Minnesota Wild (22-17-5) 49pts 4th in the Central
2.30 Goals For (28th)
2.48 Goals Against (11th)
19.9% Power Play (10th)
79.1% Penalty Kill (25th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8G 27A = 35pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 18G 11A = 29pts
3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 5G 24A = 29pts
4. #11 Zach Parise ~ 15G 12A = 27pts
5. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 8G 13A = 21pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 39 PIM's
2. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 31 PIM's
3. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 28 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (18-7-3) 1.65GAA .933%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backtrom (4-9-2) 3.15GAA .896%SP
Vs.
Los Angeles Kings (26-13-4) 56pts 3rd in the Pacific
2.49 Goals For (22nd)
2.02 Goals Against (1st)
15.2% Power Play (23rd)
83.5% Penalty Kill (10th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Anze Kopitar ~ 13G 22A = 35pts
2. #10 Mike Richards ~ 6G 22A = 28pts
3. #77 Jeff Carter ~ 15G 11A = 26pts
4. #14 Justin Williams ~ 13G 13A = 26pts
5. #8 Drew Doughty ~ 6G 17A = 23pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #13 Kyle Clifford ~ 51 PIM's
2. #23 Dustin Brown ~ 45 PIM's
3. #8 Drew Doughty ~ 42 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #32 Jonathan Quick (11-5-0) 2.27GAA .909%SP 1SO
2. #31 Martin Jones (8-3-0) 1.41GAA .950%SP 3SO
3. #54 Ben Scrivens (7-5-4) 1.97GAA .931%SP 3SO
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When you were younger and learning a new skill, do you remember adults telling you that in order to be proficient in that new skill, it took a series of baby steps? Oh, and you might as well throw in making some mistakes on that way to proficiency as well. I do, and in fact learning a new skill as an adult also requires taking things one step at a time. When we get a new job or are assigned new tasks at our jobs, it takes time and practice in order to do things right. This past summer, I transferred from our consumer sales division to our business/corporate sales division. It involved a lot of training, and even now that I'm five months in to my new role, I still make mistakes or have to ask for clarification. I can only take things one step at a time and move on from there.
Hockey is a lot like that. 82 games in a season is a long process. I've come to the conclusion that I need to break it down into smaller snapshots. Especially for a team like the Wild who can have a bit of success, and then trips up for a bit. This same snapshot can also put the opposing team into either a clearer focus or at least a less intimidating focus. I used it for the last game against Washington, and it certainly made me feel better about facing the Capitals, and now that we're without Mikko Koivu for several weeks, it can reduce some anxiety. There's this great little stat on the National Hockey League's website, however it's not under statistics, it's under standings. This great stat of sorts is the "last ten games." Ten is a great number, because it can show trends in a small window and it's not such a large window that it overwhelms a person. And it certainly helps in making comparisons.
I'm about to make a statement that my qualify me for the Captain Obvious award, but here it goes. Looking at record alone, the Los Angeles Kings are a better team than the Minnesota Wild. But when you go to that last 10 games stat, it makes a person feel much better about their chances. In the last ten games, Los Angeles is 4-6-0. Guess who is also 4-6-0 in their last ten games? That's right, we are. When you see those kinds of similarities, you then feel the need to dig a little deeper. Remember the Wild's six regulation losses in a row? Well the Kings are coming off something similar. Previous to their win against Vancouver just this past Saturday, the Kings had lost five games in a row, all of them in regulation. Sound familiar? However, I will admit that their opponents during their five game skid were much tougher than the New York Islanders, but a loss is still that, a loss. In those five losses, they didn't earn any points either. Now while the Kings are the better team and have a better record and more points, seeing that sort of hiccup certainly makes me feel better going into tonight.
With tonight's late start and five players (Koivu, Zach Parise, Josh Harding, Jaren Spurgeon, Justin Fontaine) on injured reserve, I just hope tonight doesn't turn into a nightmare. With all those injuries, the Wild have recalled Erik Haula and Jonathan Blum from the Iowa Wild. It doesn't help that Los Angeles has a full and healthy roster. Although, thankfully the Kings traded Daniel Carcillo to the New York Rangers. I've never liked that guy, and I'm just glad that we don't have to play against him. Now if only the Kings could find a way (or just completely off the deep end) and trade away Anze Kopitar and the rest of their talented crew before tonight, I would certainly feel better about the Wild's chances. However, that's not going to happen.
Until then, it's just a series of baby steps.
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