Minnesota Wild (33-12-5) 71pts 1st in the Central
3.28 Goals For Per Game (4th in the NHL)
2.28 Goals Against Per Game (3rd in the NHL)
20.9% Power Play (11th in the NHL)
82.8% Penalty Kill (11th in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 12G 32A = 44pts
2. #12 Eric Staal ~ 16G 25A = 41pts
3. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 13G 25A = 38pts
4. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 16G 20A = 36pts
5. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 15G 21A = 36pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #7 Chris Stewart ~ 58 PIM’s
2. #24 Mathew Dumba ~ 41 PIM’s
3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 26 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (27-9-3) 1.96GAA .933%SO 5SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (6-3-2) 3.16GAA .907%SP
Vs.
Vancouver Canucks (23-22-6) 52pts 6th in the Pacific
2.27 Goals For Per Game (27th in the NHL)
2.78 Goals Against Per Game (17th in the NHL)
13.9% Power Play (28th in the NHL)
78.8% Penalty Kill (23rd in the NHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #53 Bo Horvat ~ 14G 18A = 32pts
2. #33 Henrik Sedin ~ 11G 21A = 32pts
3. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 11G 16A = 27pts
4. #47 Sven Baertschi ~ 13G 13A = 26pts
5. #20 Brandon Sutter ~ 12G 12A = 24pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 35 PIM’s
2. #88 Nikita Tryamkin ~ 35 PIM’s
3. #5 Luca Sbisa ~ 28 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #30 Ryan Miller (14-13-3) 2.53GAA .918%SP 2SO
2. #25 Jacob Markstrom (9-9-3) 2.56GAA .913%SP
Lines:
Vancouver Canucks
D. Sedin~H. Sedin~Eriksson
Baertschi~Horvat~Burrows
Mr. Granlund~Sutter~Megna
Gaunce~Chaput~Skille
Edler~Stecher
Sbisa~Tanev
Tryamkin~Biega
Miller
Markstrom
Minnesota Wild
Niederreiter~Staal~Tuch
Zucker~Koivu~Granlund
Parise~Haula~Pominville
Stewart~Graovac~Coyle
Suter~Spurgeon
Scandella~Dumba
Reilly~Prosser / Folin
Dubnyk
Kuemper
The first day of kindergarten, a day that is exciting and scary for both kids and parents. Its a kid’s first step towards the ‘big world’ of adults and for parents its another indelible reminder their kid is growing up fast. The same is no doubt true is for young players making their long-awaited NHL debut. No doubt there is tons of excitement and anxiety for Alex Tuch and his family. The Wild’s 1st round pick from 2014 is never going to forget this game, nor will his parents who have helped their son live their NHL dream. How good will he be?
Tuch looked pretty good at the AHL All Star game earlier this week, and has been a hot hand for Iowa the last few games. Minnesota is hoping he can contribute and provide the Wild with another skilled, big-bodied forward to keep their forward momentum going in the middle of a 4-game Canadian road trip. The Wild has had a few days off after its disappointing 5-1 loss to Calgary on Wednesday. It gave the team the time to think, reflect and recharge as they get ready to play another team scratching and clawing in the standings in the Vancouver Canucks.
With the Canucks having lost 4-1 to San Jose on Thursday night, they will certainly be motivated as the Wild enter Rogers Arena tonight making this game your classic ‘trap game’ scenario. The Canucks have a collection of small-ish, skilled forwards and some grit to go along with it. Vancouver plays a blue collar style of game and is at its best keeping games close and making it a one-shot game.
Bo Horvat made the NHL All Star game and is a pesky forward who plays a heart and soul game very reminiscent of the Wild’s Zach Parise. Henrik and Daniel Sedin will be honored before tonight’s game for all both have done for the Canucks organization and they continue to be among Vancouver’s leaders. The Wild’s defense will have to account for their down-low cycling game which has been a signature of their careers. The Canucks have a bunch of smallish but skilled players who use finesse to try to make things tough for opposing defenses and Sven Baertschi and Markus Granlund will need to be accounted for as well.
Defensively the Canucks are an odd mix of mobility and one freakish giant in 6’6″ rookie Nikita Tryamkin who has been not too bad in his rookie season. Former Penticton Vees star Troy Stecher has plenty of dangle to his game and the Wild do not want to give him too many opportunities on the power play. Between the pipes I’d guess Ryan Miller gets the start against Minnesota while the Wild will likely give Devan Dubnyk the chance to avenge his loss against the Flames.
Minnesota is making some changes too. The Wild are using Tuch on its top line along side Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter while hoping Charlie Coyle can re-establish his game on the 4th line. Some have speculated undisclosed injuries are a reason Coyle’s game has tailed off, but it may simply be an erosion of confidence. While being placed on the 4th line may sound awful, Tyler Graovac and Chris Stewart have been playing pretty well as of late so it may not be as terrible of a demotion as it looks on paper.
What must the Minnesota Wild do to win tonight?
- Don’t Look At the Standings / Stats – An easy thing to do is to see the Wild overmatch the Canucks in nearly every category. Minnesota cannot expect to coast and win tonight, they must press hard and play with the same sort of intensity they’d bring against a top team like Chicago or it will be a Calgary-like game all over again.
- Swarm the net – The Wild need to assert their size and strength against a smaller club like the Canucks, especially in an around the crease. It doesn’t have to be pretty goals and the Wild would be best served keeping it simple.
- Communicate – Watching the Wild’s last game against Calgary, one noticeable thing was the players seemed to stop talking on the bench and on the ice which led to a bunch uncharacteristic errors. Minnesota must talk, even if there are set backs because not talking about it will likely only result in those mistakes continuing to pile up.
On a programming note, there will not be a post-game report tonight as my partner in crime and I will be attending a wedding today. I assure you we will have plenty of extras for you in our next post-game article as there are tons of good things going on with our young players and in Iowa as well. Stay warm and stay safe!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
