Minnesota Wild (15-10-2)  32pts  1st in the Northwest

2.48 Goals For (22nd)

2.48 Goals Against (8th)

16.5% Power Play (20th)

86.4% Penalty Kill (5th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 2G 21A = 23pts

2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 11G 11A = 22pts

3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6G 16A = 22pts

4. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 15A = 18pts

5. #10 Devin Setoguchi ~ 9G 8A = 17pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 71 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 41 PIM's

3. #44 Justin Falk ~ 22 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (13-7-2)  2.40GAA  .911%SP

2. #31 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.92GAA  .885%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Vancouver Canucks (13-8-6)  32pts  2nd in the Northwest

2.74 Goals For (14th)

2.67 Goals Against (14th)

13.6% Power Play (27th)

81% Penalty Kill (15th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #33 Henrik Sedin ~ 7G 19A = 26pts

2. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 8G 16A = 24pts

3. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 7G 9A = 16pts

4. #36 Jannik Hansen ~ 7G 9A = 16pts

5. #23 Alexander Edler ~ 5G 11A = 16pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #32 Dale Weise ~ 41 PIM's

2. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 32 PIM's

3. #3 Kevin Bieksa ~ 28 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Roberto Luongo (7-3-3)  2.42GAA  .905%SP  2 SO

2. #35 Cory Schneider (6-5-3)  2.63GAA  .910%SP  1 SO

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Family reunions.  Depending on your family, they occur yearly or infrequently as a way to bring everyone (cousins, distant cousins, etc) together to get back in touch with people's lives and talk about the 'good ol' days'.  For the older family members, it seems easier to remember names and immediately start discussions.  For younger family members, it's largely a giant collection of strangers and so you stick close to the relatives you see more frequently and rarely branch out to get in touch with your more distant (and unfamiliar) relatives.  Oddly enough, when you're a kid, its great.  You get to be around a bunch of kids you don't really know at all and you can just go and have fun playing the games you may not have had enough cousins your age to play before.  It also can be an awkward time, if something unfortunate or scandalous has occured since you have seen those relatives it becomes the elephant in the room.  I wonder if that's how Greg Zanon felt on Thursday.  The Wild did their best to make the reunion between its former defenseman a miserable one.  The Wild gladly traded Zanon away last season where they felt he'd lost a bit in his game and he did nothing to prove the Wild wrong on Tuesday as he was victimized by his own decision to drop to the ice giving Minnesota an early lead which ultimately led to a big win at home.  Moments after that Zanon was roughed up a bit by Mike Rupp, which is like getting knocked around by some distant cousin. 

The Wild have found more offense lately (knock on wood), showing some of the potential that people had hoped for when the team landed the free agents they did this summer.  Minnesota is finishing a home and home series with Colorado this afternoon.  Colorado is slipping more and more in the standings and they will want to avenge their loss on Thursday.  Will the Wild manage to get the sweep or will Minnesota get ambushed in this Northwest Division reunion?

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Minnesota Wild (14-10-2)  30pts  2nd in the Northwest

2.35 Goals For (26th)

2.42 Goals Against (7th)

15.8% Power Play (21st)

86.1% Penalty Kill (5th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 6G 16A = 22pts

2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 10G 11A = 21pts

3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 20A = 21pts

4. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 14A = 17pts

5. #10 Devin Setoguchi ~ 7G 7A = 14pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 71 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 36 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 20 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (12-7-2)  2.32GAA  .913%SP

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

Vs.

Colorado Avalanche (10-12-4)  24pts  5th in the Northwest

2.46 Goals For (22nd)

2.96 Goals Against (23rd)

15.2% Power Play (25th)

79.6% Penalty Kill (19th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #15 P.A. Parenteau ~ 12G 15A = 27pts

2. #9 Matt Duchene ~ 11G 16A = 27pts

3. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 7G 10A = 17pts

4. #7 John Mitchell ~ 8G 5A = 13pts

5. #11 Jamie McGinn ~ 4G 9A = 13pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #55 Cody McLeod ~ 51 PIM's

2. #58 Patrick Bordeleau ~ 48 PIM's

3. #3 Ryan O'Byrne ~ 43 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Semyon Varlamov (8-11-3)  2.83GAA  .911%SP  2 SO

2. #35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2-1-1)  2.70GAA  .918%SP

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"Beware the Ides of March," one of the more ominous and famous lines from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.  It was a moment of foreshadowing for the great Roman leader who was going to be betrayed by supposed allies who were jealous of Julius' growing power and popularity.  It is a play perhaps every student is exposed to in English or Literature classes when they go to high school.  I remember it rather well, the scheming of characters Cassius and Brutus before they murder the great leader.  "Et tu Brute" gasped by Caesar as he realizes who his assassins were which included his supposed best friend Brutus, but his realization was all too late to prevent his demise.  Its a classic tragic tale.  Did a similar "Ides of March" moment take place Tuesday night for the Minnesota Wild when Anaheim's Corey Perry delivered a late and dirty check to Jason Zucker who sustained an upper body injury and earning Perry a 4-game suspension.  So where is this moment?  How about the non-existent reaction by Zucker's teammates who did not confront Perry after the hit.  Wasn't that a classic case where the 'Code' kicks in?  If Zucker hadn't been knocked nearly unconscious by the devastating hit, would he had turned to his teammates in a sort of an "Et tu Brute" moment and asked why they didn't stand up for him more forcefully?  In fact, the Wild's overall reaction to the hit does seem to appear rather ominous.  In the 5-minute power play that ensued the Wild looked completely confused for the first two minutes.  Zucker is not even a player that is normally used on the man advantage, but the effect was rather evident.  Poor passes and even worse execution made what should've been an opportunity to add to their lead into a momentum builder for the Ducks which led to them getting the tying goal and eventually netting the game winner.  So was this game our "Ides of March" moment?   

I think we could very well find out tonight.  After Zucker was taken out of the lineup, the team really looked out of sync the rest of the game as lines were juggled trying to find a new combination that would work.  The Wild certainly will not get any sympathy from division rival Colorado tonight.  The Avalanche have suffered through more than their fair share of injuries and they will hope to ambush a Wild team that seems to be in a state of confusion.  So will the Wild put these fears to rest and answer with strength or will they appear emotionally fragile and unfocused? 

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Minnesota Wild (13-10-2)  28pts  2nd in the Northwest

2.24 Goals For (27th)

2.40 Goals Against (7th)

16.5% Power Play (21st)

87% Penalty Kill (4th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 4G 16A = 20pts

2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 11G 8A = 19pts

3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 17A = 18pts

4. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 12A = 15pts

5. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 8G 5A = 13pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 66 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 34 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 20 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (11-7-2)  2.29GAA  .914%SP

2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-2-0)  2.02GAA  .924%SP  

3. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.92GAA  .885%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Colorado Avalanche (10-11-4)  24pts  5th in the Northwest

2.44 Goals For (23rd)

2.88 Goals Against (21st)

14.3% Power Play (26th)

78.8% Penalty Kill (21st)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #9 Matt Duchene ~ 11G 15A = 26pts

2. #15 P.A. Parenteau ~ 10G 15A = 25pts

3. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 7G 9A = 16pts

4. #7 John Mitchell ~ 8G 5A = 13pts

5. #11 Jamie McGinn ~ 4G 9A = 13pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #58 Patrick Bordeleau ~ 48 PIM's

2. #55 Cody McLeod ~ 46 PIM's

3. #3 Ryan O'Byrne ~ 43 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Semyon Varlamov (8-10-3)  2.77GAA  .912%SP  2 SO

2. #35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2-1-1)  2.70GAA  .918%SP  

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The sweet taste of birthday cake, the celebratory annual occasion that was the birthday party.  Whether it was a fun time spent at home with some friends or a more staged party at a restaurant or an arcade (the places where most of people of our ilk played their first video games) it was a time where it was all about the big day.  You'd open gifts, and relish at being the center of attention for one day each year.  Maybe some of you were generous enough to try to bring in everyone on the celebration by bringing treats to class (which is kind of the current norm by the way).  Yet over time the annual celebration really fades after your 16th birthday doesn't it?  Here's another question you can ask yourself.  At what point in your life did a birthday stop becoming a celebration and more or less a nasty reminder that you are just getting older?  Where now if you happen to go out on your birthday you almost plead with those around you not to remind the restaurant staff that it is in fact your birthday for fear of being serenaded with an embarrassing and sappy 'Birthday Song' because they're not allowed to use trademarked Happy Birthday ditty.  I'm 35, so I wouldn't say I dread this day most of the time but I have to admit it starts to make me put my age into perspective when I think that if I was an NHL'er I'd likely be considered to be in the twilight of my career.  By the way I can hear your jokes about how I'm in the twilight of my blogging career but I'm ignoring them. 

So why am I talking about birthdays?  Well that's because the Wild have a birthday of one of their own to celebrate as the team's captain, Mikko Koivu celebrates the big 3 0 today.  Happy Birthday Mikko!  You could say the Wild have already given Koivu his birthday gift as they still have him signed through the 2017-18 season at a hefty $6.75 million per year.  Its the gift that keeps on giving, to Koivu at least.  So will Koivu and the Wild deliver the fans of Minnesota a birthday treat or will Anaheim supply a nasty birthday spanking? 

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Minnesota Wild (13-9-2)  28pts  1st in the Northwest

2.29 Goals For (26th)

2.42 Goals Against (7th)

16.3% Power Play (20th)

86.5% Penalty Kill (4th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 4G 16A = 20pts

2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 11G 8A = 19pts

3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 17A = 18pts

4. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 11A = 14pts

5. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 8G 5A = 13pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 61 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 32 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 20 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (11-6-2)  2.30GAA  .914%SP

2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-2-0)  2.02GAA  .924%SP

3. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.92GAA  .885%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Anaheim Ducks (18-3-3)  39pts  1st in the Pacific

3.38 Goals For (3rd)

2.46 Goals Against (9th)

27.8% Power Play (1st)

76.8% Penalty Kill (28th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #15 Ryan Getzlaf ~ 10G 21A = 31pts

2. #10 Corey Perry ~ 9G 15A = 24pts

3. #9 Bobby Ryan ~ 8G 13A = 21pts

4. #11 Saku Koivu ~ 7G 14A = 21pts

5. #8 Teemu Selanne ~ 6G 11A = 17pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #25 Brad Staubitz ~ 41 PIM's

2. #39 Matt Beleskey ~ 33 PIM's

3. #44 Sheldon Souray ~ 27 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #30 Viktor Fasth (10-1-1)  1.92GAA  .929%SP  2 SO

2. #1 Jonas Hiller (8-2-2)  2.85GAA  .899%SP  1 SO

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In a sick, twisted way, I love Vancouver Canucks fans.  There is no other fanbase in hockey that is this manic.  Not even Toronto or Montreal fans are this crazy.  See, at least in those two cities, that fans have reasons to be as off-kilter as they are.  They have the storied history,  and the Stanley Cups to match it.  Vancouver, not so much.  Canucks fans live in this bubble, where they seriously think every year, they're going to win the Cup.  It doesn't matter that they've choked in epic fashion, time after time.  Every pre-season, they'll tell you that THIS is the year that they're going to go all the way, and why they're better than last year.  Well fans of other teams around the league, just laugh and shake their heads.  

Now this season, Canucks fans have been dealing with the saga of Roberto Luongo.  Some get nostalgic, and want to keep Lou.  Most want him gone.  Of course, we have yet to see any deal that sends him anywhere.  I honestly don't think the Canucks will get close to what they want for him or what they think he's worth.  So, we just sit back and watch that soap opera.  However, lately the Luongo soap opera isn't the most humorous I've seen.  The new, and improved reason why the Canucks aren't winning according to Canucks fans, rests solely on the shoulders of their head coach, Alain Vigneault.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Now, if you're like me and you've dealt with Canucks fans for any length of time, you will remember in the not-so-distant-past, that they thought Vigneault could do no wrong, and he was the best coach ever.  Now, the tune has changed, and they're begging for a "real NHL coach."  Seriously, I can't make this stuff up.  If you need a good laugh, I highly suggest you check out the Canucks message boards.  You won't be disappointed.  It will be like the internet version of the 2011 riots after the Game Seven loss in Vancouver to the Boston Bruins.    

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Minnesota Wild (12-9-2)  26pts  2nd in the Northwest

2.22 Goals For (27th)

2.44 Goals Against (7th)

15.7% Power Play (24th)

85.7% Penalty Kill (6th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 4G 15A = 19pts

2. #11 Zach Parise ~ 9G 7A = 16pts

3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 15A = 16pts

4. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 8G 5A = 13pts

5. #7 Matt Cullen ~ 3G 10A = 13pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 59 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 27 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 16 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (10-6-2)  2.32GAA  .914%SP  

2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-2-0)  2.22GAA  .924%SP

3. #37 Josh Harding (1-1-0)  2.92GAA  .885%SP  1 SO

Vs.

Vancouver Canucks (11-6-6)  28pts  1st in the Northwest

2.70 Goals For (17th)

2.52 Goals Against (11th)

15.7% Power Play (23rd)

80.7% Penalty Kill (17th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 8G 15A = 23pts

2. #33 Henrik Sedin ~ 5G 18A = 23pts

3. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 5G 9A = 14pts

4. #2 Dan Hamhuis ~ 2G 12A = 14pts

5. #36 Jannik Hansen ~ 6G 6A = 12pts

Top PIM's:

1. #32 Dale Weise ~ 36 PIM's

2. #14 Alexandre Burrows ~ 26 PIM's

3. #3 Kevin Bieksa ~ 26 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Roberto Luongo (5-2-3)  2.19GAA  .912%SP  2 SO

2. #35 Cory Schneider (6-4-3)  2.52GAA  .913%SP  1 SO

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"Your cheatin' heart, will make you weep, you'll cry and cry and try to sleep, The whole night through, Your cheatin' heart, will tell on you, when tears come down, like falling rain, you'll toss around, and call my name, you'll walk the floor, the way I do, your cheatin' heart will tell on you, your cheatin' heart, will tell on you, your cheatin' heart will  pine someday, and crave the love you threw away," that of course is the song Your Cheatin' Heart by country music legend Hank Williams.  That could very well be the song on the minds of fans of the Nashville Predators as Ryan Suter makes his first return to 'Smashville' since signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild this summer.  Since that time Suter has been public enemy #1 amongst Music City's hockey fans who saw his pre-signing comments about wanting to stay with the Predators as being disengeneous.  So expect to hear plenty of boo's everytime he touches the puck from the always hostile Predators crowd, especially those up in the 'Cellblock' in section 303 at Bridgestone Arena.  Speaking of boo's, Minnesota hockey fans should be saving their boo's for the Minnesota State High School League for some horrendous late-game officiating that marred a fantastic Class A Championship between Hermantown and St. Thomas Academy.  A very marginal call a long way from the puck gave the Cadets a power play with 1:57 left and then in the closing moments, the Hawks' star defenseman Jake Zeleznikar was just feet from clearing the puck out of the zone as he was tackled on the play and St. Thomas Academy gets the go ahead goal with just over 6 seconds left.  Hermantown Head Coach, Bruce Plante (father of former NHL'er and Stanley Cup winner Derek Plante) was incensed and he berated the officials at the end of the game.  Here is a picture of the blatant non-call in question.  

It is an absolute shame, and the boo's at Xcel Energy Center were loud and continuous as St. Thomas Academy recieved their travesty of a trophy and 1st place medals.  Wild fans can expect the same sort of intense 'hate' being directed towards Suter all game long.  The Wild's little hiatus was nice for fans like myself so we could focus on the best State High School Hockey Tournament in the nation (albeit one marred by some terrible late-game calls).  So will Ryan Suter make his return to Nashville sweet or will he look like a typical hard luck story which is normally the subject of a country song?  

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