Minnesota Wild (24-9-4) 52pts 2nd in the Central
3.16 Goals For Per Game (4th in the NHL)
2.11 Goals Against Per Game (3rd in the NHL)
18.4% Power Play (15th in the NHL)
86% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 13G 20A = 33pts
2. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 12G 19A = 31pts
3. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 10G 21A = 31pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 11G 15A = 26pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 9G 16A = 25pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 47 PIM’s
2. #24 Mathew Dumba ~ 39 PIM’s
3. #63 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 24 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (20-7-3) 1.82GAA .939%SP 5SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (4-2-1) 3.11GAA .904%SP
Vs.
Los Angeles Kings (19-16-4) 42pts 6th in the Pacific
2.38 Goals For Per Game (23rd in the NHL)
2.38 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL)
16.1% Power Play (21st in the NHL)
83.9% Penalty Kill (8th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #77 Jeff Carter ~ 21G 12A = 33pts
2. #27 Alec Martinez ~ 6G 15A = 21pts
3. #73 Tyler Toffoli ~ 8G 12A = 20pts
4. #70 Tanner Pearson ~ 10G 9A = 19pts
5. #8 Drew Doughty ~ 6G 12A = 18pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #13 Kyle Clifford ~ 47 PIM’s
2. #24 Derek Forbort ~ 40 PIM’s
3. #71 Jordan Nolan ~ 40 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Peter Budaj (17-10-3) 2.00GAA .921%SP 4SO
2. #37 Jeff Zatkoff (2-6-1) 2.98GAA .884%SP
Lines:
Los Angeles Kings
Gaborik~Kopitar~Brown
Pearson~Carter~Setoguchi
Clifford~Dowd~Lewis
King~Shore~Nolan
Forbort~Doughty
Muzzin~Martinez
McNabb~Gravel
Budaj
Zatkoff
Minnesota Wild
Parise~Staal~Schroeder
Zucker~Koivu~Granlund
Niederreiter~Haula~Coyle
Stewart~Graovac~Pominville
Suter~Spurgeon
Brodin~Dumba
Scandella~Prosser / Folin
Dubnyk
Kuemper
Okay everyone. Go ahead, raise your hand. I know that many of you completely missed the first period of Thursday night’s game. With the excitement of the USA vs Canada gold medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championships, it was easy to forget that the Wild were even playing. I’m also sure a bunch of us also kept thinking that the US was out of that game many times during the course of it. However, it became clear that they refused to give up. And that refusal is ultimately what made for an exciting finish. And for those of us cheering for the red, white and blue, the finish is what we wanted. Then for those of us who are gluttons for punishment and turned to the Wild game being played in San Jose, we felt some similar feelings. You know, finding your team essentially down and out. I watched the Wild having to claw themselves out of a two-goal deficit, only to find them back in it shortly after Zach Parise’s game-tying goal. After Joel Ward and Patrick Marleau put the Sharks again ahead by two goals, I decided to step away. It was late. The contacts needed to come out and I decided to get myself ready for bed. In the five to six minutes I was away from my television, I missed an flurry of three Wild goals. If anything, this season has taught me to never count this team out.
The one thing that many of us are going to be watching, will be to see what kind of game Devan Dubnyk has. When we look back on the history of this team, we all start to get a bit nervous when Minnesota gives up four goals in a game. The Wild are definitely scoring a lot more goals this season compared to others, but you can’t help feeling a bit twitchy when the opposition scores four goals. Heck, I get that twitchy feeling when the opposition scores three goals. Yet even with games where Dubnyk surrenders four goals, he’s still the top of the league when it comes to GAA, Save Percentage, and shut outs. There’s also the chance that we’ll see Darcy Kuemper today as well. With this West Coast road trip, we should see him at some point, either today in Los Angeles or tomorrow in Anaheim. If we base things on the numbers, I would feel more comfortable putting Kuemper between the pipes against the Kings. First off, Kuemper has had success at Staples Center. It would be a good way to give him a look and boost his confidence. Plus, the Kings have lost six of their last nine games, including a 4-0 trouncing at home thanks to the Detroit Red Wings. Might as well take advantage of the Kings’ misfortune and give Dubnyk a rest.
But even with the numbers for the most part being in the Wild’s favor, there are some numbers we simply cannot ignore. First off there is Anze Kopitar. In his 37 games against the Minnesota Wild, he has 28 points. Even as disappointing a season the Kings are having, I can easily see him coming out and having a good game against the Wild. Sure, he’s not in the Kings’ top five when it comes to scoring this season, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be invisible. In fact, because the Kings are struggling, especially in recent games, this would be the game to try and stage a comeback. Plus, when you’re the team in possession of the last Wild Card position in the Western Conference, and you’re only holding on to that spot by one measly point, and the team that is trailing you by one point is the Nashville Predators, you should come to play. I don’t foresee this being an easy game for Minnesota. It also helps that the Kings’ number one scorer, Jeff Carter, has 15 point in 23 games against Minnesota.
Don’t get me wrong, I love an exciting game. However, I could do without some of the theatrics of the wins we’ve been seeing. You know, like when you step away for six minutes, and Minnesota scores three goals which ultimately win the game. I would like to see a good old-fashioned stomping of the Kings. I’d like to have a game for once where there’s no question on who the better team is.
And since the games lately have been a bit stressful, I figure you could use a good laugh. This blooper video curtesy of White Bear Mitsubishi is sure to make you laugh out loud.
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