Game Preview: Minnesota Wild vs. Nashville Predators 3/5/19 @ 7:00PM CST at Bridgestone Arena

Minnesota Wild (32-27-7)  71pts  5th in the Central

2.74 Goals For Per Game (25th in the NHL)

2.85 Goals Against Per Game (12th in the NHL)

21.1% Power Play (13th in the NHL)

80.4% Penalty Kill (15th in the NHL)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 24G 30A = 54pts

2. #12 Eric Staal ~ 19G 26A = 45pts

3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 7G 36A = 43pts

4. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 12G 26A = 38pts

5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 17G 17A = 34pts

Top 3 PIM’s:

1. #36 Nick Seeler ~ 49 PIM’s

2. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 44 PIM’s

3. #29 Greg Pateryn ~ 37 PIM’s

Top Goaltenders:

1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (26-21-5)  2.58GAA  .912%SP  1SO

2. #32 Alex Stalock (6-6-2)  2.98GAA  .896%SP

Vs.

Nashville Predators (38-25-5)  81pts  2nd in the Central

2.93 Goals For Per Game (18th in the NHL)

2.63 Goals Against Per Game (5th in the NHL)

12.4% Power Play (30th in the NHL)

80.5% Penalty Kill (13th in the NHL)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #92 Ryan Johansen ~ 11G 43A = 54pts

2. #59 Roman Josi ~ 14G 38A = 52pts

3. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 15G 34A = 49pts

4. #14 Mattias Ekholm ~ 8G 34A = 42pts

5. #9 Filip Forsberg ~ 22G 19A = 41pts

Top 3 PIM’s:

1. #17 Wayne Simmonds ~ 80 PIM’s

2. #76 P.K. Subban ~ 46 PIM’s

3. #14 Mattias Ekholm ~ 41 PIM’s

Top Goaltenders:

1. #35 Pekka Rinne (23-17-3)  2.50GAA  .914%SP  3SO

2. #74 Juuse Saros (15-8-2)  2.59GAA  .916%SP  2SO

Lines:

Nashville Predators

Forsberg~Johansen~Arvidsson

Jarnkrok~Turris~Granlund

Grimaldi~Gaudreau~Simmonds

Boyle~Bonino~Sissons

Josi~Ellis

Ekholm~Subban

Irwin~Weber

Rinne

Saros

Minnesota Wild

Greenway~Staal~Zucker

Fiala~Kunin~Parise

Donato~Eriksson Ek~Aberg

Foligno~Fehr~Brown

Suter~Spurgeon

Brodin~Pateryn

Seeler~Hunt

Dubnyk

Stalock

A few days ago, I talked about how I grew up watching a lot of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Also in that mix was movies like Blazing Saddles, The Jerk, and The Blues Brothers. Those three movies alone were frequently shown on TBS. Also, in that mix of classic 70s movies, is Smokey and the Bandit. Pretty much if any of those movies were on television, we were going to watch them, but of course Friday nights when I was a kid was reserved for The Dukes of Hazzard. We recently purchased on iTunes, the song “East Bound and Down” by Jerry Reed, who along with his trusty Basset hound sidekick, Fred were responsible for smuggling that Coors beer to Atlanta with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field essentially getting the police to chase them instead of the truck driven by Reed. Of course when I think of that song, I’m immediately taken back to my childhood, watching that movie, while eating dinner on a Tupperware tray in front of the television.

But listening to those lyrics, there are some that make me think of the position that the Wild are currently in:

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run.

Keep your foot hard on the pedal. Son, never mind them brakes.
Let it all hang out ’cause we got a run to make.