Minnesota Wild (34-22-9) 77pts 4th in the Central
2.36 Goals For (25th)
2.38 Goals Against (5th)
18.5% Power Play (14th)
80.5% Penalty Kill (21st)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 24G 21A = 45pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 22G 20A = 42pts
3. #26 Matt Moulson ~ 18G 22A = 40pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8G 29A = 37pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 6G 29A = 35pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 78 PIM's
2. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 55 PIM's
3. #8 Cody McCormick ~ 45 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (11-4-3) 2.32GAA .920%SP 2SO
2. #30 Ilya Bryzgalov (5-8-6) 1.85GAA .909%SP 1SO
Vs.
New York Rangers (35-27-4) 74pts 2nd in the Metropolitan
2.57 Goals For (19th)
2.46 Goals Against (9th)
20.0% Power Play (1th)
83.7% Penalty Kill (8th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #26 Martin St. Louis ~ 29G 33A = 62pts
2. #19 Brad Richards ~ 16G 29A = 45pts
3. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 15G 29A = 44pts
4. #16 Derick Brassard ~ 13G 23A = 36pts
5. #27 Ryan McDonagh ~ 11G 24A = 35pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #15 Derek Dorsett ~ 105 PIM's
2. #20 Chris Kreider ~ 70 PIM's
3. #22 Brian Boyle ~ 52 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #30 Henrik Lundqvist (24-20-4) 2.50GAA .916%SP 4SO
2. #33 Cam Talbot (11-5-0) 1.75GAA .938%SP 2SO
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A "new" season is upon us. Okay, not really but it kind of feels that way. The next seven games are all against Eastern Conference opponents. These are fourteen points that could pretty much make or break the Wild's hope at the post-season. Of course, it doesn't help that these seven games could easily go in the direction that we don't want.
Tonight, the Minnesota Wild get to play host to the New York Rangers. Now I don't look forward to playing the Rangers, even at home. They have had the Wild's number, and considering how Minnesota has played recently, I'm not going to hold my breath. Desperation will definitely come into play tonight. Tonight will be a matter of who wants it more. Currently, the Rangers are in second place in the Metropolitan Division. That might sound great for them, however, they're only one point ahead of a recently surging Columbus Blue Jackets. Those same Blue Jackets have recently surpassed Detroit and Philadelphia. Columbus is also playing tonight. Now they're going to have a harder time agains the San Jose Sharks than the Rangers will have with us, but I can see them easily putting forth the effort in order to continue their climb. And with that in mind, the Rangers are going to do everything they can possibly to do to get both points.
Now, one advantage of playing the next seven games against the Eastern Conference, is that it won't be as big a deal to get the wins in either overtime or the shootout. I don't feel as bad about "giving" a point to the opposition when they're not in the same conference. However, the critical point is to get the majority of the available points. That is where the real challenge is going to come for the Wild. In order to do that, it's going to require consistent effort. It's that consistent effort that we haven't been seeing. When you lose against the Edmonton Oilers in a shootout after having a three-goal lead, that's a major problem. Next week, the Wild have to face the New York Islanders. Remember that game earlier this season? That's a repeat that Minnesota cannot afford. Then there's the home-and-home against Detroit. Now, they're not the Red Wings of the past, but I have to think that the Wild will have the mental block like they have against Dallas at American Airlines Arena. So while I'm trying to think positively about this stretch of games, past history is making it difficult.
If the Minnesota looks like they did for much of Tuesday night's game, I'm at the point of saying stick a fork in it. The team that played against Edmonton doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs.
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