Minnesota Wild (34-21-7) 75pts 4th in the Central
2.36 Goals For (25th)
2.36 Goals Against (4th)
18.6% Power Play (15th)
81.4% Penalty Kill (18th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 22G 20A = 42pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 21G 18A = 39pts
3. #26 Matt Moulson ~ 17G 21A = 38pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8G 27A = 35pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 6G 28A = 34pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 76 PIM's
2. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 50 PIM's
3. #8 Cody McCormick ~ 45 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (11-3-2) 2.19GAA .924%SP 2SO
2. #30 Ilya Bryzgalov (5-8-5) 3.01GAA .908%SP 1SO
Vs.
Dallas Stars (30-23-10) 70pts 5th in the Central
2.82 Goals For (9th)
2.73 Goals Against (16th)
15.3% Power Play (23rd)
81.3% Penalty Kill (19th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #91 Tyler Seguin ~ 28G 35A = 63pts
2. #14 Jamie Benn ~ 24G 35A = 59pts
3. #20 Cody Eakin ~ 13G 16A = 29pts
4. #43 Valeri Nichushkin ~ 13G 16A = 29pts
5. #17 Rich Peverly ~ 7G 22A = 29pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #21 Antoine Roussel ~ 164 PIM's
2. #16 Ryan Garbutt ~ 69 PIM's
3. #4 Brendan Dillon ~ 68 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #32 Kari Lehtonen (25-16-10) 2.45GAA .917%SP 3SO
2. #34 Tim Thomas (16-20-3) 2.87GAA .909%SP
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Often, I try to be a positive person in real life. This outlook usually makes my job in customer service much easier. Trust me, when you're nice, pleasant, and willing to help a customer it usually makes the job that much easier. However, there are times in my life when being positive is very hard to do. Looking at the Wild's calendar as well as the trade deadline splash made on Wednesday and then combined with Minnesota's history at American Airline Arena, I have almost no hope of being a happy fan.
First off, let's start with Minnesota's schedule. The Wild haven't played a game since flippin' Monday. That means it's been five days since they've taken to the ice in a true competition. You don't have to be a long-time Wild fan to know just how bad that is. For whatever reason that fails me, the Minnesota Wild always come out apathetic and sluggish after a long break in the regular season. Other teams will come out refreshed and ready to go, but not Minnesota. With the absolute crunch of games (especially on the road), you would think they would relish those days of rest and get some much needed sleep and time with family and friends. However, all that rest, good food, and family time continue to work against the Wild. Now, surprisingly Minnesota has played well after the 21-day Olympic break, which I don't understand. History would side on the side of the Wild being absolutely horrendous after the break. They've shocked me. So perhaps, this five day break won't be as detrimental as I think it will be. However, there are other things working against the Wild, which will just make this seem glaringly worse than it is.
The next element that could set us up for extreme disappointment is the fact that the Minnesota Wild pulled off one of the biggest trades at that deadline buzzer. While other teams either stayed pat or made smaller moves earlier in the deadline process, Minnesota managed to nab Matt Moulson as well as his Buffalo teammate Cody McCormick for almost nothing. The eyes will definitely be on the Wild to see if the trade plays out the way the team, its management, and its fans hope it will. There are already some sour grapes being hurled at the Wild. There are people claiming that Minnesota has "tampered" in the proceedings, which is why Tomas Vanek refused to re-sign with the New York Islanders. Since it's a somewhat well-known fact that Vanek wants to play (and end his career) in Minnesota, we're somehow also responsible for Vanek wanting to get out of that hockey nightmare/quagmire known as Long Island. Before you start hurling that accusation, you best take a look at yourself in the mirror. And then there's the press in Philadelphia and Edmonton tossing some daggers at Ilya Byzgalov and his weird responses to the press. In some of his strange responses to the Minnesota media, there are those back in Philly and Edmonton saying "good luck with that." There are those that simply think that his short and odd responses have more to him being torched by the media, and he's simply waiting to get more comfortable and familiar with the local press before saying too much. Yes, many eyes will be looking at Minnesota in the next month or so if not into the playoffs.
The third part working against the Minnesota Wild is their absolutely horrible record at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Hell, horrible might not even be the best adjective. In fact the correct word fails me. If you can think of a word that better describes the Wild's 1-13-5 record since March 21, 2003 I'm open to suggestions. This is the main fact that has me pretty much shaking in my boots. And these are winter boots, not cowboy boots. It's still early March, so we're bound for another blizzard, so keep your winter gear handy. And if you thought that record wasn't bad enough, you can add in a Mike Modano celebration tonight. They're not just celebrating his history with the Dallas Stars and Minnesota North Stars, but they're retiring his #9 jersey. I don't know about you, but I feel like I want to puke. It's like the people in Dallas said, "hey, Minnesota sucks when they come here, but let's further rub salt in their wounds by retiring a jersey tonight as well." If you haven't tossed your cookies yet, hold on to your hat. According to reports, none other than that sexual harasser, liar to the people of Minnesota, Norm Green will be in attendance. Well Dallas, I have some choice words for you, but I'm trying very hard to keep this family friendly. Let's just say the first word rhymes with 'puck' and the other word is simply 'you.' Hell, if we have to play Dallas when we finally get an outdoor game, I think I will pull my hair out or seriously consider committing bodily harm to Gary Bettman.
So it's going to be a long night, and longer because the game is starting a half hour later than we're used to for games played in the Central Time Zone. And as an added friendly reminder (since we're going to be up a bit later than normal), don't forget to set your clock ahead when you go to bed tonight. Who says I'm not a friendly, customer service type?
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