Minnesota Wild (35-22-10) 80pts 4th in the Central
2.34 Goals For (27th)
2.34 Goals Against (5th)
18.6% Power Play (15th)
80.6% Penalty Kill (22nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 25G 22A = 47pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 23G 21A = 44pts
3. #26 Matt Moulson ~ 18G 22A = 40pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8G 29A = 37pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 6G 30A = 36pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 78 PIM's
2. #24 Matt Cooke ~ 52 PIM's
3. #8 Cody McCormick ~ 45 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (12-4-4) 2.19GAA .924%SP 2SO
2. #30 Ilya Bryzgalov (5-8-6) 2.95%GAA .908%SP 1SO
Vs.
Boston Bruins (45-17-5) 95pts 1st in the Atlantic
3.18 Goals For (3rd)
2.13 Goals Against (2nd)
20.5% Power Play (8th)
83.8% Penalty Kill (10th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #46 David Krecji ~ 16G 43A = 59pts
2. #12 Jarome Iginla ~ 23G 30A = 53pts
3. #17 Milan Lucic ~ 21G 31A = 52pts
4. #37 Patrice Bergeron ~ 19G 26A = 45pts
5. #18 Reilly Smith ~ 18G 27A = 45pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #17 Milan Lucic ~ 71 PIM's
2. #54 Adam McQuaid ~ 69 PIM's
3. #22 Shawn Thornton ~ 63 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Tuukka Rask (30-14-4) 2.10GAA .928%SP 6SO
2. #30 Chad Johnson (14-3-1) 2.15GAA .921%SP 1SO
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Well, if you're going to play a game on St. Patrick's Day, you might as well play it in one of the country's most Irish-American cities. Boston is one of those cities, that proudly wears its Irish heritage on their sleeves, and they'll let you know it. You know, just in case you missed it somehow. Well, today there is no way you could possibly miss it. While we're the ones with green in our uniforms, I'm sure there'll be plenty of Boston fans donning green today, and I'm not talking about Charlie Coyle's friends and family (I'll get to them later). I also have a feeling that the music of Boston's native sons, Dropkick Murphys, will be blaring from the arena sound system. And if you're like me, without one drop of Irish blood in you, you'll probably feel like dancing a jig by the time the puck drops. Hopefully the luck 'o the Irish with the boys from St. Paul.
One thing the Wild have in their favor, is the all-time record against Boston. Since Minnesota joined the league in the 2000-01 season, there have been twelve games between the two teams. I know we've had Boston's number, but I didn't realize just how one-sided it really is. None of the games ended in a tie, so I've taken that possibility of the record out of the mix. Are you ready for this amazing little stat? If you're prone to fainting, you best sit down, because it's truly unbelievable. Here you go: 10-1-1. It's truly astounding. I wish we could have a record like that against Dallas, St. Louis or Anaheim. Unfortunately, it's against an Eastern Conference opponent. But two points are two points, and I'll take them whenever we can get them. I think what's truly amazing about this record against the Bruins, is that even when we were icing teams with players like Sergei Krivokrasov, Pavel Patera, Lubomir Sekeras, et al we were still getting these wins. Boston however will throw everything they have at us, because they need to further widen their lead on the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, I'd love to see the Bruins ahead of the Penguins in the Eastern Conference, but not at our expense.
Now, about that Charlie Coyle. It seems like there could be a sea of Wild green in the crowd tonight. At last count, there should be around 1000 friends and family members to see Coyle play in Boston. Charlie grew up as a die-hard Bruins fan, so this will be a bit of a dream come true for him. However, there's probably part of him that wishes his Boston debut was in a Bruins uniform, but this is probably the next best thing. Not only will there be a large contingent of fans there for Coyle, his dad bought not just one, but two suites for tonight's game and hired a bus to take those closest to his son to the game. According to the report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the bus is picking those people up from the cul-de-sac in front of his house. If you watched the episode of Becoming Wild featuring Coyle, you will know this was a major undertaking by the Coyle family, as they look like your average, middle-class working family. I'm sure Charlie helped foot the bill with his NHL salary, but this is definitely the sign of a proud, loving, close family. You just have to hope that Coyle has a great game, and heck a goal scored in Boston would be a good way to celebrate his journey to the National Hockey League.
In celebration of today's holiday, we will be feasting on Irish Beef and Stout Stew. I know lamb is more traditional, but Wisconsin is not exactly known for its lamb production. And hopefully the green peas floating in said stew will be that extra bit of green will give Minnesota the boost it needs to beat the best team in the East.
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