Minnesota Wild (6-3-3) 15pts 3rd in the Central
2.42 Goals For (21st)
2.00 Goals Against (5th)
26% Power Play (5th)
76.5% Penalty Kill (26th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 6G 3A = 9pts
2. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 3G 5A = 8pts
3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 1G 7A = 8pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 7A = 7pts
5. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 0G 7A = 7pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 30 PIM's
2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 13 PIM's
3. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 12 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (5-2-1) 1.00GAA .953%SP 1SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (1-0-2) 2.99GAA .885%SP
Vs.
Chicago Blackhawks (6-2-3) 15pts 2nd in the Central
2.91 Goals For (13th)
2.73 Goals Against (15th)
20% Power Play (13th)
72.2% Penalty Kill (30th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 6G 3A = 9pts
2. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 4G 4A = 8pts
3. #81 Marian Hossa ~ 4G 2A = 6pts
4. #20 Brandon Saad ~ 2G 4A = 6pts
5. #2 Duncan Keith ~ 0G 6A = 6pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #52 Brandon Bolig ~ 21 PIM's
2. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 12 PIM's
3. #32 Michal Rozsival ~ 10 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #50 Corey Crawford (5-2-2) 2.37GAA .908%SP
2. #39 Nikolai Khabibulin (1-0-1) 3.97GAA .818%SP
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Ever since Saturday night's win in Chicago, I've almost begun to think that just about anything is possible. Now while I said before the game on Saturday that the Blackhawks no longer intimidate me like they used to, I'm still a bit nervous. Minnesota has slowly, but surely climbed up the Central Division standings, and tonight they have the ability to overtake Chicago for second place. It would be a nice thing to happen, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Yes, I'd love to see them win their fifth game at home, but I have to continually remind myself who we're speaking of, as just when things start to be going in the right direction, we're quickly brought back to Earth.
One thing that just might help the Wild tonight, is that Minnesota is taking a page from the past. Tonight, the Wild will be wearing their road whites at home. Now if you're somehow new to hockey and don't realize the significance of this, let me explain. Once upon a time in the NHL, the home team wore their white jerseys at home and the colored jerseys on the road. I'll admit, I really miss this tradition, and wish it would come back. It might just serve as a good luck charm. How you ask? Well back when this was the way of the league, Chicago was a much easier opponent for the Minnesota Wild. Plus, it's time for the home fans to see the new, revamped white jerseys.
I'm just hoping that Minnesota puts on a repeat performance of Saturday night. There's nothing worse than when the visiting team puts on a scoring demonstration in your barn. It's even worse when it's against a team that has fans that travel like Chicago's fans do. With the reallignment, we're going to see a lot more red in the Xcel Energy Center when Chicago is in town. I would love to be able to shut up those fans from Chicago, because trust me, they are the epitome of bandwagon fans. Remember back when the Blackhawks were not so good? The so-called "Madhouse on Madison" was far from mad. Their fans were pretty pathetic. And now, they're just obnoxious. There's a reason why Nashville and St. Louis don't sell day of, single game tickets when Chicago is in town.
So let's hope that Minnesota has figured themselves out finally. I like the team we have now, a team that doesn't allow obstables like injuries to defeat them. I'll like them even more if they continue to play as they have. And tonight will be great practice at overcoming obstacles, especially since an even bigger obstable is in town on Friday.
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