DENTED DEFENSE GETTING NOTICE OVER HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE

Lundqvist struggling

Thunder Bay, Ont.- The Timberwolves have returned home to Thunder Bay after a brutal six-day, three-game road trip that started off great, and ended with many questions in hand.
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Coming off a 5-0 victory last Wednesday over a good Spurs squad in Denver, the physical Timberwolves were pushed around, bruised, bloodied and beaten in Niagara Falls, 7-3 to the Thunder. A game in which Thunder Bay had lost half of their blueline to injury before it was finally over.
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Then came last evenings contest in the River Cities, where the Renegades would skate away with a 5-2 win. A loss for the Timberwolves was bad enough, but losing another high-minute defenseman in Marc Staal was an even bigger pill to swallow.
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"It's tough to be in the competition when you're losing guys like these to injuries in big games," said Timberwolves assistant coach, Dean McAmmond back in Thunder Bay on Monday. "That's not an excuse, and we're not going to say that's why we've had these recent struggles. But we need these guys in these games in order for us as a team to be successful."
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Adding to a defensive corps that is banged up, marquee netminder, Henrik Lundqvist has not been his normal, reliable self in the net. After being injured two-weeks ago in Copenhagen, 'King Henrik' has been less than stellar--minus his shutout in Denver. But he still has the full support of his teammates.
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"We haven't done enough in front of Hank," said defenseman, Nick Schultz. "As a defense, we've all struggled to get our house in order so far. It's something that we are quite aware of, and know what we need to do. We just need to execute the game-plan."
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Coach Craig Hartsburg did admit though that maybe his number one goaltender could use a break.
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"Henrik would never tell us he wants to sit. It's his net and he'll let you know that. Maybe he didn't fully recover from his injury in Denmark. I know it's not all on him with our defensive struggles. Obviously, recently we've had issues staying healthy. But I think a little rest will be in order here soon. James [Reimer] is a capable rookie, and is itching to get out there."
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The Timberwolves players were given Monday off from practice, but did report to Canadian National Gardens for video reviews. Their next game is Tuesday at home against the Hamilton Tigers.