Minnesota Wild (8-4-3) 19pts 3rd in the Central
2.53 Goals For (18th)
2.13 Goals Against (5th)
24.6% Power Play (2nd)
76.3% Penalty Kill (28th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 10G 2A = 12pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 6G 5A = 11pts
3. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 1G 10A = 11pts
4. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 3G 6A = 9pts
5. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 3G 5A = 8pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 32 PIM's
2. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 17 PIM's
3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 15 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (7-2-1) 1.10GAA .950%SP 2SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (1-1-2) 3.42GAA .871%SP
Vs.
Calgary Flames (6-6-2) 14pts 6th in the Pacific
3.00 Goals For (11th)
3.43 Goals Against (29th)
15.4% Power Play (21st)
77.3% Penalty Kill (25th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #24 Jiri Hudler ~ 5G 10A = 15pts
2. #23 Sean Monahan ~ 7G 4A = 11pts
3. #6 Denis Wideman ~ 1G 9A = 10pts
4. #20 Curtis Glencross ~ 5G 4A = 9pts
5. #22 Lee Stempniak ~ 4G 5A = 9pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #55 Shane O'Brien ~ 27 PIM's
2. #15 Tim Jackman ~ 19 PIM's
3. #17 Lance Bouma ~ 11 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Joey MacDonald (3-3-1) 3.17GAA .885%SP
2. #31 Karri Ramo (2-3-1) 3.49GAA .888%SP
3. #29 Reto Berra (1-0-0) 1.94GAA .955%SP
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Have you ever met up with a person from your past that perhaps you didn't like so much back then but now you meet up and suddenly its like seeing an old friend? Maybe its your high school or college reunion or just a chance encounter on the street where maybe at first you kind of recognized the person from afar and then you realized it was someone you knew, albeit someone you maybe were not the best of acquaintances with and now it was just friendly conversation. Laughing perhaps at some of the disagreements or issues that you once had and realizing that now those disagreements seem rather petty and insignificant. Or was the opposite, where you realized as this person you hate is sort of laughing about those events and it sort of rekindles your resentment or dislike of that person. Maybe you know someone who just can't let that one little argument go that occured years later and you're sort of standing there like "C'mon, just give it up already, it was years ago!" Either way, life's journey takes people in different directions and time sometimes softens that dislike or hatred but for others its a fire they keep stoking for that moment when they feel they can get retribution or revenge for that past discretion. What do you think the Minnesota Wild players' feelings are for their former division foe, the Calgary Flames?
Does Kyle Brodziak just get angry at the mere thought of the Calgary Flames having played against them for so long as a member of the Wild and in bitter wars that made up the Battle of Alberta when he was a member of the arch-rival Edmonton Oilers? Does Matt Cooke's blood boil at the thought of Calgary and the fans of the Red Mile for all the incidents between him and the Flames back in his Vancouver days? Or do they care at all. Where a Calgary jersey is just another opponents jersey and the level of ire is just the same as it would be for Chicago or Nashville? Does today's professional culture make it simply a matter of business to dislike but overall the feelings are impersonal and indifferent.
The Wild and Flames have had some rough games over the years and while many of the familiar faces that once terrorized the State of Hockey, like the smiling face of Jarome Iginla or the permanent poker face of Miikka Kiprusoff are no longer in Calgary are those feelings of ill-will completely gone. Erased by a simple change of divisions? Or is there some vestige can still be seen, heard or felt? Will Tim Jackman try to turn Mikael Granlund into board dust just out of spite or simply because he's on the ice and in a Wild uniform?
Potential hate and indifference aside, the Calgary Flames have done some major retooling (they don't like the word rebuilding) this summer. Kiprusoff retired, Iginla was dealt last spring and did not return as some had hoped. Younger players now lead the Flames attack; as rookie phenom Sean Monahan, Sven Baertschi and former Denver Pioneers stud Joe Colborne get opportunites to show what they can do in prime time. Veterans like Jiri Hudler, Curtis Glencross, Mike Cammalleri and Mark Giordano try to help guide this collection of young and inexperienced talent. Swiss-born goalie Reto Berra had a big NHL debut, stopping 42 shots in an overtime win over Chicago this Sunday and I would not be surprised if the Flames give him another chance tonight.
Flames' bench boss Bob Hartley is doing his best to guide this team in transition through this latest challenge of changing divisions. However injuries have become a factor early as Giordano and Lee Stempniak have both been injured by pucks striking their skates as they attempted to block shots. This has prompted an unprecedented move by Calgary General Manager Jay Feaster in mandating that all Flames players must wear plastic skate guards on the shoe of their skate to help protect their feet from similar injuries. While it may sound like a logical mandate on the part of a team concerned with protecting its multi-million dollar investment, its likely a move that will draw flak from the NHLPA who would say such a mandate violates the currenty collective bargaining agreement. It took the league nearly years to be able to mandate (gasp) helmets and more recently visors so its shouldn't be a surprise that such logic would face such resistance.
Meanwhile, life has been pretty good in Minnesota (knock on wood). The Wild have won 6 of their last 7 games and the team is lighting the lamp with more frequency and the penalty kill is slowly improving while the team has stayed hot on the power play and they still are strong defensively. Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund have given the team another scoring option beyond Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu which carried the team last season. Nino Niederreiter is looking like a huge steal by Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher as he starts to show why he was originally drafted 5th Overall back in 2010. Ryan Suter is showing more confidence in the offensive zone, showcasing his skills as a set up man while still playing responsibly in his own zone along side talented youngster Jonas Brodin who continues to play beyond his years. Charlie Coyle, a player who struggled a bit in his return to the lineup on Friday sat for Sunday's 4-0 win over New Jersey will be back in for tonight.
The last time the two clubs played, the Wild were embarassed by the Flames who were a shell of their former self after deadline deals of Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester in a game Minnesota could ill-afford to give up. The Wild have a chance to avenge that embarassment by finishing off their homestand strong with a victory this evening. As an old Klingon proverb once stated, "revenge is a dish best served cold." Why not against the Flames?
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