Minnesota Wild (15-6-4) 34pts 4th in the Central
2.44 Goals For (23rd)
2.20 Goals Against (7th)
21.6% Power Play (7th)
78.6% Penalty Kill (25th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 11G 11A = 22pts
2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 5G 16A = 21pts
3. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 13G 4A = 17pts
4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 15A = 15pts
5. #22 Nino Niederreiter ~ 5G 8A = 13pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 37 PIM's
2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 27 PIM's
3. #39 Nate Prosser ~ 19 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #37 Josh Harding (13-3-2) 1.48GAA .939%SP 2SO
2. #32 Niklas Backstrom (2-2-2) 2.88GAA .892%SP
3. #35 Darcy Kuemper (0-1-0) 6.10GAA .625%SP
Vs.
Phoenix Coyotes (14-6-4) 32pts 4th in the Pacific
3.17 Goals For (4th)
3.17 Goals Against (27th)
21.4% Power Play (8th)
76.1% Penalty Kill (28th)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Martin Hanzal ~ 7G 13A = 20pts
2. #19 Shane Doan ~ 11G 8A = 19pts
3. #17 Radim Vrbata ~ 6G 13A = 19pts
4. #63 Mike Ribeiro ~ 7G 10A = 17pts
5. #23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson ~ 4G 13A = 17pts
Top 3 PIM's:
1. #11 Martin Hanzal ~ 27 PIM's
2. #24 Kyle Chipchura ~ 25 PIM's
3. #44 Chris Brown ~ 17 PIM's
Top Goaltenders:
1. #41 Mike Smith (12-5-4) 3.02GAA .911%SP
2. #1 Thomas Greiss (2-1-0) 2.38GAA .928%SP
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Really, it could be worse. On Monday night, Wild assistant captain Zach Parise would unselfishly get in front of an Alex Steen slap shot late in the 1st period where he blocked it with the side of his foot. The shot hobbled Parise who attempted to come back in Monday's game but could only manage 3 shifts before ultimately giving in to the injury. How bad that injury was unknown until yesterday when team doctors back in the Twin Cities were able to examine the foot and give a determination as to how bad it really was.
It might seem like a strange reaction but the Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher were somewhat pleased to learn that Zach Parise, the team's leading scorer was given a 2-3 week recovery time by team doctors. As the team is about to enter perhaps one of the toughest portions of its schedule, the Wild will miss Parise's speed, hard work, leadership on and off the ice as well as his goals. Parise is the type of player that could create something out of nothing and his loss creates a void in the lineup the team will vainly try to replace.
The Wild will need someone to raise their game in Parise's absence. Who will it be? Jason Pominville? Charlie Coyle? Mikko Koivu? Nino Niederreiter? The most likely solution would be to replace Parise's offense with multiple players. Matt Cooke and Kyle Brodziak haven't scored in a while, and Justin Fontaine has been relatively quiet since Jason Zucker got called up. If Parise's injury was the only one the Wild were contending with it would be one thing. However the team is also missing (whether it chooses to admit it or not) Mikael Granlund at 2nd line center. Granlund's chemistry with Pominville superceded the top line of Parise and Koivu for a while. The smallish center has been out of the lineup with what has been called an 'upper body' injury and in many cases that is a euphemism for a concussion. Minnesota has climbed towards the top half of Western Conference by taking advantage of most of its opportunities. If the Wild can adapt and find ways to earn points in Parise's absence may just be Mike Yeo's biggest test to see if he can keep the team's tenuous playoff hopes afloat.
On the blueline the team has missed Keith Ballard as well. Ballard provides a dose of ornery to a soft and docile Wild defensive corps. The lack strength in and around the crease was very apparent on Monday as the Blues had little difficulty making their way to the blue paint in front of Niklas Backstrom. Speaking of Backstrom, the starting job will remain his as long as Josh Harding is nursing a hamstring injury after stepping on a puck during warm ups on Saturday against the Jets. Harding is day-to-day but would you really want to rush him back? The team doesn't dare put in Darcy Kuemper who has played like a deer in headlights in his two appearances this season. Even Paul Deutch may have fared better than Kuemper.
Meanwhile the Phoenix Coyotes continue to defy the odds. The Coyotes roster has little in the way of star calibre players but Phoenix Head Coach Dave Tippett finds ways to be successful. Normally its with a good goaltending and great team defense, but not this season. Tippett's team has been winning games with a high scoring club that does so by committee making Phoenix extremely difficult to match up against. Whether its goals from the usual suspects like Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal and Mike Ribeiro or journeyman like Rob Klinkhammer, Lauri Korpikoski and Antoine Vermette they give the Desert Dogs four lines that can chip in offensively. Doan, is a bit banged up but is expected to play tonight in St. Paul.
Yet a lesser understood about the Coyotes is the terrific production Phoenix recieves from its blueline. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4 goals, 17 points), Keith Yandle (1 goal, 17 points), Derek Morris (4 goals, 11 points) and Michael Stone (7 goals) make one of the most potent defensive corps in the NHL. The Wild would ignore these point shooters at their own peril. In their own end the Coyotes have given up as many as they've scored so the Wild should have some great opportunities. Phoenix is trying to fix its uncharacteristic defensive struggles as they placed former 4th Overall pick (2000) Rostislav Klesla on waivers yesterday.
So whose adjustments will yield results tomorrow night? Can Mike Yeo adjust better than Dave Tippett? Of course that is just a rhetorical question as we know who the better coach is. We can only hope our blind sqirrel finds a nut this time around.
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