Minnesota Wild (9-7-0) 18pts 5th in the Central
2.81 Goals For (10th)
2.25 Goals Against (9th)
8.2% Power Play (29th)
87.5% Penalty Kill (6th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 7G 2A = 9pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 4G 5A = 9pts
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 2G 7A = 9pts
4. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 2G 7A = 9pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 8A = 9pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 16 PIM’s
2. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 14 PIM’s
3. #21 Kyle Brodziak ~ 13 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (7-5-0) 2.06GAA .913%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (2-2-0) 2.33GAA .897%SP
Vs.
Winnipeg Jets (9-6-2) 20pts 3rd in the Central
1.78 Goals For (29th)
2.00 Goals Against (3rd)
11.1% Power Play (28th)
88.2% Penalty Kill (2nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #26 Blake Wheeler ~ 8G 5A = 13pts
2. #16 Andrew Ladd ~ 6G 5A = 11pts
3. #18 Bryan Little ~ 5G 6A = 11pts
4. #39 Tobias Enstrom ~ 1G 8A = 9pts
5. #55 Mark Schiefele ~ 2G 5A = 7pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #33 Dustin Byfuglien ~ 45 PIM’s
2. #26 Blake Wheeler ~ 35 PIM’s
3. #44 Zach Bogosian ~ 22 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Ondrej Pavelec (7-6-2) 1.99GAA .928%SP 1SO
2. #34 Andrew Hutchinson (2-1-0) 1.50GAA .949%SP 1SO
There are lots of eerie parallels between the Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets. St. Paul and Winnipeg are known for their freezing cold temperatures throughout the winter months, they both possess hockey mad fanbases that have high expectations and follow the game at different levels beyond the NHL. Yet statistically there are some striking similarities.
Horrendous power play, both teams are suffering through that. Stellar penalty kill, both clubs are fortunate to have that. Strong defensive game that doesn’t give up a lot of goals, both clubs have that which allows them to keep games close that probably shouldn’t be in the first place. After that the two clubs diverge a bit. The Winnipeg Jets are currently sitting in 3rd place in the division despite the fact they have a pop-gun offense that struggles to score more than 2 goals per game. Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice found himself in the rumor mill that he was going to be canned after his club had a very slow start. Then the club managed to turn it around and perhaps surprise some opponents in the process to climb to where they are right now.
The Wild on the other hand had a terrific start, at a point in the season where their strength of schedule was among the most difficult in the league. However as October became November, injuries and sickness started to ravage the lineup a bit and the team sort of lost its identity and went into a brief free fall. A free fall that saw the team go from 1st place in the Central Division to 5th. Just as it is in life, its usually far easier to fall down the ladder than it is to climb back up. The Wild may not have climbed completely out of the basement but they’ve made up some of the additional ground they lost during that near death spiral. The team has shuffled its line up a bit; especially on the blueline as they sent down rookie Christian Folin and given veterans like Keith Ballard, Nate Prosser and Justin Falk more of an opportunity. Jared Spurgeon‘s return from injury was also timely and the team has that puck moving element it has been sorely missing. The result, less ugly giveaways and the team has tightened up defensively which is really still the hallmark of its puck possession game.
Both teams have played the night before. The Jets played and lost to Central Division rival Nashville last night, 3-1. Former Breck star Blake Wheeler had the lone goal for the Jets, a shorthanded tally. Wheeler, Jets’ captain Andrew Ladd and small but dangerous Bryan Little carry most of the offensive load for Winnipeg. On the backend, the team transitions from defense to offense quickly because of Tobias Enstrom and then scares opponents when it allows Dustin Byfuglien to unload on slap shots. Beyond that, the offensive contributions are a bit more sketchy. So if the Wild can shut down the Jets’ top line they have a pretty good chance at coming away with a victory.
The Wild are still very much a team that scores by committee and any of its 4 lines seem to be capable of lighting the lamp. Even the 4th line where Kyle Brodziak, Justin Fontaine and Ryan Carter go to work has been a source of scoring and surprising consistency for the Wild (knock on wood). A different line seems to shine each game which has helped keep some of the spotlight off the 3 goals highly paid forwards Thomas Vanek and Mikko Koivu have combined. The Wild offense may get another boost tonight; as Zach Parise is expected to be a game-time decision.
The Central Division match up also makes this a 4-point swing if the Wild can manage to earn a victory tonight. The Jets owe over half of their victories to playing Eastern Conference clubs but they’ve not fared nearly as well against teams in their own division (just 3-2) and in the Pacific (1-3) compared to the Wild (4-0 against the Central) and (2-2 against the Pacific). A victory would allow Minnesota to leap frog the Jets in the standings. With Winnipeg’s fans expected to make a considerable appearance at the “X” should make for a game that has a near playoff-like atmosphere that will hopefully result in an entertaining if not spirited contest.
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