Minnesota Wild (18-19-5) 41pts 7th in the Central
2.64 Goals For (20th)
3.02 Goals Against (24th)
14.2% Power Play (27th)
84.2% Penalty Kill (8th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 9G 24A = 33pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 14G 16A = 30pts
3. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 7G 18A = 25pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 22A = 23pts
5. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6G 15A = 21pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 48 PIM’s
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 27 PIM’s
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 26 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (13-12-1) 2.68GAA .902%SP 3SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-7-3) 3.04GAA .887%SP
3. #33 John Curry (0-0-1) 3.81GAA .826%SP
Vs.
Buffalo Sabres (14-27-3) 31pts 8th in the Northeast
1.73 Goals For (30th)
3.39 Goals Against (30th)
9.0% Power Play (30th)
75.5% Penalty Kill (28th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #63 Tyler Ennis ~ 9G 15A = 24pts
2. #21 Drew Stafford ~ 6G 15A = 21pts
3. #26 Zegmus Girgensons ~ 11G 9A = 20pts
4. #26 Matt Moulson ~ 7G 10A = 17pts
5. #80 Chris Stewart ~ 5G 7A = 12pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #44 Nicolas Deslauriers ~ 45 PIM’s
2. #57 Tyler Myers ~ 45 PIM’s
3. #82 Marcus Foligno ~ 43 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #1 Jhonas Enroth (11-15-2) 3.20GAA .906%SP 1SO
2. #34 Michael Neuvirth (3-12-1) 3.34GAA .909%SP
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Yesterday was a very slow day at work. So while I was waiting for our company’s customers to call in, I was trying to rack my mind of what the heck I was going to say today. Trust me, there are only so many ways you can say that the Minnesota Wild are horrible without resorting to not so family friendly language. I was getting to the point where I thought I was going to have to start using foreign languages. Well my friends, you have been spared having to read this in rudimentary high school and college German. Be glad, because after that I would have had to resort to using my even more pathetic grasp of Spanish. The day got even slower for me because I was allowed to leave work early due to slowness. But then about an hour or so before I was scheduled to get off of work, a gift from the hockey gods was bestowed upon everyone who follows the Wild.
One of the major complaints that Wild fans and writers have had this season regards goaltending. This is an issue that has needed to be addressed, but for the most part, the Wild’s hands are tied up in contracts. First off, we have the question of Josh Harding’s health. I highly doubt we’ll ever see him in a Wild uniform ever again. As a person with a degenerative, spinal cord disability, I am of the belief he should just retire and concentrate on his health and well-being. Then we had/have high hopes of our young goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Prior to his recent bouts with injury and illness, he has not been the goaltender we wanted or needed. He’s had some flashes of being a solid goaltender, but they’re just that, flashes. Hopefully when he’s healthy again, he can work on his skills and confidence. I wouldn’t count on that happening anytime this season, so perhaps the off-season will be kind to Kuemper. Then there’s longtime Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom. Where do I start? I remember when we signed him and I was of the “what have we done now” mentality. When you sign an undrafted free agent out of Europe as your plan for goaltending, it makes you shake your head. But then we’re still shaking our heads over some of the moves by former general manager Doug Risebrough. Yet, after Backstrom, the goaltending picture gets even bleaker. I’m not about to put John Curry through the wringer for the mess we’re in.
So there I was late yesterday afternoon, and I see the new Wild headline that we’ve acquired another goaltender. Coming into the mess that is the Minnesota Wild will be Devyn Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes for a third round pick in the 2015 Entry Draft. Before you get too excited, let’s take a look at his numbers. This season, Dubnyk is sporting a 9-5-2 record with a 2.72GAA and .917SV%. It’s not great, but it’s a slight improvement over what we currently have. What I am hoping for is that he takes some pressure off of his fellow goaltenders. Let’s face it, Backstrom can no longer play several games in a row, Kuemper is out, and Curry just shouldn’t be thrown to the wolves like that. And then there’s the other area where Dubnyk can help. In some games, when a goaltender struggles and the coach (now this is what happens on other teams) makes the decision to switch goaltenders, you often get a new sense of determination from the skaters. They realize that they need to defend better and help their last line of defense. Every once in a while it turns a game around. Now in Minnesota, we usually wait too long to switch goaltenders, but that’s an entirely different story for a different day. I’m not expecting the Wild go on a winning streak now with the goaltending change, but it cannot hurt.
The other bit of news is kind of a good news, bad news type of story. In Pittsburgh, Ryan Suter put an elbow into the face of Steve Downie. There was no penalty call on the ice, but everyone knew the league would take a look at it. Some figured Suter would get a fine, because he’s never been suspended before, and let’s face it, it was Steve Downie. Now there’s a player who is no stranger to supplemental discipline. I know I don’t feel bad for Downie. The other thing working in Suter’s possible favor is that he’s considered somewhat of a “star” player. Nope, no fine for him. Instead, Suter earned himself a tw0-game suspension. I am of the camp that is glad that Suter will be sitting the next two games. He is playing too much, especially on the power play. Now perhaps head coach Mike Yeo will figure this out. Of course who am I kidding? He never sees the obvious.
So with the changes the Wild are facing, it’s a bit ironic that the first game with a new goaltender would be in the town that has one of the best goaltenders in NHL history. In fact, it was just this week that the Sabres raised the number of Dominik Hasek to the rafters. Who knows, the aura of Hasek just might inspire our goaltenders to play better. Of course it doesn’t hurt that the Sabres are the worst team in the league in 3 out of the four team stats that I listed above. Of course knowing our luck, we’ll make the Sabres look like Stanley Cup Champions. At least the game starts early, which means I can go to bed early as well.
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