MNWild: Friday Feast Main Course is Panther at the X.
Good Afternoon Wild HockeyBuzz Community tonight at the Xcel Energy Center the Minnesota Wild (11-4-4 26 Points) will play host to the Florida Panthers (4-11-4 12 Points) in a matchup of two teams trending in very different directions. Tonight’s game comes on the heels of a major shakeup trade for the Panthers in addition to the ouster of their entire coaching staff just days ago. There will be many familiar faces visit tonight in very pivotal roles for this new look Panthers organization.
I am excited for the return of former Gopher Nick Bjugstad who is in his first year as a professional and has been elevated from the 4th line. Bjugstad is a very talented young forward whose size and skill combination lead the Gophers to the NCAA tournament last season. Bjugstad is just one of several young top tier talented forward prospects to graduate to the NHL for the Panthers. Former Saint John’s Sea Dogs winger Jonathan Huberdeau now with the Panthers, played on a ultra productive line with the Wild’s Charlie Coyle and Zach Phillips in Canadian Juniors. Huberdeau began his professional career last season in Florida as his former linemates did with the Wild. Huberdeau was selected as Rookie of the Year last season winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. The Panthers also have 2013 1st round 2nd overall pick Alexsander Barkov who played his season high in ice time against this Wild team on October 19th and scored his 2nd goal of the season in that game which the Panther ultimately won in overtime.
The Panthers are quickly assembling a huge team down the middle of the ice with 6’6… Bjugstad, 6’3… Barkov, and now the addition of 6’6… centerman Jimmy Haynes who they along with defensemen Dylan Olsen for winger Kris Versteeg from the Black Hawks. General Manager Dale Tallon was one of the architects behind the current Black Hawks teams that have 2 Stanley Cups and maybe more impressively provided the model for building teams in this era of the NHL which the Wild have seemed to follow and now the Panthers are fully engaged in an attempt at emulating.
The Panthers enter tonight having defeated a very talented Anaheim Ducks team 3-2 on Tuesday night. With the removal of Head Coach Kevin Dineen, new owner Vincent Viola has made it clear that his expectations will need to be met. Interim head coach Peter Horachek had spent the previous 9 season coaching in the Nashville Predators organization before becoming the head coach this season of the Panthers AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage. Former Wild and Minnesota Resident John Madden was scouting for the Panthers before being elevated to an assistant position on Horachek’s staff.
This Panthers team the Wild will face tonight will feature a heavy dose of young talented forward with Bjugstad centering Huberdeau and Tomas Fleischmann on the top line. Barkov will center the second line with gritty veteran wingers Scottie Upshall and Brad Boyes. The Panthers are working to find a mix of young skill with veteran experience and hard work throughout its line combination not unlike the Wild this year.
The Wild fought through a very physical grudge match two nights ago against the dirty cheating Maple Leafs. I just kidding but the Wild did get smacked in the mouth which maybe didn’t illicit a very fan friendly response but did result in the team keeping its composure in route to a shoot out victory. The Wild lacks a certain physical element which I have harped on and on about over the past 3 seasons. I DO NOT believe having Mike Rupp return healthy solves that lack of physical presence either! I did like what Keith Ballard added though mixing it up and punishing opponents while being skilled enough to affect the hockey game.
The third line for the Wild has gotten an enormous amount of credit from me this season whether here on HockeyBuzz or on Twitter. Specifically I initially defended the acquisition of Matt Cooke and what a difference his hockey game would be over the kamikaze style of the departed Cal Clutterbuck. Most impressive though is how empowered Kyle Brodziak has been both through physical aggressive play but also contributing offense which was missing last year. I affectionately refered to Brodziak last year as “Fanning on the entire season… which I believe he has already made me eat some crow this season with regards to my doubts about his abilities. The third line has seen different winger rotate in an out with Cooke and Brodziak this season but has been effective none the less in all three zone.
I am so excited to see the development and career trajectory of the Wild’s many young forwards. Mikael Granlund is a stud flat out and I am not sure how long he can be kept a secret from the rest of the hockey world. Sure Granlund has the Youtube highlights and was hugely pushed by prospect geeks like myself but this kid has all world hands and vision. The difference clearly this season for Granlund has been his attitude on the ice. This kid looked like he was shell shocked last season hiding out away from any contact and dirty areas not unlike what Wild fans had seen with talented but tiny Pierre-Marc Bouchard. This season though Granlund has been throwing his weight around playing physical in both ends with confidence. He is finding his space and is creating scoring for the Wild with an interestingly familiar sort of style extending plays with hard work just like departed veteran Matt Cullen was able to do last season. Granlund has just recently has begun unleashing his shot in the past few games which is so important for the Wild.
Individual Leaders Florida Panthers Minnesota Wild Points: T. FLEISCHMANN (12),B. CAMPBELL (10),J. HUBERDEAU (9) Z. PARISE (16),J. POMINVILLE (14),M. KOIVU (13) Goals: B. BOYES (6),M. GOC (5),J. WINCHESTER (4) J. POMINVILLE (11),Z. PARISE (9),J. FONTAINE (6) Assists: T. FLEISCHMANN (9),B. CAMPBELL (8),J. HUBERDEAU (6) M. KOIVU (11),R. SUTER (11),M. GRANLUND (10) PP Goals: A. BARKOV (3),B. BOYES (1),T. FLEISCHMANN (1) Z. PARISE (5),J. POMINVILLE (3),D. HEATLEY (2) SH Goals: GW Goals: B. BOYES (1),M. GOC (1),A. BARKOV (1) J. POMINVILLE (3),M. COOKE (2),Z. PARISE (2) 3+ Goals: PIM: E. GUDBRANSON (51),D. KULIKOV (29),J. WINCHESTER (25) Z. KONOPKA (32),C. STONER (20),N. PROSSER (19) Shots: T. FLEISCHMANN (47),K. VERSTEEG (47),T. KOPECKY (43) Z. PARISE (85),J. POMINVILLE (60),M. KOIVU (47) +/-: B. CAMPBELL (+2),T. GILBERT (+2),N. BJUGSTAD (+1) J. POMINVILLE (+8),M. COOKE (+7),K. BALLARD (+6)
Last Game –Wild 2 vs. Maple Leafs 1 (SO): Zach Parise tied the game with 4:17 left in regulation before scoring the shootout winner Wednesday night in Saint Paul, as Minnesota extended its point streak to six games (5-0-1). Josh Harding earned the victory after replacing Niklas Backstrom in net, who left the game with an upper-body injury as the result of Nazem Kadri’s goaltender interference. Kadri was suspended three games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety Thursday. Next Games (all times Central) 11/17 vs. WPG 7 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 11/19 at MTL 6:30 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 11/20 at OTT 6:30 p.m. –FSN PLUS, KFAN 100.3 FM CURRENT WILD INJURIES G Niklas Backstrom –left Wednesday’s game (upper body) D Keith Ballard (IR) –3 games (upper body) LW Mike Rupp (IR) –19 games (lower body) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 50 Recent Transactions 11/15 - Recalled G Johan Gustafsson from Iowa (AHL) 11/12 –Assigned F Mike Rupp to Iowa (AHL) on conditioning loan and placed D Keith Ballard on Injured Reserve All-Time Wild Record: 9-2-3 (4-0-2 at Xcel Energy Center) 2013-14: The Panthers won the first meeting of the season in a 2-1 shootout at BB&T Center (10/19)…D Jonas Brodin scored the first goal of the game in the second period on a power-play as LW Dany Heatley and C Mikael Granlund assisted…G Josh Harding started his first career game against Florida stopping 21-of-22 shots and allowed both shootout goals in the loss…C Aleksander Barkov scored for Florida and C Jonathan Huberdeau netted the winning shootout goal…G Tim Thomas won his first career game against Minnesota stopping 30-of-31 shots, including both shootout goals. WILD LEADERS: Heatley leads the Wild with 34 points (17-17=34) in 32 games against the Panthers...RW Jason Pominville has 29 points (11-18=29) in 31 contests...LW Zach Parise owns 17 points (7-10=17) in 25 games. WILD GOALIES: G Niklas Backstrom is 5-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .941 SV% in six starts vs. Florida...Hardingis 0-0-1 with a 0.92 GAA and a .955 SV% in one career start. PANTHERS LEADERS: D Ed Jovanovski has 17 points (5-12=17) in 39 games against Minnesota...RW Scottie Upshall has 14 points (8-6=14) in 17 contests...C Scott Gomez (1-12=13) has 13 points in 16 games...D Brian Campbell has 14 points (1-13=14) in 20 matches. PANTHERS GOALIES: G Scott Clemmensen has not faced the Wild…Thomasis 1-2-0 with a 1.66 GAA and a .946 SV% in three starts against Minnesota. CONNECTIONS: Chuck Fletcher spent nine years (1993-2002) in the Panthers front office, working seven seasons as Assistant General Manager and one as Interim General Manager...Brent Flahr worked in the Panthers front office from 1996-2003...D Keith Ballard spent two seasons with Florida (2008-10)...C Nick Bjugstad is a native of Minneapolis and played two seasons at the University of Minnesota (2010-2012)...D Tom Gilbert is a native of Bloomington and played 63 games with Minnesota over two seasons (2011-13)…Panthers Assistant Coach John Madden played 76 games with Minnesota in 2010-11. FAST FACT: Minnesota registered 11 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss (3/9/10) as the Wild tied a team record for fewest shots in a game, and set a new mark for fewest shots at Xcel Energy Center. 15 Things to Know: 1. Minnesota holds a season-best six-game point streak (5-0-1), having earned points in 10 of its last 11 games (8-1-2) beginning with a shootout loss in Sunrise Oct. 19. Since the game against Florida, the Wild’s eight wins are T-2nd and 17 points are T-3rd in the NHL since Oct. 22. The Wild’s 26 points (11-4-4) are its most through 19 games in franchise history –with a chance to top its franchise record of 27 points through 20 games, accomplished in 2011-12 (12-5-3). 2. The Wild continues its homestand with an 8-1-2 record in Saint Paul this season, having won eight of its last nine games at Xcel Energy Center. No NHL team has more points on home ice than the Wild this season (18). 3. Ryan Suter leads the NHL in TOI/game (29:43), over two minutes more than any other player, and topping 30 minutes nine times this season including four straight games. Since 2007-08, there have been 10, 35:00-plus performances in the NHL (regular season), and Suter owns three of them in the last week –the top three TOI of his career. According to Elias Sports Bureau, his 108:19 TOI in his last three games (36:06 average) is the most by any NHL player in three consecutive games since TOI started being tracked in 2001- Minnesota Wild: Media Notes 01. He set a Wild franchise record with a career-high 36:51 TOI last Thursday in Washington –since Suter entered the NHL, only two players have skated more in a regular season game: Dan Boyle (TB) 37:03, 2/23/08 and Andrej Meszaros (OTT) 37:47, 4/5/06. Suter also is tied for the Wild lead with 11 assists, T-8th amongst NHL defensemen. 4. Minnesota continues a stretch that will see it play three of its next four games against the Eastern Conference, its seventh game in a span where eight of 10 contests are Eastern opponents. The Wild is 6-2-2 against the East this season and 94-73-30 all-time. 5. Josh Harding leads the NHL in GAA (1.21) and is second in SV% (.947), posting a 10-2-2 record this season. He also ranks tied for first in the NHL with two shutouts and is tied for fourth in wins. He has given up a total of 17 goals in 15 games, allowing one goal or less in 11 games. He is 8-0-0 with a 1.06 GAA and .952 SV% in Saint Paul this season –29-9-2 in career starts at Xcel Energy Center, including 22-4-1 since Jan. 27, 2010 and 11-1-0 in his last 12 starts in Saint Paul. 6. Minnesota has allowed a total of 16, 5-on-5 goals this season and is the only NHL team averaging less than one 5-on-5 goal per game. Josh Harding has allowed a total of seven 5-on-5 goal in 15 games this season. He has also posted a .964 even strength SV% - tops by any goalie who has played more than five games. 7. Zach Parise leads Minnesota with 16 points this season (9-7=16), including seven points (3-4=7) in his last six games. With his 10th shootout winning goal Wednesday, he now leads all NHL players with 34 career shootout goals, going 34-for-73 (46.6%). The Wild alternate captain ranks second in the NHL with 85 shots and tied for third with five PPG. Four of Parise’s nine goals this season have been the Wild’s first goal. 8. Mikael Granlund skated a career-high 20:03 Wednesday and has eight points (2-6=8) in the last nine games. The 21-year-old is T- 1st on the team in multi-point games (3), third in assists and fourth in scoring this season (2-10=12). He had his career-best five-game point streak (1-6=7) end Oct. 5th –the longest by a Wild player this season. 9. Justin Fontaine has five goals in the last 10 games. He ranks tied for third in goals (6) and plus/minus rating (+6) amongst NHL rookies. 10. Jason Pominville tallied his 200th career goal Saturday at Carolina. He ranks T-3rd in the NHL with three GWG, T-6th in goals and leads the Wild with 11 goals this season. He also leads the Wild with a plus-8 rating (plus-10 since Oct. 22). His 10 goals since Oct. 14 is T-2nd in the NHL (10-3=13). Pominville was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week (Oct. 28-Nov. 3) after ranking T-1st in the NHL in goals and scoring (4-2=6), becoming the fourth Wild player to be named First Star. The former Sabres captain was acquired by the Wild April 3 and signed a five-year contract extension on Oct. 3. He skated in his 600th career NHL game Oct. 26 and, after scoring the game winner in his return to Buffalo Oct. 14, has scored against all 30 NHL franchises. 11. Charlie Coyle assisted on Parise’s goal Wednesday and now has three points in his last four games since returning from injury. He missed 12 games after suffering a knee strain in the second game of the season. In his rookie season last year, he ended the regular season with points in four straight games. 12. Nino Niederreiter has five points (1-4=5) in his last six games and leads the Wild with 38 hits this season. He has 10 points (3- 7=10) this season after collecting three points (2-1=3) in 64 games over parts of two seasons with the New York Islanders (2010-12). 13. Minnesota leads the NHL for fewest shots against/game this season (24.1). From 2011-12 to 2012-13, Minnesota improved its pergame shot differential by 6.6 shots; the largest single-season increase by any NHL team in the last five seasons. Since 2008-09, only four other teams have improved their shot differential by more than 5.0 shots/ game. 14. Seven Wild players were named to pre-Olympic rosters for their native countries: Zach Parise and Ryan Suter (USA), Niklas Backstrom, Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu (Finland), Jonas Brodin (Sweden) and Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland). The 2014 Winter Olympics are set to take place in Sochi, Russia, with an NHL Olympic break from Feb. 9-25. 15. Iowa Wild Update Last Game: 3-1 loss vs. Chicago (11/13). Goal Scorer: Erik Haula Goalie: Darcy Kuemper 20-of-23 shots. Upcoming Schedule: vs. San Antonio (11/15), vs. Milwaukee (11/16) Leading Scorers: Brian Connelly (0-10=10), Erik Haula (4-5=9), Jason Zucker (4-4=8),
3 Keys to Victory for MNWild
1. They must improve their power play taking advantage of space created with the extra attacker. The Wild has been far too robotic with their man advantage play allowing opponent penalty killer to predict where the puck is going. How about some creativity right?
2. The Wild has to continue to be positionally sound in the defensive zone and needs all of their forward lines to participate in back checking because this Florida team although it does not reflect in the standings, is very capable of lighting the lamp.
3. The Panthers still have Bryan Campbell to run it’s powerplay and the big talented kids I mentioned above to force the action in the Wild zone. This could be another physical test for a Wild team that was battered by Toronto. The Wild can’t allow the Panthers to camp out in their zone and in the front of the net tonight.
Just Giving My Take, Tony Dean @AWKD