WildHBcommunity: MNWild Gameday LA Afternoon Meeting with the Kings on the Agenda
The Return of Backstrom Between the Pipes Comes Against LA Kings Today
After three very solid powerful performances from Darcy Kuemper to begin the 2014-15 NHL season, it is now the veteran mystery man Niklas Backstrom's turn to show a bit of what he will bring to the table this season. Backstrom has always been consider the #1 guy here in Minnesota since he came over as a European free agent. Backstrom is strongly tied to this Wild roster through either friendship or business having come up with fellow Finn Mikko Koivu and owning the team Mikael Granlund burst to stardom on in Finland.
Beyond his playing career here in 'The State of Hockey' , I expect Backstrom will transition to a role with the franchise after his playing career is over like many recently retired veterans of the Wild. The latest to be brought back the organization was Richard Park who was a training camp consultant this year and then was hired to work player development with the 'Baby Wild' in Des Moines. Backstrom is a respected veteran presence in the locker room and being honest I think could still be very functional in spot duty picking up starts to give Kuemper a rest every three or four games this year.
Backstrom has obviously lost a step or maybe more accurately a second or two off his reflexes but he is a netminder that when he gets locked in has proven capable of stealing games for the Wild. I realize that was more consistent of him 2-3 years ago because he has lost so much time to multiple injuries over the past 3 years. Still I am looking forward to see how Backstrom responds today to his role as backup to the franchise kid.
Yeo Still Seeking out Chemistry Answers and Role Questions on his Wingers
I realize there exists a significant population of Wild fans that go insane for Jason Zucker and his genius moments because I am a member of that segment of the fanbase. Zucker having 2 goals in the first 3 games and responding to the challenges that were presented to by Head Coach Mike Yeo are about the best thing any of us could have asked for from this talented kid. The thing that brings it back to earth is that poorly executed pass into the skates of Mathew Dumba which created a turnover leading to the game winning goal for the Ducks.
The other major adversity regarding Zucker right now is Yeo's preference towards Justin Fontaine playing with Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek on the 2nd line. Already getting my Zucker bias out of the way last paragraph, I will say that Fontaine was very active in his first game of the season beating the Ducks to the puck and working his tail off in both ends all game Friday. Fontaine is a versatile player and has worked hard to add defensive acumen to his game because his size often puts him at a disadvantage playing against bottom 6 forwards.
I am hoping Yeo will provide Zucker an opportunity to mix in with Koivu and Vanek especially if he is dead set on keeping his Erik Haula centered 3rd line with Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter together all season. Zucker is a smart kid and returned this season knowing he would have to earn the trust of Yeo and his staff. Zucker's speed and scorer's mentality would only allow Koivu and Vanek more opportunities to show off their playmaking skills. Neither of those guys carry the puck with speed anymore which could be another important role for Zucker to get the puck in the zone allowing those veterans to catch up to the action.
I am not dismissing Fontaine by any means but I just think the upside of Zucker or even Nino would be better served playing Top 6 minutes with Koivu and Vanek. Fontaine honestly could play on any line and contribute because he does a little bit of every thing right. As we have seen through three games this year Vanek is an unselfish player just as willing to make the extra pass rather than firing a shot taking advantage of the extra attention he draws so why not put him with a finisher like Zucker or Nino?
Dumba's Role and Minutes Might Lead to a Trip Down I-35
I am a huge advocate for Mathew Dumba because of his unique exciting skill set, attitude, and personality. It is hard to not love the offense that he adds to this team whether it be his vision and aggressiveness or agility and speed with the puck on his stick. I worry though that his role and playing time could be justification enough to have this kid better served by making a trip south to Iowa soon.
Dumba is currently apart of the bottom pair rotation with Keith Ballard, Nate Prosser, and Christian Folin for the Wild. Ask any fan how to address the bottom pair and they will tell you cutting bait on Ballard is the answer. The problem is that Ballard has a guaranteed contract and a no-trade clause. Ballard would be my choices as well to move on from out of these four defenders BUT when you have two young defenders with next no NHL experience in that mix, I am not sure a move on Ballard is coming any time soon.
Ballard was a scratch for the first two games allowing Dumba and Folin to play together. The kids had about what you would expect the first two games playing together with some good and some bad. Dumba has contributed to the offense and power play while Folin is the big body with skill the third pair was missing. Dumba though has only been playing around 10 minutes because the Top 4 defenders for this squad are just so good. What Dumba NEEDS to do here with the Wild to justify not playing more minutes in the AHL instead, is SHOOT the PUCK and be more aggressive with it on his stick. Easy for me to say from my couch I know but if your going to have this kid in the lineup he needs to create matchup problems for opponents and show he is growing his game and confidence at the NHL level.
With regard to Folin I have been committed to the idea that Dumba and even Gustav Olofsson have higher ceilings than him and probably profile to be Top 4 defenders at the NHL level while he does not. That being said Folin's size/skill combination in my opinion gives him a much better opportunity to contribute now to the NHL game and maybe fill in some much needed toughness and sand paper for a Wild club that will see opponents take liberties with smaller skilled members of this roster. Folin is in a position NOW to give so back with his body type and strength while also being able to contribute to the hockey game.
Last thing before I get out of here, I realize people have been fond of El Nino as the nick name for Nino Niederreiter BUT I will always refer to him as the KnightRider. I believe Nino is going to break out this year, his handling of the puck and offensive game is going to advance very rapidly this season. Love the chances of this kid scoring 25 or more goals this season which would significantly upgrade the secondary scoring for the Wild.
MINNESOTA WILD LINEUP
Zach Parise–Mikael Granlund–Jason Pominville Thomas Vanek–Mikko Koivu–Justin Fontaine Nino Niederreiter–Erik Haula–Charlie Coyle Matt Cooke–Ryan Carter-Jason Zucker
Defensive Pairings
Ryan Suter-Jonas Brodin Marco Scandella–Jared Spurgeon Nate Prosser-Christian Folin
Darcy Kuemper Niklas Backstrom Scratches:Kyle Brodziak-Keith Ballard-MathewDumba Injured: Josh Harding
LOS ANGELES KINGS LINEUP
Mike Richards-Anze Kopitar-Justin Williams Tanner Pearson-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli Dwight King-Jarret Stoll-Dustin Brown Kyle Clifford-Andy Andreoff-Jordan Nolan
Defensive Pairings
Brayden McNabb-Drew Doughty Robyn Regehr-Slava Voynov Alec Martinez-Matt Greene
Jonathan Quick Martin Jones
Injured:Jake Muzzin-Trevor Lewis-Marian Gaborik
Individual Leaders Minnesota Wild Los Angeles Kings Points: Z. PARISE (4),R. SUTER (3),J. POMINVILLE (2) T. PEARSON (6),J. CARTER (5),T. TOFFOLI (5) Goals: Z. PARISE (2),J. ZUCKER (2),J. POMINVILLE (1) T. PEARSON (4),J. CARTER (3),T. TOFFOLI (2) Assists: R. SUTER (2),Z. PARISE (2),M. GRANLUND (2) T. TOFFOLI (3),J. CARTER (2),D. DOUGHTY (2) PP Goals: T. PEARSON (1) SH Goals: T. TOFFOLI (1) GW Goals: J. POMINVILLE (1),C. COYLE (1) J. WILLIAMS (1),A. KOPITAR (1) 3+ Goals: PIM: Z. PARISE (17),R. CARTER (8),C. COYLE (8) K. CLIFFORD (12),J. STOLL (10),R. REGEHR (7) Shots: Z. PARISE (21),T. VANEK (11),N. NIEDERREITER (10) J. CARTER (15),A. MARTINEZ (13),J. WILLIAMS (11) +/-: Z. PARISE (+5),J. BRODIN (+5),M. GRANLUND (+4) J. CARTER (+8),T. TOFFOLI (+8),T. PEARSON (+6)
That's all for now thanks for reading!
Just My Take, Tony Dean
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