Look for Nick “Willis Reed” Schultz to play tonight.

Are you playing? “I think so.”

Funny story, the second he said that, he was called into a one-minute meeting with GM Doug Risebrough, who clearly told him, “Don’t tell the media.”

Too late. It was on the blog by the time he got back. The rest of the interview Schultz, whose missed the series thus far following an appendectomy only 12 days ago, was throwing in caveats, like if I play, etc, but he’s in.

I knew he was in when Chris Simon ran him through the wringer at the end of practice. He pounded him in a battle along the boards and Schultz survived.  

Offically he is a game-time decision. Jacques says he wouldn’t even consider it if this wasn’t an elimination game. Don’t know whom he’d be in for, but I assume Sean Hill because Erik Reitz looked good.

I’ll tell you what, I’ve never seen the locker room so loose. And I mean that. They looked on edge and high-strung during the skate, and then Lemaire held a team meeting and it was like a different group.

The music was on, guys were dancing to the music, throwing the football around, etc.

Branko Radivojevic is definitely out. He didn’t skate and was limping with no knee brace on. I really think he’s got a sprained knee, which in normal situations is a month out if it’s not the most serious grade.

Matt Foy has been told he’s playing for Benoit Pouliot.

Prior to the skate, Monty Python’s “Always look on the bright side of life” was BLARING out of the Wild locker room this morning.

I don’t have confirmation that Marian Gaborik is strapped to a chair in front of the speakers, but I’ll find out.

I’m still laughing at that one. Minnesota Wild: The Musical. I could just see the guys locked in arms whistling to the chorus.

Todd Fedoruk is the man who was playing the song, I’m told by players.

Oh, forgot a very minor thing about this morning. Peter Forsberg didn’t skate and Denver Post writer Adrian Dater has a suspicion he may not be playing  tonight. We will see.

Minor thing forgotten there.

Erik Reitz, 25, will make his playoff debut tonight, Lemaire said for Petteri Nummelin. But he didn’t say Nummelin wouldn’t play for sure.

Could Nummelin be moved to wing for one of the tough guys and Sean Hill be scratched?

Don’t know. Lemaire indicated that there may be forward changes, so maybe its Benoit Pouliot.

Regardless, Reitz, who hasn’t played in the NHL this year, will play his first game since March 9. Just ran into him at lunch, and he’s busy texting everybody he knows.

Apparently Russoville residents have a pregame meal tonight at Tom Reid’s at 4:30.

Game 6 is 9 pm again, so get your game story online.

How about this? It escaped my mind that I was even going back to Denver tomorrow until I got the email from the airline to check in.

But don’t worry, without that email, it probably would have dawned on me by tomorrow morning. Hopefully.

I’ve gotten some emails from here and Denver wondering if Stephane Veilleux would be suspended for his hit from behind on Paul Stastny.

He won’t be, and Veilleux said this morning he regrets that hit and that that’s not him. And its not. He usually plays the game with respect.

Quite frankly, if Veilleux should be suspended, so should Tyler Arnason. His elbow on Keith Carney was the most vicious elbow I’ve seen at one of the games I’ve covered this year. Way more vicious than Ed Jovanovski’s on Marian Gaborik this season, and Jovo Cop got a game.

Regardless, like I said yesterday, Veilleux needed to be unplugged or something Tuesday night.

What else? What else?

Gaborik looked to be squeezing his stick into sawdust (if sticks were still wooden that would apply) at yesterday’s practice. Think he’s starting to feel the pressure?

Good day from Denver, where it’s scalding hot for us Minnesotans (first time I’ve referred to myself that way, and it kind of freaks me out).

So my colleagues and I were just walking through 16th Street Mall and Lawrence, and the entire Avalanche sales crew is out in force with Avs stickers and fliers essentially begging people to buy tickets for tonight’s game and a possible Game 6.

That’s something we’re not used to in Minnesota. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the Wild’s sales staff.

That’s got to be a sign of the downtrodden economy, right? I mean, this is a good hockey city — two Cups since 1996, an ice sheet full of living legends — and it hasn’t sold out the playoffs yet?

Just got back from the rink, and only a handful of guys were there. The only heavy-hitters were Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Mikko Koivu, Kim Johnsson and Niklas Backstrom, but none went on the ice.

The Wild will again dress two extra in warmups tonight, believed to be Matt Foy and Benoit Pouliot.

As for Colorado, coach Joel Quenneville said it’s a “strong option” that Jordan Leopold will play tonight, perhaps for Jeff Finger, who isn’t playing well.

Paul Stastny has also been much maligned in this series, both for his no points and four shots, and the initial mistake that led to Joe Sakic pinching in en route to Brian Rolston’s shortie last night.

The Denver Post column was an issue at the skate as Ch. 5’s Rod Simons was working on a feature for 5 o’clock. An unshaven, barely conscious, non-tie-wearing Russo also might have made a cameo.

Also, Derek Boogaard went after Cody McLeod pretty good for not playing the game “with respect.”

You can read about that tomorrow. We talked to trainer Don Fuller a lot about what his methods are for getting the players replenished for tonight. Pretty interesting stuff.

Nick Schultz was on the ice again, but he looks like he needs to gain a lot of weight. He looks famished.

They need to get him on a sportswriter’s diet. He’ll be back to his old weight by Game 5.

Laterz! 

Not a lot of time to blog right now because I want to walk to the rink and soak in this weather. And I’m dragging. I actually watched the entire replay of the game last night on Altitude — AND — the postgame show, meaning 3 a.m. my eyes shut.

Don’t expect tons of info on here later because I have a feeling it’ll be slim pickings at the Wild skate.

First of all, I can’t believe you’re letting that Denver Post column get to you.

When an article is so absurd and based on such little facts, to me, it’s almost comical, so calm down. Obviously the writer doesn’t know hockey. Obviously the writer doesn’t watch playoff hockey. Obviously the writer hasn’t watched the Calgary-San Jose series. Obviously the writer has never heard of the Broad Street Bullies. Obviously the writer doesn’t know the Wild’s makeup. Obviously the writer doesn’t know the Wild has actually been unbelievably tame this series and should get more physical. And obviously the writer has never talked to or met Jacques Lemaire in his life.

It’s a typical opinionated column based on zero facts whatsoever. Completely manufactured, no truth. Get it. Forget about it. 

I’m not into ripping other writers. But at some point here in Denver, the Avs jerseys should come off and impartiality and professionalism should trickle back into the business.

I’m sure I’ll be regretting that line later today, but I’ve bit my tongue all series.

Ok, onward.

That might have been the best road game I’ve seen the Wild play.

As expected in the first game in an opposing building, the Wild had to weather a furious storm in the first seven or eight minutes. It was kind of like what Colorado had to do in Game 1 in St. Paul.

But after the Wild killed off the second set of back-to-back minors of the game early in the second, it dominated the rest of the game in my opinion. At one point in the second, it was outshooting Colorado 11-1.

And Colorado’s shoddy play at times is exactly why I wrote in my scouting report for this series that no Avs lead is ever safe. In other words, you can rally on them, just like the Wild has done for three games in a row.

I mean, at one point in the second, the Wild walked in alone on Jose Theodore four times — once by Pavol Demitra, twice by Brent Burns, once by Todd Fedoruk.

Right now the series is all about the third period and the fact the Wild has outscored the Avs 6-2. Overtime wasn’t even close. If it weren’t for Theodore, the Wild could have won that game three other times before Jeff Finger took a weird route to that icing, thus costing Colorado the game.

Other thoughts:

– What if Marian Gaborik actually goes off at some point (nine shots yesterday)?

– What is Paul Stastny shows up for this series?

– Brian Rolston and Mikko Koivu have been the Wild’s best players. Rolston has been on the ice for seven of eight goals in the series, and Koivu — who is a genuine Avalanche killer if you look at his career numbers — has three tallies.

– The Wild’s defensemen are playing tremendously, especially the big-minute guys. So far, you’ve seen Good Skoula. Very good Skoula.

– I realized last night that Peter Forsberg has so many feet problems because he flops to the ice on every hit and then locks his feet around the opposing player. At some point that should be an unsportsmanlike.

– Tonight’s a huge game. Does the Wild take advantage of an aged, banged-up Colorado team or does it let down like it often does when it can go for the kill?

If you’ve paid any attention to the Wild this season, you know it has a tendency to let down when things are going well. Does it lay it all out on the ice tonight or does it allow what’s bound to be a fired-up Colorado squad control play?

We will see. More later.

I’ll be on KFAN later this 2 o’clock hour. 

Hello, hello from balmy, beautiful Denver, where the Wild and Avs are prepping for Game 3 tonight — the first of back-to-backs in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Branko Radivojevic (knee) is out tonight, and likely out tomorrow. Aaron Voros has been told he’s playing, and Jacques Lemaire said after Friday’s game Chris Simon would play.

However, this morning Lemaire was noncommittal when it came to his lineup. He said he’d dress 21 players during warmups, meaning one extra guy.

It sounds like the extra will be right-handed shot Matt Foy. Lemaire said he’s not happy with the way left wing Stephane Veilleux’s been playing at right wing. In order to remedy that, it appears as if Lemaire’s considering playing Foy so Veilleux can switch back to left wing.

Still, Radivojevic is a serious loss. Now, the Wild essentially won’t have a checking line, and considering Colorado has two first lines, you can’t have enough checking lines.

Lemaire went on and on about the impressive play of defensemen Kim Johnsson, Martin Skoula and Brent Burns this morning, as well as the play of Brian Rolston — who’s been tremendous.

Rolston’s played a part in all five of the Wild’s goals.

As for Colorado, it sounded like there’s a chance Jordan Leopold could get into the Avs’ lineup, but that’s not confirmed.

Also, Wyatt Smith is on Colorado’s taxi squad now that Cleveland’s season is over.

In other news, have you ever heard of a league arbitrarily inserting a rule in the middle of the postseason? But after Sean Avery’s unsportsmanlike attempt to throw Martin Brodeur off his game yesterday by jumping up and down, waving his arms and fake slashing him in the head, the NHL has added the following rule:

MEDIA ADVISORY –

INTERPRETATION OF RULE 75 – UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) — National Hockey League Senior

Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell

today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 -

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: “An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule

75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation

when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender

and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the

goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or

distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”

That’s it for now.

Hello, hello. About to walk over to the Pepsi Center. I’ll be back later after the Avs and Wild skates with updates.

Hope you found today’s advance interesting. I tried to not make it too “inside hockey,” but I think there are some pretty good anecdotes to give you a little bit of color regarding what it’s like to be on the Wild bench with Jacques Lemaire at the helm.

I tried to lighten it up at times in there, specifically with the lead, but to me it’s interesting and I know Lemaire’s line changes are always an ongoing topic for Wild fans. Basically, there is a method to the madness — sorta.

Also never asked you what you thought of the Brent Burns advance stories for the series? To me, anytime you get a hockey player talking about the ovulation of snakes, it’s a must-read.

Thought you might find this amusing considering the previous blog. A reader emailed me this Denver Post story. The writer didn’t exactly get the context of what Demitra was saying.

How about Calgary last night rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat San Jose? Trivia question: When’s the last time the Flames rallied from a 3-0 home deficit to win, and against whom?