Minnesota Wild (7-6-2)  16pts  (2nd in the Northwest)

2.07 Goals For per Game (30th)

2.47 Goals Against per game (10th)

15.1% Power Play (22nd)

84.0% Penalty Kill (9th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise ~ 7G 5A = 12pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 3G 9A = 12pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 5G 4A = 9pts

4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 8A = 8pts

5. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 52 PIM's

2. #10 Devin Setoguchi ~ 12 PIM's

3. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-4-2)  2.40GAA  .912%SP

2. #35 Darcy Kuemper (1-1-0)  2.02GAA  .934%SP

Vs.

Edmonton Oilers (6-6-3)  15pts  (4th in the Northwest)

2.33 Goals For per Game (25th)

2.67 Goals Against per game (16th)

23.9% Power Play (6th)

87.1% Penalty Kill (4th)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #89 Sam Gagner ~ 5G 11A = 16pts

2. #4 Taylor Hall ~ 3G 12A = 16pts

3. #14 Jordan Eberle ~ 5G 6A = 11pts

4. #83 Ales Hemsky ~ 7G 3A = 10pts

5. #64 Nail Yakupov ~ 5G 4A = 9pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #94 Ryan Smyth ~ 30 PIM's

2. #5 Ladislav Smid ~ 29 PIM's

3. #55 Ben Eager ~ 17 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (5-4-3)  2.76GAA  .918%SP

2. #35 Nikolai Khabibulin (1-2-0)  1.91GAA  .940%SP

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Minnesota Wild (6-6-2)  14pts  (3rd in the Northwest)

2.00 Goals For per Game (29th in the NHL)

2.50 Goals Against per Game (11th in the NHL)

21st ranked Power Play (15.7%)

13th ranked Penalty Kill (83%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Zach Parise 7G 4A = 11pts

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 3G 8A = 11pts

3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 4A = 8pts

4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 8A = 8pts

5. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 3G 4A = 7pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 52 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 10 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-4-2)  2.40GAA  .912%SP

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

3. #35 Darcy Kuemper (0-1-0)  2.03GAA  .933%SP

Vs.

Detroit Red Wings (7-5-2)  16pts  (4th in the Central)

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

2.93 Goals Against per Game (20th in the NHL)

24th ranked Power Play (14.5%)

24th ranked Penalty Kill (74.6%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #40 Henrik Zetterberg ~ 5G 13A = 18pts

2. #13 Pavel Datsyuk ~ 6G 8A = 14pts

3. #26 Damien Brunner ~ 6G 4A = 10pts

4. #55 Niklas Kronwall ~ 1G 9A = 10pts

5. #93 Johan Franzen ~ 3G 6A = 9pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #22 Jordin Tootoo ~ 32 PIM's

2. #93 Johan Franzen ~ 31 PIM's

3. #55 Niklas Kronwall ~ 22 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #35 Jimmy Howard (6-5-2)  2.97GAA  .900%SP 

2. #34 Petr Mrazek (1-0-0)  1.00GAA  .963%SP

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Its Hockey Weekend America, a new attempt to celebrate hockey in the United States.  Did that get you excited?  Nope?  Me neither.  In my opinion it doesn't hold a candle to Hockey Day Minnesota which actually has authentic tradition to draw from.  It seems odd to celebrate hockey in February when in many cases the ice has melted or is starting to in most parts of the nation.  Yet on this day, their is an outdoor game being played in Chicago's Soldier Field.  The Hockey City Classic between the Miami (OH) and Notre Dame followed up by the University of Minnesota versus the University of Wisconsin.  I understand the NHL missed out on the Winter Classic due to the lockout so this is the 'alternate' version of that 'spectacle' for the league.  The Wild and many other American teams are going to be playing across the National Hockey League as part of this celebration but I am not sure how many Minnesota fans are in a celebratory mood after an embarrassing shootout loss to Colorado on Thursday night.      

The team's inspirational story Josh Harding has been placed on Injured Reserve until the foreseeable future and the team now has called up Johan Larsson and Jason Zucker.  Detroit comes to town, and while they may appear not to be as sharp as previous Red Wings' teams the Wild's most recent game proves they can be beaten by even the worst, most banged up teams in the league.  Needless to say expectations are pretty low, so will the Wild live up to those lowered expectations or will they give us a surprise by earning a victory?  

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"I'm Henry the eighth I am, Henry the eighth I am, I am, I got married to the widow next door, She's been married seven times before, And every one was an Henry, She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam, I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry, Henry the eighth I am.  Second verse same as the first" are the lyrics to the ever-annoying song Henry VIII I am by Herman's Hermits.  So why am I bringing up this song?  A thought struck me as I watching the Wild Live post game show after the Wild's most recent 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.  The Wild have scored just 1 goal in regulation over their last 6 games.  Then after that segment of the show was over with the Wild's promotional commercial went on where the franchise is attempting to sell some very early opinions shared by NHL Network's E. J. Hradek, and NBC Sports Network commentator Keith Jones and Fox Sports Net Detroit's Larry Murphy saying how they like the Wild's offense and feel the team has 'firepower'.  Really?!?!  29th in the NHL in scoring means you have firepower?  Now I am not calling those broadcasters liars, as those quotes were cherrypicked by the Wild's advertising department but obviously the image they want to sell is this team now has some offensive weapons and they're putting up points.  However the truth is as I stated earlier that the Wild are far from being confused for an offensive juggernaut.  But this is nothing new to this franchise, and to quote the song above, "Second verse, same as the first" and the team's scoring woes are just as glaring as ever.  Maybe you'd modify that line in the song to say "Second line, same as the first".  Last season the Wild finished dead last in the league scoring just 2 goals per game; and this season the Wild have actually managed to score even less at 1.92 Goals For per game!  So to say the Wild have firepower is like a little kid telling someone he carries explosives where he carries a box of Whipper Snappers where you'll make a little noise but accomplish little beyond that.  Remember these? 

This box of Whipper Snappers might be more 'explosive' than the Wild's offense

I loved these as a kid.  You'd walk around and throw them on the ground and see if you could surprise someone.  However, back to the analogy does the Wild's offense really seem to surprise anyone anymore?  The Wild's top 3 scorers have been held off the scoresheet for the last 4 games.  So dare I say it, and that a box of Whipper Snappers might actually be more 'explosive' than the Wild's offense?  At least the box of Whipper Snappers make a little noise. 

Luckily for the Wild they are going against the team with the 28th best offense in the NHL with a scant 2.09 goals for per game.  You might be working your way up to a Black Cat level now, so it will be the Whipper Snappers versus the almost Black Cats.  Which team will make more noise Thursday night? 

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Minnesota Wild (6-6-1)  13pts  (2nd in the Northwest)

1.92 Goals For per game (29th in the NHL)

2.46 Goals Against per game (9th in the NHL)

21st ranked Power Play (16%)

7th ranked Penalty Kill (84.4%)

Top 5 Scorers:

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

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 7A = 9pts

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

4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 7A = 7pts

5. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 50 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

3. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 10 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-4-1)  2.35GAA  .913%SP

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

3. #35 Darcy Kuemper (0-1-0)  2.03GAA  .933%SP

Vs.

Colorado Avalanche (4-6-1)  9pts  (5th in the Northwest)

2.09 Goals For per game (28th in the NHL)

2.67 Goals Against per game (15th in the NHL)

30th ranked Power Play (8.1%)

19th ranked Penalty Kill (80%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #15 P.A. Parenteau ~ 7G 3A = 10pts

2. #9  Matt Duchene ~ 3G 7A = 10pts

3. #7 John Mitchell ~ 4G 3A = 7pts

4. #26 Paul Stastny ~ 3G 3A = 6pts

5. #11 Jamie McGinn ~ 1G 5A = 6pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #55 Cody McLeod ~ 37 PIM's

2. #58 Patrick Bordeleau ~ 35 PIM's

3. #3 Ryan O'Byrne ~ 29 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #1 Semyon Varlamov (3-6-1)  2.58GAA  .909%SP  1SO

2. #35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere (1-0-0)  2.25GAA  .933%SP

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Team America: World Police is a film by the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone and in this film about diabolical plans of now-deceased dictator Kim Jong Il, the movie featured a song called Montage.  By the film's own crude standards the lyrics are completely tame here's just a sample.  "Show a lot of things happing at once, Remind everyone of what's going on (what's going on?) And with every shot you show a little improvement, To show it all would take too long, That's called a montage, Oh we want montage"  As you can see the song simply explains a common plot advancement device known as the montage which is commonly used in movies; particularly sports and action movies.  If you love the Rocky movies like I do, it would be synonymous 'training' scene where Rocky endures a myriad of different training exercises from running up a snow covered mountain to punching cow carcasses at a meat plant.   

So what would we see in a montage of the Minnesota Wild so far in this 2013 season?  We would see the first day of training camp, maybe a scene or two from the clubs Red & White scrimmage, then the first game where the Wild prevailed at home, then scenes from the team's game in Detroit, but then some struggles with footage from the debacle in Anaheim (with a shot of Head Coach Mike Yeo telling the media "we didn't show up.") followed up by more practice scenes and perhaps a few short pictures of the arrival of Mike Rupp, Jonas Brodin and Charlie Coyle, and finally topped off with Devin Setoguchi's overtime game winner.  Can you picture it in your head?  Will the Wild be able to add something positive to this montage tonight? 

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

2.00 Goals For per Game (29th in the NHL)

2.50 Goals Against per Game (12th in the NHL)

20th ranked Power Play (15.6 %)

8th ranked Penalty Kill (86.0 %)

Top 5 Scorers:

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

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 7A = 9pts

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

4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 7A = 7pts

5. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

Top PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 48PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12PIM's

3. #77 Tom Gilbert ~ 10PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (5-4-1)      2.35GAA     .913SV%

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

Vs.

Vancouver Canucks (7-2-2)  16pts  (1st in the Northwest)

2.82 Goals For per Game (11th in the NHL)

2.00 Goals Against per Game (5th in the NHL)

19th ranked Power Play (16.1 %)

22nd ranked Penalty Kill (77.8 %)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #22 Daniel Sedin ~ 3G 7A = 10pts

2. #23 Alexander Edler ~ 3G 6A = 9pts

3. #33 Henrik Sedin 0G 8A = 8pts

4. #21 Mason Raymond ~ 4G 3A = 7pts

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

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #3 Kevin Bieksa ~ 20 PIM's

2. #15 Aaron Volpatti ~ 18 PIM's

3. #32 Dale Weise ~ 17 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #35 Corey Schneider (4-2-0)   2.36GAA     .921SV%

2. #1 Roberto Luongo ~ (3-0-2)     1.53GAA    .940SV%

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A poster named Geo has an interesting signature that I think fits hockey fans just about anywhere, but especially in the State of Hockey.  "Three wins in a row means you plan a Stanley Cup parade route, three losses in a row means trade everyone."  After the Wild's most recent skid, the natives we re getting restless and message boards and comment sections of Wild beat writer Michael Russo read like a giant manifesto of frustration for a fanbase that feels its hopes of a post-season may already be slipping away just a little over 20% into the season.  Whether its blaming the lackluster play of the team's forwards or the inconsistency between the pipes almost everyone has a theory of why the Wild are struggling.  Most of the frustration is focused on the lack of scoring, and area many felt the team addressed with the signing of Zach Parise and the addition of wunderkind Mikael Granlund.  Yet the truth is the Wild are currently 27th in the league in scoring averaging just a shade over 2 goals per game.     

Scoring just 2 goals per game makes it pretty tough to win, but there is always the reverse and we'll see that tonight with the Calgary Flames who can put up points but they can't stop anyone giving up almost 4 goals per game.  Despite the wide open style of new Coach Bob Hartley, the Flames defense has been porous and if there was ever a time for certain players to get something going offensively now would be the perfect time.  So will the Wild rediscover its offense tonight or will they be the ones that get burnt by the Flames?  

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Minnesota Wild (5-5-1)  11pts  (3rd in the Northwest)

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

2.64 Goals Against per Game (14th in the NHL)

19th ranked Power Play (17.1%)

8th ranked Penalty Kill (85.4%)

Top 5 Scorers:

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

2. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 2G 7A = 9pts

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

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

5. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 6A = 6pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #28 Zenon Konopka ~ 48 PIM's

2. #27 Mike Rupp ~ 12 PIM's

3. #4 Clayton Stoner ~ 9 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (4-4-1)  2.53GAA  .909%SP  

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

Vs.

Calgary Flames (3-4-2)  8pts  (4th in the Northwest)

2.78 Goals For per Game (13th in the NHL)

3.44 Goals Against per Game (28th in the NHL)

4th ranked Power Play (25%)

27th ranked Penalty Kill (71.9%)

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #40 Alex Tanguay ~ 4G 5A = 9pts

2. #22 Lee Stempniak ~ 5G 2A = 7pts

3. #26 Dennis Wideman ~ 2G 5A = 7pts

4. #24 Jiri Hudler ~ 2G 5A = 7pts

5. #20 Curtis Glencross ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #40 Alex Tanguay ~ 10 PIM's

2. #4 Jay Bouwmeester ~ 6 PIM's

3. #19 Blair Jones ~ 6 PIM's

Top Goaltender(s):

1. #34 Miikka Kiprusoff (2-3-2)  3.24GAA  .870%SP

2. #37 Leland Irving (1-1-0)  3.40GAA  .879%SP

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There is a funny but ridiculous saying that denial isn't just a river in Egypt.  (Rant warning) After the Wild's 4-1 loss to Vancouver, a game the Wild should've been immensely desperate for a win the team started the game in a haze and were dominated by an apathetic Canucks team that sort of went through the motions which was more than enough to beat Minnesota.  The team registered a paltry 3 shots on goal in the 1st period; so much for all of the moves and changes the team made since its last loss.  Those changes would include a trade, a top down changing of the lines, a scratch of one of the team's more highly touted prospects, the call up of a promising prospect from its minor league affiliate and his promotion to the top line.  Yet what did that result?  3 shots on goal in the first period in a game played at the friendly comfines of the Xcel Energy Center.  The team would raise its intensity through the 2nd and 3rd period but its inability to bury its chances would again haunt them and the Canucks cruised to a fairly easy 4-1 victory.  If the play on the ice to start the game wasn't a major red flag as to this club having bigger problems within its culture, the comments made by team captain Mikko Koivu were flat out delusional.  Before I address them let me share with you some of the comments other members of the team made last night after the game including embattled Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo.  From assistant captain Zach Parise, "We didn't show up tonight," and from Tom Gilbert who scored the Wild's only goal, "We did not come out ready to play, we have to find a way to get more shots on goal and be on right from the start," and assistant captain Ryan Suter, "we came out dead.  It’s not fun right now. Things aren’t going well."  It amazes me that they were that uninspired but at least these guys were being honest, but what about their team captain?     

"I think we were right there” and the Canucks did the “little things.”  Really?  What makes you think we were so close in that game?  How can you honestly say you're the captain of this team if you're going to be in such a huge state of denial after an embarassing loss at home?  I have to admit I am a person that has felt that Koivu is not fit to wear the "C" and his post-game comments only provide more proof to take that mantle of leadership from him.  Either way, its not going to get any easier as the Nashville Predators come to town.  They've made up for their lack of offensive punch by being more stingy defensively.  Perhaps the Wild should take a page out of the Predators' playbook.  But don't tell that to captain Koivu, afterall "we're right there" right? 

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