Minnesota Wild (43-21-6) 92pts 3rd in the Central
3.60 Goals For Per Game (5th in the NHL)
3.07 Goals Against Per Game (18th in the NHL)
20.3% Power Play (19th in the NHL)
75.5% Penalty Kill (25th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 41G 47A = 88pts
2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 21G 50A = 71pts
3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 24G 38A = 62pts
4. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 27G 26A = 53pts
5. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 21G 20A = 41pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 112 PIM’s
2. #44 Nic Deslauriers ~ 105 PIM’s
3. #21 Brandon Duhaime ~ 91 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #33 Cam Talbot (28-12-3) 2.81GAA .911% 2SO
2. #29 Marc-Andre Fleury (22-22-5) 2.89GAA .910% 4SO*
Vs.
Los Angeles Kings (38-25-10) 86pts 3rd in the Pacific
2.81 Goals For Per Game (22nd in the NHL)
2.79 Goals Against Per Game (9th in the NHL)
16.6% Power Play (28th in the NHL)
76.8% Penalty Kill (22nd in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Anze Kopitar ~ 18G 43A = 61pts
2. #9 Adrian Kempe ~ 31G 16A = 47pts
3. #24 Phillip Danault ~ 21G 22A = 43pts
4. #12 Trevor Moore ~ 14G 29A = 43pts
5. #33 Viktor Arvidsson ~ 20G 22A = 42pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #48 Brendan Lemieux ~ 86 PIM’s
2. #50 Sean Durzi ~ 51 PIM’s
3. #9 Adrian Kempe ~ 40 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Cal Petersen (20-12-1) 2.70GAA .902% 3SO
2. #32 Jonathan Quick (17-13-9) 2.67GAA .908% 2SO
Lines:
Los Angeles Kings
Iafallo~Kopitar~A. Kempe
T. Moore~Danault~Arvidsson
Vilardi~Byfield~Kupari
Grundstrom~L. Andersson~Kaliyev
Bjornfot~Durzi
Maatta~Spence
Edler~Stecher
Petersen
Quick
Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov~Hartman~Zuccarello
Greenway~Eriksson Ek~M. Foligno
Jost~F. Gaudreau~Fiala
Duhaime~Bjugstad~Deslauriers
Middleton~Spurgeon
Brodin~Kulikov
Goligoski~Jo. Benn
Talbot
Fleury
I don’t know about you, but when I see teams like Los Angeles on the schedule I do a double take. Not because of any worries for them as an opponent, but because of potential late starts. However, this is a home game, so no real worries of a ridiculous late start time. Also, this game has a late afternoon start. However that’s not exactly perfect either. It can interfere with Sunday afternoon nap time and dinnertime. Even though our kitchen is next to our living room, I tend to focus on the dinner preparation. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not focus on the game and then mix up sugar and salt. I’ll find a way to make a 4pm start time work for me.
What doesn’t work for me, is how the Wild have looked the past two games. Whether it’s being goaded into pointless fights against Nashville or not being able to figure out Saint Louis, I feel like these late season games are going to be ugly. During this second half of the season, I think Minnesota has gotten too comfortable with the standings. When they had that amazing win streak going, in the back of my head I had that little voice saying “when are they going to mess things up.” I don’t know if it’s because I’m a Minnesota sports fan or if it’s this team in particular, but I just don’t trust them. Plus, this last month and a half of the regular season is a constant slog of games. Mentally and physically, the Wild have to be feeling the constant barrage.
The Los Angeles Kings can be a dangerous opponent for Minnesota. Not because they’re a high flier, but just because they aren’t. To a degree, playing them is like playing Minnesota. With the exception of the Goals for Per Game and the Goals Against Per Game stats being “flipped” between the two teams, it really looks like Minnesota stats. Heck, I think if I were handed the stats, including their rankings but without the team name, I would think you handed me the Wild’s stats. I think what’s crazy about the Kings, is that even with their abysmal Goals For Per Game, they’re still in the playoff picture. But as we all know, even if you have problems scoring, as long as you can regularly shut down your opponent you stand a good chance of winning the game. It appears that is what the Kings have been doing this season.
I don’t know why I’m always surprised, but it blows my mind that Anze Kopitar still leads the Kings in points. While he’s not leading the team in goals, his ability to set up his teammates keeps him in that top spot. How he does this season after season, I just don’t know. But at the same time, I wonder when it will be that at the end of the regular season he no longer leads his squad. It also makes me wonder if he’ll be one of those rare players that plays his entire career with the team that drafted him. It’s rather special if you ask me, as he’s never in trade deadline or free agency conversations. Kopitar could have pretty much played anywhere in the league, but it seems that he’s content in Los Angeles.
Speaking of special players, one has to wonder if today is the day that Kirill Kaprizov finally breaks the Wild breaks the regular season goal record. I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty sad that this record has stood for as long as it has. To be completely honest, the fact that Marian Gaborik holds that team record speaks volumes about how this team has been managed over the years. It also should cast some shade upon Minnesota’s amateur and professional scouting. And if you think it’s crazy that Gaborik holds the record, you also need to remember that the only player that has come close is Eric Staal, and that was late in his career. Considering that there’s a decent number of games left and Kaprizov finds way to score goals that shouldn’t happen, it’s only a matter of time.
I have so many feelings about this game, but at the same time I don’t want to get too emotionally invested in it either. Considering how things were going prior to the Nashville game, I tried to be cautiously optimistic before hand. However, like I said in the last preview, that game was lost as soon as the first fight happened. I don’t know if Brendon Lemieux will try to goad Wild players into pointless fights, but if the Kings want to get the Wild off their game, it wouldn’t be a foolish gamble. And if he’s smart, the player he’d want to entice, it would be Marcus Foligno, a player who can both drop the gloves and provide offense, as well as being a team leader. And the fact that Minnesota’s penalty kill is so bad, it’s not a bad risk to take.
Considering that it’s relatively early in the morning, it’s time to find some coffee. Between caffeine and naps, that is how I will prepare for this game. Hopefully the Minnesota Wild do their own preparations and stick to their game plan. Because by this point in the season, the opposition has to be well aware of how to get Minnesota away from their winning ways. And sadly, it’s not hard to do.
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