Minnesota Wild (30-13-3) 63pts 3rd in the Central
3.74 Goals For Per Game (3rd in the NHL)
2.98 Goals Against Per Game (20th in the NHL)
21.0% Power Play (14th in the NHL)
79.5% Penalty Kill (16th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 23G 38A = 61pts
2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 16G 34A = 50pts
3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 14G 23A = 37pts
4. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 19G 16A = 35pts
5. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 17G 10A = 27pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 87 PIM’s
2. #21 Brandon Duhaime ~ 63 PIM’s
3. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 52 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #33 Cam Talbot (19-10-1) 2.91GAA .911SV% 1SO
2. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (11-3-2) 2.53GAA .921SV%
Vs.
Edmonton Oilers (28-18-3) 59pts 3rd in the Pacific
3.31 Goals For Per Game (9th in the NHL)
3.14 Goals Against Per Game (22nd in the NHL)
26.1% Power Play (4th in the NHL)
77.3% Penalty Kill (22nd in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
- #97 Connor McDavid ~ 26G 45A = 71pts
2. #29 Leon Draisaitl ~ 35G 34A = 69pts
3. #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ~ 7G 29A = 36pts
4. #18 Zach Hyman ~ 17G 14A = 31pts
5. #13 Jesse Pujuljarvi ~ 12G 16A = 28pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #25 Darnell Nurse ~ 34 PIM’s
2. #97 Connor McDavid ~ 33 PIM’s
3. #29 Leon Draisaitl ~ 26 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #19 Miko Koskinen (17-8-2) 2.62GAA .913SV%
2. #74 Stuart Skinner (6-6-0) 2.62GAA .913SV% 1SO
3. #41 Mike Smith (5-4-1) 3.31GAA .904SV%
Lines:
Edmonton Oilers
Hyman~McDavid~Puljujarvi
E.Kane~Draisaitl~Yamamoto
Foegele~Nugent-Hopkins~Ryan
D.Shore~R.McLeod~Broberg
Nurse~Bouchard
Lagesson~Ceci
Niemelainen~Barrie
M.Smith
Koskinen
Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov~Hartman~Zuccarello
Fiala~F.Gaudreau~Boldy
Greenway~Eriksson Ek~M.Foligno
Duhaime~Sturm~Dewar
Brodin~Goligoski
Jo.Benn~Spurgeon
Merrill~Kulikov
Talbot
Kahkonen
I don’t know about you, but I don’t even know where to start. This recent bout of losses simply makes me want to bang my head on the nearest hard surface. And what makes these losses that much more frustrating, is that each of them could have ended in victories. If you were to ask me, games against Winnipeg should be wins. However, the Minnesota Wild let their heads get in the way and stop playing their game. And then against Florida, the Wild thought they could play Florida’s game and come out victorious. There’s a reason the Panthers are in second place in the league, and that’s because too many teams have fallen into that mental and physical trap. As the old saying goes, “play stupid games, win stupid prizes”, and that’s where we are right now.
When we were children, how many times did you try to tattle on a sibling or a classmate? Did you get a response like “you need to focus on yourself”? If your parents and teachers didn’t give you that response more times than not, then they failed you. By focusing on others, that is how you end up in r/EntitledParents or r/EntitledPeople. The Minnesota Wild need to focus on their own game. We know what works and what doesn’t work, and making a pass just to make a pass isn’t it. Sure, you have to be aware of your opponent’s tendencies and habits, but overall it’s what you do that makes a difference.
Firstly, the Wild must absolutely address is the foolhardy drop pass at the blueline. The result of this, is usually one of two things. Some of the lines have mismatched speeds (which isn’t unusal), so you end up with a player offsides. That offsides call now negates an offensive push. And then if you manage to enter the zone onside, it frequently ends up with a loss of possession. Let’s face it people, our opponents know the Wild’s habits, and I can absolutely guarantee they’re looking for that drop pass at the blueline and more times than not, they pick it off.
Secondly, we have two or three players that seem to be having a bit of a pity party. While the invitation to a pity party is usually for one person, in a team sport those invites bring everyone down. I don’t know what is going on in Kevin Fiala’s head right now, but he seems to have reverted back to his earlier season form. He finally has an offensive minded linemate in Matt Boldy. It makes you wonder if he’s one of those players that doesn’t like playing second fiddle. With the advent of Kirill Kaprizov he was quickly overshadowed. And now with Boldy in the lineup and making a name for himself, it begins to look like he can’t handle being further back in the depth. But here’s the thing, he’s still so talented that he can still make a name for himself without sacrificing his teammates.
The other player that needs to take a serious look in the mirror is Ryan Hartman. Earlier this season when Kaprizov and Fiala were off to slow starts, Hartman was having a great season. I know it’s going to sound crazy, but who thought you would see Hartman and Marcus Foligno sitting at the top of the Wild’s scoring? But now that Kaprizov and Mat Zuccarello keep putting up points, Hartman and Foligno aren’t scoring. In fact, they’re more likely to take a stupid penalty. Then when you combine that with the fact that Cam Talbot was having a hard time tracking the puck against Florida, you end up with yet another loss.
Thirdly, the schedule isn’t helping matters much of the mental aspect. Many of us are asking “why do we play in Edmonton, then head out to Eastern Canada for two games, only to come back to play in Calgary?” But that’s the mental part of the game of hockey. Yes, we are all well aware of some of the names on the Edmonton Oilers roster. However, if you were to ask people around the league, what have those names really accomplished? I don’t think I need to state the obvious in response. Since Minnesota joined in 2000-01, they’ve won as many Stanley Cups as the Wild. They need to completely forget they have names like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but not give them complete freedom on the ice either. While they have names, they’re just names until they’ve done something with them.
Again, tonight’s opponent is very similar on paper. The one area where I worry is Minnesota’s penalty kill against Edmonton’s power play. When opponents figure out how to get in Minnesota’s head and under their skin, they will keep poking until the Wild retaliate. And that is when things can and do fall apart. Four of Edmonton’s top five scorers are on their first power play unit, however they’re not invincible. Respect what they can do, but don’t allow them all the time and space on the ice to do so.
Minnesota needs a good bounce back game, and Edmonton would be a good starting point. We know they can score, but so can Minnesota. Tonight would be an excellent night for the Wild to get some of their secondary scoring on the boxscore. And that’s what’s been missing for a few games, and that’s hopefully what we’ll see again soon.
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