Minnesota Wild (28-9-5) 61pts 1st in the Central
3.26 Goals For Per Game (4th in the NHL)
2.14 Goals Against Per Game (2nd in the NHL)
20.2% Power Play (13th in the NHL)
84.9% Penalty Kill (6th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 15G 24A = 39pts
2. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 10G 25A = 35pts
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 13G 21A = 34pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 13G 17A = 30pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 11G 17A = 28pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 51 PIM’s
2. #24 Mathew Dumba ~ 39 PIM’s
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 22 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (23-7-3) 1.78GAA .940%SP 5SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (5-2-2) 3.30GAA .901%SP
Vs.
New Jersey Devils (18-18-9) 45pts 7th in the Metropolitan
2.18 Goals For Per Game (28th in the NHL)
2.82 Goals Against Per Game (19th in the NHL)
13.2% Power Play (28th in the NHL)
83.3% Penalty Kill (8th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #9 Taylor Hall ~ 11G 17A = 28pts
2. #19 Travis Zajac ~ 9G 19A = 28pts
3. #21 Kyle Palmieri ~ 9G 16A = 25pts
4. #14 Adam Henrique ~ 10G 13A = 23pts
5. #13 Mike Cammalleri ~ 10G 12A = 22pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #28 Damon Severson ~ 39 PIM’s
2. #2 John Moore ~ 33 PIM’s
3. #22 Kyle Quincey ~ 33 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Corey Schneider (13-14-7) 2.68GAA .910%SP 2SO
2. #1 Keith Kinkaid (5-4-2) 2.59GAA .921%SP
Lines:
New Jersey Devils
Hall~Henrique~Parenteau
Cammalleri~Zajac~Palmieri
Wood~Josefson~Bennett
Coleman~Kalinin~Smith-Pelly
Merrill~Lovejoy
Quincey~Severson
Stollery~Santini
Schneider
Kinkaid
Minnesota Wild
Parise~Staal~Coyle
Zucker~Koivu~Granlund
Niederreiter~Haula~Pominville
Stewart~Graovac~Schroeder
Suter~Spurgeon
Brodin~Folin
Scandella~Dumba
Dubnyk
Kuemper
One of my favorite movie series is Star Wars. I always envisioned myself piloting an X-wing starfighter through the galaxy fighting against the Empire. But another reason Star Wars holds serve against other science fiction franchises is its how well it was marketed making just about anything in the series iconic in nature. Even the lines in the series have become immediately recognizable. One of the best, albeit used more for comedic reasons than the context it was spoken is Admiral Ackbar’s exclaimation, “Its a trap!” from Return of the Jedi. He was referencing the fully capable nature of the Death Star in the film which was a surprise to the rebels who were attempting to attack the space station. It should be what Wild veterans and coaches think before tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils may not seem to compare that well to the Wild statistically, but Minnesota has struggled in recent years against New Jersey even though its been some of their more lean seasons. Last year the Wild were embarrassed late in the season on home ice which was a sign at how the team had given up for then head coach Mike Yeo. Now the Wild are surging in the standings with games in hand on every other team in the Central Division other than Colorado so the team should be motivated to avoid a setback against New Jersey.
The Devils are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. This makes them a classic ‘trap game’ scenario for the Minnesota Wild. Cory Schneider has been pretty good against the Wild over the course of his career in Vancouver and New Jersey respectively. He will no doubt start against Minnesota this evening. The Devils may not have a lot of offensive weapons, but Taylor Hall has helped give New Jersey two reasonable scoring lines. Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac play a strong two-way game and Minnesota cannot let their guard down because they have a reputation for being clutch and difficult to play against. See another reason to call this a trap game?
Defensively, the Devils defenseman are not big and imposing but they are all somewhat physical and are mobile enough to be frustrating to play against. Ben Jovejoy, Andy Greene, John Moore, Kyle Quincey, Jon Merrill play an in your face style. Damon Severson has stepped up to be New Jersey’s best defenseman at just the age of 22. This is a big reason the Devils are as good as they are on the penalty kill.
Minnesota has a critical 4-game homestand ahead of it. With games in hand on most of the rest of the Western Conference this is a chance to really gain some additional separation from their peers. The Wild should have plenty of confidence going into tonight’s game after having two hard-fought wins in a row against Chicago and Dallas respectively. A big part of those wins has been the play of the Wild’s 4th line where Jordan Schroeder has shown some remarkable chemistry with Chris Stewart who seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch. Many forget Stewart was once considered to be a rather promising power forward when he was drafted by the Avalanche back in 2006 (18th Overall).
Another line that has really been clicking as of late is the Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund line which has been superb at shutting down opponents as well as scoring clutch goals. Nino Niederreiter has also been a hot hand and maybe its time he gets his shot on the Zach Parise–Eric Staal line. It is unlikely the Wild will do very little in the way of personnel adjustments up front. The team sent down Kurtis Gabriel back to Iowa which is a sign that the team likes what it has in Schroeder who looking more comfortable in each game.
Defensively the Wild do seem to gamble with its 3rd pairing of Marco Scandella and Mathew Dumba, as both have been mistake prone with the puck at times. Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin have been outstanding and have been more active in the offensive zone too. Between the pipes, the Wild will likely look to Devan Dubnyk because as Bruce Boudreau was quoted as saying the team can’t use a player where they have to score 4-5 goals in order to get him a win as is the case with Darcy Kuemper.
So what must the Wild do be successful tonight?
- Take their heart, win the battles – The Devils try to make up for their lack of star power with effort and hustle. Minnesota must be ready to move their feet and use its speed to win the races to the loose pucks and then be prepared to battle near the crease. In many ways, a game against New Jersey is about who wants it more and even though its a non-conference game the Wild must want it more than the Devils.
- Keep your foot on the gas – The Wild have shown a tendency to get an early lead and coast, the Wild cannot allow New Jersey to hang around if they get an early lead. Minnesota must play with a sense of urgency as though they are trailing all game long. Do not give the Devils hope.
- Traffic and deflections – Schneider is too good to expect to beat him cleanly on shots from the point, so getting traffic in front and working deflections could be the key to getting an edge on the Devils.
It is very icy out there folks, so be careful if you are going to the game tonight.
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