Minnesota Wild (18-10-2) 38pts 2nd in the Northwest
2.53 Goals For (19th)
2.33 Goals Against (4th)
18.9% Power Play (14th)
86.2% Penalty Kill (3rd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 7G 19A = 26pts
2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 2G 24A = 26pts
3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 12G 12A = 24pts
4. #10 Devin Setoguchi ~ 11G 9A = 20pts
5. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 4G 16A = 20pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 77 PIM's
2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 41 PIM's
3. #44 Justin Falk ~ 22 PIM's
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (16-7-2) 2.23GAA .921%SP 1 SO
2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0) 2.92GAA .885%SP 1 SO
Vs.
Dallas Stars (15-13-3) 33pts 3rd in the Pacific
2.64 Goals For (15th)
2.87 Goals Against (22nd)
16.8% Power Play (20th)
81.9% Penalty Kill (13th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #68 Jaromir Jagr ~ 13G 11A = 24pts
2. #14 Jamie Benn ~ 6G 16A = 22pts
3. #21 Loui Eriksson ~ 9G 12A = 21pts
4. #11 Derek Roy ~ 4G 14A = 18pts
5. #20 Cody Eakin ~ 5G 12A = 17pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #4 Brendan Dillon ~ 53 PIM's
2. #60 Antoine Roussel ~ 51 PIM's
3. #24 Eric Nystrom ~ 43 PIM's
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #32 Kari Lehtonen (12-7-2) 2.39GAA .923%SP 1 SO
2. #31 Richard Bachman (2-3-0) 4.27GAA .838%SP
3. #41 Cristopher Nilstorp (1-3-1) 3.09GAA .897%SP
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With how well things have been going lately, I'm not sure how much I want to talk about tonight's game. See, I'm a bit of a superstitious person. I shouldn't be, as in most areas of my life, I'm fairly logical. Now, I'm not quite Spock logical, but logical enough that superstitions shouldn't get to me. But they do. And then if you throw into the mix that I can be a bit of a pessimist when it comes to the Minnesota Wild, it can be a potent combination. The most recent of the slain beasts, is the win in Vancouver, the first in twelve attempts. Then there was the regulation win in Detroit, the first since 2006. It had been so long, that you began to wonder if it was worth the miles to travel for the Wild. The other major demon cast away this season was road wins in general. Earlier this (shortened) season, you could say "well the Wild are in (insert city), I might as well go to sleep because they won't win." As the Minnesota Wild players and coaches have figured out who they are as of late, they're starting to vanquish their personal demons as well as their opposition.
Tonight, the Wild face another of those demons. That being, a trip to American Airlines Arena in Dallas. The last time the Wild were victorious in Dallas was March 21, 2003. That my friends is just a few days over ten years. TEN years. I've almost been married that long. I've had a couple of job changes in that amount of time. Heck, I think I've even moved once in that time. That is definitely way too long to go without a win in one location. But there are some things that are working in the Wild's favor for a superstitious type like me. First off, let's just look at the date of the last win. Think about it for just a minute. For longtime fans, you will realize that in just a few more games, the Wild would earn their first playoff appearance. Not only did they earn that appearance, they went so much further than any expert had anticipated. When Minnesota drew Colorado in the first round, everyone said we'd be done in four games. We know how that turned out and we also know how Vancouver faired in the second round. I'd like to hope that the last win in Dallas will promote a win for Minnesota tonight and lead to bigger and better things.
The other good sign about that long ago win, is who was on the roster. The last remaining player of that roster of old is Pierre-Marc Bouchard. In general, there's nothing special about that. However what does bode well, is the turn around of his game as of late. He was able to reclaim his spot on the second line when Jason Zucker was injured by Corey Perry. Not only has Bouchard taken that spot back, he has done so with confidence. So much so, that it has forced the Wild to reassign Zucker to Houston, and only because he is not a fourth line player. To take his spot on the fourth line, they're bringing up Jake Dowell. Having seen him play with Houston in their two meetings in Milwaukee, I have to say that is a good decision. Dowell is a smart player. However, I absolutely dread the numerous University of Wisconsin mentions that Anthony LaPanta and Mike Greenlay will make tonight during their broadcast. It could be a drinking game of its very own.
So, pull out your lucky socks, your rabbit foot, your collection of chicken bones. It's time to pool all our good luck charms together. It's time to take the "House of Horrors" status away from American Airlines Arena.
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