Minnesota Wild (24-18-5) 53pts 4th in Central
2.30 Goals For (27th)
2.45 Goals Against (10th)
19.6% Power Play (9th)
79.6% Penalty Kill (24th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 18G 13A = 31pts
2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 5G 24A = 29pts
3. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 9G 15A = 24pts
4. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 5G 13A = 18pts
5. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 3G 15A = 18pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 39 PIMs
2. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 31 PIMs
3. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 30 PIMs
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding ~ (18-7-3) 1.65GAA .933SV% 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom ~ (5-10-2) 3.02GAA .899SV% 0SO
3. #35 Darcy Kuemper ~ (1-1-0) 3.39GAA .875SV% 0SO
Vs.
Nashville Predators ( 19-20-7) 45pts 6th in Central
2.37 Goals For (25th)
2.87 Goals Against (20th)
20.0% Power Play (7th)
81.8% Penalty Kill (14th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #6 Shea Weber ~ 10G 19A = 29pts
2. #11 David Legwand ~ 7G 21A = 28pts
3. #15 Craig Smith ~ 13G 14A = 27pts
4. #12 Mike Fisher ~ 12A 12A = 24pts
5. #27 Patric Hornqvist ~ 9G 15A = 24pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #16 Rich Clune ~ 83 PIMs
2. #26 Matt Hendricks ~ 52 PIMs
3. #24 Eric Nystrom ~ 42 PIMs
Top Goaltenders:
1. #39 Marek Mazanek ~ (8-9-4) 2.75GAA .904SV% 2SO
2. #30 Carter Hutton ~ (7-7-2) 3.01GAA .902SV% 0SO
3. #35 Pekka Rinne ~ (4-4-1) 2.31GAA .917SV% 0SO
4. #45 Magnus Hellberg ~ (0-0-0) 5.00GAA .750SV% 0SO
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***Disclaimer*** Today's article is for those of you over the legal drinking age in whatever country you reside in.
As a Wild fan, over the past few seasons, we've found just about any reason to drink. And drink heavily. Sometimes, we find that they play better when we've sacrificed our livers to the Hockey Gods. Other nights, we find it makes the losses less painful. However, for those of us that watch the games from home and chat with each other, it's like we're at a virtual watering hole watching the game together. Some nights, drinking games are involved. For instance, when it's a nationally broadcast game, there's usually a drink taken whenever Pierre McGuire mentions Shattuck-St. Mary's Preparatory School in Fairbault, Minnesota. Which is often. It's as if it's the only thing he knows about Minnesota. There are extra drinks involved if he mentions his golden boy, Sidney Crosby played at Shattuck, even when Crosby isn't in that particular game. And if a player in that night's game played with Crosby at Shattuck, well plan to meet the floor by the end of the first period. But alas, tonight is not a nationally broadcast game, so no Shattuck drinking game tonight.
Other nights, the drinking game involves our not-so-brilliant televsion broadcast duo of Anthony LaPanta and Mike Greenlay. These games are usually self-made, and they too can involve mentions of Shattuck. They've done this from time to time, since it's where Zach Parise went to school. And it's a definite given game when the Wild are playing the Chicago Blackhawks, because Jonathan Toews went there as well. Other nights it can involve the excuses that Greenlay makes for the Wild's goaltending. It's amazing the things that sometimes come out of Greenlay's mouth to excuse extremely poor goaltending. I realize that Greenlay was a goaltender. But a goaltender of Greenlay's pathetic ability is not exactly one I'm going to believe excuses from. You name it, we've probably had a drinking game based on our broadcast team.
Tonight, the drinking game involves absolute no thinking whatsoever. Tonight, anytime the Nashville fans boo Ryan Suter, you're taking a drink. Considering how many minutes Suter plays in a game, you're going to be toast by the end of the first period. I'm sorry, but Nashville fans take themselves way too seriously. They're not the only team in the league that has lost a player to free agency. I mean, we lost Marion Gaborik to free agency, and I would say Gaborik and his agent(s) were far more underhanded in their actions than Suter was with Nashville. We have more to boo about than you do Nashville, yet do you hear us crying over spillt milk? It's been pointed out that time and time again that Suter and Parise wanted to play together and had to be signed as a package deal. Nashville appears to have only wanted to negotiate with Suter and not Parise as well. So don't boo Suter. Boo your own General Manager and ownder/corporate support who couldn't (or wouldn't) get a package deal done. I just hope I'm numb enough with tonight's drinking game that Nashville's beyond annoying goal song doesn't bother me. God that song is awful. Oh, and extra swigs each time the broadcaster mention that Mike Fisher is married to Carrie Underwood. I'm still baffled that Underwood thought she should remake The Sound of Music. I mean really? Underwood is no Julie Andrews.
And if you're not rolling around on the floor in you're own filth by the middle of the second period, I give you one more element to tonight's drinking game. Pay attention now, because you're really going to have to listen carefully to see if this one comes to fruition. You get two drinks if the Nashville fans boo Jonathan Blum, another of their first round draft picks that now play for the Minnesota Wild. You get one swig if LaPanta or Greenlay mention that Blum was a Nashville prospect who played 91 games for the Predators. Seriously, if you're that ticked about Suter, you should be spreading a little of that hatred to Blum as well. Oh wait, that would mean that Nashville fans actually know that Blum was one of their prospects. Nevermind, I highly doubt they even know that. So, all booing will be reserved for Suter.
I hope your beer fridge is well stocked for tonight. You're going to need it. Thankfully, I have tomorrow off. For the rest of you, it's probably a good thing that tonight's game starts an hour early.
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