WildHBcommunity: In Need of a Response Wild face Stars in Dallas
The Thanksgiving Eve Massacre at the X Must Serve as Wake Up Call for Wild
The 4-0 beat down of the State of Hockey's favorite squad by the Los Angeles Kings was tough to watch especially given how many different times this year the Mike Yeo led team has looked like they are capable of taking the next step to becoming a legitimate cup contender.
On the night of Keith Ballard's birthday, the Wild out worked in every aspect of the game leading to an embarrassing loss that will require an immediate response tonight in Dallas. Honestly about the only Wild player that created any sort of opportunity with his play was Nino Niederreiter.
Darcy Kuemper takes all the blame for 4 goals in the first period against the Kings but his entire defensive corps failed him completely. On his birthday night Ballard was directly responsible for 2 of the 4 goals off of turnovers. Ballard is on his last legs as an NHL defender and it showed on Wednesday.
That was literally the worst 60 minutes of Wild hockey all season and they better pull it together tonight because they are on the road in enemy territory against a Stars team that has won 3 in a row on their current 5 game home stand. Also the Wild will return home after this one for a four game homestand against arguably the toughest schedule they will face all season in the next 7 games.
The Wild Blue Line Will Get a Boost with the Return of Jonas Brodin
The return of Jonas Brodin should go along way towards improving the Wild's struggling offense because it will mean the Top4 defenders are back intact. Beyond battling that terrible mumps virus, Brodin was banged up after some pretty brutal targeting from opponents on the east coast road trip that featured the Rangers 3rd period collapse and hard fought battle to comeback win versus the Bruins.
The way Brodin plays the game opponents will always target him for physical punishment but the young swede has shown flashes of taking his game to the next level. Brodin was clearly banged up before getting the mumps which caused his play to be very rudimentary. Brodin when at full strength has flashed some ability to add to the offense shooting the puck which will be important going forward this season for the Wild.
Brodin's return means that Yeo will no longer have to rely on Nate Prosser to play beyond his full capabilities in the Top 4 pairings. Brodin has to return to avoiding hits at the last minutes and moving the puck confidently. Lets be honest that Ryan Suter has played TOO MANY MINUTES while Brodin and Jared Spurgeon were out of the lineup in the past couple weeks.
The Emergence of True Goal Scorers Should Dictate Yeo's Line Combinations and Roles
The thriving young players for this Wild team have carried them this season, none more impressive than Jason Zucker and Niederreiter. Both of these talented wingers are scoring goals and playing and effective aggressive brand of hockey. I have been a huge proponent of both of these kids getting elevated roles because they both have the skill set and mentality to become legitimate NHL goal scorers.
Both Zucker and Niederreiter are capable of carrying the puck with speed and creating their own shots. With so many of the Wild's forwards looking to defer nearly at all costs, having these two shooters featured in the Top 6 certainly appeared to be the only obstacle to them producing goals consistently for this squad.
NOW to have Yeo back off of his insistence to keep the top power play all veteran players who have FAILED to score on the man advantage completely this season. Bottom line of it is Zucker and Niederreiter should have been featured on the power play right out of the gates this season. Both instead began the year in more defensive intensive roles and with heavy penalty kill minutes. Both of these wingers still took advantage creating multiple odd man rushes down a man on special teams this season.
The Struggles of Finnish Jesus Continue
I think we all are very aware of how capable Mikael "Finnish Jesus" Granlund is of creating genius moments every time he steps out on the ice. I believe Wild fans understand that although he may never be a 20+ goal scorer his ability to find his teammates with the puck and his hard work and effort to play a 200 foot brand of hockey makes him a strong candidate to be the top line center for the franchise for the next 5-10 years.
Unfortunately this season Granlund has hit a wall with his play over the past 5-7 games. Granlund has been battered by Wild opponents often after the whistle this season with ZERO response from the NHL officials. It seems the punishment has been taking a toll on the young finn because his production has been noticeably absent recently.
Granlund is a wizard with the puck, but he has not been able to create much space for himself which has lead to a significant decline in his production. Last game I thought Granlund fired the puck much more than usual against the Kings which is a good sign that he is feeling the pressure but honestly this kid needs to get going soon because his fellow countrymen Mikko Koivu and Haula has been struggling to contribute offense as well so the Wild is getting next to nothing from their top three pivot players.
I will always want more aggressiveness from Granlund with the puck on his stick and hopefully he seeks out more opportunities to shoot the puck. Opponents have been shading Granlund and Koivu specifically to pass especially on the power play which has created many turnovers this season. Hopefully taking more shots when presented lanes will help to create more space for those two to deal the puck to their linemates.
Keys to Victory Tonight in Dallas
As with last time these two teams met in Dallas, tonight's key to victory for the Wild will be the ability for the Erik Haula led 3rd line to limit/eliminate scoring of the top line for the Stars. Jamie Benn along with Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin have propelled their team to victory this year. Having the Wild and Stars in the same division has given each fan base an opportunity to have an up close and personal view of the stars, grinders, and weak links for each.
If Stu Richard Bickel is in the lineup again this evening, lets all hope his fist finds Antoine Roussel's face hole. Roussel has taken advantage of the opportunity to run Wild players and engage in goonery in every matchup between these teams this year. Lest we forget the behavior of the Stars Captain Benn during the last matchup between these clubs at the Excel Energy Center. Benn obviously frustrated by the relentless play of Zucker, swung around after losing the puck with a two-handed slash that in my opinion was suspense worthy.
The Stars weakness appears to be the defensive corps which features a very young group of defenders and lacks top end talent in my opinion. If the Wild is going to steal another rare victory in Dallas tonight and cool off the Stars looking to win their fourth in a row, they will need to dominate possession and create extended offensive zone opportunities. Maybe the Stars can help jump start the power play again for this Wild squad who scored not one but two man advantage tallies against them here at the X.
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Individual Leaders
Minnesota Wild Dallas Stars
Points: Z. PARISE (14),J. POMINVILLE (13),N. NIEDERREITER (13) T. SEGUIN (28),J. BENN (20),J. SPEZZA (19)
Goals: N. NIEDERREITER (10),Z. PARISE (8),J. ZUCKER (8) T. SEGUIN (17),J. BENN (8),T. DALEY (5)
Assists: T. VANEK (10),R. SUTER (10),J. POMINVILLE (9) J. SPEZZA (15),J. BENN (12),T. SEGUIN (11)
PP Goals: N. NIEDERREITER (4),T. VANEK (1),J. SPURGEON (1) T. DALEY (4),T. SEGUIN (3),J. BENN (2)
SH Goals: R. CARTER (1),J. ZUCKER (1),N. NIEDERREITER (1) C. EAKIN (1),R. GARBUTT (1)
GW Goals: M. SCANDELLA (2),C. COYLE (2),N. NIEDERREITER (2) T. SEGUIN (3),R. GARBUTT (2),J. BENN (1)
3+ Goals: N. NIEDERREITER(1) T. SEGUIN(2)
PIM: M. SCANDELLA (30),R. CARTER (22),K. BALLARD (21) A. ROUSSEL (53),J. BENN (28),T. DALEY (18)
Shots: J. POMINVILLE (68),Z. PARISE (65),M. KOIVU (60) T. SEGUIN (85),J. BENN (72),J. SPEZZA (46)
+/-: R. SUTER (+12),J. SPURGEON (+12),Z. PARISE (+7) T. SEGUIN (+6),J. KLINGBERG (+6),J. BENN (+4) Courtesy of Wild Media Resources: wild.com/pressbox and @mnwildPR
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Tony Dean
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