Wild Game Day number 33 Wild Record (20-8-4 44 pts) Road Record (8-5-4)
Opponent: New York Rangers (23-11-1 47 pts) Home Record (12-5-1)
Site: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Time: 6:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 12/17 Rangers 2 @ Wild 5 2/4 Wild 2 @ Rangers 4
The Wild tied their franchise record with their ninth straight win last night in Montreal. In order for them to set a new franchise mark they will need a repeat performance of last night's game in another tough building. The Rangers are coming off a rough performance Tuesday night in Pittsburgh which saw them get blitzed 7-2. New York is 6-2-0 over their last eight, and currently sit in third place in the difficult Metropolitan Division.
Last season the Wild and Rangers split the two meetings with each team winning on home ice. The Rangers play a very similar game to the Canadiens built on speed and strong goal tending, much as the Wild do.
Rangers coach, Alain Vigneault, has his team performing much better than most of the so called experts had expected, but he did blame their lopsided loss to the Penguins as a product of the schedule and tired legs. The NHL season is a grind but the travel in the Eastern Conference is a joke compared to the West, and every team experiences tough stretches of the 82 season. Vigneault giving his team an excuse is an interesting tactic.
Expect the Rangers to be ready as they are well aware the Wild are on top of their game and of course they want to quickly erase the memory of Tuesday's loss. Both teams will have three days off after tonight's game as the league goes dark for the Christmas Holiday. Expect both teams to bring a strong effort regardless of the fact that the Wild played last night.
Much gets made of teams playing on back to back nights but quite honestly these guys are professionals and much better prepared on a nightly basis. Many times the team that played the night before has the better legs than the team that was rested. The Wild are 1-1-1 so far in the back end of back to backs this season.
Bruce Boudreau is not at all satisfied with the Wild tying the franchise consecutive win mark saying "a tie is like kissing your sister." That is one of the big differences between this year's Wild team and the Wild teams of the last several seasons. They are not satisfied with any one win, they are a by-product of their coach, always looking to become better.
Merry Christmas from the State of Hockey!
Let's Play Hockey!