The Kid's got game

Top ticket to a Wild game is $75. Frankly, there isn't much I'd pay $75 to see. Maybe if Elvis showed up at the house to sing a few tunes, I'd cough up. But he better be in top form, and he better bring some snacks. That's a lot of dough.

And I might pay $75 to see Kathie Lee Gifford fall into a mud puddle.

Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center, the folks in the $75 seats got their money's worth. Those in the $10 upper-deck chairs got a real bargain. Coach Jacques Lemaire, who didn't pay anything to get in, got the best deal of all. He was thrilled with the show put on by 19-year-old Marian Gaborik.

"Gabi was flying!" Lemaire said after the 3-3 tie against San Jose.

Flying or galloping?

"He's like a young horse," Lemaire said.

A horsefly!

Gaborik was a key figure in all three goals by the Wild, the only team in the National Hockey League without a regulation or overtime loss. As impressive as his point production was, it was his skating that had the full house gasping.

Gaborik might not yet be in the after-burner class of the Russian Rocket, Pavel Bure. But he's close.

"When he's flying, there aren't many faster," linemate Andrew Brunette said.

With his back to goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, Gaborik re-redirected a shot by Jim Dowd for his team's first goal. He fed cross-ice to a motoring Brunette, who passed to Dowd in close for the second. And he kept the puck in the zone, then whipped a long pass to Antti Laaksonen for the third.

"It was good," Gaborik said.

Yes, very.

With his parents visiting from Slovakia and watching from the stands, Gaborik had a fabulous game. Not that he was crowing about it afterward. Apparently, there's this Eastern European thing where guys never talk about themselves.

Instead, they talk about team play and meeting challenges. I think it's leftover policy from the Soviet era. But he is becoming Americanized. He's got the bleached hair, and he eats like a government mule.

When he first got here, about all he'd say was "American food no good." Now he scarfs it down.

When pressed Tuesday, however, he had to admit it was his best game of the young season. He had been off to a slow start as he recovered from offseason hernia surgery.

"I didn't play in the exhibition games," he said. "It was tough. I'm slowly getting there. So it's good."

When he's in top gear, as he was against the Sharks, he gives opponents fits. He'll start wide on a defenseman and then cut around him as if he were standing still. No doubt they'd take a whack at him more often, if only they could get close to him.

Meanwhile, the locker room was fairly subdued because of the tie. Last season, a tie against a good team like the Sharks would have been cause for much celebration. There would have been a conga line in the hallway outside the team whirlpool.

But now it's like: A tie? Heck, throw it back. Not even a keeper.

After all, this team hasn't lost in 2001-2002. Who could have imagined that?

"Last year, we focused on playing well," Lemaire said. "Now they talk about winning."

Lemaire knows what's going on. He says his team is on "a good streak." However, this isn't the norm.

If they do make a habit of winning, they will mess up the program. The master plan is for the team to build slowly toward a playoff appearance in its fourth season. Steady progress is the key.

But somebody forgot to tell these guys.

Unfortunately, the injuries now are coming fast and furious. The Wild lost Willie Mitchell (possible separated shoulder) on Tuesday. Brad Bombardir suffered a fractured ankle in the previous game. That's two of the top three defenseman.

"If we keep losing players like that, we could have another streak," Lemaire said.

It won't be a good one.

Still, the team has absorbed every blow to this point. And if Gaborik is flying, he can be a great equalizer. He can be worth the price of admission. Even at $75.

Tom Powers can be reached at [email protected].