Minnesota Wild (18-14-4) 40pts 5th in the Central
2.81 Goals For (13th)
2.72 Goals Against (21st)
14.8% Power Play (25th)
84.4% Penalty Kill (8th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 14G 15A = 29pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 8G 20A = 28pts
3. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 6G 17A = 23pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 21A = 22pts
5. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6G 13A = 19pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 42 PIM’s
2. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 34 PIM’s
3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 25 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (13-11-0) 2.51GAA .907%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-3-3) 2.58GAA .901%SP
Vs.
Dallas Stars (17-14-5) 39pts 6th in the Central
2.94 Goals For (7th)
3.25 Goals Against (28th)
16.8% Power Play (22nd)
79.2% Penalty Kill (21st)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #91 Tyler Seguin ~ 25G 19A = 44pts
2. #14 Jamie Benn ~ 11G 21A = 32pts
3. #90 Jason Spezza ~ 6G 20A = 26pts
4. #21 Antoine Roussel ~ 8G 10A = 18pts
5. #6 Trevor Daley ~ 8G 9A = 17pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #21 Antoine Roussel ~ 80 PIM’s
2. #14 Jamie Benn ~ 41 PIM’s
3. #16 Ryan Garbutt ~ 24 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #32 Kari Lehtonen (16-8-5) 2.86GAA .908%SP 3SO
2. #29 Anders Lindback (1-5-0) 4.29GAA .864%SP
Well color me surprised. Last night, against an opponent that Minnesota often struggles with (plus during the December/beginning of January slump), the Wild came out and played the kind of game that fans have been hoping for for a long time. It was far from perfect, but definitely a vast improvement. I’ll take improvements. Now last night was the first of many baby steps. It was a win against an Eastern Conference opponent in which they were essentially two free points. It didn’t really matter how the points were won (although shootout and overtime points can count against you in a tie breaker at the end of the regular season). The face that the Wild got two points in regulation against Toronto can only put a smile on the face of even the harshest of cynics. Now it’s time for the Wild to get real.
The steps in the right direction will hopefully continue tonight. Just when you need the Wild to string together several wins, they have to head to an arena that historically, hasn’t been kind to Minnesota. The good news is that in the two previous games this season played in Dallas, the Wild have won both games, and so far have won all three games against the Stars this season. Two of the three games have been won in regulation, which is really, really important. I cannot stress the importance of winning games in regulation to Western Conference opponents, especially those within your division. We knew going into this season how important wins against Central Division opponents were going to be, and once again it’s going to be a slug-fest. What’s going to be more difficult with tonight’s trip to Dallas, is that it comes on the second half of a back-to-back.
One positive, is that last night we finally saw glimpses of what our high-paid veterans are supposed to be. Now, I’m going to remain cautiously optimistic about them, because I’m not about to pat them on the back for a job well done, until it becomes a regular occurrence. One good game does not a great season make. One great thing I will comment on specifically is the return of Erik Haula. He earned some time in Mike Yeo’s doghouse, but made his return against Toronto. Haula played the game he needs to play. His speed, especially with the absence of Jason Zucker, worked to disrupt the offensive attempts by the Maple Leafs. For you long-time Wild fans, Haula’s role is to simply be the new version of Wes Walz and Antti Laaksonen. This means he’s there to chip in the occasional goal but to use his speed to go up against the oppositions top players and keep them from scoring. Nothing more, nothing less. I read an interesting argument on Twitter with people ragging on Haula for being disappointing. Really? Haula? Also, you long-time fans will also remember that even Jacques Lemaire eventually benched the “Iron Finn.” No player should be exempt from time in the press box, so hopefully Yeo will eventually learn that. And the fans need to temper their expectations of Haula. Just because he was the leading scorer with the Gophers on a team with Nick Bjugstad on it, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in the NHL. Seriously, just study Wes Walz’s NHL and European hockey history, and you will see many parallels. Trust me, having a Wes Walz-type player on the team can only be a good thing.
As we head into Dallas tonight, I can only hope that with the New Year comes a new team. Perhaps the Minnesota Wild have carefully chosen their resolutions and they will follow through with them.
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