| Record | Pts | Div. Rank | G/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | |
| Minnesota Wild | (35-26-7) | 77 | 3rd NW | 2.56 (24) | 2.57 (11) | 20.2% (7) |
83.8% (9) |
| Dallas Stars |
(36-23-8) | 80 | 3rd Pacific | 2.72 (19) | 2.76 (16) | 18.2% (11) | 79.6% (24) |
| Minnesota Wild | |||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #24 Martin Havlat | 21 | 38 | 59 |
| 2. #9 Mikko Koivu | 15 | 34 | 49 |
| 3. #8 Brent Burns | 16 | 26 | 42 |
| 4. #15 Andrew Brunette | 16 | 21 | 37 |
| 5. #7 Matt Cullen | 12 | 25 | 37 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #16 Brad Staubitz | 125 | ||
| 2. #8 Brent Burns | 92 | ||
| 3. #4 Clayton Stoner | 62 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (21-17-4) | 2.39 | .924 | |
| 2. #60 Jose Theodore (12-8-3) | 2.58 | .921 | |
| Dallas Stars |
|||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #91 Brad Richards | 24 | 39 | 63 |
| 2. #21 Loui Eriksson | 23 | 38 | 61 |
| 3. #63 Mike Ribeiro | 14 | 43 | 57 |
| 4. #10 Brenden Morrow | 26 | 19 | 45 |
| 5. #14 Jamie Benn | 18 | 22 | 40 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #29 Steve Ott | 164 | ||
| 2. #16 Adam Burish | 91 | ||
| 3. #13 Krystofer Barch | 80 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #32 Kari Lehtonen (28-18-8) | 2.62 | .914 | |
| 2. #30 Andrew Raycroft (8-5-0) | 2.75 | .911 | |
| . | |||
Honestly, I don’t know what to say about last night’s game. I’ll admit, I didn’t get a chance to watch it on TV, but I did listen to it using a live stream online. What I heard, simply did not sound good. The Wild did not sound like a team that was in the active hunt of a playoff spot. Instead, they sounded more like a team looking to simply be done with the season.
Yes, I get the fact that you’re banged up. But you know what, you’re not the only team in the league that has battled through injuries and illness this season. In fact, when you get down to it, the Wild have been rather “lucky” in that regard. Have there been devastating injuries this season? Most definitely. The early season injury to Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse certainly didn’t help matters. We’ve Havlat back for a while now, and we are just getting Latendresse back. The long-tern injuries to Josh Harding and James Sheppard did not put us behind the proverbial eight ball. When Mikko Koivu and Cal Clutterbuck return (most likely during this road trip), we’ll truly see if this team is serious about winning.
Perhaps the one person who has the right attitude right now, is that of Latendresse. His injury has put him in the frame of mind, that he almost missed out on an entire year in his development, as this is only his fifth year. Perhaps this will serve as his wake up call, that he needs to keep up with his training even during the off-season. Now, it seems he is willing to do any bit of physical therapy that is asked of him, and will pack on the ice in order to keep himself moving. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that sort of “I’ll do whatever it takes” mentality would rub off on his teammates?
The Wild are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference. Tonight’s visit to Dallas will most likely determine how what little is left of the season pans out. If Minnesota plays like they did last night, they simply deserve to sit on the outside looking in.
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