Wild Game Day
2015-16 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Round 1 Game 6
Wild Series Record (2-3)
Game 1 Wild 0 @Stars 4
Game 2 Wild 1 @ Stars 2
Game 3 Stars 3 @Wild 5
Game 4 Stars 3 @ Wild 2
Game 5 Wild 5 @ Stars 4 (OT)
Wild Regular Season Record (38-33-11 87 pts) 5th Place Central Division. #8 Seed Western Conference
Home Record (21-16-4)
Road Record (17-17-7)
Dallas Stars Regular Season Record (50-23-9 109 pts) 1st Place Central Division, #1 Seed Western Conference
Home Record (28-11-2)
Road Record (22-12-7)
All-Time Record
vs. Dallas Stars 23-37-1
@ HOME 16-14-0
@ Dallas 7-23-1
Regular Season Results
11/14 Wild 2 @ Stars 3 (OT)
11/28 Stars 4 @ Wild 3 (OT)
12/21 Stars 6 @ Wild 3
1/9 Wild 2 @ Stars 1
2/9 Stars 4 @ Wild 3
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Time: 2:00PM CT
TV: NBC
It is sure to be an emotional crowd in the state of hockey this afternoon. Yes it is game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Wild on the brink of elimination, which alone will bring the crowd to a fever pitch. But the emotions will run even higher as the Wild will honour the life of Prince, the Minnesota native son and Worldwide legend who passed away Thursday.
It has been a roller coaster season for the Minnesota Wild to say the least, but one thing is certain, they are resilient. They have gotten themselves up off of the mat when all seemed lost and no one believed except those within the organization. After the coaching change the Wild clawed their way back into the playoff race and ultimately secured the 8th and final Western Conference playoff spot. The Wild dropped their final five games of the season and were white washed in the opening playoff game in Dallas 4-0. They could have very easily folded and played out the string as all the so called experts predicted. But not this Wild team, they are resilient, even if they themselves are the only ones who truly believe that.
The captain, Mikko Koivu, delivered not once but twice on Friday night to bring the series home for a game 6 in front of the home faithful. Leadership has been in question throughout the season and what better way to answer the critics by the captain. Koivu roofed a brilliant pass from Mikael Granlund with just over three minutes remaining to tie the game, then tipped home alternate captain, Ryan Suter's point shot for the winner in overtime.
The game winning goal is a perfect example of the kinds of scoring opportunities the Wild will need to generate more of if they are going to be victorious today. That play started deep in the Stars zone with Koivu chipping the puck to Granlund on the wall. Koivu immediately turned and went to the net. Granlund one touched the pass to Nate Prosser at the near point, Prosser immediately went cross point with a pass to Suter, who let a quick shot go to the net. That quick, decisive puck movement creates lanes to get shots through to the goal and also creates openings in the goaltender. So exhibit A, Koivu's game winner, needs to be the mantra of the Wild offensive game plan.
Devan Dubnyk has not played his best in this series either. The fact that the Wild have been able to win a couple of games without Dubnyk playing all that well, lends one to think he has a couple really strong efforts coming. Dubnyk, will be the first to admit he must play better and that starts today at home.
The Wild will need to continue to generate shots and traffic to the Stars net and if they do, the goals will follow. The Stars goaltending woes have clearly surfaced as coach Lindy Ruff has the unenviable task of selecting which goalie to play. He went to Antti Niemi after the game 3 loss in which Kari Lehtonen allowed 4 goals on just 24 shots. Niemi got the win in game 4 stopping 28 of the 30 Wild shots he faced, but in game 5 he was not very good in allowing 5 goals on 24 shots for a .792 save percentage. The Stars goaltending has been a point of contention for most of the season, and it appears to have reared it's ugly head here in the playoffs.
Game 6 Stanley Cup Playoffs, win or go home for the Wild. They have been here before and they know what it takes to rise to the occasion. It is time to go out and take it on the ice.
Let's Go Crazy!
Let's Go Wild!
Let's Play Hockey!
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»