Wild Blog: Entering The Toughest Stretch Of The Season
By Craig D. Schroepfer, WCCO Radio
If you have watched the Minnesota Wild over the last month and a half, you know they are the hottest team in the NHL. Minnesota is 17-3-1 since the All-Star break and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.
During this stretch the Wild have gone from looking like a team that would miss the playoffs to having the fifth best record in the Western Conference with 81 points. Minnesota is three points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for third place in the Central Division, which, if they pass Chicago, would give the Wild a guaranteed playoff berth.
In fact, if you talk to Wild fans around the Twin Cities, some quietly believe this team is capable of making a Stanley Cup run.
And why wouldn't they think that? The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, currently find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture and are no lock to get in. Chicago is without their top scorer, Patrick Kane, who is out with a broken collarbone and not expected to return until the conference finals (if Chicago makes it that far).
With the issues surrounding the Kings and Blackhawks and the longtime NHL powerhouse Detroit Red Wings now residing in the Eastern Conference, many hockey fans think that the Western Conference is wide open.
That may be true, but there are three teams that Minnesota needs to be concerned with and, as luck would have it, the Wild play these three teams in four of the next five games.
Anaheim Ducks
This will be the third meeting this season between Anaheim and Minnesota. The Wild lost the first meeting back in October, giving up two third period goals in a 2-1 loss. The second meeting in December saw the Ducks jump out to a 3-0 lead only to have the Wild score four unanswered goals. Anaheim would answer with two goals of their own en route to a 5-4 win.
The Ducks have always been a problem for the Wild because of their size. Anaheim is lead by 6'4 center Ryan Getzlaf (22G, 41A) and 6'3 left wing Corey Perry (28G, 18A) These two have been the heart and soul of the Ducks for the last few years and both are absolute beasts to play against.
New to the Anaheim roster this year is 6'2 center Ryan Kesler (17G, 25A). Wild fans remember how tough Kesler was to play against when he was with the Vancouver Canucks.
Kesler is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. His presence not only gives Anaheim two solid scoring lines but two lines that can just beat up & wear down opponents as they try to move the puck up the ice and into the offensive zone. The Ducks make it very hard for any team facing them to play a good 60 minutes of hockey.
St. Louis Blues
After playing Anaheim, Minnesota has to hop on a plane and travel to St. Louis to play a Blues team the following night that can be just has physical as the Ducks.
The difference between Anaheim and St. Louis is that most of the Blues size is on the blueline which is anchored by 6'4 defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and 6'3 defenseman Alex Pieterangelo. If the Wild get the puck in the offensive zone against St. Louis one of these two defenseman will be on the ice waiting to lay out a hit and break up the play.
The problem in playing St. Louis is that the Blues clog up much of the neutral zone and force you to play alongside the boards where they forward can check you and wear you down.
The Blues only have three forwards who are under six feet tall. St. Louis is deep enough where they can roll out three lines for the entire game and wear a smaller team like the Wild down.
As a result of this the Blues are able to maintain puck possession and are quicker and faster in transition, leading to more scoring opportunities.
Minnesota lost the first meeting to the Blues 3-2 in a shootout back in November. The game on Saturday will be the first of three match ups with St. Louis between now and the end of the regular season.
Nashville Predators
After the Wild are done with their back to back vs. Anaheim and St. Louis they get a couple days off before traveling to Nashville to play the first place Predators.
While the Predators aren't as physical as the Ducks or the Blues they do have plenty of size on the blueline that can make coming into the offensive zone a nightmare for their opponents. On offense, Nashville plays an aggressive fore-checking system that makes it hard for teams to move the puck out of their zone on the ice. That aggressive fore-check allows the Predators defenseman to join in on the offensive rush.
It also helps that Nashville has arguably the best goaltender in the NHL in Pekka Rinne. Rinne is second in the NHL in wins (36), goals against average (2.11) and third in save percentage (.927). As a result Nashville is currently tied with three other teams for most points in the NHL with 91.
The first two games against Nashville did not go well for Minnesota as the lost at home on December 20th by a score of 6-5 in overtime and again three weeks later by a score of 3-1.
Minnesota did however beat Nashville in their first trip to music city two weeks ago by a score of 4-2. That win so far has been the most impressive victory of the year for the Wild.
The three teams listed above are singled out because if Minnesota does qualify for the post-season, one of these teams will be their opponent in the playoffs. How the Wild does in this three game stretch could be a strong indicator of what to expect come playoff time.
After playing Nashville, Minnesota comes home to face Washington on March 19th before playing St. Louis again on March 21st.
For the fans out there wondering if Minnesota is a Stanley Cup contender, the State Of Hockey will have a better idea of where the Wild stand a little over a week from now.
Follow Craig D. Schroepfer on Twitter at @CDSWCCO.
