Minnesota Wild (1-2-2) 4pts 7th in the Central
3.60 Goals For Per Game (6th in the NHL)
3.80 Goals Against Per Game (26th in the NHL)
33.3% Power Play (1st in the NHL)
71.4% Penalty Kill (30th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #10 Chris Stewart ~ 5G 2A = 7pts
2. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 2G 4A = 6pts
3. #12 Eric Staal ~ 3G 1A = 4pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 3G 1A = 4pts
5. #63 Tyler Ennis ~ 2G 2A = 4pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6 PIM’s
2. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 5 PIM’s
3. #26 Daniel Winnik ~ 4 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (1-2-0-1) 3.80GAA .888%SP
2. #32 Alex Stalock (0-0-0-1) 3.74GAA .905%SP
Vs.
Calgary Flames (4-3-0) 8pts 3rd in the Pacific
2.57 Goals For Per Game (24th in the NHL)
2.71 Goals Against Per Game (14th in the NHL)
19.2% Power Play (15th in the NHL)
88.6% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #13 Johnny Gaudreau ~ 2G 8A = 10pts
2. #23 Sean Monahan ~ 4G 3A = 7pts
3. #7 T.J. Brodie ~ 2G 4A = 6pts
4. #19 Matthew Tkachuk ~ 2G 3A = 5pts
5. #27 Dougie Hamilton ~ 1G 3A = 4pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #93 Sam Bennett ~ 12 PIM’s
2. #19 Matthew Tkachuk ~ 12 PIM’s
3. #11 Mikael Backlund ~ 8 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #41 Mike Smith (4-3-0) 2.51GAA .930%SP 1SO
2. #31 Eddie Lack N/A
Lines:
Calgary Flames
Gaudreau-Monahan-Jagr
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Versteeg-Bennett-Ferland
Glass-Stajan-Brouwer
Giordano-Hamilton
Brodie-Hamonic
Bartkowski-Stone
Smith
Lack
Minnesota Wild
Zucker-Koivu-Stewart
Foligno-Staal-Kunin
Ennis-Cullen-Ferraro
Mitchell-Eriksson Ek-Winnik
Suter-Spurgeon
Brodin-Dumba
Quincey-Reilly
Dubnyk
Stalock
I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not just the Wild players and coaches who haven’t reached their stride yet. I feel like those of us who cover the team, especially the bloggers, are having a hard time as well. As we get further into the season, I get into more of a writing groove. But with the way this season has started out, we’ve barely played any games. There hasn’t been much to write about. Well at least if it doesn’t have to do with injuries and salary cap issues. And with the lack of games, it also limits my ability to find any kind of silver lining when it comes to the Wild. There’s just so little to say. And then when they actually do play they don’t give me much with which to work. You remember those slumps the Wild inevitably go through later in the season? That’s how I’m feeling right now. Like I say the same thing every game. However, at this point in the season it’s even worse. At least later in the season, we all have the excuse that we’re tired and a bit worn out. Now, it unpardonable. We’re not run-down, operating on little sleep. We should all be rested up and ready to go. But it’s times like this when I’m reminded just how bad this team is when they have more than two days between games.
Let’s start with the Wild’s goaltending. If you were thinking Devan Dubnyk was going to dig us out of holes this season, I wouldn’t hold your breath. We haven’t exactly seen the Dubnyk that we first saw when the team acquired him. That first run of wins he had, set the bar (unrealistically) high. Now while we can’t expect him to always play like he did in his early career with Minnesota, we’d like to think he was better than what we’re seeing now. You should be feeling a bit anxious when your starting goalie is sporting a 1-2-1 record with 3.80GAA and a .888SV%. Those are the kinds of numbers you expect to see with the backup goaltender, not the starter. At least if you have plans to make the post-season. I said it several times last season, but it just doesn’t seem like he’s following the puck like he did when he first came to Minnesota. There are many times where I wonder what he’s looking at. He often looks out of position or deep in his net. He’s also wandering more and more behind his net, often at ill-timed moments. Sometimes, I wonder if we’ve gone back in time and Dwayne Roloson is instead in net. Although, if you think about it, it’s almost a full-circle type thing. Roloson went from Minnesota to Edmonton. Dubnyk spent a lot of time in Edmonton and eventually made his way to Minnesota. Okay, enough of that Twilight Zone bit.
Of course I have to admit some of Dubnyk’s woes can be tied to defense, both team defense and the defensemen themselves. Let’s start with the major albatross on the blueline, and no I’m not talking about Ryan Suter for once. Sure, he’s his own brand of frustrating but it’s not catastrophic at this point. Let’s talk about the one player who is the current hands down winner of the goat award. Yes, we’re talking about Matt Dumba. He’s either out of position or unable to take opposing players off the puck in front of Dubnyk. Honestly, I don’t know what his issue is. His problems started lasted season. Last season, he and linemate Marco Scandella (now with Buffalo) had issues as well. There was a decided effort to protect Dumba in the Expansion Draft, so Scandella was dealt to the Sabres. Now we have to wonder if the correct player was protected. I’ll admit I’ve been more of a Scandella fan than a Dumba fan. After last night finishing with a -1, I was a bit surprised to see that Dumba is a +2 for the season. I feel like he has that particular +/- stat simply as a matter of luck because his play certainly hasn’t demonstrated much. I hope that Dumba figures out what he’s doing and soon. We can’t afford poor defensive play, and at some point Ryan Suter will appear in all his annoying ineptitude.
I can’t complain too much about the forwards. Considering the injuries to Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, and now Landon Ferraro we could just say, “well we’re not going to score.” However, even in a losing effort last night, Minnesota did manage to score three goals, two of them by forwards. For once, it seems like offense is not this team’s issue. They can score. I mean look at the stats. For over team offense, the Wild are 6th in the NHL. Even crazier though is the #1 power play. I’m glad I was sitting down when I saw that stat, because in a normal world that would cause a person to faint dead away. The forwards, in particular Chris Stewart and Jason Zucker are making things happen. Can you imagine how much worse things would have been if General Manager Chuck Fletcher had either dealt Zucker or left him unprotected in the expansion draft? If that doesn’t just make you break out into a nervous sweat send you into a fetal position in your blanket fort, I don’t know what will.
And speaking of blanket forts. Now that fall is finally here, it’s almost time to dig out the blankets. I suggest you find some extras (or stock up on them), because I think this is going to be a blanket fort kind of season. And stocking up on some sort of brewed or distilled spirits might be called for as well. Just think Minnesota, you can now purchase alcohol on Sundays. Considering what this season will most likely be like, it’s a good thing your legislature finally abolished that Blue Law. Prost!
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