WildHBcommunity: MNWild Canadian Road Trip Begins in Ottawa with Parise out Vanek in
The Minnesota Wild Begin Canadian Road Trip Tonight in Ottawa Without Zach Parise
The Minnesota Wild's rebranding as a hockey organization and overall identity begins with the heart and soul effort and ethics of Zach parise so when he did not return to action Tuesday during the 3rd period of a loss at the X versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Although at the time it was not clear what the injury was, knowing Parise I think we all realized something serious was wrong. As the picture above depicts, Parise kills himself to compete so word that he is being affected by concussion like symptoms makes complete sense.
Parise is a huge loss for the Wild because he is a driving force for this team in both zones energy and effort wise. He has been noticeably off since the team returned from a physically grueling two game road trip to the east coast where the team was on the receiving end of punishment at the hands of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
The loss of Parise has open the door for an intriguing reunion of former Buffalo Sabres, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville on the top line for the Wild with Mikael Granlund. Long before Vanek became an unrestricted free agent, I had visions of a line combination of former Sabres captains dancing in my head.
These two guys have a proven chemistry with each other and complimentary skill sets. Obviously with the track record of Parise-Granlund-Pominville together going back to last year, it was going to take a major motivating factor for Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo to make this move.
Tonight will be the first opportunity for Vanek to get heavy minutes with Finnish Jesus and his boy Pommer. If this line combination has any chance of surviving once Parise returns healthy, they must produce results beginning this evening. This Ottawa game is shaping up to be a good test of the true depth of this lineup for the Wild as besides Parise, the club will be without Jared Spurgeon, Matt Cooke, and Keith Ballard.
Who is Going to Step up for Banged Up Wild Squad Now
I feel very vindicated by the performance of Jason Zucker so far this season, he deserves so much credit for handling his relationship and standing in the Wild organization perfectly. I saw Don Russo's puff piece on Zucker which is all fine and good but honestly do you expect anyone involved to cop to the fact that he was in the doghouse and Yeo was proving a point with his handling of the Las Vegas speedster?
Zucker has been using his speed and aggressiveness to generate turnovers on the forecheck which has opened up opportunities for him to be elevated to the second line with Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle. If Zucker is going to safe guard his currently elevated role he is going to need to step it up with Parise and others on the mend.
I think we know what we are going to get out of Kaptain Koivu and Coyle on a nightly basis so the difference maker has to be Zucker on that 2nd line. In Koivu's huge 9 shot crash the crease goal scoring effort a couple games ago it was the puck possession and passing of Zucker that empowered the Fiery Finn.
The combination of Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula must get themselves back on track especially offensively with Parise and Spurgeon not in the lineup. We have seen each of these guys create scoring opportunities with their speed and puck handling but both have been struggling the past few games. Haula took a huge elbow from Jon Moore which certainly has been a factor in his down play.
Nino scored a short handed goal versus the Penguins but for the most part he saw almost every opportunity stifled during that contest. The Swiss winger has been flirting with a true breakout this season so I dont think it is unreasonable to expect him to pick up some of the scoring slack. Affectionately known as the KnightRider, Nino must use his frame and puck handle more to get into scoring areas with the puck on his stick.
Killer instinct is what I am alluding to here, this squad has plenty of unselfish players its time to define who your scorers/shooters are. If ANY of these young forwards is going to develop into a NHL goal scorer my money is on Nino.
#MNWild Before the @MNWild Game tonight give The @JeffDubay Show #WildWednesday Episode 23 a listen @iHeartRadio ♫ http://t.co/yd4KBIizi3
— Tony Dean (MNWild) (@TonyDeanHB) November 6, 2014
Last Game – Wild 1 vs Penguins 4: Minnesota suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center. RW Nino Niederreiter scored a shorthanded goal for the Wild and G Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves. Next Games (all times Central) 11/8 at MTL 6:00 p.m. – FSN-Plus, NHL Network (nationally), KFAN 100.3 FM 11/11 at NJ 6:00 p.m. – FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 11/13 vs. BUF 7:00 p.m. – FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM WILD INJURIES D Keith Ballard (IR) – 7 games (illness) LW Matt Cooke – 3 games (lower body) D Jared Spurgeon (IR) – 2 game (upper body) 2014-15 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 24 Recent Transactions 11/1 – Recalled D Jonathon Blum from Iowa Wild vs. Senators All-Time Wild Record: 3-7-3 (1-4-2 at Xcel Energy Center, 2-3-1 at Ottawa) 2013-14: The Wild split the season series with the Senators…Minnesota won the first match 4-3 at Canadian Tire Centre (11/20) and Ottawa won the second, 3-0, at Xcel Energy Center (1/14)…C Mikko Koivu led the team with three points (1-2=3)…LW Zach Parise (0-2=2), LW Dany Heatley (1-1=2) and D Jonas Brodin (1-1=2) each recorded two points…G Josh Harding stopped 34-of-37 shots to earn the win in the first game…G Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves in the second…D Erik Karlsson (0-3=3) and C Kyle Turris (2-1=3) led Ottawa with three points in two games…RW Erik Condra (1-1=2), LW Clarke MacArthur (1-1=2) and C Mika Zibanejad (1-1=2) tallied two points apiece…G Craig Anderson made 21 saves in the first meeting…G Robin Lehner stopped all 27 shots in the second meeting. WILD LEADERS: LW Thomas Vanek has 39 points (19-20=39) in 53 matches against the Senators…RW Jason Pominville has 28 points (11-17=28) in 48 games...Parise owns 24 points (7-17=24) in 25 contests. WILD GOALIES: G Niklas Backstrom is 0-1-1 with a 3.64 GAA and a .885 SV% in three career starts against Ottawa…Kuemper is 0- 1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .906 SV% in one start. SENATORS LEADERS: RW Bobby Ryan leads Ottawa in scoring vs. Minnesota with 19 points (10-9-19) in 21 games...LW Milan Michalek has 16 points (7-9=16) in 21 contests. SENATORS GOALIES: Anderson is 3-7-2 with a 3.08 GAA and a .893 SV% in 13 games (12 starts) against the Wild...Lehner stopped all 27 shots faced in his only career start against the Wild. CONNECTIONS: Wild Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr spent two seasons (2007-09) as the Senators’ Director of Hockey Operations. FAST FACT: Minnesota is 1-6-1 in its last eight contests against Ottawa, including 0-4-0 in its last four matches in Saint Paul.
Individual Leaders Minnesota Wild Ottawa Senators Points: Z. PARISE (10),T. VANEK (8),R. SUTER (8) C. MACARTHUR (9),E. KARLSSON (9),K. TURRIS (7) Goals: J. ZUCKER (5),Z. PARISE (4),N. NIEDERREITER (4) C. MACARTHUR (6),E. KARLSSON (4),B. RYAN (3) Assists: T. VANEK (7),R. SUTER (7),Z. PARISE (6) K. TURRIS (6),E. KARLSSON (5),C. CECI (5) PP Goals: T. VANEK (1),N. NIEDERREITER (1) C. MACARTHUR (3),A. CHIASSON (3),D. LEGWAND (1) SH Goals: J. ZUCKER (1),N. NIEDERREITER (1) M. MICHALEK (1) GW Goals: C. COYLE (2),J. POMINVILLE (1),M. SCANDELLA (1) C. MACARTHUR (2),E. KARLSSON (1),P. WIERCIOCH (1) 3+ Goals: PIM: Z. PARISE (17),R. CARTER (14),C. COYLE (12) E. GRYBA (32),M. BOROWIECKI (19),C. NEIL (14) Shots: Z. PARISE (47),J. POMINVILLE (39),M. KOIVU (35) E. KARLSSON (45),C. MACARTHUR (34),B. RYAN (30) +/-: R. SUTER (+10),J. BRODIN (+8),M. SCANDELLA (+7) E. GRYBA (+6),C. CECI (+4),M. BOROWIECKI (+3)
Just My Take, Tony Dean
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