CreaseAndAssist

Wild Sweep the Golden Knights with 2-1 Victory This was a pretty nice statement by a team that had gotten kind of sloppy the 5 games prior to this series. The team was forced to raise its game, and its effort level and they beat a very good Vegas team. Yes, Vegas is struggling a bit, but Minnesota persevered and even when it found itself down a goal against a club that almost always wins when it scores first it found a way to do the highly improbable. Cam Talbot IMO cemented his case that he's the team's #1 netminder and while some people wonder why we're not giving starts to Kahkonen, Talbot's playing about as well as anyone could ask him to. The power play has been important; its found the back of the net the last two games and without those goals the Wild would end up being the club being swept this weekend. Kaprizov is enjoying his new linemates, Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek. Hopefully Mats Zuccarello's upper body injury that kept him out of Saturday's game isn't too serious. Jonas Brodin is really playing like a beast out there. I thought Rask and Bonino raised their game being on a line with Fiala. The Golden Knights were frustrated so they took extra steps to try to get into Fiala's head. I have a full game recap, a Kevin Fiala feature, an Iowa Wild report, prospect news and a summary of the State Hockey Tournament and a link to the brand new Hockey Hair video. Check it out!

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1198482 Minnesota Wild (22-11-2) 46pts 3rd in Honda West 2.89 Goals For Per Game (15th in the NHL) 2.49 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL) 10.2% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.8% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 13G 17A = 30pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 6G 16A = 22pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 17A = 22pts 4. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 10G 9A = 19pts 5. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 6A = 17pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 39 PIM's 2. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM's 3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 35 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-6-0) 2.34GAA .920%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (10-5-2) 2.34GAA .926%SP 2SO Vs. Vegas Golden Knights (24-9-2) 50pts 2nd in Honda West 3.20 Goals For Per Game (9th in the NHL) 2.29 Goals Against Per Game (2nd in the NHL) 18.4% Power Play (22nd in the NHL) 85.1% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #61 Mark Stone ~ 12G 28A = 40pts 2. #67 Max Pacioretty ~ 18G 15A = 33pts 3. #27 Shea Theodore ~ 6G 23A = 29pts 4. #71 William Karlsson ~ 10G 16A = 26pts 5. #81 Jonathan Marchessault ~ 9G 17A = 26pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #81 Jonathan Marchessault ~ 35 PIM's 2. #55 Keegan Kolesar ~ 30 PIM's 3. #14 Nicholas Hague ~ 20 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #29 Marc-Andre Fleury (17-8-0) 2.14GAA .924% 4SO 2. #90 Robin Lehner (6-1-2) 2.29GAA .912%SP

Vegas HC Peter DeBoer told his team that he felt the Los Angeles Kings wanted it more last night. I think we can expect to face a very motivated Golden Knights team tonight. The Wild should be motivated, but we've been saying that for the last few games and have mostly received the same effort.

I'd be annoyed too if someone leapt forward to draw the attention of a trip. IMO, that's exactly what embellishment is. As a veteran, of course Burns is going to be annoyed by that. No doubt Donato and Dubnyk informed their peers a way to beat the Wild is to get into their heads by being physical, maybe even a bit dirty and they'll forget about their game and get caught up in the shenanigans. I agree with Lynxrattle...they seem to think they're suddenly some skilled team now. A skilled team is Vegas or Colorado. We're a team that has been punching above its weight with a mostly weak schedule. That's going to change real fast the next few weeks as we get a heavy dose of the top clubs now. All the more reason in the world for this club to simplify its game. But instead we get 1 point out of a possible 4 against San Jose, that's just sad. We'll see if Lindberg can take the Minutemen to a national championship.

I am 100% fine with that. IMO, you have to earn it, and its a good message to send to everyone in the organization let alone Boldy. Play well and demonstrate you are worthy of a call up. If he can't do that, then its hard to believe he'd perform better in Minnesota if he isn't able to do so playing for the Iowa Wild. I think we've rushed prospects far too often. Tuch was doing fine in Iowa. When we call him up, he's not being used nearly in the same way he was in Iowa and I think that takes some getting used to. The team then felt he was expendible...and parlayed him to protect Dumba which is ironic since we're almost certainly going to have to part ways with him or lose him in the expansion draft to Seattle.

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1198477 Minnesota Wild (21-11-2) 44pts 3rd in Honda West 2.91 Goals For Per Game (14th in the NHL) 2.50 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL) 9.5% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.3% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 12G 16A = 28pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 6G 16A = 22pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 16A = 21pts 4. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 10G 8A = 18pts 5. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 6A = 17pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 39 PIM's 2. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM's 3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 35 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-6-0) 2.34GAA .920%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (9-5-2) 2.37GAA .925%SP 2SO Vs. Vegas Golden Knights (24-9-1) 49pts 2nd in Honda West 3.24 Goals For Per Game (8th in the NHL) 2.29 Goals Against Per Game (2nd in the NHL) 19.1% Power Play (21st in the NHL) 85.7% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #61 Mark Stone ~ 12G 28A = 40pts 2. #67 Max Pacioretty ~ 18G 15A = 33pts 3. #27 Shea Theodore ~ 6G 22A = 28pts 4. #81 Jonathan Marchessault ~ 9G 17A = 26pts 5. #71 William Karlsson ~ 9G 16A = 25pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #81 Jonathan Marchessault ~ 35 PIM's 2. #55 Keegan Kolesar ~ 30 PIM's 3. #20 Chandler Stephenson ~ 21 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #29 Marc-Andre Fleury (17-8-0) 2.14GAA .924%SP 4SO 2. #90 Robin Lehner (6-1-1) 2.35GAA .906%SP

Sharks Sweep the Wild in 4-2 Victory (sigh) Yea, I'd agree. The team really only sells out the last 5-6 minutes of the game and tries to dig itself out of the hole they helped dig. Kahkonen played ok, probably wanted the 3rd goal back, but beyond that he kept them in the game. Zuccarello I guess got credit for the last goal and not Fiala but it doesn't really matter. I see Evason changed up the lines a bit, but overall the lack of fire is disturbing. Suter, looking slower and slower. I have a full game recap, a rant on the Wild's overpassing (although that was a bit less of an issue tonight), Iowa Wild game report and prospect news too. Check it out!

This game never should've gone to a shootout. The Wild showed up just enough to eek out a point. Way too much passing through the first two periods of this game. Teams are just sitting back and covering the passing options and getting easy turnovers as the Wild keep trying to force passes instead of taking what they are being given. Watching them make an outlet pass to get out of the zone and then that player skates forward a bit only to send it back to the defenseman and then they skate over the red line and dump it in. Well that's nice, you let San Jose have all 5 of their skaters back to their side of the ice before just handing the puck back to them.

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1198469 Minnesota Wild (21-10-2) 44pts 3rd in Honda West 2.94 Goals For Per Game (14th in the NHL) 2.45 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL) 9.7% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.9% Penalty Kill (3rd in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 11G 16A = 27pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 5G 16A = 21pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 16A = 21pts 4. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 6A = 17pts 5. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 10G 7A = 17pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 39 PIM's 2. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM's 3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 33 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0) 2.29GAA .921%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (9-5-2) 2.37GAA .925%SP 2SO Vs. San Jose Sharks (14-15-4) 32pts 7th in Honda West 2.65 Goals For Per Game (21st in the NHL) 3.41 Goals Against Per Game (28th in the NHL) 18.3% Power Play (24th in the NHL) 79.5% Penalty Kill (14th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #9 Evander Kane ~ 14G 16A = 30pts 2. #39 Logan Couture ~ 14G 9A = 23pts 3. #28 Timo Meier ~ 6G 15A = 21pts 4. #48 Tomas Hertl ~ 10G 10A = 20pts 5. #62 Kevin Lebanc ~ 8G 12A = 20pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #71 Viktor Knyzhov ~ 35 PIM's 2. #9 Evander Kane ~ 34 PIM's 3. #62 Kevin Lebanc ~ 20 PIM's Top Goaltenders: 1. #31 Martin Jones (11-7-2) 3.29GAA .897%SP 2. #40 Devan Dubnyk (3-8-2) 3.19GAA .899%SP 1SO

Trust me, there is a very vocal contingent of fans in their 20's who grew up with Koivu that think he's everything the #mnwild has ever said about him (consummate leader on and off the ice, blah blah) and they'll start a pretty massive campaign to retire his #9 to the rafters. And you know this organization can't resist a cheesy moment like that would be.

What rumors would that be?

This just got reported on Twitter, but Hermantown's varsity might be out of the tournament due to Covid and they will use their JV team instead. No doubt Dodge County feels pretty bullish right now. As should Gentry Academy if Hermantown is more or less out.

St. Cloud State and Minnesota State played with the kind of urgency and effort that's needed to win these kinds of games. Minnesota looked groggy for at least half of the game and it wasn't until the 2nd half of the 3rd that they really started to press the attack which was way too late. St. Cloud played faster and took it to Boston College. Nesterenko should 100% stay at Boston College. Way way way too soon to have him going pro. Boldy, he's shown me enough to have him forego his junior and senior seasons and go pro. IMO, Russo seems to think he'll get signed to an ATO to play in Iowa so he doesn't burn a year of his entry level deal. It will be interesting to see if he takes them up on that deal because I think he's a player who will probably be in the NHL sooner rather than later. Tim Army is doing just fine. He's really being forced to soldier on with a rookie goaltender who isn't ready. A rookie goaltender who should probably be playing in the ECHL and not the AHL. Baribeau might be just competent enough; and again he had his struggles at the ECHL level too. But the plan was really to have Hammond in Iowa but Covid ruined those plans. You can't blame that on Tim Army. Trust me, I think Army's job is safe and secure.

Oh and one last thing. Ryan O'Rourke has been playing pretty well for Iowa as a rookie. Not having an OHL season means he gets to push himself playing at a higher level and that's not a bad thing. He got his first goal (kind of a lucky ricochet goal) this weekend and he's getting opportunity on both the Power play and penalty kill too. Still, this team needs to stay out of the penalty box.

Mayhew is an AHL ringer. There are lots of guys like that who can just pile up points / goals at that level but they just can't replicate it in the NHL. Hell, even Bruce Boudreau is an example of that. He was a stud scorer for the Toronto Marlies for years but he could never really make it happen in his stints in the NHL. Part of the issue is when you're one of those fringe guys, you rarely get the ice time or opportunity they do in the AHL when they're on that team to carry the offensive workload. Yet, goaltending between the two levels are rarely the same so goals they score frequently at the AHL level just don't happen with the NHL ones. Still, its a good development league. Iowa won their most recent game against Grand Rapids. Rumpel got the start. Hunter Jones is young, but he's certainly had a penchant for giving up a few soft goals per game. I also think defensively they miss Menell big time and Hunter Warner too. Addison has looked reasonable. Connor Dewar has been more of a go-to player too and that's good to see as that shows some positive development. Brandon Duhaime got into his 1st game since being out with an injury for the last month and he was mostly invisible. Damien Giroux is really garnering rave reviews from the coaching staff and is getting used on the penalty kill, power play and just about any situation which again is a great sign for him because that's exactly what he did in major junior with Saginaw. Its a shame they don't really have one more ringer / prospect that scores enough to overcome the fact they have sub-par goaltending. Baribeau must be hurt, otherwise one would think he'd be getting the starts because Jones has looked shaky most nights. Baribeau struggled with injuries in major junior too. But if the Iowa Wild had competent goaltending and better special teams they'd probably be over .500 instead of in last place. Their penalty kill is so bad with sub par goaltending because the person that is supposed to be their best penalty killer (i.e the goalie) is the weakest link.

(sigh) Newhook is the player the Wild NEEDED to draft. Boldy has great hands, stickhandles very well in traffic and I like how he's not afraid to get his nose dirty in the corners or screen the goalie. His skating is a little better but he's still on the slow end of the scale IMO; as it takes him a little while to get really moving. I just wonder how effective he'll be as the pace of play ramps up and he doesn't have the time and space he has in the college game. Boldy is still a good NHL prospect, the problem is...we need a center more than we need wingers. But he's a terrific set up man too. IMO, Newhook would really have given the team two Top 6 capable centers when you toss in Marco Rossi. But I think the team felt it just couldn't pass up on Boldy who is a very skilled winger who could project into a Top line player. The fact Newhook is an Avalanche prospect only adds insult to injury because you might be reminded of that mistake for a long time to come. McBain...big kid, IMO still kind of a long shot to make it unless its in a bottom 6 role. Nesterenko IMO is a great long-term project. He had a better than expected freshman year at Boston College. Has great hands, needs to continue to fill out his slight frame but he moves reasonably well and has a terrific release. Warren is very mobile, still needs to add strength but a capable puck mover with some offensive ability.

Wild vs. Sharks 3/29/21 Game Preview Minnesota Wild (21-10-1) 43pts 3rd in Honda West 2.94 Goals For Per Game (15th in the NHL) 2.44 Goals Against Per Game (6th in the NHL) 9.7% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.7% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 11G 16A = 27pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 5G 16A = 21pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 4. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 5A = 16pts 5. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 9G 6A = 15pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 39 PIM’s 2. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM’s 3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 33 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0) 2.29GAA .921%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (9-5-1) 2.34GAA .925%SP 2SO Vs. San Jose Sharks (13-16-4) 30pts 7th in Honda West 2.64 Goals For Per Game (20th in the NHL) 3.42 Goals Against Per Game (28th in the NHL) 18.5% Power Play (23rd in the NHL) 79.5% Penalty Kill (14th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #9 Evander Kane ~ 14G 15A = 29pts 2. #39 Logan Couture ~ 14G 9A = 23pts 3. #28 Timo Meier ~ 6G 15A = 21pts 4. #48 Tomas Hertl ~ 10G 10A = 20pts 5. #62 Kevin Lebanc ~ 8G 12A = 20pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #29 Kurtis Gabriel ~ 55 PIM’s 2. #71 Viktor Knyzhov ~ 35 PIM’s 3. #9 Evander Kane ~ 34 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #31 Martin Jones (10-7-2) 3.32GAA .898%SP 2. #40 Devan Dubnyk (3-9-2) 3.18GAA .898%SP 1SO I wrote up the game preview today and I will be watching the game tonight. St. Louis continues to stumble a bit so this is another chance to separate ourselves a little bit more from them. Hopefully the Wild look refreshed and well-rested as opposed to sleepy and sluggish. Enjoy and discuss!

For the quarterfinals its about 2 people per player I guess. By the way, every player I mentioned, I now have it linked to their eliteprospects page.

2021 Minnesota State Boys Hockey Tournament Preview I preview the entire tournament field, and provide predictions for each game. Plus a guest picker (a guy who I would consider a true HS hockey expert) provided his predictions for how it will turn out for both Class A and AA. Check it out and discuss!

Wild Pull Out 2-0 Win Despite Only 11 Shots on Goal Against the Blues @MNSOTAwrote up this post gamer tonight. Strangely enough I think this was a better effort than what they had in the previous two games against Anaheim. Having Dumba back made a big difference and dare I say Johansson and Fiala are showing some chemistry together. She has a full game recap, a scheduling rant, prospect news and the 2021 Ms. Hockey finalists...check it out!

Wild vs. Blues 3/25/21 Game Preview Minnesota Wild (20-10-1) 41pts 3rd in Honda West 2.97 Goals For Per Game (15th in the NHL) 2.52 Goals Against Per Game (8th in the NHL) 10% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.3% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 10G 16A = 26pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 4. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 5A = 16pts 5. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 9G 5A = 14pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM’s 2. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 37 PIM’s 3. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 33 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0) 2.29GAA .921%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (8-5-1) 2.50GAA .919%SP 1SO Vs. St. Louis Blues (16-11-5) 37pts 4th in Honda West 2.97 Goals For Per Game (14th in the NHL) 3.19 Goals Against Per Game (23rd in the NHL) 19.2% Power Play (20th in the NHL) 73.3% Penalty Kill (27th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #57 David Perron ~ 12G 21A = 33pts 2. #90 Ryan O’Reilly ~ 10G 21A = 31pts 3. #10 Brayden Schenn ~ 12G 12A = 24pts 4. #25 Jordan Kyrou ~ 10G 14A = 24pts 5. #68 Mike Hoffman ~ 8G 12A = 20pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #47 Torey Krug ~ 21 PIM’s 2. #13 Kyle Clifford ~ 21 PIM’s 3. #57 David Perron ~ 18 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #50 Jordan Binnington (10-8-4) 2.83GAA .905%SP 2. #35 Ville Husso (6-3-1) 3.40GAA .885%SP I wrote up the game preview today. @MNSOTAwill be on the post gamer. If the Wild play like they did the last two games against Anaheim this one is going to be ugly (think Wild vs Colorado). The 'Lettuce line' and Fiala's line needs to simplify their game. Dumba may be back for this one. Enjoy and discuss...

Miller's Flub Gives the Wild a Sweep of the Ducks in 3-2 Win Wild would've been the team that were swept if that was just about any other club other than Anaheim. Lots of passengers on this team for another night. Fiala? Put that guy on a milk carton...he's missing. Good to see Spurgeon light the lamp twice, but the 'Lettuce Line' of #97-#49-#36 needs to simplify their game. They are overplaying pucks and teams certainly are reading their trapeeze cycling act they attempt. Just play fast and forget about having to mesmerize everyone. Cramarossa reminds me a lot of Clutterbuck. Good energy and actually one of the few Wild players that was passing tape-to-tape consistently tonight. A lot of guys throwing hand grenades to between people's skates this evening. I have a full game recap, a college hockey report, an Iowa Wild report, prospect news and Girls HS Hockey Brackets for the Tourney that starts soon. Enjoy...

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1196777 Minnesota Wild (19-10-1) 39pts 3rd in Honda West 2.97 Goals For Per Game (15th in the NHL) 2.53 Goals Against Per Game (8th in the NHL) 9.3% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 85.2% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 10G 15A = 25pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 4. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 5A = 16pts 5. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 9G 5A = 14pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM's 2. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 33 PIM's 3. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 32 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0) 2.29GAA .921%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (7-5-1) 2.54GAA .918%SP 1SO Vs. Anaheim Ducks (9-18-6) 24pts 8th in Honda West 2.15 Goals For Per Game (30th in the NHL) 3.33 Goals Against Per Game (27th in the NHL) 11.5% Power Play (29th in the NHL) 75.8% Penalty Kill (23rd in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #67 Rickard Rakell ~ 6G 15A = 21pts 2. #53 Max Comtois ~ 9G 10A = 19pts 3. #14 Adam Henrique ~ 9G 6A = 15pts 4. #4 Cam Fowler ~ 2G 11A = 13pts 5. #22 Kevin Shattenkirk ~ 2G 11A = 13pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #20 Nick Deslauriers ~ 21 PIM's 2. #28 Jani Hakanpaa ~ 20 PIM's 3. #22 Kevin Shattenkirk ~ 20 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #36 John Gibson (6-12-5) 3.11GAA .894%SP 3SO 2. #30 Ryan Miller (3-6-1) 3.52GAA .880%SP 3. #41 Anthony Stolarz (0-0-0) 3.00GAA .857%SP

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1196773 Minnesota Wild (18-10-1) 37pts 3rd in Honda West 3.00 Goals For Per Game (14th in the NHL) 2.59 Goals Against Per Game (8th in the NHL) 8.5% Power Play (31st in the NHL) 84.7% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 10G 15A = 25pts 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 5G 15A = 20pts 4. #14 Joel Eriksson Ek ~ 11G 5A = 16pts 5. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 9G 5A = 14pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 38 PIM's 2. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 33 PIM's 3. #21 Carson Soucy ~ 32 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0) 2.29GAA .921%SP 2SO 2. #33 Cam Talbot (6-5-1) 2.66GAA .915%SP 1SO Vs. Anaheim Ducks (9-16-6) 24pts 8th in Honda West 2.23 Goals For Per Game (30th in the NHL) 3.32 Goals Against Per Game (27th in the NHL) 12.3% Power Play (29th in the NHL) 76.7% Penalty Kill (21st in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #67 Rickard Rakell ~ 6G 15A = 21pts 2. #53 Max Comtois ~ 9G 10A = 19pts 3. #14 Adam Henrique ~ 8G 6A = 14pts 4. #4 Cam Fowler ~ 2G 11A = 13pts 5. #22 Kevin Shattenkirk ~ 2G 11A = 13pts Top 3 PIM's: 1. #20 Nick Deslauriers ~ 21 PIM's 2. #28 Jani Hakanpaa ~ 20 PIM's 3. #22 Kevin Shattenkirk ~ 20 PIM's Top Goaltender(s): 1. #36 John Gibson (6-12-5) 3.11GAA .894%SP 3SO 2. #30 Ryan Miller (3-4-1) 3.47GAA .882%SP

Buyouts are going to help too much. #20 and #11 would count against the cap for 8 MORE YEARS if you bought them out and I wonder if they get tagged with cap recapture penalties too if they decided to retire. Right now, the Wild are going to need as much cap $$$ they can have to extend #97 and #22. There are a lot of contracts in the last year. No one is going to want #20 or #11 and their deals. No one is going to do us a favor. That's just the cold hard truth of it all.