Minnesota Wild (14-10-1) 29pts 5th in the Central
2.80 Goals For (12th)
2.40 Goals Against (8th)
11.0% Power Play (29th)
89.5% Penalty Kill (2nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 10G 11A = 21pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 5G 12A = 17pts
3. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 11G 3A = 14pts
4. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 2G 12A = 14pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 10G 3A = 13pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 34 PIM’s
2. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 26 PIM’s
3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 23 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (11-8-0) 2.47GAA .905%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-2-1) 1.97GAA .917%SP
Vs.
New York Islanders (19-8-0) 38pts 2nd in the Metropolitan
3.00 Goals For (8th)
2.74 Goals Against (19th)
20.2% Power Play (13th)
72.5% Penalty Kill (30th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #91 John Tavares ~ 11G 13A = 24pts
3. #21 Kyle Okposo ~ 5G 19A = 24pts
3. #29 Brock Nelson ~ 12G 11A = 23pts
4. #18 Ryan Strome ~ 6G 13A = 19pts
5. #51 Frans Nielsen ~ 6G 10A = 16pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #17 Matt Martin ~ 40 PIM’s
2. #15 Cal Clutterbuck ~ 20 PIM’s
3. #18 Ryan Strome ~ 20 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #41 Jaroslav Halak (14-5-0) 2.26GAA .920%SP 3SO
2. #30 Chad Johnson (5-3-0) 3.42GAA .873%SP
If during pre-season had any of us predicted that the New York Islanders would be nine points ahead of the Minnesota Wild at this point of the season, I think just about anyone would have thought you a candidate for admission to your nearest insane asylum. Seriously, for what feels like forever, the Islanders have been pretty much a joke of the league. They’ve probably been spared a lot of grief lately thanks to the Edmonton Oilers. While the Islanders have had their own struggles, no matter what goofy ideas General Manager Garth Snow has come up with, their trials and tribulations cannot even compete with the absolute disaster in Edmonton. And considering the fantastic turn around we’ve seen so far from the Islanders, it’s clear they’re doing something right, as opposed to everything wrong. I’ll admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for the Islanders. That soft spot does not exist for Edmonton. For a team that has been rewarded for their ineptitude for multiple seasons with excellent draft picks, they deserve no sympathy from any of us.
Now while I have a bit of a soft spot for the team from Long Island (and soon to be Brooklyn), that soft spot has no place in tonight’s game. The Wild have not played well in the past several games and that worries me that during these struggles, we have to face the Islanders. The one thing that makes me feel slightly (and I mean only slightly) better is the fact that the Wild and the Islanders are fairly even when it comes to their top five scorers when it comes to points. However the difference is looking at how those points are scored. Only a crazy person would want Minnesota’s number four scorer over New York’s number four scorer. The thing is, and it’s sad, is that there is still a small contingency of fans that firmly believe it was a great idea to sign Thomas Vanek. They insist on remembering his long-ago days at the University of Minnesota. They’re probably a bit like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, in that they keep trying to relive their high school athletic days. They’re also the same fans that want the Wild to draft or acquire players from Minnesota, regardless of what they’ll do for the team.
I’d also like to say that tonight’s game would be a great night to continue to improve the power play. I’m still shocked that Minnesota managed to score on both penalties during the 5-on-3 against Anaheim. Since the beginning of this team, it’s rare that they score with the 2-man advantage, but it’s even more improbable that they would score back-to-back power play goals. It’s too bad that they didn’t manage to pull off the win when scoring two power play goals. Like I said, it would be a good time to continue working on the power play. It’s not every day that you play the team with the league’s worst penalty kill. While I’d like to see Minnesota take advantage of that stat, we all know they have a habit of making an opponent look like the best thing since sliced bread. Of course Minnesota’s ultimate line of defense, Niklas Backstrom, is going to have to play like the goaltender we’ve always wanted him to be. Honestly, I’m surprised he’s even getting the start as Mike Yeo wants to continue to give Darcy Kuemper starts even when his past play doesn’t warrant a start. Of course knowing our luck, just like our power play tends to disappoint, just when we need Backstrom to come up big, he might fail us as well.
I’m trying to be positive, positive in that the team that owns my heart will beat the team that has that has that small soft spot. Most fans are in this same spot from time to time over the season. At the very least, tonight’s opponent doesn’t tug at my heartstrings like happens to some. I’m perfectly fine watching the Islanders lose. Now all I ask for is for Minnesota to not bring me to tears.
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