Minnesota Wild (10-4-4) 24pts 4th in the Central
2.61 Goals For (17th)
2.06 Goals Against (3rd)
23.9% Power Play (2nd)
78.3% Penalty Kill (26th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 8G 7A = 15pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 11G 3A = 14pts
3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 10A = 12pts
4. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 2G 10A = 12pts
5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 11A = 11pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 32 PIM's
2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 20 PIM's
3. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 19 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (9-2-2) 1.22GAA .947SP 2SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (1-1-2) 3.42GAA .871%SP
Vs.
Toronto Maple Leafs (11-6-0) 22pts 2nd in the Atlantic
2.88 Goals For (11th)
2.35 Goals Against (10th)
21.7% Power Play (6th)
83.8% Penalty Kill (12th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #81 Phil Kessel ~ 10G 9A = 19pts
2. #21 James van Reimsdyk ~ 7G 6A = 13pts
3. #43 Nazem Kadri ~ 5G 8A = 13pts
4. #19 Joffrey Lupul ~ 8G 4A = 12pts
5. #12 Mason Raymond ~ 5G 6A = 11pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Colton Orr ~ 51 PIM's
2. #71 David Clarkson ~ 23 PIM's
3. #38 Frazer McLaren ~ 21 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #34 James Reimer (4-2-0) 2.30GAA .942%SP 1SO
2. #45 Jonathan Bernier (7-4-0) 2.17GAA ,936%SP 1SO
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If you're like me, and you come across a blog, you often wonder what that person's background is. Depending on what the blog's theme is, it is often typed up in the writer's bio. Other times, you have to kind of assume or imagine. For myself, we don't really have a bio here. I know I've mentioned from time to time that I work in customer service usually because that work experience has something to do with what I've written. What some of you may not know is that my college degree is in music. Not exactly what one would expect for a hockey blog. I'm one of those people who likes just about every form of music. I do draw the line at rap and country. While I do not like those particular genres, I do value their place in the spectrum of music. My favorite professor in college recently passed away. It was in her Ethnic Music class that she put those two styles into perspective for me. For example, rap is essentially modern day blues.
Musicians also have an odd sense of humor. It often comes out when we're forced to play certain pieces of music. This is especially true when we're asked to play for weddings. There are three pieces in particular, that make us want to bang our heads against the nearest flat surface when asked to perform. They are these: Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D" (aka, the Taco Bell Canon), Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," and Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March." Please, don't make us play these pieces, especially if we are friends. If you like your musician (or if you've hired them and don't know them personally), let them give you suggestions for music. When I got married, I simply told the organist, you can pretty much play anything but those three pieces of music. She looked liked she died and went to heaven. Trust me, we also play better when we're not forced to play music we loathe. Commedian Rob Paravonian has pretty much nailed it on Pachelbel's particular travesty, in that we hear that piece of music no matter what we listen to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM (My apologies for not being able to figure out how to make the video show here)
What does all of this have to do with tonight's game? Well to me, the Toronto Maples Leafs are the Pachelbel Canon of the hockey world. If you watch a lot of hockey or read The Hockey News on a regular basis, we are essentially forced to have some sort of contact with the Leafs (and the Pittsburgh Penguins) whether we want to or not. It doesn't matter how bad or good the Leafs are at any give time, we have to hear about them. Media types will essentially fall over themselves to talk about Toronto, and I have a feeling our FSN broadcast duo of Anthony LaPanta and Mike Greenlay will be no different. I'm already cringing at the things they'll say tonight, and it's still hours away from the puck drop.
And tonight it gets even worse. Not only are they at the Xcel Energy Center tonight, but because of who we're playing, we're essentially forced to change OUR start time to accomodate the visiting team's television schedule. There is absolutely no reason why this game should start at 6:30pm. But since TSN is broadcasting in Canada, we're forced to adjust. I'm sorry, but a visiting team's broadcast should never be the impetus for a game starting earlier. We are never given that option when playing in Vancouver. For some ticket holders tonight, it's going to be a crunch in coming home from work, grabbing a bite, and then get into St. Paul, park and get to your seats. For myself, I get done with work at 7:00 tonight, which means I will miss the entire first period. Thanks a lot Toronto.
The third reason why I compare Toronto to Pachelbel's Canon, is that Minnesota usually comes out on the losing end. They're just one of those teams, that no matter how hard Minnesota tries, we just can't get past them. When we played them in Toronto earlier this season, Minnesota was the better playing team, yet what do we have to show for it? That's right, a loss. Of course, there have also been the games against Toronto where we never really showed up to play. I honestly don't know what the mental block is when it comes to the Maple Leafs. I do wish it would end. It's time to stop this nonsense and take control. And the best way to take control is to win. I'll admit, I don't hold much hope for that though. All we can hope for is that if we lose tonight, is that the loss doesn't follow us to the end of the season when we're short by a point or miss the playoffs due to a tie break. Certain losses have a way of following a team, just like the Pachelbel's Canon in D follows you around.
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