Minnesota Wild (7-4-1) 15pts 3rd in the Central
3.08 Goals For Per Game (6th in the NHL)
2.00 Goals Against Per Game (1st in the NHL)
16.2% Power Play (19th in the NHL)
88.6% Penalty Kill (6th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 5G 6A = 11pts
2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 3G 8A = 11pts
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 4G 5A = 9pts
4. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 3G 4A = 7pts
5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 2G 5A = 7pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 19 PIM’s
2. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 18 PIM’s
3. #5 Christian Folin ~ 8 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (6-3-1) 1.51GAA .951%SP 3SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-1-0) 4.00GAA .871%SP
Vs.
Philadelphia Flyers (6-7-2) 14pts 6th in the Metropolitan
3.33 Goals For Per Game (3rd in the NHL)
3.73 Goals Against Per Game (30th in the NHL)
29.1% Power Play (2nd in the NHL)
77.1% Penalty Kill (26th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #28 Claude Girioux ~ 5G 11A = 16pts
2. #93 Jakub Voracek ~ 6G 9A = 15pts
3. #17 Wayne Simmonds ~ 8G 6A = 14pts
4. #11 Travis Konecny ~ 4G 6A = 10pts
5. #32 Mark Streit ~ 3G 7A = 10pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #93 Jakub Voracek ~ 28 PIM’s
2. #17 Wayne Simmonds ~ 17 PIM’s
3. #23 Brandon Manning ~ 13 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #35 Steve Mason (2-5-2) 3.56GAA .874%SP
2. #30 Michael Neuwirth (4-2-0) 3.57GAA .859%SP
Well, so far it’s been a productive trip to Pennsylvania for the Minnesota Wild. Honestly, I didn’t think Thursday night’s outing would be as it was. Especially considering how the game started. Minnesota looked liked its typical lackluster self after an extended break. I know I had several moments of “well here we go again” in those first five minutes of the game. It felt like every other season when the team faced a game after a long break. I sat there wondering just how ugly things were going to get. However on Thursday, there was a difference. It was if after that first flurry by the Penguins and five minutes for the Wild to get their legs beneath them. But what I’m hoping for, is that the Wild finally have a real task master, something they haven’t had since Jacques Lemaire. While I’m sure there was a day off in there somewhere, something tells me that Bruce Boudreau had the team skating and working hard. That kind of work clearly paid off, and we saw the results.
Now we have the next challenge. Tonight, we face a team that will want to get the 2 points in an attempt to climb in the standings in a tough, competitive Metropolitan Division. Point-wise, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t that far behind the Minnesota Wild. But looking at the teams ahead of them, they’re either going to need to go on a tear or hope for those ahead of them to falter. Looking at those teams, I don’t even know if a decent combination of the two would move them much in the standings. The key in that division is to start strong and never look back. It may be too late for the Flyers at this point, but they’re the kind of team who will make things difficult for their opponents. And considering the 6-3 stomping at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, it’s hard to say what team we’ll get tonight. Will we get the angry and aggressive Flyers after a loss or will we get the defeated, tired team? I know which I prefer, but of course I have nothing to do with that.
Tonight, we need to see the Minnesota Wild that we saw on Thursday night. They were a team that never gave up. Each time the Penguins scored, Minnesota dug deep and got back into the game. They didn’t wait for a late third period push when it was too late. No, they got to work almost immediately. The benefit to that, it that the generally got the game tied up again at the end of the first two periods. That same kind of energy and determination was then in evidence after they got the first lead of the game. We’ve become so accustomed to this team taking their foot of the gas when they get the lead, which rarely works for them. It was so refreshing to see a team looking to score more goals. Even better, it was a whole team effort. We didn’t see evidence of players looking to set up only one or two individuals. Everyone was looking for their chance to either score or set up a teammate. We weren’t see extensive passing when shooting would be better and vice versa.
If the Wild can continue to play as they did on Thursday night, we just might get the team we’ve been waiting for for so long. However, I’m going to withhold some judgement because we have yet to see if they can play with consistency. Tonight will be a good start to see which team we’re getting. The Flyers are coming off a 6-3 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, where Steve Mason gave up 6 goals on 23 shots so I’d full expect Michael Neuwirth to get the start against the Wild.
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