--nhl.html The Columbus Blue Jackets are sticking with Todd Richards. Mon, 14 May 2012 08:20:17 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,d400fa45-773d-3937-8b24-0324e99c960a-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13im7dt06/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/blue-jackets-name-todd-richards-head-coach-because-143944590.html Can a coaching move symbolize both stability and instability? The Columbus Blue Jackets removed the interim tag from coach Todd Richards on Monday, making the former Minnesota Wild bench boss the sixth head coach in franchise history. He took over from Scott Arniel on Jan. 9, and went 18-21-2 under Richards at a time when Rick Nash's future cast a foreboding shadow over nearly every game. [ Related: Dale Hunter steps down as Washington Capitals coach ] From a stability standpoint, it could be argued this was a smart decision. The Jackets showed resiliency late in the season, going 11-8 in March and April. They also showed a cohesion and competitive spirit that was missing at the start of the season, when James Wisniewski's suspension, Jeff Carter's apathy and Steve Mason resembling Sonny Corleone's car at the toll booth. So maybe that's something to build on. Mon, 14 May 2012 07:39:44 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,0324dc2a-641e-30c8-87ba-7ea6f375617c-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=132163kk1/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/learned-washington-capitals-season-122810056.html Mon, 14 May 2012 05:28:10 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,b64b3f05-215d-3e7b-bb33-a5e2f2745783-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12c0q5hg7/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/us-beats-kazakhstan-3-2-202518445--nhl.html HELSINKI (AP) Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricanes scored four minutes into overtime for his second goal of the game Friday, sending the United States to a 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan at hockey's world championships. Fri, 11 May 2012 13:25:18 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,ef281b0c-8119-3a65-9205-e673e10560e7-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13qqr0d1a/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/brodeur-spotlight-drunk-pat-kane-photoshops-cherry-defends-200329172.html Fri, 11 May 2012 13:03:29 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,1242c153-7cc8-36c0-8345-55c8d13c5ae4-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12har9rfm/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl-roundup-stars-bring-back-230027411--nhl.html Former Dallas Stars general manager Bob Gainey has rejoined the organization as a consultant, the team announced Thursday. Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:27 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,f0cc9a4f-d401-3d7c-bf23-1c5f18490415-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12idmdesc/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/wild-sign-defenseman-stoner-2-160458280--nhl.html ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman Clayton Stoner to a two-year, $2.1 million contract extension. Thu, 10 May 2012 13:30:52 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,cac7f630-a8f5-3020-beed-64c073c886f1-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13nh4l9vf/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/patrick-kane-drunken-weekend-jaromir-jagr-future-flyers-195310073.html Thu, 10 May 2012 12:53:10 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,41390ddd-13b8-30cf-b23d-831646f53f91-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12jjmm2un/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/wild-sign-stoner-two-extension-183016419--nhl.html Defenseman Clayton Stoner signed a two-year contract extension with the Minnesota Wild, the team announced Thursday. Thu, 10 May 2012 11:30:16 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,595ea2b9-b064-39cd-8111-b57bba092eaa-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12pfu78ps/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/ryan-suter-stay-nashville-162956330.html Thu, 10 May 2012 09:29:56 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,d5315a07-09b8-3443-b4c2-587e3f94e5a4-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13q8f7304/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/sneaky-italian-goalie-blocks-denmark-player-getting-dumped-180510958.html Mon, 07 May 2012 11:05:10 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,8f3b0a1b-a1f7-30e7-8a16-5841daaf698a-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13t8hodni/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/learned-mediocre-divisions-produce-better-stanley-cup-playoff-142434948.html Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. Occasionally you will hear that playing top teams several times a season, like those in the Atlantic and Central Divisions did this season, is a great way to prepare yourself for the postseason. They say it makes you ready to face the tougher competition in the playoffs, and by extension, those teams playing in softer divisions must logically be ill-prepared for similar rigors once the postseason rolls around. Both of the Atlantic and Central divisions were littered with 100-point teams, boasting eight of the league's 10 to eclipse the century mark between them (the other two being Boston and Vancouver), and it therefore stood to reason that they would likely send the lion's share of competitors to the conference finals. The better teams in the regular season tend to do about as well in the postseason, because they are, after all, very good teams. That makes sense. It turns out, though, that having a bunch of teams even in the neighborhood of 100 points in your division at the end of the regular season actually may be more of a detriment to a squad's postseason success. Since the lockout, only two teams have played in a Stanley Cup Final after playing in a division with three teams that managed 100 points. However, both those teams (Anaheim in 2007 and Chicago in 2010) won the Cup. If you expand that number out to even 97 points — which typically assures you a playoff berth but not home ice — only two more teams are added to the mix, the 2008 and 2009 Penguins. Conversely, teams coming out of divisions with two or fewer 97-point teams got into the Cup Finals with far greater frequency, doing so eight times since the lockout (including both Boston and Vancouver last year). But now we've seen the Los Angeles Kings advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 1993, and the Phoenix Coyotes stand on the precipice of doing the same for the first time since ever. Phoenix won the Pacific Division with 97 points, and is only a home ice team by virtue of its division title. Had seeding been based on points, they'd have slotted into the sixth spot. Los Angeles, meanwhile, finished with 95. The now-eliminated Sharks were sandwiched between them with 96. Three teams from one division in the playoffs, yes, but one terribly underwhelming division from which not much was expected. (Coming Up: America is a hockey superpower, thanks to Jack Johnson; Barry Trotz is wrong; Dustin Brown is awesome; Jordan Staal of Carolina; Thomas Vanek makes bank; Luongo to the Blackhawks?; Rick Dudley to the Habs; Jonathan Quick vs. Terry Sawchuck; trading Sidney Crosby; Todd McLellan-to-Calgary rumors; and the best and worst of the Capitals.) Mon, 07 May 2012 07:24:34 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,c6beedda-c66b-3b70-94d9-ff22ebdeed1c-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13ltsm7vn/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/sea-bass-keeping-rask-thomas-jokinen-surgery-hartnell-201222113.html Fri, 04 May 2012 13:12:22 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,489fa64a-8fa7-34ad-b5c6-35e7deac7588-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12fgncm8d/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/bad-luck-losses-stalk-blue-191357582--nhl.html COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The Columbus Blue Jackets' logo is an Ohio flag wrapped around a silver star. Thu, 03 May 2012 19:48:01 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,bd948244-f302-318f-b872-0fde9c372de5-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=12mkn7kgq/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/flames-shouldnt-expect-much-roman-182300688--nhl.html The signing of the Czech forward is an attempt to gain offense, but here's why he probably won't live up to expectations. Thu, 03 May 2012 11:23:00 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,3b548995-f137-3a07-91b4-da5097660e96-l:1 http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/nhl/SIG=13e5q7teu/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/learned-says-stanley-cup-playoff-hockey-boring-134507641.html Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. Watching Saturday's Capitals/Rangers game was an exercise in masochism. Sitting through that game was a test — not unlike that delivered unto Abraham — to see just how much you actually like watching hockey. Two teams playing hockey not so much against each other but rather at each other, or, to put it another way, in defiance of every hockey fan's patience. In that game, four goals were scored on 32 shots. That was between both teams, and not just one, in case you were wondering. Certainly, convention states that playoff hockey is more defensive by nature than the regular season. And though you'd be a fool to subscribe to the belief that defensive hockey is boring hockey, even the most stoic men would have been reduced to tears by the kind of temerity it takes to dare people to sit through 60 minutes of whatever that was on Saturday afternoon. But one team, at least, flatly refuses to play anything like boring hockey. That would be the Philadelphia Flyers, whose efforts have thrilled all viewers not openly supporting their opponents, and enlivened what is otherwise shaping up to be a rather drab final few rounds of the playoffs. ( Coming Up: Pierre McGuire as Habs GM; trading Patrick Marleau; Jagr vs. Brodeur; Matt Greene's unlikely goal; Predators' revenue troubles; Nail for Staal?; Landeskog graded; Columbus addresses its goalie needs; Alex Ovechkin controlled by Rangers; in praise of Danny Briere; the Winnipeg Jets are dogs; and the future of Tim Thomas.) Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:45:07 PDT nhl urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,lego:19780928:top,article,9cf72b34-e553-3e56-b5e4-54aba3898635-l:1 Fri, 25 May 2012 13:31:50 PDT