Minnesota Wild (17-8-5) 39pts 3rd in the Central
2.37 Goals For (23rd)
2.20 Goals Against (5th)
21.6% Power Play (6th)
78.4% Penalty Kill (25th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 12G 12A = 24pts
2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6G 17A = 23pts
3. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 14G 6A = 20pts
4. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 5G 10A = 15pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 15A = 15pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 37 PIM's
2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 29 PIM's
3. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 19 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (15-4-3) 1.52GAA .935%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (2-3-2) 2.77GAA .896%SP
Vs.
Columbus Blue Jackets (11-14-3) 25pts 7th in the Metropolitan
2.39 Goals For (22nd)
2.82 Goals Against (22nd)
20.2% Power Play (10th)
79.6% Penalty Kill (22nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #19 Ryan Johansen ~ 10G 10A = 20pts
2. #21 James Wisniewski ~ 2G 16A = 18pts
3. #17 Brandon Dubinsky ~ 5G 10A = 15pts
4. #71 Nick Foligno ~ 7G 7A = 14pts
5. #18 R.J. Umberger ~ 6G 8A = 14pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #17 Brandon Dubinsky ~ 40 PIM's
2. #71 Nick Foligno ~ 38 PIM's
3. #40 Jared Boll ~ 38 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #72 Sergei Bobrovsky (10-11-2) 2.72GAA .909%SP 1SO
2. #1 Curtis McElhenny (1-3-1) 2.34GAA .925%SP
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If the NHL were only as easy as video games, eh? Especially if it was like the old NHL '94, where you could just start trading players moving up little by little until you had assembled a dream team. You could have a ridiculously overloaded squad that featured all of the top level players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Alexander Mogilny, Brett Hull, Chris Chelios and Jeremy Roenick and overpower your competition with ease. As the Columbus Blue Jackets can attest to, its not nearly that easy these days. The salary cap more or less makes it impossible to assemble such a ridiculously talented roster. Columbus still wants to have its day in the sun, where they are considered a legit contender for a playoff spot as well as a Stanley Cup. There are signs that they are getting closer, but it still seems like an elusive goal.
The Blue Jackets thought their relief might come in the form of moving to the Eastern Conference which meant a more favorable travel schedule. Now the Blue Jackets never have to leave the Eastern timezone, and you would think playing in the NHL's weakest division would help improve their chances. It hasn't worked out that way. The Blue Jackets find themselves in 7th place in the Metropolitan with a record that is below .500. Columbus felt it made the necessary moves to boost its roster; adding former Wild sniper Marian Gaborik as well as adding Nathan Horton in free agency. Gaborik is out with a knee injury (what a shock it wasn't the groin eh Wild fans?) while Horton has been a non-factor as he continues his long recovery from off-season surgery to his left shoulder. The Blue Jackets have plenty of other veterans who are looking to prove Columbus can be a winner including defenseman James Wisniewski, Jack Johnson and the underrated Fedor Tyutin along the blueline and R.J. Umberger, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov as well as Nick Foligno who has been on a lot of highlight reels lately after this goal you can watch below.
Still, injuries have plagued the Blue Jackets as Sergei Bobrovsky went down with an sprained groin of his own during their game against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. He is expected to be out at least a month. Bad news for the Blue Jackets. Good news for the Wild. However, Columbus still has some good young talent as Ryan Johansen leads the team in scoring and Ryan Murray has been holding his own in his first season in the NHL.
Minnesota has traditionally struggled against the Blue Jackets, and the Wild should expect an inspired and hostile crowd as they likely see Minnesota as the reason they didn't make the playoffs. I have little doubt former Wild bench boss Todd Richards will try to have his team amped to play his former club. Columbus should be fairly rested having the night off while the Wild had to battle their way through Chicago.
The Wild are coming off an emotional 4-3 comeback victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion. While its certainly something to feel good about, the Wild have to put those feelings in the back of their mind as they have to ready themselves for what will likely be a tough road game. Minnesota has more talent and is in better shape but if they think they'll just coast to a victory that will be a recipe for disappointment.
I would expect the Wild to give Niklas Backstrom the start between the pipes after Josh Harding played last evening. I also expect the line of Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter and Dany Heatley to cause the Blue Jackets some significant problems. The line was working pretty well against Chicago and I think they're due for a goal. The Wild also struck twice on the power play and I hope the Wild can build on that effort and continue to utilize the quick shot that served them so well against the Blackhawks. The win certainly raised a few eyebrows around the NHL, although there are still signs the Wild are feeling a level of disrespect. As I was driving into work I listen to XM radio's Hockey This Morning show with Mick Kern and Peter Berce and Berce mentioned how the victory was sort of an accomplishment for Wild Head Coach Todd Richards. After about a minute Berce corrected himself as he and Kern joke that no one noticed. Got to love the respect from Toronto?!?!
The Wild know Columbus will be motivated and a little ornery playing its expansion cousin as they have been throughout their history. Staying disciplined will be important as Columbus is above average on the power play. Minnesota's penalty kill has performed better as of late but the worst thing the Wild could do is to allow the Blue Jackets to gain confidence on the man advatnage by giving them too many chances. This is a game the Wild need to win to keep pace and continue their slow climb up the Central Division standings.
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