MNWild: Injuries and Losses Mount for Wild
What a savage stretch for the Minnesota Wild the losers of 3 straight are suffering from much more than a lack of production. Zach Parise missing from the top line has created a butterfly effect for the Wild which in all honesty had been scuffling before he was hurt. To compound matters the next 20+ games are against a gauntlet of the NHL’s currently most successful and highly thought of teams so far this season. Hard to not expect the worst at this point for how this team survives this early season turmoil without bearing itself in the highly competitive Western Conference.
The reinforcements for the Wild are definitely more skilled than in previous season so that is a bit of good news. Jason Zucker was the first callup even before the loss of Parise. Zucker has the skill set that Wild fans crave and he seems to have settled into the idea that to stay he must be more effective and conscious of responsibilities in both ends. Zucker has a shooter mentality and he has the physical tools to generate scoring chances by himself. The latest call up in former Gopher Eric Haula, arrives in Minnesota with a very early chance at significant minutes in the NHL in his first season as a pro. Haula was arguably to most important player on a Gopher squad that dominated college hockey for most of the season before a huge letdown in the NCAA tournament. Haula’s emergence and development for a 7th round pick to top prospect for the Wild empowered general manager Chuck Fletcher to ship John Larsson to Buffalo in the Jason Pominville deal.
No matter really who is in the lineup for the Wild right now, it is clear they have hit a wall with their play. Head Coach Mike Yeo promised and delivered a much more efficient and aggressive system in the first 2 months of this current NHL season. Yeo stated that the Wild’s roster this season was better equipped to execute a system heavy on puck possession and aggressive on the forecheck to trap opponents in their own end generating much more offensive zone opportunities for the Wild. It seemed initially to me at least, to be the dreaded coach-speak but the Wild proved to be capable of executing the new system consistently on a game by game basis. The Wild had some letdowns in the first 2 months despite playing at a high level in each game. Then the Wild traveled to Montreal on the 19th on November and a major malfunction to their system against a team bigger, faster, and stronger. The Wild was able to get wins versus the Jets and Senators, two teams who will mostly like find themselves near the bottom of the standings in their respective divisions.
The harsh reality in the losing three straight has been how out of sorts the team has been and the lack of effort. Yeo was critical of his team for what he described as thinking they really are better than they really are and not putting in the work. It is clear the Wild has to fix what ills them internally which has caused a sharp drop off in their performance. The current struggles are not just about missing games from important players like Parise, Keith Ballard, Mikael Granlund, and Josh Harding.
The Avalanche has added talent since finishing at the bottom of the NHL last season and winning the NHL draft lottery. Maybe the most significant change for their franchise though has been new head coach Patrick Roy. I think anyone who grew up with the NHL in the 90’s remembers the fiery demeanor of Roy as a player and since his playing days have ended he has been know for similar passion in his coaching career. Roy’s influence has provided a remarkable change in the culture of Avalanche hockey already in less than a full year on the job. The Avalanche has a roster full of dynamic young talent and grinder type veterans that has been as good as any team in the Western Conference and the NHL this season.
The Avalanche has weathered their share of controversy already in the first two months of the season. First it was their bench general Roy nearly busting down the divider between the home and visitor’s benches in a tirade. Then their franchise netminder Semyon Varlamov was arrested on a felony domestic strangulation charge which created a rather significant amount of doubt about his future. The team has rallied around the young Russian goaltender pledging to let the situation play out in court. Should Varlamov be unavailable due his legal situation it could create a significant void for the Avalanche in goal and derail their playoff hopes this season. They would almost assuredly have to seek out a goaltender from outside the organization which could be a major undertaking and an expensive proposition.
Individual Leaders Colorado Avalanche Minnesota Wild Points: M. DUCHENE (20),P. STASTNY (17),R. O'REILLY (16) Z. PARISE (22),M. KOIVU (21),J. POMINVILLE (17) Goals: M. DUCHENE (12),R. O'REILLY (9),P. STASTNY (8) J. POMINVILLE (13),Z. PARISE (11),J. FONTAINE (6) Assists: A. BENOIT (10),N. MACKINNON (10),P. PARENTEAU (9) M. KOIVU (16),R. SUTER (15),Z. PARISE (11) PP Goals: M. DUCHENE (3),P. STASTNY (2),R. O'REILLY (2) Z. PARISE (6),J. POMINVILLE (4),D. HEATLEY (3) SH Goals: A. TANGUAY (1) Z. PARISE (1) GW Goals: M. DUCHENE (3),P. STASTNY (2),R. O'REILLY (2) J. POMINVILLE (3),M. COOKE (2),M. KOIVU (2) 3+ Goals: PIM: C. MCLEOD (47),P. BORDELEAU (39),C. SARICH (24) Z. KONOPKA (37),C. STONER (27),N. PROSSER (19) Shots: R. O'REILLY (72),G. LANDESKOG (70),N. MACKINNON (66) Z. PARISE (107),J. POMINVILLE (78),N. NIEDERREITER (59) +/-: J. HEJDA (+14),E. JOHNSON (+13),P. STASTNY (+10) Z. PARISE (+7),M. SCANDELLA (+7),J. FONTAINE (+7)
Last Game –Wild 1 vs. Coyotes 3: Radim Vrbata scored twice, including an empty-net, power-play goal with 23 seconds left in regulation to lead Phoenix to a 3-1 win Wednesday night in Saint Paul. Dany Heatley scored for Minnesota, while Niklas Backstrom stopped 23-of-25 shots in net. Next Games (all times Central) 11/30 at COL 7 p.m. –FSN PLUS, 100.3 FM 12/2 vs. PHI 7 p.m. –NBCSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 12/5 vs. CHI 7 p.m. –NHL Network, FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM CURRENT WILD INJURIES C Mikael Granlund –Placed on IR Thursday (upper body) LW Zach Parise –1 game (foot contusion) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 73 Recent Transactions 11/29 –Recalled F Erik Haula from Iowa (AHL) and designated F Mike Rupp as Non-Roster Status (Personal Reasons) 11/28 –Recalled F Jason Zucker from Iowa (AHL) and placed F Mikael Granlund on IR 11/27 –Reassigned G Darcy Kuemper and F Jason Zucker to Iowa (AHL) and activated F Torrey Mitchell and D Keith Ballard from IR Wild vs. Avalanche All-Time Wild Record: 36-29-9 (20-12-5 at Xcel Energy Center) 2012-13: The Wild won the season series 4-0-1...C Mikko Koivu (3-4=7) and LW Zach Parise (2-5=7) led the Wild with seven points each...LW Dany Heatley (2-4=6) and D Ryan Suter (1-5=6) had six points each...G Niklas Backstrom started all five games going 4- 0-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .915 SV%...C Matt Duchene (2-3=5) led Colorado with five points...LW Gabriel Landeskog (2-2=4) and RW PA Parenteau (2-2=4) had four points each...G Semyon Varlamov was 0-4-0 with a 3.36 GAA and a .900 SV% in four games (two starts)...G Jean-Sebastien Giguere was 1-0-0 with a 4.95 GAA and a .837 SV% in two starts. WILD LEADERS: Koivu has 37 points (14-23=37) in 46 games against Colorado...Heatley owns 25 points (7-18=25) in 24 contests...C Kyle Brodziak has 20 points (7-13=20) in 37 games. WILD GOALIES: Backstrom is 24-5-3 with a 2.22 GAA, a .926 SV% and four shutouts in 32 starts against Colorado...G Josh Harding is 3-2-1 with a 2.04 GAA, a .930 SV% and one shutout in eight matches (six starts). AVALANCHE LEADERS: LW Alex Tanguay has 46 points (16-30=46) in 58 games vs. Minnesota, the fifth highest total by a Wild opponent...C Paul Stastny has 27 points (9-18=27) in 42 contests. AVALANCHE GOALIES: Giguere is 10-12-5 with a 2.39 GAA, a .910 SV% and three shutouts in 27 regular season starts vs. the Wild...Varlamov is 4-4-0 with a 2.11 GAA, a .929 SV% and one shutout in eight games (seven starts). CONNECTIONS: Darby Hendrickson skated in 20 games with Colorado in 2003-04...D Erik Johnson hails from Bloomington...LW Patrick Bordeleau was selected by Minnesota in the fourth-round (114th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. FAST FACTS: The Wild recorded its first-ever playoff series win rallying from a three-games-to-one deficit over the Avalanche in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinal...The Avalanche defeated the Wild in six games in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinal…The Wild have earned 26 points in its last 16 games (12-2-2) at Pepsi Center.
3 Keys to Victory for Wild 1. Need to maintain puck possession in the offensive zone and generate chemistry within the new line combinations. It is basically four lines worth of no chemistry and mismatching skill sets. I look to Haula and Zucker to add energy and aggressiveness in the Top6. No way around it unfortunately, Dany Heatley has this team depending on him to contribute.
2. The Wild needs to better anticipate the play in both end of the ice. Passing and breakout of their zone has been so disjointed in their three losses in a row. The Wild has to be more decisive with the puck and lean on players whose ability to carry the puck can get them setup in the offensive zone.
3. The Wild has to match the Avalanche hit for hit not allowing Colorado to trap them in their own zone and extend their possession and scoring chances. The Avalanche have accomplished scorer and net front presence which has been a key element to defeating the Wild this season. The defensive pairing for the Wild can ill afford to allow second and third chances against.
Just My Take, Tony Dean @AWKD