WildHBcommunity: Wild Face Tough Test Versus Young Blue Jackets at the X
Minnesota Wild Host the Colombus Blue Jackets Tonight at Xcel Energy Center
The Minnesota Wild 35 - 22 - 9 (79 points) will be looking to earn an important 2 points with a victory on their home ice versus the Columbus Blue Jackets 34 - 26 - 6 (74 points) at the Excel Energy Center. These two teams entered the NHL in the 2000 and have since under gone major transitions in regime and roster. Both these teams have seen the face off the franchise(Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash) only to facilitate the next generation of young stars for each franchise.
Here in Minnesota the arrival of general manager Chuck Fletcher has meant all the difference in transforming the Wild’s roster and brand. In Columbus the combination of president of hockey operations John Davidson and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen have accomplished the same for the Blue Jackets organization. These two franchise are currently positioned to compete this season in the stanley cup playoffs but possibly even more important is the ability to be competitive for the next 5 years and beyond because of the acquired young talent and salary cap flexibility each team.
I tend to gravitate towards the young NHL ready players and organization prospects angle of hockey as I find that to be completely fascinating like a lot of people do which is evident with the popularity of the NHL draft and World Juniors Hockey Classic. The premier website and community for hockey prospects in my mind is HockeyFuture.com who currently list the Wild 7th in their Organization Prospect Rankings followed by the BlueJackets in the 8th spot. The significance of a 7th and 8th rank in organization prospect ranking for each franchise is that both have graduated their top tier of prospects top the NHL level in the past 2 seasons and have still been able to back fill well enough to be considered to have top 10 prospects in their system NOT at the NHL level. Both of the these teams are among the NHL’s most talented and youngst which is a true testiment to Fletcher and Kekalainen considering the state of each of their franchise upon their hire as general manager.
A Tale of Two Franchise Prospects Becoming NHL Stars
The 2010 NHL Draft will be looked back on for years to come as league changing for the NHL and franchises in search of young talent to carry them out of the dark days. On apperance Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin had the look of the premier players in this draft class and as result were selected with the top two picks. The Blue Jackets selected Ryan Johansen with the 4th overall pick while the Wild selected Mikael Granlund 9th overall in the 2010 NHL draft.
In Johansen the Blue Jackets were adding a talented playmaking center with enough size to possibly develop into an NHL power forward. Johansen was playing for the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL centering a line with another top prospect on his wing and a player Wild fans have come to love Nino #KnightRider Niederreiter(Selected 5th overall in 2010 NHL Draft by New york islanders). As a Winter Hawk Johansen Spent 2 seasons tallying 134GP-65G-96A-161P and scored his first NHL goal as of the game winning variety versus the Detroit Red Wings on 10/25/2011.
This season Johansen has flourished leading the Blue Jackets in goals(26) and points(50) while centering their top line. Johansen is no doubt the best player on the ice for the Blue Jackets every game he suits up and has become the face of the franchise since the departure of Nash to the Rangers via trade. This season has seen Granlund meet and exceed the tempered expectations of Wild fans after he struggled last year to compete in the NHL after finally arriving in North America. The hype surrounding Granlund previous to his arrival nearly doomed his rookie campaign before it began no matter the results which ended up being poor. It is a true credit to Granlunds character and work ethic that he has returned after last year’s poor campaign to take over the top line center position with dynamic play in the NHL and Olympics this season.
Many questioned whether Granlund’s size and strength would limit his ability to become a superstar while playing the center to include myself. Granlund has proven those questioning his ability to translate his talent to the NHL level wrong. Currently he is centering the Wild’s top line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville in addition to being the catlyst for the team’s top power play. Granlund is currently tied for Wild team lead in assists (29) and 5th in points (35).
Beyond his elevation to the top line and increase in minutes and responsibility, there is an underlying importance to his success as it has created a symbolic changing of the guard for the Wild. The Wild’s reliance on Mikko Koivu as their top line center has been a lightning rod for fans and media for the past couple seasons. Wild head coach Mike Yeo has nearly completely avoided and dismissed any notion that possibly Koivu is better suited for a different role when the issue is presented. Granlund’s play has made Koivu’s role change a smooth transition and made the Wild a better team in the process. What a huge impact by a player so subtle, it is franchise altering in my opinion.
Individual Leaders Columbus Blue Jackets Minnesota Wild Points: R. JOHANSEN (50),B. DUBINSKY (41),J. WISNIEWSKI (39) J. POMINVILLE (46),Z. PARISE (43),M. MOULSON (40) Goals: R. JOHANSEN (26),A. ANISIMOV (19),R. UMBERGER (18) J. POMINVILLE (24),Z. PARISE (23),M. MOULSON (18) Assists: J. WISNIEWSKI (33),B. DUBINSKY (28),R. JOHANSEN (24) M. KOIVU (29),R. SUTER (29),M. GRANLUND (29) PP Goals: R. UMBERGER (8),C. ATKINSON (4),R. JOHANSEN (4) Z. PARISE (12),M. MOULSON (8),J. POMINVILLE (5) SH Goals: B. DUBINSKY (2),A. ANISIMOV (2),D. MACKENZIE (1) M. COOKE (1),Z. PARISE (1),E. HAULA (1) GW Goals: N. FOLIGNO (5),A. ANISIMOV (4),C. ATKINSON (4) J. POMINVILLE (5),Z. PARISE (5),M. COOKE (3) 3+ Goals: R. SUTER(1),J. FONTAINE(1) PIM: B. DUBINSKY (92),N. FOLIGNO (83),J. WISNIEWSKI (51) C. STONER (78),M. COOKE (52),C. MCCORMICK (45) Shots: R. JOHANSEN (183),C. ATKINSON (168),B. DUBINSKY (145) Z. PARISE (195),J. POMINVILLE (184),M. MOULSON (145) +/-: N. NIKITIN (+11),B. JENNER (+7),F. TYUTIN (+6) M. SCANDELLA (+13),N. NIEDERREITER (+11),M. COOKE (+8)
Last Game –Wild 2 vs. NYR 1: LW Zach Parise scored 1:03 into the third period to lead Minnesota to a 2-1 victory Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center. RW Nino Niederreiter scored a first-period goal for Minnesota and G Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves to earn his 12th win of the season –a franchise record for most wins by a rookie goalie. Next Games (all times Central) 3/17 at BOS 6:30 p.m. –NBCSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 3/18 at NYI 6 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 3/20 at NJ 6 p.m. –FSN PLUS, KFAN 100.3 FM Current Wild Injuries G Niklas Backstrom –4 games (undisclosed) LW Jason Zucker (IR) –7 games (lower body) G Josh Harding (IR) –24 games (illness) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 179 Recent Transactions 3/5 –Acquired F Matt Moulson and F Cody McCormick from Buffalo in exchange for F Torrey Mitchell and second-round selections in the 2014 and 2016 NHL Entry Drafts. 3/4 –Acquired G Ilya Bryzgalov from Edmonton in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Upcoming Milestones C Mikko Koivu –435 career points (127-308=435) are two shy of tying Marian Gaborik (219-218=437) for most points in franchise history WILD vs. BLUE JACKETS All-Time Wild Record: 23-17-7 (16-5-3 at Xcel Energy Center, 7-12-4 at Columbus) 2013-14: The Wild suffered a 4-0 shutout loss in the first meeting of the season at Nationwide Arena (12/6)…G Niklas Backstrom made 37 saves in the defeat…LW Nick Foligno (1-1=2), C Ryan Johansen (0-2=2) and LW R.J. Umberger (1-1=2) led Columbus with two points apiece…G Curtis McElhinney stopped all 20 shots on net to earn his first shutout of the season. WILD LEADERS: C Mikko Koivu has 24 points (8-16=24) in 27 games…D Ryan Suter has 24 points (2-22=24) in 46 contests…LW Dany Heatley owns 12 points (8-4=12) in 20 games…RW Jason Pominville has 11 points (7-4=11) in 11 contests. WILD GOALIES: G Ilya Bryzgalov is 10-6-0 with a 2.48 GAA, .923 SV% and two shutouts in 17 starts against Columbus...G Darcy Kuemper has not faced the Blue Jackets. BLUE JACKETS LEADERS: D Jack Johnson has 13 points (3- 10=13) in 21 contests vs. Minnesota...D James Wisniewski owns 10 points (2-8=10) in 22 contests. BLUE JACKETS GOALIES: G Sergei Bobrovsky is 2-1-0 with a 1.95 GAA and a .926 SV% in three starts against the Wild...McElhinney is 2-1-1 with a 2.22 GAA, .913 SV% and one shutout in five games (four starts). CONNECTIONS: LW Mike Rupp appeared in 39 games with Columbus (2005-06)...D Nick Schultz spent parts of 10 seasons with the Wild (2001-12) and is the franchise leader in games played (743), seventh in assists and 11th in points (26-102=128)...Columbus Head Coach Todd Richards served as the Wild’s Head Coach from 2009-11...Darryl Sydor played 49 games for the Blue Jackets in 2003- 04. FAST FACT: Backstrom’s 24-save shutout on April 7, 2013 was the first in franchise history at Nationwide Arena. 12 Things to Know: 1. Minnesota is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games and has earned points in 14 of its last 17 games (10-3-4), dating back to Jan. 16. Since Jan. 2, the Wild is 15-5-4 and ranks second in the NHL in SV% (.927) and goals-against/game (2.07), third in win % (.708), T-6th in points (34) and T-7th in wins. 2. Saturday’s game against Columbus will be the Wild’s final contest in a four-game homestand, tied for its longest this season. Minnesota has earned points in nine consecutive games at Xcel Energy Center (7-0-2) and is 23-7-4 at home this season. 3. With 79 points this season, Minnesota has tied its franchise record for most points through 66 games, recorded in 2007-08 (37-24-5) and 2006-07 (36-23-7). Thursday marked the Wild’s sixth straight one-goal game (3-1-2) and its 10th in its last 11 games overall (6-2- 3). Minnesota Wild: Media Notes 4. Since they began playing on the same line Jan. 30 in Denver, Zach Parise (7-6=13), Mikael Granlund (2-9=11) and Jason Pominville (3-6=9) have combined for 33 points (12-21=33) in 11 games. 5. Zach Parise notched his fifth game-winning goal of the season Thursday and has tallied eight points (5-3=8) in the last eight games. He’s tallied at least one point in 10 of the last 12 games, totaling 16 points (8-8=16) in that span. The Wild is 15-2-2 when he scores a goal this season. Skating in his 600th NHL game Tuesday, he tallied a power-play goal and assist to earn his ninth multi-point game of the season, tied for most on the Wild, and 113th of his career. Parise ranks third in the NHL with 12 power-play goals and 13th in TOI/game amongst NHL forwards. He served as captain for Team USA in Sochi and ranks second on the Wild in scoring (23-20=43) despite missing 15 games after suffering a foot contusion Nov. 25 at STL. 6. Mikael Granlund has seven points (1-6=7) in his last seven games, 15 points (3-12=15) in the last 14 contests and leads the Wild with 23 points (4-19=23) in 29 games since returning from an upper-body injury (12/22). The 22-year-old ranks tied for first on the team in assists and has 35 points (6-29=35) in 53 games this season after totaling eight points (2-6=8) in 27 games during his rookie season. He returns to the Wild after leading Finland with seven points (3-4=7) in six games during his first Olympics, earning a bronze medal in Sochi. He was one of six players and three forwards named to the All-Tournament Team, as selected by the media. 7. Jason Pominville has seven points (2-5=7) in his last eight games and 13 points (6-7=13) in his last 14. He leads the Wild in goals and points this season. Pominville used an assist to earn his 500th NHL point 1/25 at SJ, becoming the 52nd active NHL player to hit the milestone. He’s hit the 20-goal mark in seven of his nine NHL seasons. The former Sabres captain was acquired by the Wild April 3 and signed a five-year contract extension on Oct. 3. He scored the game winner in his return to Buffalo Oct. 14, completing a collection of goals against all 30 NHL franchises. 8. Darcy Kuemper won his 12th game of the season Thursday to set a franchise record for most wins by a rookie goalie (Josh Harding, 11 wins in 2007-08). He had his consecutive games played streak end at 16 games Sunday –a franchise record for a rookie goalie (previously four). His two shutouts are the most by a rookie goaltender in team history and his 21 games played rank second (Harding, 29 games in 2007-08). Since Jan. 7, Kuemper is 12-3-3 with a 2.05 GAA, a .931 SV% and two shutouts. In that span, amongst goalies with at least 10 games played, he ranks T-2nd in the NHL in win % (.750), T-3rd in SV%, T-4th in wins and shutouts and T-5th in GAA. Amongst rookie goalies this season that have played 10 games, Kuemper ranks 2nd in GAA, T-2nd in wins and T-3rd in SV%, shutouts and games played. 9. Ryan Suter has skated at least 30:00 in 33 games this season and leads the NHL in TOI/game (29:55), 2:34 more than the next player (Brian Campbell, 27:21). He leads Minnesota in blocked shots (117) and ranks tied for first in assists (29). Suter netted three assists in six games for Team USA in Sochi, where he served as an alternate captain in his second Olympics. He used three shots to record his first career hat trick vs. WSH (1/4), becoming the first defenseman in Wild history to accomplish the feat, while also becoming the first defenseman in franchise history to score twice in less than a minute (Elias Sports Bureau). Since 2007-08, there have been 14, 35:00-plus performances in the NHL (regular season), and Suter totaled three of them in the span of six days this season –the top three TOI of his career. According to Elias Sports Bureau, his 108:19 TOI in three games Nov. 7-13 (36:06 average) is the most by any NHL player in three consecutive games since TOI started being tracked in 2000-01. He set a Wild franchise record with a career-high 36:51 at WSH (11/7). 10. With 435 career points (127-308=435), Mikko Koivu, who turned 31 Wednesday, is two points from tying Marian Gaborik (219- 218=437) for most points in franchise history. Minnesota’s captain has 10 points (1-9=10) in his last 10 games. He suffered an ankle fracture vs. WSH (1/4) and missed 17 Wild games and was not able to participate in his third Olympics. Koivu ranks third amongst NHL forwards in TOI/game (21:35) and 11th in faceoff win % (55.2). 11. Matt Moulson netted his first goal in a Wild uniform Sunday after earning an assist in his first game with Minnesota Saturday. He has 10 points (3-7=10) in his last 10 games and has totaled 40 points (18-22=40) in 59 games with the New York Islanders, Buffalo and Minnesota this season. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first NHL player to score a goal for three teams in the same season since Pascal Dupuis and Alexei Zhitnik in 2006-07. Moulson ranks fourth in the NHL in power-play goals (47) and T-16th in goals scored (130) since 2009-10. 12. Nino Niederreiter scored his first goal since the Olympic Break on Thursday and has six points (3-3=6) in his last nine games. He ranks second on the team in hits (148) and plus-minus rating this season. He totaled a plus-2 rating in four games with Switzerland during his first Olympics. Niederreiter has 32 points (12-20=32) in 66 games during his first season with Minnesota
Just My Take, Tony Dean
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