Minnesota Wild (16-11-1) 33pts 5th in the Central
2.82 Goals For (14th)
2.46 Goals Against (9th)
13.0% Power Play (26th)
87.4% Penalty Kill (3rd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 11G 12A = 23pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 6G 14A = 20pts
3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 17A = 18pts
4. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 3G 14A = 17pts
5. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 13G 3A = 16pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 38 PIM’s
2. #2 Keith Ballard ~ 26 PIM’s
3. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 24 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (11-9-0) 2.45GAA .906%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-2-1) 2.26GAA .904%SP
Vs.
Chicago Blackhawks (21-9-1) 43pts 1st in the Central
2.94 Goals For (6th)
1.97 Goals Against (2nd)
17.6% Power Play (18th)
90.9% Penalty Kill (1st)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 14G 15A = 29pts
2. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 11G 14A = 25pts
3. #23 Kris Versteeg ~ 8G 15A = 23pts
4. #20 Brandon Saad ~ 7G 14A = 21pts
5. #81 Marian Hossa ~ 5G 15A = 20pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #65 Andrew Shaw ~ 28 PIM’s
2. #13 Daniel Carcillo ~ 23 PIM’s
3. #4 Niklas Hjalmarsson ~ 20 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #50 Corey Crawford (12-5-1) 1.87GAA .929%SP 1SO
2. #33 Scott Darling (5-2-0) 1.97GAA .937%SP
3. #31 Antti Raanta (4-2-0) 1.85GAA .944%SP 1SO
I promise you my friends, that is not a mistake nor are your eyes playing tricks on you. Yes, the Wild have moved up again in the standings when it comes to its power play. We’ve become so accustomed to Minnesota being ranked at #29 that it comes as a shock to see a #26 ranking. Sure, it’s still a bit of an embarrassment, but at the very least it’s a step in the right direction. The question however, is whether or not Minnesota can continue in this upward trend. In situations like these, we often utter the words “well it’t not like it can get any worse.” Well folks, we’ve been in almost the worst situation for far too long. I have no desire to utter those words, because first, we’ve been there and also I have no desire to go back there. Now there is room to “fall” back into that worse category. How about we just keep on the road to improvement.
That road to improvement has several potholes in it now. Remember how excited we were when Ryan Suter returned from his bout from the mumps? With that particular illness making its way through the blueline (Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella also had their own time with the childhood illness), it was great to have the entire blueline back together, the first time in some time. Minnesota gets their defensemen back, and then things crumbled yet again. First, was the scary injury to Keith Ballard after that scary hit by the Islanders’ Matt Martin. Ballard is now on IR with a concussion and some broken bones in his face. Speaking of that injury, I highly suggest you read the recent article on the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s website about emergency preparedness at NHL games. Sounds like that while it was a scary situation, the Minnesota Wild and its trainers, doctors, and emergency personnel are well trained, and the Ballard situation went off without a hitch. Scandella also received a 2-game suspension after the Islanders game for illegal contact to the head. Being down both Ballard and Scandella for two games has been painful. However, adversity often provides opportunity. That opportunity has come to young Wild defenseman Christian Folin. After starting the season in St. Paul, he was sent down to Des Moines, which was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. He certainly looks vastly improved. Hopefully, we will see the same kind of improvement with Matt Dumba, who should have been sent down much sooner than he was. This however is not the end of the Wild’s woes. In Phoenix, the Wild were suddenly without the services of Jared Spurgeon who couldn’t play due to illness, and Minnesota ended up playing what felt like they were a defenseman shot (although six were dressed).
Tonight will be the ultimate test as to just how bumpy the road to improvement really is. Just when you’re starting to feel the impact of injuries and illness, you have to face the best team in the division. The hardest part of this all, is that this is the first time the Wild will play the Blackhawks since last season’s playoffs. And truth be told, tonight might be one of the best chances Minnesota will get all season to get the two points in the standings. Why you ask? It’s simply this. Corey Crawford is out with a lower body injury. There are a few goaltenders in the league that the Wild just seem to have difficulty cracking, and Crawford is one of those goaltenders. Yet Chicago will still be a difficult foe, and I don’t care what it takes, but the Wild need to take every shot they possibly can. I don’t care just how improbable a shot it is, it must be taken. And as I’ve said before, those crazy shots can and do sometimes become crazy goals. We’ve seen a few of those crazy goals from the Wild lately too. The Wild will need to test Chicago early and consistently. Hopefully we’ll see a competitive Wild for the entire game. If I can see that, I will be happy regardless of the outcome.
Tonight won’t be easy and it might be a bit bumpy. But hey, it’s December and as Wild fans we’ve become accustomed to crazy Decembers.
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