Minnesota Wild (4-2-1) 9pts 1st in the Central
3.43 Goals For Per Game (8th in the NHL)
2.71 Goals Against Per Game (11th in the NHL)
11.5% Power Play (27th in the NHL)
95.2% Penalty Kill (1st in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 2G 5A = 7pts
2. #12 Eric Staal ~ 3G 2A = 5pts
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 3G 2A = 5pts
4. #11 Zach Parise ~ 2G 3A = 5pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 1G 4A = 5pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 19 PIM’s
2. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 18 PIM’s
3. #27 Zac Dalpe ~ 9 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (3-1-1) 2.01GAA .929%SP 1SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-1-0) 4.00GAA .871%SP
Vs.
Buffalo Sabres (1-2-2) 4pts 8th in the Atlantic
2.80 Goals For Per Game (19th in the NHL)
3.00 Goals Against Per Game (17th in the NHL)
24% Power Play (10th in the NHL)
77.8% Penalty Kill (19th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #90 Ryan O’Reilly ~ 3G 3A = 6pts
2. #44 Rasmus Ristolainen ~ 0G 6A = 6pts
3. #26 Matt Moulson ~ 4G 0A = 4pts
4. #21 Kyle Okposo ~ 1G 3A = 4pts
5. #12 Brian Gionta ~ 2G 1A = 3pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #4 Josh Gorges ~ 8 PIM’s
2. #22 Johan Larsson ~ 4 PIM’s
3. #29 Jake McCabe ~ 4 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Robin Lehner (1-2-1) 3.01GAA .892%SP
2. #31 Anders Nilsson (0-0-1) 2.78GAA .927%SP
While it may be early in the season, I have a strong feeling this is going to be one of those years where you don’t know what you’re going to get from the Minnesota Wild night to night. I for one wasn’t expecting a 5 goal night in Boston. And then to make it shut-out made even more amazing. In fact, this road trip has had a little bit of everything. First a close game with a loss in OT to New Jersey, to an embarrassing outing in Brooklyn, and then the complete opposite in Boston. I know it’s early yet, but even so, I’d like to see a little more consistency. And considering tonight’s opponent, the need for consistency becomes a bit worrisome. For as bad as Buffalo has been over the past few seasons, they have a way of making Minnesota look bad. If they play like they did on Tuesday, things should be okay. If it’s a repeat of Sunday, you might want a blanket nearby to throw over your head.
Yes, I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a nervous Nellie. I hate inconsistency. Inconsistency is that much worse when you know the team can play better. No, I’m not one of those people who plans a Stanley Cup parade at the beginning of the season. You’ll never see me say “the Wild are going all the way this season” during the pre-season. However with the talent on the team (some of it overpaid), I do expect them to make a serious push. With last year’s coaching woes, a small part of me wished that Minnesota had failed in making the post-season. I wanted that failure to say to them “see, you’re not as good as you think you are” and for management to take a serious look at the team from top to bottom and make some significant changes. Of course the biggest change that was made was hiring Bruce Boudreau as the head coach. Beyond that, I feel like we pretty much have the same team. Sure, they brought in Eric Staal (which so far has paid off), but we still have players like Nate Prosser on the team.
Okay, I probably should rag too much on Prosser, but you have to wonder, was he really the best the team could do in the off-season. Could they not cut the ties that bind, and find another cheap, serviceable defenseman? Of course with the early season injury to Jared Spurgeon it’s a little reassuring knowing that you’re spare defenseman at least is familiar with his linemate. But the more limited minutes that a guy like Prosser is going to play isn’t going to make up for the vastly more minutes a guy like Spurgeon plays in a game. The skill level and ability isn’t even close to being comparable. I would also say if Prosser is your spare defenseman, it says a lot about a team’s defensive pool. Thankfully though, both Spurgeon and Erik Haula are skating again. With those returns on the horizon, you have to wonder what roster moves will happen. Will it be Joel Eriksson Ek or Zach Dalpe heading back to Iowa? In the case of Eriksson Ek, there are contract implications. As things stand now, the team has to ask is it better to burn a year of his contract, playing him in limited roles or to have him play a bigger role in Iowa gaining more experience. Time, albeit short, will tell.
I’d like to say in regards to tonight’s game, “meh, it’s only the Sabres.” However with the Minnesota Wild, we probably should say something more like “oh s**t, it’s the Sabres.” It would be nice if they would put a show on tonight considering Saturday’s opponent.
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