The Wild have their first three game win streak of the season.
Devan Dubnyk has three straight shutouts, while Jason Zucker has 7 goals in his own four game goal scoring streak.
Everything in the State of Hockey is back on track...
Not so fast, there ye of the what have you done for me lately folks.
It is just three games, with neither of them being clear Wild wins throughout.
Just as the Wild lost several close games earlier, they have now one three close games in a row.
The good news is Devan Dubnyk is looking more and more like the goalie he was during his first two and half seasons in Minnesota.
Now the not so great.
The Wild powerplay is absolutely a non factor, having scored just 2 goals on their last 35 man advantage opportunities.
Ryan Suter is an absolute stud on defense for the Wild and certainly does not get the credit that is deserved of one of the league's truly elite rearguards. But it is probably time to adjust his minutes by removing him from the powerplay altogether. Suter just does not get his shot through to the net enough and when he does it rarely has the power to create anything but a frozen puck and an offensive zone faceoff.
It is time to get a forward back on the point, something that is clearly missing with the departure of Jason Pominville. Another key adjustment would be to get a shooter in the slot position with that being a forward with a quick release. Joel Erikkson Ek has a clear weapon in his shot and getting him on track offensively may just coincide with getting him some better looks with the man advantage.
My suggestion here would be to utilize Eriksson Ek, in much the same way as the Tampa teams used to utilize the tremendous left handed shot of Vincent Lecavalier on their powerplay. Those Lightning teams never had the big booming point shot, they worked the puck, had good net front presence and then the quick release of Lecavalier's sniper shot.
The Wild penalty kill has returned to the form that has made them one the NHL's best for several years now. A good point was made however by Bruce Boudreau, concerning the outstanding recent results of his penalty unit. "It is a lot easier to kill penalties when you are only getting 2 and 3 a game, than when you are taking 5 or 6. When you take 5 or 6 penalties a game like we were taking in the first 7 or 8 games of the season. It becomes very difficult because you are using the same guys over and over again. The minutes are able to be managed a lot easier."
A few additional takeaways from last night were the noticeable strong play by the defense pair of Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin. In particular Dumba played with a better sense of purpose while showing more of the grit and compete side of his game that has been noticeably missing.
Tyler Ennis continues to get himself into good scoring position and the chances are there. It is only a matter of time before they start to go in. I am a firm believer that one should worry when the scoring chances are not there, and that is when a change is necessary.
Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek getting a shift with just under two minutes remaining in a 1-0 game, says all that you need to know about the confidence that Boudreau has in his youngest players. They are developing very well, and in particular Kunin appears to be gaining in his own confidence with each passing game. He made a nifty play in the first period showing off his silky mitts when he danced out front of the Flyers net, creating a scoring chance out of seemingly nothing.
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