Wild Game Day number 24 Wild Record (12-7-4 28 pts) Home Record (8-3-1)
Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (8-12-5 21 pts) Road Record (4-7-2)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, Minnesota
Time: 7:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 1/2 Maple Leafs 1 @ Wild 3 3/23 Wild 2 @ Maple Leafs 1
The Wild return home tonight looking to build on their win Tuesday in Chicago. The Maple Leafs come in off a 6-1 loss in Winnipeg last night. The Leafs have rebounded after a terrible October where they went 1-7-2, they are 7-5-3 since then and even had Mike Babcock bandy the P word about, referring to the Leafs possibly making the playoffs.
The Leafs are not a good team by any stretch but they are no doormat either. They have caught several teams this season over looking them and finding out the hard way there are no easy points in the NHL. Remember this Leafs team was 21-16-3 before they fired Randy Carlyle and tanked the season finishing the final 42 games with a record of 9-28-5 last season. The current Leafs roster is not much different as far as impact players are concerned, with the exception of trading Phil Kessel (7 goals 20 pts in the final 42 games of last season) to Pittsburgh and unloading the contract of under performing David Clarkson. Some will argue they are actually better without those two pieces.
The Leafs are clearly on the rebuild and Mike Babcock the hired gun, brought in to right the ship, is one of the best coaches in the league. He has the team playing a more disciplined game and he has the ability to get the most out of his teams regardless of the lack of top end talent. James Reimer should return to the Leaf net tonight. He has been nothing short of spectacular this season with a 7-3-1 record to go along with a 2.07 GSA and a .934 save percentage. He has kept the Leafs afloat and allowed them to compete on a nightly basis since their rocky start.
The Wild still searching for answers as to a consistent effort on a regular basis, will look to build on one of their best efforts in Chicago on Tuesday. The special teams are not performing well and the most alarming may be the penalty kill which a year ago was tops in the league and currently ranks 29th of 30 teams. The power play has shown a slight improvement but needs to be better. They need to focus on shooting more and a better quality of shot. Matt Dumba needs to be moved to the top unit to utilize his shot.
Key to tonight will be for the Wild to get out of the gate quickly and keep their foot on the gas. If they allow the Leafs to hang around this could end with a demoralizing result. They need to kick the Leafs while they are down after surrendering 6 unanswered goals in Winnipeg they are primed for the Wild to pounce.
Let's Play Hockey!