Minnesota Wild (4-5-1)  9pts  (3rd in the Northwest)

2.10 Goals For per Game (27th in the NHL)

2.80 Goals Against per Game (17th in the NHL)

22nd ranked Power Play (16.2%)

11th ranked Penalty Kill (82.9%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 6G 4A = 10pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 6A = 8pts

3. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

4. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

5. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 1G 3A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 46 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-4-1)  2.76GAA  .902%SP 

2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.92GAA  .885%SP 
 

Vs.

Nashville Predators (5-2-3)  13pts  (2nd in the Central)

2.10 Goals For per Game (26th in the NHL)

1.80 Goals Against per Game (1st in the NHL)

17th ranked Power Play (18.8%)

13th ranked Penalty Kill (81.6%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #10 Martin Erat ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

2. #33 Colin Wilson ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

3. #18 Brandon Yip ~ 2G 3A = 5pts

4. #8 Kevin Klein ~ 1G 4A = 5pts

5. #11 David Legwand ~ 2G 2A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #16 Rich Clune ~ 24 PIM's

2. #6 Shea Weber ~ 13 PIM's

3. #22 Scott Hannan ~ 11 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #35 Pekka Rinne (4-2-3)  1.81GAA  .933%SP  1 SO

2. #30 Chris Mason (1-0-0)  1.00GAA  .967%SP

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"Come gather 'round people, Wherever you roam, And admit that the waters, Around you have grown, And accept it that soon, You'll be drenched to the bone, If your time to you, Is worth savin', Then you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin'" are lyrics to the song The Times they are a Changin' by legendary Minnesota musician / singer Bob Dylan.  Of course Dylan's song is about the turbulent times of 1960's America but for the Houston Aeros and Minnesota Wild it is how the struggles of one can bring about changes for them all.  With the Minnesota Wild now floundering after an ok start to the compressed 2013 NHL season, it has prompted the big club to start making some roster moves, and with those moves means there is a trickle down effect to its American Hockey League affiliate in Houston.  This certainly was the case last season when the Wild's injury woes led to near constant call ups that meant the Aeros rarely played with the same line up from game to game.  Yet that is the life of a minor league hockey franchise.  Simply put you are the whim of the bigger club.  They need a player, you send someone and adjust your roster accordingly.  For the players themselves its 'call up' they've been waiting for but for minor league coaching staffs / management its all part of the challenge.  Just to put it in perspective, over the course of the 2011-12 season the Aeros used 6 different goaltenders and 47 skaters.  Needless to say I'd hate to be the equipment manager in a situation like that.  Houston has had a few call ups, not even 10 games into this season as defenseman Jonas Brodin and forward Charlie Coyle have been brought up to help the big club.  It seems inevitable there will be more, but who will be the lucky one? 

The Aeros are fresh off a 2-0 loss against the Grand Rapids Griffins, meanwhile the Milwaukee Admirals should be pretty well rested having not played since last week Friday in a 5-2 loss to arch-rival Chicago.  These two clubs used to be bitter division rivals for years before the American Hockey League undertook re-alignment.  The Admirals have had their share of call ups, but overall their NHL parent, the Nashville Predators are a little more patient.  Houston defeated the Admirals 3-2 on January 23rd, will they be able to earn another victory tonight?  

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Minnesota Wild (6-5-1)  13pts  (3rd in the Northwest)

2.22 Goals For per Game (25th in the NHL)

2.67 Goals Against per Game (16th in the NHL)

21st ranked Power Play (15.2%)

12th ranked Penalty Kill (82.8%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 6G 4A = 10pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 6A = 8pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

4. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 2G 4A = 6pts

5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 4A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 14 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-3-1)  2.45GAA  .919%SP

2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  3.39GAA  .873%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Vancouver Canucks (5-2-2)  12pts  (1st in the Northwest)

2.44 Goals For per Game (18th in the NHL)

2.22 Goals Against per Game (7th in the NHL)

20th ranked Power Play (15.6%)

20th ranked Penalty Kill (76.9%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #23 Alexander Edler ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

2. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 2G 5A = 7pts

3. #9 Zack Kassian ~ 5G 1A = 6pts

4. #33 Henrik Sedin ~ 0G 6A = 6pts

5. #2 Dan Hamhuis ~ 1G 4A = 5pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #3 Kevin Bieksa ~ 18 PIM's

2. #15 Aaron Volpatti ~ 18 PIM's

3. #9 Zack Kassian ~ 12 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Roberto Luongo (3-0-2)  1.53GAA  .940%SP  1 SO

2. #35 Corey Schneider (2-2-0)  3.13GAA  .897%SP  1 SO

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After last Friday's debacle in Anaheim, I really felt as though I wasted my time watching that game.  The Wild were uninspired and lazy and probably should've been beaten worse than their 3-1 score indicated.  Minnesota Head Coach Mike Yeo was unhappy, telling Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune "Our execution [coming out of defensive zone coverage] was awful," Yeo said. "There's a good lesson in that. When we're playing well, that's what we're making the other team feel. The longer you spend in your own zone, the harder it is to get out because you don't have the gas to take that two, three extra strides to make that extra play. I thought our wall play was not good at all. It was not one person.  It was all over the place."  I have to admit, in some ways I think Yeo was holding back a bit his true feelings about that game.  You could see it on his face; he was incensed and if you looked at the hockey message board it matched the feeling of the fans who stayed up to watch that disaster of a game.  The finger pointing was rampant, from blaming the coaching staff to the players or a combination of both.  Either way it was ugly.  

  Remember when this guy (Kyle Brodziak) us  ed to inspire his team with his hard work?

Just curious, do you remember this guy, Kyle Brodziak?  Remember when he used to win people over with his tremendous effort and would almost will goals to occur by through sheer will power alone?  The Wild rewarded Brodziak's efforts with a 3-year contract worth $2.83 million per season, after this lucrative contract-extension he has been missing.  The St. Paul, Alberta-native wears #21 and has just a lone assist and 11 shots to his credit this season so if you find him please call 651-602-6000 and let the Wild know where their 3rd line center is because they could really use a player who battles hard each shift and can chip in on offense occasionally.  We'd normally suggest you look for him battling along the boards or storming his way to the crease but we haven't seen anything like that from the 3rd line this season so we wish you the best of luck.  Your guess is as good as the Wild is right now.  Will the Wild find Kyle Brodziak tonight?  

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Minnesota Wild (4-3-1)  9pts  (3rd in the Northwest)

2.38 Goals For per Game (22nd in the NHL)

2.75 Goals Against per Game (16th in the NHL)

19th ranked Power Play (16.1%)

11th ranked Penalty Kill (82.1%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 5G 4A = 9pts  

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 6A = 8pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

4. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 2G 4A = 6pts

5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 4A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 14 PIM's

2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 9 PIM's

3. #14 Darroll Powe ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-2-1)  2.51GAA  .909%SP

2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  3.39GAA .873%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Phoenix Coyotes (3-4-2)  8pts  (3rd in the Pacific)

3.00 Goals For per Game (9th in the NHL)

2.78 Goals Against per Game (17th in the NHL)

13th ranked Power Play (22%)

13th ranked Penalty Kill (81.2%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #17 Radim Vrbata ~ 3G 6A = 9pts

2. #23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson ~ 2G 5A = 7pts

3. #89 Mikkel Boedker ~ 2G 5A = 7pts

4. #26 Steve Sullivan ~ 4G 1A = 5pts

5. #50 Antoine Vermette ~ 3G 2A = 5pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #24 Kyle Chipchura ~ 26 PIM's

2. #19 Shane Doan ~ 13 PIM's

3. #53 Derek Morris ~ 10 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #41 Mike Smith (1-2-1)  3.06GAA  .873%SP  1 SO

2. #31 Chad Johnson (1-0-1)  .98GAA  .952%SP  1 SO

3. #1 Jason LaBarbera (1-2-0)  3.25GAA  .897%SP  

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Minnesota Wild (4-2-1)  9pts  2nd in the Northwest

2.57 Goals For per Game (17th in the NHL)

2.71 Goals Against per Game (15th in the NHL)

19th ranked Power Play (16.7%)

8th ranked Penalty Kill (84.6%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 5G 4A = 9pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 6A = 8pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

4. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 2G 4A = 6pts

5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 4A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 14 PIM's

2. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 9 PIM's

3. #14 Darroll Powe ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (3-1-1)  2.40GAA  .910%SP

2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  3.39GAA  .873%SP  1SO

Vs.

Anaheim Ducks (3-1-1)  7pts  2nd in the Pacific

3.20 Goals For per Game (8th in the NHL)

3.20 Goals Against per Game (23rd in the NHL)

14th ranked Power Play (20%)

28th ranked Penalty Kill (66.7%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #34 Daniel Winnik ~ 5G 2A = 7pts

2. #11 Saku Koivu ~ 1G 6A = 7pts

3. #15 Ryan Getzlaf ~ 2G 3A = 5pts

4. #8 Teemu Selanne ~ 2G 3A = 5pts

5. #10 Corey Perry ~ 1G 3A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #39 Matt Beleskey ~ 12 PIM's

2. #10 Corey Perry ~ 9 PIM's

3. #55 Bryan Allen ~ 6 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Jonas Hiller (2-1-1)  3.43GAA  .868%SP

2. #30 Viktor Fasth (1-0-0)  1.85GAA  .905%SP

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Comedian Rodney Dangerfield was famous for his tagline of "No respect!"  I wonder if that's how the Minnesota Wild feel after their 3-2 shootout win over Chicago.  Never mind that Chicago is one of two undefeated teams in the NHL to that point (the other being San Jose), never mind that Chicago was the better rested of the two clubs as the Wild were playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back.  But what was the big story this morning NHL's Home Ice Radio?  The Edmonton Oilers winning beating the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime.  It must be because the Coyotes are one of the league's top teams right?  Oh wait, they're in 4th place in the Pacific and 11th in the Western Conference.  Despite the fact the Wild / Blackhawks clash was NBC's big 'Rivalry Wednesday' tilt it was put on the back burner.  Well its just NHL Home Ice Radio, big deal eh?  Well NHL.com isn't much better.  As of around 9:30AM Thursday morning, the Wild's victory was the 5th story listed behind stories and highlights of the Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks.  The Wild, who currently sit atop the Northwest Division were trumped by the team in 2nd and 3rd place in the same division.  Who did Vancouver beat?  A struggling Colorado squad.  So again, what gives NHL?    Perhaps its fitting the NHL title for the Wild / Blackhawks story is "Back to Reality" which could be double entendre for back to being overlooked by the league.  

The Wild begin their second road trip of the season, with a trip to Orange County to face the Anaheim Ducks.  Minnesota has always had a bit of animosity for the two teams since the Ducks have eliminated them twice in the post-season.  With points being such a precious commodity and some clubs starting to separate from the pack I think we can expect a spirited game.  It may not be a rivalry, but these two clubs seem to bring out the anger in the other.  Will the Wild be able to register its first road win this evening? 

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Some players describe it as pins and needles, or the sensation of electricity running through the body when they think about that moment when they are totally amped.  It can sometimes feel as though time slows down, or how you become sensitive to the smallest things.  Your body becomes so charged that you feel like you could run through a wall and not even feel it.  I have a feeling that is what Minnesota North Stars players felt each game played against the Chicago Blackhawks during the height of that incredible rivalry.  I know the fans in the stands certainly felt that way, and skirmishes between fans of both clubs was common.   Just to give you a taste of the rivalry, here is video of an old North Stars game that has Basil McRae ultimately dropping the gloves against Chicago's Mike Peluso as commentated by Doug McLeod and Tom Reid. 

For fans like myself, who remember those halcyon days where Chicago fans burned Dino the Dinosaurs in effigy many of us were hoping to see that rivalry rekindled with NHL realignment this season, only to have it thwarted as a cheap negotiation tactic by Donald Fehr and the NHLPA.  NHL realignment is going to happen soon, so will we see the rivalry crank back up to the way it was in the 1980's?  The season is still early but the Blackhawks are again atop the league standings and the Wild are trying to build themselves into a contender, is this the perfect storm that will feed a rivalry for years to come?  Will we see some of that added intensity tonight? 

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Minnesota Wild (3-2-1)  7pts  (1st in the Northwest)

2.67 Goals For per Game (16th in the NHL)

2.83 Goals Against per Game (16th in the NHL)

16th ranked Power Play (19.2%)

10th ranked Penalty Kill (83.3%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 5G 4A = 9pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 6A = 8pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

4. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 2G 3A = 5pts

5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 4A = 4pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 12 PIM's

2. #14 Darroll Powe ~ 9 PIM's

3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 8 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (2-1-0)  2.99GAA  .887%SP 

2. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.56GAA  .902%SP

Vs.

Chicago Blackhawks (6-0-0)  12 points  (1st in the Central)

3.67 Goals For per Game (4th in the NHL)

2.17 Goals Against per Game (7th in the NHL)

8th ranked Power Play (26.9%)

2nd ranked Penalty Kill (95.6%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 2G 7A = 9pts

2. #81 Marian Hossa ~ 5G 3A = 8pts

3. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 3G 3A = 6pts

4. #10 Patrick Sharp ~ 2G 4A = 6pts

5. #8 Nick Leddy ~ 1G 4A = 5pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #52 Brandon Bollig ~ 12 PIM's

2. #81 Marian Hossa ~ 10 PIM's

3. #22 Jamal Mayers ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #50 Corey Crawford (5-0-0)  1.78GAA  .933%SP

2. #30  Ray Emery (1-0-0)  4.00GAA  .862%SP

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