Evening from high above the X ice, where the Wild improved to 3-0 this preseason with a 4-3 overtime win over Columbus -- the same team that will return Oct. 8 for Opening Night.
I really need to get out of here because I have to wake up at 4:30 for my flight to Pittsburgh, so ... real quick (read the "gamer" and notebook on startribune.com/wild).
The intimate Wild crowd (never seen it so empty) that arrived tonight certainly hopes it got an early glimpse at the first bona fide, real-life, true No. 1 line in the history of this franchise.
As advertised, Dany Heatley showed why his 325 goals since 2001 are third-most in the NHL over that period and how his 128 power-play goals are the most.
Heatley scored two power-play goals, including the OT winner in his unofficial Wild debut -- unofficial because this one doesn't count. Heatley also had an assist for a three-point night.
Mikko Koivu, his center and the Wild's captain, had three assists, and Devin Setoguchi, the former 31-goal scorer, had a goal and assist.
The go-toitiveness of the No. 1 line is what I think Wild fans should be optimistic about.
The Wild just has had no go-to guys since Marian Gaborik and Brian Rolston.
Tonight: Heatley scores a tying goal in the second and a winning goal in OT. Setoguchi not only scores a tying goal, he did so 31 seconds into the third, so there was no tense-filled comeback try 10, 15 minutes into the third. There was no potential of opening it up too much and letting Columbus extend its lead.
Setoguchi just tied it -- quickly and dramatically -- after Heatley pounced on a loose puck after Koivu circled the, eh, circle (it's late, and I woke up in St. Louis).
There were so many things to like about this line. They are strong down low, they are fast (as Mike Yeo said, there's fast like Setoguchi and there's fast, like Heatley, who plays the game fast), they are just hard to defend.
That's why Koivu and Heatley kept stripping pucks and forcing turnovers. That's why Koivu and Setoguchi combined to draw four power plays.
(By the way, Heatley showed tonight how good you can be defensively in the offensive zone).
"That's another part to our game that a lot of people don't see," Setoguchi said. "For me, it's to get in and try to make a move down low to beat the guy. I drew a couple penalties tonight, which is just as good as scoring a goal or getting an assist when you get a couple power plays."
Setoguchi was buzzing, and although he misfired a couple of times and sawed his stick in half so badly once I think I got a splinter in the press box, he's just active and a constant threat.
"He's fast," said Heatley. "You're going to get used to him. Fans are going to love him. He's one of the fastest guys in the league. He can jump on a D."
OK, enough gushing about the first line.
The second period was yuck. The Wild kept turning pucks over, and for that reason, Columbus kept attacking and attacking, flying through the Wild's trap like it literally was a cobweb rather than the proverbial "trap was so good, it was like a cobweb." (It's late, and I woke up in St. Louis).
It was like the Wild just decided to spend the period practicing the backcheck, and they didn't even do that well. And this can't just be pinned on the kids playing the game. It was the vets, too, including that top line.
"I will honest. The second period was not our game," said Yeo.
You want to be sold on Yeo, by the way? Listen to the postgame news conference and how he's able to dissect the game and describe the problems and how to fix it without the need to "look at the tape."
There were some other positives. The Darroll Powe-Kyle Brodziak-Cal Clutterbuck line showed at times to be again fast and physical, and the Wild's "kid line" of potential future Wild players Brett Bulmer-Zack Phillips-Kris Foucault created a goal (although a couple breakdowns by them resulted in Columbus taking a 3-2 lead).
Foucault, 20, a fourth-round pick in 2009 who will play in Houston this season, scored the game's first goal with a backhanded shot under the bar after stopping Phillips' pass in front of the net in the first.
-- Couple other things:
-- I'll pay attention to see if the league will review the Brad Staubitz check from behind. He got nailed for a major and game misconduct for nailing Cody Bass. Bass was hurt initially but returned.
--Matt Kassian is hurt (splint on finger), so I'm not sure if we'll see him again this preseason.
-- Casey Wellman is on the Wild's charter right now to Pittsburgh.
Speaking of which, I have to go to Pittsburgh, too, in the morning, and this was supposed to be "real quick."
The game is at 2 p.m. CT Saturday, and it can be seen on NHL Network or on my Twitter account (russostrib). I'll talk to you after Saturday's game if not before.
