Game #64: Minnesota Wild at New York Islanders, Wednesday March 2, 2011 at 6:00pm CDT, Nassau Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum [GAME PREVIEW]

  
 The French philosopher Voltaire once said, “Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.”  I think this describes the circumstances surrounding the Minnesota Wild rather well.  The team’s hand is without a few key players like Mikko Koivu but if this team is going to step forward and qualify for the post season it is still within its control to play the cards it does have to make that happen.  I think the Wild are going to give the start to Jose Theodore tonight since he has greater familiarity with the Eastern Conference than does Niklas Backstrom.  The question is, is Wild Head Coach Todd Richards a good enough card player to make that happen?  As much as the slow start hindered the team and have forced Minnesota to play catch up all season long, now Richards is being tested yet again to prove he can get his team back on the winning track after dropping their last two games and now finding themselves out of the Western Conference playoff picture.  Check it out for yourself. 

#1 Vancouver Canucks ~ 64GP (40-15-9)  89pts
#2 Detroit Red Wings ~ 63GP (39-18-6)  84pts
#3 San Jose Sharks ~ 64GP (37-21-6)  80pts
#4 Phoenix Coyotes ~ 65GP (33-22-10)  76pts
#5 Calgary Flames ~ 65GP (33-23-9)  75pts
#6 Dallas Stars ~ 63GP (34-23-6)  74pts
#7 Chicago Blackhawks ~ 63GP (34-23-6)  74pts
#8 Los Angeles Kings ~ 63GP (35-24-4)  74pts
———————————————————————–
#9 Nashville Predators ~ 64GP (32-23-9)  73pts
#10 Minnesota Wild ~ 63GP (33-24-6)  72pts
#11 Anaheim Ducks ~ 63GP (33-25-5)  71pts
#12 Columbus Blue Jackets ~ 62GP (31-24-7)  69pts
#13 St. Louis Blues ~ 63GP (28-26-9)  65pts

It certainly didn’t take long to fall out of the playoff picture.  Two losses and you’re in 10th.  Minnesota’s hopes are far from dashed, but it has some serious work to do.  As the team travels east to play against the Islanders, it is an opportunity to gain ground without being worried about the effect of having a 3-point game offsetting your advance in the standings.  No matter what, earning 2 points tonight has to be the focus.  Minnesota looked sluggish after a two-day rest on Monday when they fell at home to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.  Yes, the Wild did have a nice 3rd period surge but it was too little, too late and it allowed the Blackhawks to leap frog us in the standings. 

Taking a step back to Voltaire’s card analogy, you could say the last month or so has been a great series of card games for the New York Islanders.  With a very scrappy squad that looks like half of an AHL roster, Jack Capuano‘s group has surprised many teams with their terrific work ethic, physicality and willingness to drop the gloves from all over its lineup.  However the story of the Islanders recent success has to do with a lot of players trying to prove themselves to the Islanders management as well as the team starting to gel offensively.  Michael Grabner is making the Florida Panthers look rather foolish for placing him on waivers, as he’s 2nd on the team with 25 goals and his tremendous speed which reminds me a lot of Marian Gaborik creates some issues defensively for a Wild team that is not the fleetest of foot.  Matt Moulson has also started to regain his form from a season ago, with 28 goals and he’s perhaps one of the better pure scorers in the NHL that most have never heard of.  Lastly, John Tavares will never wow people with his skating ability but his hands are terrific, especially near the crease, so Minnesota must be solid defensively to take away these weapons.  This is a team that is playing loose and relishing the role of a spoiler.  If Minnesota just looks at the standings and says, “oh they’re only 14th in the east” and expects a cakewalk they would be fooling themselves.  I would expect the Islanders to start Al Montoya between the pipes, who has given the Islanders a reasonable level of performance since being traded from the Phoenix Coyotes.     

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