MNWild: True Test of Trajectory Wild Vs Canadiens Gameday
The Wild begins November versus a very talented team Montreal Canadiens team looking to impose their will on opponents with a very similar to the style of play we have come to expect from our hometown team. I keep seeing more signs from this current Wild roster that they are bought into Yeo's system and the style of play it has replicated in almost every game this season. I am excited to see how this team bounces back from let down at the hands of Blackhawks on their home ice. I also have so much appreciation and admiration for the Habs fans because they are live and die with their squad. Being honest I am and always will be a loyalist to Minnesota hockey and the Wild but the Habs are my favorite Eastern Conference team so I look in and root for them especially against the cry baby tough guy rodeo Boston Bruins!
UPDATE Per Russo Rants Blog, the Wild will have Jonas Brodin back in the lineup tonight versus the Habs, wearing a full face shield(Bubble) after missing 3 games with a broken cheekbone. Very exciting news for the Wild as he has surely been missed. For Brodin to suffer such a scary injury especially given how well he was playing at the time, return after missing just 3 games is a huge blessing. Keep an eye for Brodin tonight lets all hope he finishes this one no worse than he enters!
Tonight will mark the return of two critically important members of this roster, Charlie Coyle and Keith Ballard will be in the lineup tonightafter both missed significant time to injury. Coyle has just scratched the surface of his NHL potential and losing 11 games to a sprained knee cheated him from showing off the speed and playmaking he worked his tail off to improve this past offseason. Coyle also is transitioning from the wing where he played last season to the center position where Yeo and Chuck Fletcher would like him to find his footing. In Coyle’s absence it allowed for Mikael Granlund to take a firm grip on the 2nd line center role and prove that his rookie season struggles had been provided a proper remedy. Granlund and Coyle will be tied together going forward this season with regard to their roles and performance because currently both will be centering lines in addition to Wild Captain Mikko Koivu. In theory if both Coyle and Granlund can succeed as centermen, then it will change the usage of Koivu to better fit his 2 way game allowing him to play minutes against the opponents top line similar to how the BlackHawks use Jonathan Toews.
The return of Keith Ballard may be more important to the Wild than getting Coyle back in the lineup which at first blush, sounds ridiculous given where each is in their career and how both are viewed trajectory wise. Coyle’s absence was counter balanced by the play of Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, and Justin Fontaine. Unfortunately with Ballard out the Wild were unable to duplicate his skill/nastiness combination despite a valiant effort from Clayton Stoner who should get credit from a Wild fan base that lives to savage him. To compound the loss of Ballard the Wild also had super sophomore Jonas Brodin take a dump in attempt off his face which caused a broken cheekbone. Down two very important defensemen it caused 19 year old Mathew Dumba and bottom of the roster defensemen Nate Prosser to be in the lineup. To Prosser’s credit he is probably a better than he gets credit for and he attempted to mix it up and do everything in his power to earn his playing time. Dumba unfortunately has failed to cease his opportunity and having now played in 9 games he faces an uncertain future with the Wild this season given NHL rules that dictate contract stipulation should he play another game for the Wild.
The Wild is suffering from lagging performances by veteran players unable to justify roles that would be better filled by younger players. Currently the culprits are Dany Heatley and Niklas Backstrom. In Heatley the Wild is handcuffed by a contract that is almost certainly unmovable and given his inability to skate well enough to participate in this new high pressure system or be involved in the offensive zone on the rush there is not a lot of reason to be hopeful he can turn his season around. Heatley also has a no move clause in his contract in addition to multiple instances of his relationship with management and coaching staffs going sour on his way out of town. It is a very delicate situation for the Wild to manage with no end in sight.
For Backstrom I think he is still very capable of playing important minutes for the Wild this season but he is definitely no longer the workhorse for the squad. It will be important moving forward that Yeo has a more diverse timeshare between Backstrom and Harding. In Harding the Wild always has to be mindful of the effects of MS in combination with the rigors of being an NHL goalie but he sure seems motivated and capable of earning more playing time this year than in any season. Harding could very well play his way into being the Wild’s top netminder which was his stated goal upon resigning with the Wild two summers ago. Yeo will need to be decisive in his guidance over who takes the net for the Wild going forward. Harding has been out of the lineup dealing with what is believed to be soreness issues associated with maintenance from playing as much he had in Backstrom’s absence. It will be very telling for the Wild who is net for the squad tonight in Montreal.
Individual Leaders Montréal Canadiens Minnesota Wild Points: T. PLEKANEC (11),P. SUBBAN (11),L. ELLER (9) Z. PARISE (9),M. COOKE (8),M. KOIVU (8) Goals: T. PLEKANEC (6),L. ELLER (5),B. GALLAGHER (5) J. POMINVILLE (7),Z. PARISE (6),M. COOKE (3) Assists: P. SUBBAN (9),A. GALCHENYUK (7),R. DIAZ (6) M. GRANLUND (8),M. KOIVU (7),R. SUTER (7) PP Goals: T. PLEKANEC (3),R. BOURQUE (3),B. GALLAGHER (2) Z. PARISE (4),J. POMINVILLE (3),J. BRODIN (2) SH Goals: A. MARKOV (1),T. PLEKANEC (1),L. ELLER (1) GW Goals: T. PLEKANEC (3),B. PRUST (2),L. ELLER (2) M. COOKE (2),J. POMINVILLE (2),Z. PARISE (1) 3+ Goals: PIM: G. PARROS (20),R. WHITE (18),P. SUBBAN (16) Z. KONOPKA (32),N. PROSSER (17),C. STONER (15) Shots: B. GALLAGHER (41),P. SUBBAN (36),T. PLEKANEC (35) Z. PARISE (66),J. POMINVILLE (39),M. KOIVU (30) +/-: A. MARKOV (+9),M. L BOURNIVAL (+5),T. PLEKANEC (+4) M. COOKE (+6),J. FONTAINE (+5),K. BRODZIAK (+4)
Last Game –Wild 1 vs. Blackhawks 5: Minnesota’s three-game win streak ended and the Wild suffered its first regulation loss at Xcel Energy Center this season, as Chicago claimed a 5-1 victory Monday night. RW Jason Pominville continued his goal streak with the lone Wild tally of the evening, while G Niklas Backstrom made 23 saves in the loss. Next Games (all times Central) 11/3 vs. NJ 7 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 11/5 vs. CGY 7 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 11/7 at WSH 6 p.m. –FSN, KOOL 107.9 FM CURRENT WILD INJURIES D Jonas Brodin –3 games (broken cheekbone) D Keith Ballard –7 games (upper body) C Charlie Coyle –11 games (knee strain) LW Mike Rupp (IR) –13 games (lower body) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 39 Recent Transactions 10/31 –Reassigned F Stephane Veilleux to Iowa (AHL) Wild vs. Canadiens All-Time Wild Record: (4-4-3 overall, 2-2-1 at Xcel Energy Center) 2012-13: Did not play. 2011-12: The Canadiens won the only matchup of the season, 5-4, in a shootout in Montreal (3/1/12)...RW Nick Johnson led the Wild with three assists and LW Matt Kassian tallied two goals...G Niklas Backstrom saved five of six shots before leaving the game due to injury...G Josh Harding made 19 saves in relief and stopped two of three shootout attempts...G Carey Price earned the win saving 26- of-30 shots and all three shootout attempts. WILD LEADERS: LW Dany Heatley has 51 points (24-27=51) in 41 games against Montreal...RW Jason Pominville has 29 points (8- 21=29) in 49 games... LW Zach Parise has 23 points (14-9=23) in 26 games. WILD GOALIES: Backstrom is 1-1-0 with a 3.10 GAA and a .905 SV% in four games (three starts) against the Canadiens...Harding is 0-1-1 with a 2.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in two games (one start). CANADIENS LEADERS: RW Rene Bourque has 17 points (5-12=17) in 26 games against Minnesota...C David Desharnais (1-5=6) and D P.K. Subban (4-2=6) both have six points in two games. CANADIENS GOALIES: Peter Budaj is 9-9-3 with a 2.63 GAA and a .899 SV% in 24 games (22 starts) vs. the Wild...Price is 2-1-0 with a 2.63 GAA and a .900 SV% in three starts. CONNECTIONS: Rick Wilson was drafted by Montreal in the 1970 NHL Entry Draft and skated in 21 games with the Canadiens (1973-74)...Wild Coordinator of Amateur Scouting Guy Lapointe helped the Habs to six Stanley Cup championships. FAST FACT: Subban became the first defenseman to record a hat trick vs. Minnesota (3/20/11).
3 Keys to Victory For Wild: 1. Get on the scoreboard early to justify the effort and aggressiveness in addition to giving either Backstrom or Harding breathing room. This Canadiens team the Wild will be facing tonight has scorers and a very dangerous powerplay with booming shots on their blue line especially PK Subban. 2. The Wild needs to work specifically on being better positionally in the defensive zone. Coming off of the brutal loss at home against the Blackhawks, the Wild defensive corps needs to be better especially since it seemed for every rebound there was an opponent to bang it home. 3. The new line combinations need to find their chemistry and communication quickly tonight. Coyle and Zach Parise seem to gravitate to each other so that should not be an issue. I am against splitting up Kyle Brodiak and Matt Cooke so I will have a careful eye on Koivu with Brodziak tonight. Also it will still be all eyes on Heatley where ever he plays with tonight.
Just My Take, Tony Dean @AWKD