Wild Game Day number 32 Wild Record (19-8-4 42 pts) Road Record (7-5-4)
Opponent: Montreal Canadiens (21-7-4 46 pts) Home Record (15-2-0)
Site: Bell Centre , Montreal, Quebec
Time: 6:30PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 12/22 Canadiens 1 @ Wild 2 3/12 Wild 4 @ Canadiens 1
The Wild take their eight game win streak into the Bell Centre tonight in the battle of the league's best goalies. All World Canadiens net minder Carey Price has been just that again this season after missing almost the entire 2015-16, with his 18-4-2 record, 1.87 GAA, .936 save percentage to go along with 2 shutouts. Of course Devan Dubnyk is having quite a season himself, coming off his league leading 5th shutout, Doobs, also leads the league with his 1.55 GAA and .948 save percentage.
A lot will be made of the goaltending matchup tonight and rightfully so, but both teams are more than just their all-star goalies. Both the Wild and Canadiens are +31 in the goals for/goals against category and both play a very similar style game based on speed and sound play in their own zone.
Much has been said that this is a good barometer game for the Wild and to a degree it will be. But in all due respect it is December and it is a non-conference game on the road. Yes two points are valuable points but no matter the outcome the Wild are on the right track. Yes they want to have a strong showing on the road in a very tough building but let's keep the results in perspective win or lose.
For the Wild, Erik Haula will miss his second straight game tonight.
The Eastern Conference has certainly tipped the balance of power in the NHL their favor after the West had been widely consisered the more dominant conference for much of the last decade. Montreal leads the Atlantic Division with 46 points and the Metropolitan Division has surpassed the Central as the league's toughest division with five teams having more points than the Wild, who currently have the 2nd best record in the Western Conference.
The Wild visit two of those top Eastern Conference teams on back to back nights, tonight in Montreal and tomorrow in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The NHL will go dark after tomorrow for three days as we celebrate Christmas.
Of course the Wild want to hit the Christmas break on a high note but more importantly they want to hit the break playing well. They have really become a much different team over the last month. They are becoming a tougher team to play against, making the opposition work harder for their space and scoring opportunities.
We all know the margin between winning and losing is very slim and the better teams find the way to get two points more times than not in the close games. Attention to detail is critical always, but on the road it is magnified even more. The Wild will need to be more disciplined tonight than they have been lately and stay out of the box. Scoring opportunities will be at a premium so when they present themselves the Wild players must make them count.
Should be a great one tonight in Montreal.
Let's Play Hockey!