Minnesota Wild (12-9-2) 26pts 2nd in the Northwest
2.22 Goals For (27th)
2.44 Goals Against (7th)
15.7% Power Play (24th)
85.7% Penalty Kill (6th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 4G 15A = 19pts
2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 9G 7A = 16pts
3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 15A = 16pts
4. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 8G 5A = 13pts
5. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 10A = 13pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 59 PIM's
2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 27 PIM's
3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 16 PIM's
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (10-6-2) 2.32GAA .914%SP
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-2-0) 2.22GAA .924%SP
3. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0) 2.92GAA .885%SP 1 SO
Vs.
Vancouver Canucks (11-6-6) 28pts 1st in the Northwest
2.70 Goals For (17th)
2.52 Goals Against (11th)
15.7% Power Play (23rd)
80.7% Penalty Kill (17th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 8G 15A = 23pts
2. #33 Henrik Sedin ~ 5G 18A = 23pts
3. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 5G 9A = 14pts
4. #2 Dan Hamhuis ~ 2G 12A = 14pts
5. #36 Jannik Hansen ~ 6G 6A = 12pts
Top PIM's:
1. #32 Dale Weise ~ 36 PIM's
2. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 26 PIM's
3. #3 Kevin Bieksa ~ 26 PIM's
Top Goaltender(s):
1. #1 Roberto Luongo (5-2-3) 2.19GAA .912%SP 2 SO
2. #35 Cory Schneider (6-4-3) 2.52GAA .913%SP 1 SO
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It has been an incredibly intense weekend of hockey in the State of Hockey. The Golden Gopher women continue their quest for perfection as they blank North Dakota 2-0 to earn a WCHA title (their 46th consecutive victory), meanwhile St. Cloud State and Minnesota share a piece of the McNaughton Trophy as the WCHA's top team. Of course the outcome of the Class A and Class AA Boys State Hockey Tournament as well. Speaking of the latter it was a tournament that didn't necessarily start all that well as it featured some ridiculously one-sided blowouts, but people got their money's worth in the semi-finals and championship games as it featured some awesome games. Ultimately St. Thomas Academy (Class A) and Edina (Class AA) came away with state titles but not without its share of controversy. Especially in the former game where a marginal call with just under 2 minutes left in a tie game gave the Cadets a power play. If the power play hadn't resulted in a goal there probably wouldn't be much talk about it now, but in the closing seconds of the game Hermantown's Jake Zeleznikar was head locked and thrown down as he was chasing down a puck to clear the zone in a blatent penalty that was not called and shortly thereafter St. Thomas Academy's Tommy Novak buried the game winner with just over 6 seconds left in regulation. Hermantown Head Coach Bruce Plante was incensed at at the final horn he left the bench to give the officials a piece of his mind (and rightfully so). It was St. Thomas Academy's 3rd consecutive title, and only in the championship game did they actually have a game having not given up a goal in its previous two games and scoring 23 goals against East Grand Forks and St. Cloud Apollo respectively. Here is Bruce Plante's post-game interview and I really think it says what a lot of us high school hockey fans have been saying for years.
The Minnesota Wild had a decent effort of their own, earning a 2-1 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators at a very hostile Bridgestone Arena which boo'ed incessantly everytime Ryan Suter was on the ice. Suter handled the hostility very well, even as Nashville tried to goad him into taking some retaliatory penalties. The assistant captain was given a bogus penalty for pulling away Nate Gaustad who was trying to intimdate Niklas Backstrom late in the game. Backstrom was razor sharp, making 24 saves in the victory. It will be interesting to see if he gets a start in today's back to back against the Canucks, especially with the Wild just trailing Vancouver by just 2 points in the Northwest Division standings. I would be surprised if the Wild would give a start to Matt Hackett with a game of this importance.
So as tired as the Wild may or may not be they can potentially take the division lead today. One player who I think could play a crucial role today after a nice return to the lineup last evening is Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck looked like his old self after suffering a thigh contusion from a dirty hit by Edmonton's Taylor Hall. The Welland, Ontario-native was flying all over the ice, dishing out 8 hits last night and giving the Wild some sorely missed sandpaper in their lineup. Speaking of sandpaper the Wild had a great game from its 4th line of Mike Rupp, Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell and they will be important again as they will have to try to keep Dale Weise under control as he really caused a lot of problems for Minnesota.
Of course the biggest challenge will be trying to contain and control the twins Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. The Sedin's have had to carry the Canucks' offense with Ryan Kesler's injury woes. This will be another good test for Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin who has shown a great ability to shut players down 1-on-1. Brodin may still be a bit frail physically speaking but he is so smart with his stick and his quick feet allow him to stay with any forward in the NHL let alone the Sedin's. With Clutterbuck back you can imagine the trash talking between him and Canucks' pest Alexandre Burrows? Its too bad they couldn't mic both players up as I'm sure we'd hear some great one liners.
I think many fans in Minnesota are not expecting the Wild to win today, but it would be good to see them surprise us all and find a way to earn two points. Its another busy week for Minnesota but in the ultra tight Western Conference where just 2 points separates 3rd place from 11th. It just raises the stakes of every game played, and the Wild can't afford to throw away any games. Hopefully the chance to move into 3rd gets the boys fired up tonight.
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