Minnesota Wild (20-8-4) 44pts 2nd in the Central
2.94 Goals For Per Game (6th in the NHL)
1.88 Goals Against Per Game (1st in the NHL)
16.5% Power Play (20th in the NHL)
85.7% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 11G 15A = 26pts
2. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 11G 12A = 23pts
3. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 7G 16A = 23pts
4. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 8G 12A = 20pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 7G 12A = 19pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 40 PIM’s
2. #63 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 24 PIM’s
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 22 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (17-6-3) 1.57GAA .948%SP 5SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (3-2-1) 2.97GAA .907%SP
Vs.
New York Rangers (23-11-1) 47pts 2nd in the Metropolitan
3.23 Goals For Per Game (3rd in the NHL)
2.31 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL)
20.4% Power Play (10th in the NHL)
84.4% Penalty Kill (6th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #13 Kevin Hayes ~ 11G 12A = 23pts
2. #21 Derek Stepan ~ 6G 17A = 23pts
3. #10 J.T. Miller ~ 9G 13A = 22pts
4. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 8G 14A = 22pts
5. #20 Chris Kreider ~ 9G 12A = 21pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #20 Chris Kreider ~ 19 PIM’s
2. #18 Marc Staal ~ 18 PIM’s
3. #76 Brady Skjei ~ 16 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #30 Henrik Lundqvist (15-8-1) 2.34GAA .920%SP 1SO
2. #32 Antti Raanta (8-3-0) 2.10GAA .930%SP 2SO
Lines:
New York Rangers
Kreider~Stepan~Zuccarello
Grabner~Hayes~Miller
Vesey~Lindberg~Fast
Puempel~Hrivik~Pirri
McDonagh~Girardi
M. Staal~Klein
Skjei~Clendening
Lundqvist
Raanta
Minnesota Wild
Parise?~Staal~Coyle
Niederreiter~Koivu~Granlund
Zucker~Graovac~Pominville
Stewart~Cannone~Schroeder
Suter~Spurgeon
Brodin~Dumba
Scandella~Folin
Dubnyk
Kuemper
I’m going to go out on a pretty short limb here. It appears that the dreaded “December Slump” has been avoided this season. There’s no better way to banish such demons then to put up a nine-game win streak. I was a bit worried when the first game of the month, one against Calgary, come out as a loss. For many of us, we had to wonder if it was going to be a typical December. However, after that loss, things turned around. And definitely turned around for the better. And it’s not just the Minnesota Wild riding a hot December. You can add their fellow 2000-01 season expansion brethren the Columbus Blue Jackets to the mix. Columbus is riding an amazing eleven-game win streak. This could end up being the season of the expansion teams. Columbus is currently sitting at the top of their division, ahead of Pittsburgh and tonight’s opponent, the New York Rangers. Minnesota is sitting at an impressive second place in the Central Division, only trailing Chicago by four points, a point differential that isn’t unsurpassable. While I have little love for Columbus, I have to say I’d much rather have them at the top of their division than the Penguins or the Rangers. So it should be interesting when we meet them on New Year’s Eve.
Now looking back to last night in Montreal, I had an uneasy feeling much of the night. Facing a team that leads their division in an arena that has been unkind to the Wild is rarely a recipe for success. I really got nervous once the Wild gave up that shorthanded goal. The Wild’s power play is bad enough as it is when they can’t score. But when you give up a goal as well when you’re the one who’s supposed to be scoring, it definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Sure, I felt a bit better after Minnesota scored a shorthanded goal of their own, but even then I was still on edge. Both times the Wild had to score a tying goal, it felt a bit like smoke and mirrors for me. Yes, Minnesota is a better team now than in previous seasons where it felt like they were always having to play from behind, but behind is not where you want to see them playing on a regular basis. Or at least when you’re playing a team that has always been your kryptonite. I was even still on tenterhooks when Minnesota finally scored the go-ahead goal. There was still enough time for things to go south again. We’ve all seen this team score that important goal and then take their collective foot off the gas. I don’t think any of us took a comfortable breath until the empty-net goal by Jason Zucker.
Now a bit of that kryptonite will follow the Wild into Manhattan. Tonight, the Wild will attempt a franchise-record ten-game winning streak. Minnesota head coach, Bruce Boudreau doesn’t want to stop with the current win streak, as according to him during last night’s press conference, to stop now with the current franchise record of nine wins, would be like kissing your sister. Hopefully that same feeling is being shared by the team. It’s everyone’s hope that the laser focus the team has now doesn’t become a stumbling block. We’ve all see teams so focused on break this or that record or trying to hard to set up one particular teammate to get them to this or that career milestone that it ultimately gets in the way of the game. Don’t believe me? Think back to the game in New Jersey earlier this season. The entire team was so focused on setting up Zach Parise to score his 300th NHL goal in his former home. The determined intent ultimately caused their own downfall against the Devils. That was a game Minnesota should have won, however their misguided priorities worked against them. So I have that worry again tonight. Sure, I would love to see them get that tenth consecutive win, but if it causes them to play too tight, it’s going to be a hard game to watch.
Everyone of course is clamoring to know, who is Boudreau starting in goal tonight. The arguments for starting either Devan Dubnyk or Darcy Kuemper. In the case of Dubnyk, you often want to play the hot hand. Dubnyk has looked great in his recent starts, and of course his stats support that. And it’s pretty much a given that the Rangers will start Henrik Lundqvist especially since they didn’t play last night. However if they did start Antti Raanta they wouldn’t have much to worry about, as he and Lundqvist are both having solid seasons. After last night’s goaltender battle with Carey Price with Dubnyk coming out victorious, you almost want to see if he can do it two nights in a row. Yet, you also have to worry about pushing too hard and letting Dubnyk get a night off. If he needs the rest, than Kuemper would get the nod. You also want to keep Kuemper in game-ready condition. It’s the job of the backup guy to be ready at a moment’s notice, and when the backup sits too long, they do get rusty. Myself personally, I would be more comfortable with Dubnyk getting the start. Looking at the numbers for the Rangers, again their top five scorers are comparable to the Wild. Much like it was with the Canadiens, the Rangers’ top five are almost point for point with the Wild’s. However, when I look at the team stats for things like goals for per game and their power play, I know I want to see the goaltender with the best goals-against-average and save percentage in the league starting.
I don’t think I will breathe easy during this one. However, much of that may be attributed to the fact that I’m going to be battling holiday traffic with winter driving conditions while listening to the game on the radio. With that in mind because of travel tonight, we won’t be publishing a post-game article tonight. We wish you the absolute happiest of holidays with your family and friends…and that the Wild bring a little extra holiday cheer tonight with a win.
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