Minnesota Wild (15-10-1) 31pts 5th in the Central
2.88 Goals For (11th)
2.46 Goals Against (9th)
11.5% Power Play (28th)
88.9% Penalty Kill (2nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 10G 12A = 22pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 6G 12A = 18pts
3. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 3G 13A = 16pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 15A = 16pts
5. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 12G 3A = 15pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 38 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 (4-2-1) 2.20GAA .905%SP
Vs.
San Jose Sharks (15-11-4) 34pts 4th in the Pacific
2.80 Goals For (13th)
2.57 Goals Against (12th)
24.2% Power Play (3rd)
82.8% Penalty Kill (12th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Patrick Marleau ~ 7G 20A = 27pts
2. #39 Logan Couture ~ 12G 14A = 26pts
3. #8 Joe Pavelski ~ 14G 11A = 25pts
4. #19 Joe Thornton ~ 7G 17A = 24pts
5. #88 Brent Burns ~ 8G 15A = 23pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #10 Andrew Dejardins ~ 37 PIM’s
2. #88 Brent Burns ~ 30 PIM’s
3. #61 Justin Braun ~ 30 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Antti Niemi (11-7-3) 2.54GAA .915%SP 1SO
2. #32 Alex Stalock (3-3-1) 2.27GAA .924%SP 1SO
In my day job, it’s important that I’m correct about things more times than not. I have to be correct about a lot of things, and some days it feels like I’m juggling a lot. I can have a customer in my ear and have multiple things going on on my computer screen. I might be keying an order, looking up information, and have a supervisor on my IM giving me some clarification. Being correct helps inspire confidence and trust for the people that call us. And that for any company, is very important. Yet, I’m also the first person who will admit she doesn’t know an answer. However anyone in my position knows that while they don’t have all the answers, it’s just as important to know where to get an answer. I can only speak as to how customer service is handled at my job, and my employer has not only trained me well, but they provide continuous training and plenty of resources that are either a click or phone call away. It certainly makes my life easier, and definitely better for those I speak to on a daily basis.
There are times that I am happy to be wrong. For example, I was happy to be wrong about Tuesday’s game against the New York Islanders. While I was pretty sure Minnesota would lose, like I said, that’s something I’m more than happy to be wrong about. But with that said, I wasn’t wrong about how I expected the Wild to come out and play. The first period alone was a frustrating embarrassment. There’s nothing I hate more than watching a team (just barely) going through the motions. Every rally has a turning point came during that game, but it was a turning point that came with a hefty (and dangerous) pricetag. At the time that Keith Ballard was taken into the boards, Minnesota was down 3-0. Fans were sure that the wheels had fallen off, and those of us chatting about the game on the message boards were considering whether or not to continue watching that game. The injury that ultimately sent Ballard to the hospital, finally woke Minnesota up. It’s not every day though that a team comes back from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-4, and in regulation no less. Yet, fans are not happy that it took a severe injury to inspire the Wild to decide to finally play hockey. It took about twenty-eight minutes for the team to finally come to life. Twenty-eight minutes, which is almost half the game, was about twenty-seven minutes too long to waste.
One issue the Wild will have to deal tonight, is once again not having a complete blue line. The past month or so, the mumps have ravaged the Wild, and in particular the blue line. Tuesday night, Minnesota got Ryan Suter back after his bout with what is normally a childhood illness. Tonight, the Wild will be without another defenseman, albeit not for illness. The NHL Player Safety Department deemed that Marco Scandella’s hit on Brock Nelson was illegal contact to the head, and will be suspended 2 games. This will be a tough spot for Minnesota, as it feels like Scandella has finally come into his own this season. And in case you missed the NHL’s video explanation:
At this point, I honestly don’t know which Minnesota Wild we will see. This season has been a definite roller coaster ride. Until the players decide how they’re going to play on a consistent basis, it’s going to be frustrating for fans everywhere.
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