| Record | Pts | Div. Rank | G/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | |
| Minnesota Wild | (29-20-5) | 63 | 3rd NW | 2.61 (22) | 2.59 (10) | 20.0% (10) |
83.6% (10) |
| St. Louis Blues |
(24-20-9) | 57 | 5th Central | 2.66 (20) | 2.91 (20) | 14.4% (26) | 80.6% (20) |
| Minnesota Wild | |||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #24 Martin Havlat | 16 | 32 | 48 |
| 2. #9 Mikko Koivu | 14 | 33 | 47 |
| 3. #8 Brent Burns | 14 | 19 | 33 |
| 4. #7 Matt Cullen | 10 | 23 | 33 |
| 5. #15 Andrew Brunette | 15 | 17 | 32 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #16 Brad Staubitz | 94 | ||
| 2. #8 Brent Burns | 70 | ||
| 3. #9 Mikko Koivu | 34 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (17-12-3) | 2.38 | .926 | |
| 2. #60 Jose Theodore (10-7-2) | 2.74 | .913 | |
| 3. #35Anton Khudobin (2-1-0) | 1.59 | .942 | |
St. Louis Blues |
|||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #42 David Backes | 20 | 21 | 41 |
| 2. #20 Alexander Steen | 15 | 25 | 40 |
| 3. #22 Brad Boyes | 11 | 25 | 36 |
| 4. #21 Patrik Berglund | 13 | 19 | 32 |
| 5. #36 Matt D’Agostini | 12 | 15 | 27 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #26 B.J. Crombeen | 96 | ||
| 2. #15 Brad Winchester | 86 | ||
| 3. #55 Cam Janssen | 71 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #41 Jaroslav Halak (18-16-6) | 2.61 | .908 | |
| 2. #29 Ty Conklin (6-4-3) | 3.33 | .879 | |
I don’t know about you, but I can’t take another game like last night.
Not because it wasn’t exciting, because it was. The reason is that I simply don’t like the thought of tempting fate. As the old saying goes, lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice. For what seemed like 20 minutes, the Wild were once again in possession of the highly coveted 8th spot in the Western Conference. No thanks to the Anaheim Ducks who couldn’t win in regulation in Calgary last night, giving the Flames the point for an overtime loss. If the Wild hope to gain some ground tonight, not only does lightning have to strike twice, but they also need some help from their “frenemies” in Vancouver when they head to Calgary for Hockey Day in Canada.
Yet one thing I will gladly see a repeat of in tonight’s game, is that of a fighting spirit. As we all witnessed, we saw a Wild team that would go down, and somehow find a way to get that goal back. Had last night’s game happened in the first month of the season, there’s almost no chance we would have seen a never-say-die attitude. Instead of finding ways to score, we may have seen a Minnesota team trying to keep the opposition from scoring more goals. What’s even better, is that the Wild never had to score more than one goal to tie the game. When the score remains close, the mountain doesn’t seem so high.
One thing we know for sure. Don’t expect St. Louis to play like a beaten team. I would expect them to come in with something to prove. The Blues would like to move up in the standings, and with the tight quarters in the Western Conference, a playoff appearance for them isn’t completely out of the picture. Plus, visiting teams always like to spoil the feel-good moments of celebration games. Also, the Blues have three players who are part of Minnesota hockey in TJ Oshie, Erik Johnson, and David Backes. I wouldn’t be surprised if somehow the energy of Hockey Day Minnesota doesn’t boost their respective games.
As I’ve said many times as of late, the Wild’s fate is once again in their own hands. As we’ve seen lately, we cannot hope for other games in the conference to bail us out. Play hard each and every night, take advantage of the opposition’s mistakes. That is what has to happen from here on out.
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