| Record | Pts | Div. Rank | G/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | |
| Minnesota Wild | (3-2-3) | 9 | 3rd NW | 2.00 (25) | 2.38 (12) | 9.7% (29) |
76.0% (24) |
| Anaheim Ducks |
(4-3-1) | 9 | 3rd Pacific | 2.12 (23) | 2.38 (11) | 11.4% (25) | 90.6% (6) |
| Minnesota Wild | |||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #15 Dany Heatley | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 2. #48 Guillaume Latendresse | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 3. #7 Matt Cullen | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4. #10 Devin Setoguchi | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5. #21 Kyle Brodziak | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #16 Brad Staubitz | 15 | ||
| 2. #48 Guillaume Latendresse | 6 | ||
| 3. #55 Nick Schultz | 6 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-2-2) | 2.20 | .920 | |
| 2. #37 Josh Harding (0-0-1) | 2.81 | .927 | |
| Anaheim Ducks |
|||
| Top 5 Scorers: | G | A | Pts |
| 1. #8 Teemu Selanne | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 2. #15 Ryan Getzlaf | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 3. #10 Corey Perry | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4. #17 Lubomir Visnovsky | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 5. #9 Bobby Ryan | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Top 3 Penalty Minutes: | PIM | ||
| 1. #10 Corey Perry | 14 | ||
| 2. #49 Maxim Macenauer | 10 | ||
| 3. #39 Matt Belesky | 9 | ||
| Goaltenders: | GAA | SV% | |
| 1. #1 Jonas Hiller (3-3-1) | 2.57 | .902 | |
| 2. #39 Dan Ellis (1-0-0) | 1.33 | .966 | |
| . | |||
Regulation win. Regulation win. Regulation win.
That right there should be the mantra for the Minnesota Wild. It should be plastered on the walls of the Wild locker room. It should be taped to the backside of the boards in the Wild’s bench. It should be going through the head of each and every player on the Wild roster. Overtime and shootouts are getting old, especially since Minnesota struggles to get the two points in those extra sessions. Not to mention, I don’t like giving Western Conference, and in particular Northwest Division foes a point as well. And don’t forget, when teams clamoring for a playoff spot have the same number of points, the team with the most regulation and overtime wins gets the spot over a team with shootout wins.
I, like many fans, are getting frustrated with the play of Mikko Koivu. We have been led to believe that if he simply had better linemates, then he would produce more. Well, he was given vastly superior linemates in Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, yet Koivu has yet to score a goal. The failure of our “dream line” has forced head coach Mike Yeo to split things up for tonight. The new top line with consist of Heatley and Koivu now features Cal Clutterbuck on the right wing. Setoguchi is now the right wing on the second line with Pierre Marc-Bouchard and Matt Cullen. Of course part of the reason for these new lines is due to the groin issues that Guillaume Latendresse is dealing with, but clearly Yeo felt a desperate need to shake things up.
As far as new lines, Yeo had also had to tinker with the power play units. When one takes into account that we now “boast” a lowly 29th ranked power play in the league, it was clear something had to be done. I personally cannot remember when we’ve had a power play so bad, in fact I may have to think back to the inaugural season to even come up with one so bad. Looking at tonight’s number one power play unit, I admit I cringe seeing the name of Marek Zidlicky on the point. Lately, I have felt Zidlicky has been ineffective at best, and not just on the power play. Teams with a 9.7% power play will often find it difficult to win games. Add that poor power play percentage to Anaheim’s quite effective penalty kill (which is 6th in the league), I wouldn’t be surprised to see our power play get even worse.
I’ll be honest. I do not feel good about this game. With Halloween just around the corner, I’m afraid it will be more “Nightmare on Elm Street” than “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”
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