Minnesota Wild (23-20-3) 49pts 5th in the Central
2.83 Goals For Per Game (22nd in the NHL)
2.89 Goals Against Per Game (11th in the NHL)
22% Power Play (10th in the NHL)
84.7% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 19G 22A = 41pts
2. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 12G 27A = 39pts
3. #12 Eric Staal ~ 14G 16A = 30pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 5G 25A = 30pts
5. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 7G 20A = 27pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #36 Nick Seeler ~ 39 PIM’s
2. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 31 PIM’s
3. #29 Greg Pateryn ~ 29 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (17-16-3) 2.71GAA .911%SP 1SO
2. #32 Alex Stalock (6-4-0) 2.67GAA .901%SP
Vs.
Anaheim Ducks (19-19-9) 47pts 6th in the Pacific
2.34 Goals For Per Game (30th in the NHL)
3.00 Goals Against Per Game (19th in the NHL)
14.6% Power Play (26th in the NHL)
80% Penalty Kill (14th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #15 Ryan Getzlaf ~ 10G 22A = 32pts
2. #14 Adam Henrique ~ 8G 17A = 25pts
3. #67 Rickard Rakell ~ 7G 16A = 23pts
4. #26 Brandon Montour ~ 5G 17A = 22pts
5. #25 Ondrej Kase ~ 11G 9A = 20pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #21 Jake Dotchin ~ 39 PIM’s
2. #42 Josh Manson ~ 39 PIM’s
3. #15 Ryan Getzlaf ~ 31 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #36 John Gibson (15-15-8) 2.76GAA .918%SP 1SO
2. #1 Chad Johnson (0-2-0) 2.42GAA .911%SP
Lines:
Anaheim Ducks
Rakell~Getzlaf~Silfverbeg
Ritchie~Henrique~Kase
Shore~Rowney~Sprong
Sherwood~Kesler~Gibbons
Lindholm~Montour
Fowler~Manson
Larsson~Welinski
Gibson
Johnson
Minnesota Wild
Greenway~Staal~Niederreiter
Parise~Coyle~Kunin
Zucker~Koivu~Granlund
Foligno~Eriksson Ek~Hendricks
Suter~Spurgeon
Brodin~Pateryn
Seeler~Prosser
Dubnyk
Stalock
With Jason Zucker‘s shootout game winning goal on Tuesday night versus the Los Angeles Kings, there was a collective sigh of relief across the State of Hockey. Well, maybe just a sigh and a few sarcastic comments to go along with it. Because afterall, it was a shootout win over the worst team in the Western Conference. And while some fans loathe the shootout, it still has to be better than losing yet again right? So what if we gave up a lousy loser point to the Kings. Yea, it does effect the regulation or overtime wins category but if it honestly comes down to that kind of a tiebreaker we probably don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt to begin with.
Minnesota did manage to eek out a win, but a lot of disturbing trends continued. The team’s inability to bury prime chances nearly cost the Wild. Early on against Los Angeles the Wild were not just peppering Jonathan Quick with shots, but high quality chances. Give Quick credit for being as sharp as he was, but at times the Wild’s inability to finish was maddening. The failed 3-on-1 where we miss on an open net just stings and is hard to forget.
Up front, Jordan Greenway had another strong game where he had a number of prime chances and I hope he keeps pulling the trigger. Nino Niederreiter had a goal, but he had some other good looks that gave us glimpse of the Swiss sniper that we used to know. Zucker seems to be heating up as well. Those are all good signs for the Wild.
On the flip side, Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu just can’t seem to bury the biscuit. Granlund was particularly invisible against Los Angeles and I thought it was strange choice to use him on the power play in overtime. He seems to either be hurt or have some nagging non-serious injury that has limited his effectiveness and his assertiveness.
On the back end, Jared Spurgeon needs to be more of the focal point on the power play and while he’s ok sitting in the ‘Ovi-kitchen’ (thanks @Nostrakennius) I would like to see him replace Ryan Suter at the point. Who would we put along the wall? I’d rather see Luke Kunin there and let him pull the trigger because I like Spurgeon’s potential to shoot from the point better than Suter and I think he’s better at changing the angle to either open up a shooting / passing lane.
The team dealt Justin Kloos who was the leading scorer in Iowa to Anaheim for Pontus Aberg who is set to be an RFA at this season. The right-shooting left winger has 11 goals, 8 assists in 37 games with the Ducks this season. He will make his debut tonight. Perhaps he’s a good option for the triggerman role on the power play.
I’d be surprised if Devan Dubnyk didn’t start this game simply because he sat out against Los Angeles. Personally I’d like to see the team give Alex Stalock a few starts in a row, just to let Dubnyk rest up. The Ducks will probably go with John Gibson between the pipes.
Yet as much as the Wild’s recent struggles prompted a feeling of dread among its fanbase, I don’t want to even contemplate if we were dealing with what the fans in Orange County are thinking these days about the Anaheim Ducks. They’ve lost their last 12 games. That’s not a typo. They have spent the better half of a month in suspended animation in the standings.
How? Injuries and an offense that has completely dried up. Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler are listed as day to day to go along with long term injuries to Corey Perry, Patrick Eaves and Ryan Miller. With the exception of Miller, you can see how this has helped hollow out Anaheim’s attack. Eaves is expected to try to return tomorrow night, and they’ve also called up 1st round pick Max Jones and minor league scoring machine Troy Terry and towering defenseman Ondrej Sustr.
On the blueline, the Ducks have a good mix of skill, size and tenacity. Hampus Lindholm is their most gifted defenseman and can do a little bit of everything. Brandon Montour has been their best scoring threat from the blueline, but Cam Fowler has had a rough season offensively. Sustr is perhaps a shot across the bow of their 3rd pairing where they Ducks feel they need to be better.
What are the keys to a Wild victory?
1. No more flybys – While the Wild were working their way in close, but too many times players opt to do a fly by instead of following up their shot. This has meant potential secondary chances have been squandered. The Ducks are struggling, crash the net but do so with a purpose. No more flybys please.
2. Don’t Let Up – Just as was the case with the Kings, Flyers and Red Wings, the more you let a struggling team like Anaheim hang around the more that team starts to believe they can win. When they feel they can win, their energy level goes up and they get bolder because of it. The Wild must not forget that the Ducks are hoping to battle for the same wildcard spot Minnesota is hoping to keep. This is an important game; they may have lost their last 12, but they’re just 2 points behind Minnesota. You want to put the Ducks in the rear view mirror and keep on moving forward. That also means if the Wild get the lead they shouldn’t just sit back and defend, they need to attack and force your opponent to waste precious time defending in its own zone.
3. Keep it simple – The Wild had more success on Tuesday because they kept it simple. Minnesota attacked through the neutral zone with speed and took the opportunities to put shots on goal when they materialized instead of trying to set up some pretty tic-tac-toe play.
What do you think are keys to a Wild victory tonight? Tell us on Twitter @CreaseAndAssist or in the comment section below!
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