Minnesota Wild (46-28-8) 100pts 4th in the Central
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 33G 29A = 62pts
2. #29 Jason Pominville ~ 18G 36A = 54pts
3. #26 Thomas Vanek ~ 21G 31A = 52pts
4. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 14G 34A = 48pts
5. #64 Mikael Granlund ~ 8G 31A = 39pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #44 Chris Stewart ~ 88 PIM’s
2. #6 Marco Scandella ~ 56 PIM’s
3. #18 Ryan Carter ~ 55 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (36-14-4) 2.07GAA .929%SP 6SO
2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (14-12-2) 2.60GAA .905%SP 3SO
Vs.
St. Louis Blues (51-24-7) 109pts 1st in the Central
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #91 Vladimir Tarasenko ~ 37G 36A = 73pts
2. #20 Alexander Steen ~ 24G 40A = 64pts
3. #17 Jaden Schwartz ~ 28G 35A = 63pts
4. #42 David Backes ~ 26G 32A = 58pts
5. #74 T.J. Oshie ~ 19G 36A = 55pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #75 Ryan Reaves ~ 116 PIM’s
2. #42 David Backes ~ 104 PIM’s
3. #9 Steve Ott ~ 86 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #1 Brian Elliott (26-14-3) 2.26GAA .914%SP 5SO
2. #34 Jake Allen (22-7-4) 2.28GAA .913%SP 4SO
SCHEDULE: (First 4 games)
Game 1: Thursday, April 16, 8:30pm, Scottrade Center (FSN, NBCSN)
Game 2: Saturday, April 18, 2:00pm, Scottrade Center (NBC)
Game3: Monday, April 20, 7:00pm, Xcel Energy Center (FSN, CNBC)
Game4: Wednesday, April 22, 8:30pm, Xcel Energy Center (FSN, NBCSN)
And we’re off.
It should come as no shock to any Wild fan that yet again, we are pegged as the major underdog in this first round. Pretty much every prediction out there has the Blues winning the series in 5 or 6 games. Some highly deluded fans believe it’s going to be a sweep by Saint Louis. Personally, I love seeing those kinds of things. Yes, hockey experts out there, please listen up. The Minnesota Wild have been in this position before. We’re not intimidated by the opponent with the better record. Keep talking yourselves us. Keep putting yourselves on a pedestal. Because if you lose and that pedestal crumbles and buries you under a pile of rubble of your own making, we will gladly look forward to the next opponent. We’ve done it before and we can definitely do it again.
So here’s why the Wild could do it once again, well besides being the underrated team. I’m sure there are people on the national level who will be sure to mention Saturday’s loss in Saint Louis. Okay, so Minnesota lost. Guess what, no team wins every game in the NHL. Some may also point to last season’s seemingly inability to win against the Blues. Guess what people, last season was last season. When I take a look at this season’s record, it tells a much different tale. Minnesota is 2-1-1 against Saint Louis and that does include a win on the road. It felt like the Wild had a more difficult time on the road last season, but once again, that was last season. In the Wild’s climb from 13th in the Western Conference to the first wild card spot, they had to not only win games, but win on the road. They did that.
Minnesota also had to solve the goaltending woes that they found themselves in. Many hoped that the feel-good story of Josh Harding would find a way to make his way back to the NHL. Between his battle with muscular schlerosis and then injuries (some apparently of his own making), we most likely will never see him in a Wild uniform ever again. And that includes the Iowa Wild. Next, we were hoping to see the goaltender we were expecting in a young Darcy Kuemper with solid backup goaltending coming from Niklas Backstrom. Unfortunately, we have yet to see that. However, let me say, in his play against Nashville, Kuemper fought back for the victory in his first game in forever. If you can sit that long and watch everyone else play and find a way to win, that is a testament to his own determination. Then of course, there is Devan Dubnyk. I don’t think I need to say much about him other than this. If he (and his skaters) play like they did while they were clawing themselves out of the basement, Saint Louis and every other team better in the playoffs better come prepared. With more confidence between the pipes has certainly seemed to inspire the skaters. I’m hoping that definitely continues.
I am beyond pleased to be a fan of a team that refused to accept their place in the standings at the All-Star break. Teams like Buffalo, Edmonton, and Arizona were simply content to continue their horrid ways in an attempt to get the top draft picks. A team that had to fight is a fearsome opponent. So yes hockey experts. Please continue to tell us why Saint Louis will win. We’ll just let you have your way now, because it’s always fun to watch the backtracking when your predictions don’t come true. You know, just like when the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins failed to make the post-season.
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