Minnesota Wild (13-9-1) 27pts 5th in the Central
2.78 Goals For (12th)
2.35 Goals Against (7th)
9.6% Power Play (29th)
88.7% Penalty Kill (2nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 9G 9A = 18pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 4G 11A = 15pts
3. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 11G 3A = 14pts
4. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 2G 12A = 14pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 12A = 13pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 34 PIM’s
2. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 22 PIM’s
3. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 21 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (10-7-0) 2.37GAA .911%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-2-1) 2.01GAA .915%SP
Vs.
Montreal Canadiens (17-7-2) 36pts 2nd in the Atlantic
2.50 Goals For (21st)
2.50 Goals Against (13th)
14.3% Power Play (23rd)
84.3% Penalty Kill (10th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #67 Max Pacioretty ~ 12G 8A = 20pts
2. #14 Tomas Plekanec ~ 8G 10A = 18pts
3. #76 P.K. Subban ~ 6G 10A = 16pts
4. #27 Alex Galchenyuk ~ 5G 11A = 16pts
5. #11 Brendan Gallagher ~ 6G 7A = 13pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #8 Brandon Prust ~ 62 PIM’s
2. #76 P.K. Subban ~ 26 PIM’s
3. #74 Alexi Yemelin ~ 18 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Carey Price (14-5-1) 2.37GAA .921%SP 2SO
2. #35 Dustin Tokarski (3-2-1) 2.44GAA .914%SP
Well, normally on a night that Minnesota plays the Montreal Canadiens, I might talk about the Wild’s abysmal record and overall play. I was originally planning on complaining on the fact that due to this game being broadcast on NHL Network, we have to play the game an hour early when we’re the home team. I don’t understand why it always seems that it’s Minnesota that has to adjust their start times for Eastern Conference teams. At the very least, it’s not just the Wild. The Chicago Blackhawks have also had to play anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half earlier than their normal 7:30pm start times. There’s a reason why home teams start their games when they do, and it’s unfair to their fans to make them start games early. Tonight, I don’t get off of work until 5:30pm, so it’s going to be a rush to grab dinner in time for the game. Thankfully, I work from home so I don’t get stuck with a commute. So dear NHL, it would be nice if you would let home teams maintain their game times and you would adjust your broadcast start times. But alas, that won’t happen.
So now that I’ve gotten that mini-rant out of the way, it’s time to turn to more serious matters. Last night the story that hit the hockey world, was the passing of Montreal Canadiens great, Jean Beliveau. Now for a team that has the most wins in NHL history, Montreal has a long list of great players. A trip to Montreal’s Bell Centre is like stepping into a living history book, seeing names like Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur and the list goes on and on. If anyone really wants to look at what a great player looks like, only only needs to look at Beliveau’s history with the Canadiens. He is a player that spent 18 seasons with Montreal. If that wasn’t enough, of all the names on the Stanley Cup, Beliveau’s name is engraved the most times, at 17 (10 as a player, 7 as a team executive). Trust me folks, no other team can compete with a history like that. I’m sure Toronto or Pittsburgh fans would like to argue, but seriously people, the Canadiens greats are better than your greats. So dear Wild fans, expect the Canadiens to play hard to honor the memory of one of their own.
It is interesting that Minnesota would be the team that is hosting Montreal when this news has been reported. It is no secret that the Wild’s history has strong ties to the Canadiens. The early years had names like Jacques Lemaire, Mario Tremblay, Doug Risebrough, and Guy LaPointe. Lemaire always wanted to play well against his former team, but for whatever reason, his players often let him down. Not only are the wins against Montreal few and far between, but the losses are often of the epic fail variety. Of the four that started with the Wild, LaPointe is the only one still with the team, in charge of amateur scouting. With the strong Montreal connections in our history, I wouldn’t be surprised if Minnesota does something to honor Beliveau either before or during the game. Mind you, it would be a small tribute, as we have no direct connection to Beliveau, but there should be something. We’ll leave the bigger tribute to the Canadiens, as is their right. I wouldn’t be shocked though if Bob Kurtz or Tom Reid speaks on the phone during tonight’s radio broadcast to Lemaire to get his thoughts on Beliveau’s life and history in the game.
I do not expect great things from Minnesota tonight. I know that could easily turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but history is in my favor when it comes to my pessimism. Trust me, I don’t want to be negative. When Minnesota finally decides to change their own fate against Montreal on a consistent basis, then I will believe in them when facing the Canadiens. In the meantime, rest in peace Jean Beliveau. You will be missed by hockey fans everywhere, but in Montreal in particular.
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