Minnesota Wild (3-3)
2.83 Goals For (10th)
2.67 Goals Against (5th)
16.7% Power Play (8th)
90.9% Penalty Kill (2nd)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 3G 7A = 10pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 1G 4A = 5pts
3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 0G 5A = 5pts
4. #3 Charlie Coyle ~ 3G 1A = 4pts
5. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 2G 2A = 4pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 20 PIM’s
2. #8 Cody McCormick ~ 14 PIM’s
3. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 12 PIM’s
Top Goaltender:
1. #35 Darcy Kuemper (3-1) 1.53GAA .934SV%
2. #30 Ilya Bryzgalov (0-2) 4.85GAA .822SV%
Vs.
Colorado Avalanche (3-3)
2.67 Goals For (12th)
2.83 Goals Against (8th)
9.1% Power Play (15th)
83.3% Penalty Kill (9th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #29 Nathan MacKinnon ~ 2G 8A = 10pts
2. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 4G 5A = 9pts
3. #90 Ryan O’Reilly ~ 2G 4A = 6pts
4. #92 Gabriel Landeskog ~ 3G 1A = 4pts
5. #2 Nick Holden ~ 2G 1A = 3pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #55 Cody McLeod ~ 22 PIM’s
2. #58 Patrick Bordeleau ~ 10 PIM’s
3. #92 Gabriel Landeskog ~ 8 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #1 Semyon Varlamov (3-3) 2.45GAA .923SV%
It’s Game 7 all. Tonight is the win and go on or lose and go home. Do or die. There are many cliches out there, especially sports related ones, that can apply to tonight’s game. As fans, we’re looking forward to the game and nervous in our own way. However, I cannot even imagine what kind of nerves the players themselves are going through right now. I’ve been wondering why kind of dreams the players had last night. As a fan, I went to bed thinking of this game. Yet the dreams I had (at least of those I can remember) had absolutely nothing to do with hockey. The one I do remember, I was part of the entourage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Yes weird and completely unrelated, but once I fell asleep, I slept hard. Hopefully the players had some non-hockey related dreams as well that allowed them to have a deep, restorative sleep, because they need and deserve it.
Minnesota hasn’t been in this position since 2003. While it would have been nice to have a shorter series, especially if Minnesota advances, it has certainly been an exciting series. This is going to be a new experience for our young players, so it’s a good thing we have veteran players who have seen elimination games before. Even better, we have people around the Wild who have been in this very position, a Game 7 against the Avalanche and on the road. I can only hope they’ve been an excellent resource for those donning the road whites tonight. For the Avalanche, their roster is very, very young. They don’t have quite the same resources that the Wild have when it comes to experience. However, they do have their coach, Patrick Roy who has been in these situations. And of course, he would like nothing more than to erase the memory of how his last Game 7, and against Minnesota no less, ended. I suppose since it never gets old, I have to post the obligatory video, which still gives me chills whenever I see it:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWQUUsSpzI]Now there will be the chance that Minnesota gets behind on the scoreboard tonight. There have been times this season, that the Wild have clawed their way back into game and ultimately won. It’s that never-say-die attitude that we absolutely must see from Minnesota tonight. They’re going to need to tune out the fans at Pepsi Center tonight. Once they’ve tuned out the opening nonsense, they’re going to have to play the kind of game that gives the fans nothing to cheer about. Keeping the fans quiet means you’re keeping the Avalanche out of the game. In those instances where the Avs and fans are back in the game, you have to take that excitement and to make it your own. Scoring quickly after the Avalanche will be absolutely imperative.
And because this series isn’t over yet, I leave you with this classic pep talk.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep-xgd_eETE]
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