Minnesota Wild (24-9-5) 53pts 2nd in the Central
3.16 Goals For Per Game (4th in the NHL)
2.16 Goals Against Per Game (2nd in the NHL)
18.9% Power Play (14th in the NHL)
85.5% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 13G 21A = 34pts
2. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 13G 19A = 32pts
3. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 10G 21A = 31pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 12G 16A = 28pts
5. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 9G 15A = 24pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 47 PIM’s
2. #24 Mathew Dumba ~ 39 PIM’s
3. #63 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 24 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (20-7-3) 1.82GAA .939%SP 5SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (4-2-2) 3.21GAA .902%SP
Vs.
Anaheim Ducks (21-12-8) 50pts 2nd in the Pacific
2.68 Goals For Per Game (16th in the NHL)
2.68 Goals Against Per Game (16th in the NHL)
22.7% Power Play (4th in the NHL)
81.5% Penalty Kill (17th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #17 Ryan Kesler ~ 15G 19A = 34pts
2. #10 Corey Perry ~ 7G 23A = 30pts
3. #15 Ryan Getzlaf ~ 5G 25A = 30pts
4. #33 Jakob Silfverberg ~ 11G 14A = 25pts
5. #67 Rickard Rakell ~ 16G 7A = 23pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #40 Jared Boll ~ 53 PIM’s
2. #42 Josh Manson ~ 50 PIM’s
3. #2 Kevin Bieksa ~ 37 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #36 John Gibson (15-9-7) 2.48GAA .913%SP 2SO
2. #1 Jonathan Bernier (6-3-1) 3.05GAA .897%SP
Lines:
Anaheim Ducks
Cogliano~Kesler~Silfverberg
Cramarossa~Rakell~Perry
Ritchie~Vermette~Kase
Shaw~Wagner~Boll
Fowler~Vatanen
Lindholm~Manson
Bieksa~Montour
Gibson
Bernier
Minnesota Wild
Parise~Staal~Niederreiter
Zucker~Koivu~Granlund
Pominville~Haula~Coyle
Stewart~Graovac~Schroeder
Suter~Spurgeon
Brodin~Dumba
Scandella~Folin / Prosser
Dubnyk
Kuemper
For some folks out there, it was their families moving that created an awkward situation. That awkward situation was being a kid or young adult and facing your former team / teammates. You want to see your former teammates do well, but when push comes to shove that’s not ‘your team’ anymore and you will do all you can to defeat them. Usually the outcome of the game doesn’t really matter as you exchange stories about how things are going but the reunion is a bit a strained by your conflicting loyalties.
In high school or youth sports this happens once in a great while, but in professional sports those strained reunions are almost commonplace, but to the individuals going through them it always brings mixed emotions. Whether its remembering the ‘good ol’ days’ or maybe the path that led you to leave that franchise to join a new one you think about that meeting a lot. You circle that game (mentally) on the calendar and even though everyone shares the cliched “its a business” it is undoubtedly a very personal internal struggle. Especially if you did not part on the best of terms. I have little doubt that Wild Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has been waiting for this game for quite a while. As Minneapolis Star Tribune‘s Michael Russo reports that Boudreau said there will certainly be some jitters playing his former squad and watching his former players that he knows so well perform against the Wild.
“It’s like running into an ex-girlfriend. You’re wondering if you’re still friends,” ~ Bruce Boudreau about being near the Anaheim Ducks a few weeks back in Edmonton
After the Anaheim Ducks fired Boudreau, they were practically apologetic after he was hired by the Wild. So it doesn’t appear like there was a lot of antagonism but both sides seemed to realize the axe was going to fall. Boudreau told Russo he and his wife could see it coming months before it finally took place as the Ducks were eliminated in the 1st round by the Nashville Predators. Yet like I mentioned before, Boudreau also has lots of good memories with the Ducks, their staff and players and so as the two clubs play today I have little doubt that awkward reunion I talked about earlier.
The Wild make their way to Orange County after a lackluster effort on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings where Minnesota squandered a 2-0 lead only to come away with a 4-3 overtime loss. Los Angeles is a team that is struggling a lot this season, but the Anaheim Ducks are playing pretty well for Randy Carlyle. Like the Wild, their younger players are playing a more prominent role in their offense. Sure, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are still the core of the team but now you have to account for a bunch speedy and talented youngsters like Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg who are thriving with more ice time and an increased role.
The Ducks defensive core is mobile with Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm moving the puck but has some sandpaper too with Josh Manson and veteran Kevin Bieksa doling out the physical punishment. But between the pipes the Ducks have had to cope with some growing pains as the team gave he the majority of the workload to young John Gibson (23 years old). Jonathan Bernier is the backup, but I’d expect to see Gibson between the pipes this evening as well as Devan Dubnyk for the Wild. Dubnyk has not been nearly as airtight as of late and the Wild need to improve their play in their own zone to help him get back on track.
Offensively the Wild have really started to see its veteran core rise to prominence on the scoresheet. Zach Parise is playing more like the puck-hounding, net crashing player fans have grown to love and Mikko Koivu is relishing his role as the triggerman playing alongside Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle both seem to be good for points more often than not and the Wild are regularly scoring at least 3 goals per game (knock on wood).
Unfortunately, the boost in offense has been in part of necessity because the team’s defensive play has waned considerably the last 5-6 games. The Wild have been giving up more odd-man chances and neither Dubnyk or Darcy Kuemper have been bailing their team out as reliably as they did during their wonderful win streak in December. Minnesota must tighten up in its own end because that is when they are at their best. Even Boudreau has been annoyed at how the club seems to have let its defensive responsibility slide as players have gone searching for offensive opportunities that often leads the team vulnerable defensively.
This leads me to my 3 keys for tonight’s game.
- Less Area Passes – A big part of the Wild’s defensive struggles has been the overuse of area passes where the club chips pucks either off the boards and glass and hopes its forwards can win the race. This has led to lots of turnovers and with the Wild being a bit more loose defensively this has turned into scoring chances in their own end and getting bottled up in their own zone. Using area passes only as a last resort will help boost possession and better defensive play. Marco Scandella, Christian Folin, Nate Prosser I’m looking at you (knock it off!).
- Stay out of the box – the Ducks have a very good power play and while Minnesota’s penalty kill is still fairly good, with the goaltending regression the team would be wise to avoid being a man down as much as they can.
- Don’t Take Your Foot off the gas – The Wild let up against the Kings and it came back to bite them last night, if Minnesota manages to get an early lead they need to continue to apply pressure. Minnesota was very good at finishing off opponents during their 12-game winning streak, and even though standings-wise we’re in great shape (knock on wood) they cannot allow themselves to be over-confident and coast.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
