Minnesota Wild (11-7-0) 22pts 4th in the Central
2.89 Goals For (8th)
2.28 Goals Against (8th)
10.2% Power Play (28th)
88.1% Penalty Kill (5th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 9G 3A = 12pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 6G 6A = 12pts
3. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 4G 8A = 12pts
4. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 2G 8A = 10pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 9A = 10pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 30 PIM’s
2. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 20 PIM’s
3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 17 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (9-5-0) 2.03GAA .918%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (2-2-0) 2.55GAA .890%SP
Vs.
Tampa Bay Lightning (13-6-2) 28pts 2nd in the Atlantic
3.52 Goals For (2nd)
2.71 Goals Against (17th)
22.2% Power Play (7th)
80.3% Penalty Kill (17th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #91 Steven Stamkos ~ 13G 10A = 23pts
2. #9 Tyler Johnson ~ 6G 15A = 21pts
3. #86 Nikita Kucherov ~ 7G 11A = 18pts
4. #51 Valterri Filppula ~ 4G 14A = 18pts
5. #18 Ondrej Palat ~ 5G 10A = 15pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Radko Gudas ~ 30 PIM’s
2. #2 Eric Brewer ~ 18 PIM’s
3. #11 Brian Boyle ~ 17 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #30 Ben Bishop (11-3-2) 2.37GAA .914%SP
2. #20 Evgeni Nabokov (2-3-0) 3.71GAA .870%SP
Okay everyone, I’m going to start today with a bit of a rant (no surprise there). Trust me, for my fans on the Wild’s official message boards, I’m known as a bit of a Negative Nelly. Yes, I love the Wild, but I’m not of the blind devotion kind of fans who can say nothing bad about the team. When they’re bad, I’ll let you know it, and if you read the post-game that I wrote for the Philadelphia game, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, here is today’s rant. I hate that every NHL arena, save three (Joe Louis Arena, Madison Square Garden, and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) have corporate names. Why is this a big deal you ask? Well, lately arenas that I have known by one name for years, suddenly get a new corporate sponsor and therefore get a new name. Case in point, the home of the Lightning. Ever since they came into the league, their arena was first known as the Ice Palace, but for the longest time it’s been the St. Petersburg Time Forum (and for two years the Tampa Bay Times Forum). It was easy to remember. However with the state of newspapers in the country, they probably can no longer afford to pay the sponsorship fee for naming rights. Now, it’s called the Amalie Arena. Huh? I had to look them up to find out they’re an oil company instead of a French foreign film. With such a pretty name, it’s easy to not think of their heavy carbon footprint. And yes, our beloved Xcel Energy Center would fit into this rant as well. Yes, I miss the days of arenas with names like Met Center, Boston Garden, Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Garden, and Chicago Stadium. They had names where you generally knew where they were not who ponied up a major tax write off for naming rights. Instead, not only to I have to try to keep up with what’s happening in the 29 other teams, statistics, etc., I also have to keep track of what their barn is currently named. Lovely.
The other rant for the day is definitely more game related. If Minnesota comes out tonight like they did in Philadelphia, it could be a long night for Wild players, coaches and fans. Just comparing the Lightning’s top five scorers with Minnesota’s is a joke. The Wild can’t even hope to compete point wise. If Minnesota gives them even an inch, Tampa has the skill and ability to fully take advantage of that inch. Add that to a sense of revenge. Remember, we already played the Lightning this season, and fully embarrassed them with a 7-2 trouncing in St. Paul. I know I thoroughly enjoyed that game and I still can’t believe it actually happened. I don’t however see a repeat of that score in Minnesota’s favor, especially not in their strangely named arena. Although stranger things have happened this season, such as the Florida Panthers-San Jose Sharks series. So who knows, if the Panthers can pull it off, who knows, Minnesota just might be able to do it as well. And it doesn’t help that various bugs, infections, and injuries are hitting the Wild early this season. Wild captain Mikko Koivu sat out the rest of the third period after the opening power play with some sort of illness. They don’t think it’s the mumps like Jonas Brodin or Marco Scandella had, but with immune systems under attack, who’s to say that he didn’t pick up a bad cold or a mild case of the flu. Koivu will most likely be out tonight. Kyle Brodziak will be back, although many are wishing he had been in the lineup on Thursday instead of Stu Bickel. And let’s just not talk about Thomas Vanek. That just causes all sorts of gnashing of teeth.
I suppose I should end on a happy note. I can be happy and write the occasion puff piece about Minnesota, it’s just not my style. You see my friends, the Wild have their dads on this trip. I don’t have the stat at my finger tips, and sadly I don’t have the time to look (if you do, go right ahead, I don’t mind), but I don’t know the Wild’s record with their dads on the road. We all wish that somehow having dad in the stands and traveling with you would inspire them to greatness, but we’re still talking about Minnesota on the road. Like Keith Ballard said in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, he’s used to having his parents in the stands in St. Paul, but now his dad gets to see all the extra that goes into a road game and the extra work. Yet, there still has to be a focus on the actual game and doing everything possible to get a win. That is the careful balance that Minnesota has to strive toward. Sure, I’d love to come out with the win and come out with a five-game winning streak, but considering tonight’s opponent, I just want to see 60 minutes of competitive hockey and spend it completely hemmed in our zone. Is that too much to ask for?
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