Minnesota Wild (12-8-0) 24pts 5th in the Central
2.85 Goals For (9th)
2.20 Goals Against (4th)
9.2% Power Play (29th)
87.5% Penalty Kill (5th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 8G 6A = 14pts
2. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 10G 3A = 13pts
3. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 4G 9A = 13pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 10A = 11pts
5. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 1G 10A = 11pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 30 PIM’s
2. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 22 PIM’s
3. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 21 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (9-6-0) 2.03GAA .919%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-2-0) 2.28GAA .906%SP
Vs.
Los Angeles Kings (11-6-5) 27pts 4th in the Pacific
2.68 Goals For (15th)
2.27 Goals Against (7th)
17.6% Power Play (20th)
83.5% Penalty Kill (11th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #73 Tyler Toffoli ~ 8G 10A = 18pts
2. #77 Jeff Carter ~ 7G 11A = 18pts
3. #8 Drew Doughty ~ 2G 11A = 13pts
4. #70 Tanner Pearson ~ 9G 3A = 12pts
5. #11 Anze Kopitar ~ 5G 5A = 10pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #10 Mike Richards ~ 35 PIM’s
2. #2 Matt Greene ~ 34 PIM’s
3. #3 Brayden McNabb ~ 24 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #32 Jonathon Quick (10-4-4) 2.22GAA .932%SP 2SO
2. #31 Martin Jones (1-2-1) 12.06GAA .922%SP
I, like many people in the States, am preparing for heading out for the much-awaited Thanksgiving weekend. There are days that I envy our neighbors to the north since their Thanksgiving is in October. By having it earlier, they can often avoid some less than ideal travel weather and even better they get more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because our Thanksgiving is in late November, we have to endure the crunch that is the busy holiday season, and before we know it, Santa will (hopefully) be leaving some great presents beneath the tree. I have been doing some baking this week in order to prepare for the holiday, and being that I’m not a super confident baker, that’s impressive. Currently, I have my favorite part of the Thanksgiving dinner in the oven, that being pumpkin pie. When I smell pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg mixed together, I know that the holiday season is finally here. And as I type this all the while thinking of what I need to pack, it forces me to remember what this holiday is truly about. Of all the holidays that we celebrate, Thanksgiving is truly my favorite. It’s the time we get to gather with friends and family simply to enjoy each other’s company. There are no expectations of gifts. This is a time to reflect and relax as the busy season is officially upon us.
When we were kids, we often had to write mini “what I am thankful for” essays in elementary school. Usually they were things like “I’m thankful for my parents” and were used by our teachers to combine writing skills with intrapersonal reflection. For Minnesota Wild fans, while we’ve not always gotten the results we want from our team, there is much for which to be thankful. Let’s start with the obvious. I am very thankful for Wild general manager, Chuck Fletcher. When he took over from Doug Risebrough he had a mess to sort out. The prospect pool alone that Fletcher was left with was truly an embarrassment. It took a couple of years for Fletcher to deal with the roster, prospects, and “missing” draft picks. He has definitely turned things around. Which then leads me to my next thing I’m thankful for. When it was announced that Fletcher was trading Wild fan-favorite Cal Clutterbuck to the New York Islanders for Nino Niederreiter, there were some fans that were upset. Some wondered if we would see the skill that Niederreiter was drafted for. However dear fans, I am beyond happy and thankful to say that this trade could very well go down as the best trade in Minnesota Wild history. His team-leading ten goals are definitely a major bright spot for this team. Now if his goal scoring could rub off on some of the veterans on this team. I’m looking at you Jason Pominville.
The next thing I’m thankful for, is that Jason Zucker took last season’s criticism from head coach Mike Yeo to heart and essentially turned things around. However let me say this, I (like many fans) never really understood while Zucker was perpetually in Yeo’s dog house last year. Sure, he had a few defensive elements of his game to work on, but Zucker was far from the biggest problem last season. His speed alone combined with a willingness to shoot the puck should have been lauded by his coach. Instead, Zucker spent good portions of the season in Iowa. This season, we’re seeing even more of that ability. It’s great to have a young player who dealt with professional setbacks in an extremely mature fashion. Young players, especially those of the skilled variety, sometimes pout when they find themselves reassigned to the minor league affiliate. I’m sure he was disappointed, but instead of pouting, he worked on his game. All that hard work has clearly paid off for Minnesota. What does have me a bit shocked, is that while Zucker was considered a defensive liability last season and because of that was sent down, is how Matt Dumba continues to remain in St. Paul.
The last thing I’m thankful for is finally finding a great seventh round pick. It’s not common for players drafted in the final round the NHL Entry Draft to pan out, but the Wild finally have one of their own in Erik Haula. Like Zucker, his speed and willingness to take shots are much appreciated. It seemed for the longest time that the only team who found such gems in the late rounds was the Detroit Red Wings. Now while it’s still early in Haula’s professional career, he’s definitely making himself valuable to his team. In fact his speed paired with Zucker reminds me of the days when we had speedy forwards like Wes Walz and Antti Laaksonen. Do you remember those days? Those two alums you could pretty much count on for about 15 goals apiece, back at a time when goals were near impossible to come by. Haula, Zucker, and Niederreiter are simply the new generation of speedy forwards that this team has lacked for several years.
I wish all of you happy and safe travels wherever they may take you. Enjoy tonight’s game but enjoy your holiday gathering even more. Happy Thanksgiving!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
