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Wild vs. Oilers 10/22/19 @ 7:00PM CST at the X


CreaseAndAssist

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Wild vs. Oilers Game Preview

 

Minnesota Wild (2-6-0)  4pts  7th in the Central

2.25 Goals For Per Game (29th in the NHL)

4.00 Goals Against Per Game (31st in the NHL)

 

16.7% Power Play (21st in the NHL)

75.9% Penalty Kill (20th in the NHL)

 

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #77 Brad Hunt ~ 3G 2A = 5pts

2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 4A = 5pts

3. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 3G 1A = 4pts

4. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 1G 3A = 4pts

5. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 1G 3A = 4pts

 

Top 3 PIM’s:

1. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 17 PIM’s

2. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 8 PIM’s

3. #24 Matt Dumba ~ 6 PIM’s

 

Top Goaltenders:

1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (1-5-0)  4.18GAA  .874%SP

2. #32 Alex Stalock (1-1-0)  2.07GAA  .929%SP  1SO

 

 

Vs.

 

 

Edmonton Oilers (7-1-1)  15pts  1st in the Pacific

3.33 Goals For Per Game (9th in the NHL)

2.22 Goals Against Per Game (5th in the NHL)

 

38.5% Power Play (1st in the NHL)

90.3% Penalty Kill (3rd in the NHL)

 

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #97 Connor McDavid ~ 5G 12A = 17pts

2. #29 Leon Draisaitl ~ 6G 10A = 16pts

3. #18 James Neal ~ 9G 1A = 10pts

4. #77 Oscar Klefbom ~ 1G 8A = 9pts

5. #25 Darnell Nurse ~ 1G 6A = 7pts

 

Top 3 PIM’s:

1. #74 Ethan Bear ~ 8 PIM’s

2. #25 Darnell Nurse ~ 6 PIM’s

3. #16 Jujhar Khaira ~ 4 PIM’s

 

Top Goaltenders:

1. #41 Mike Smith (3-1-0)  2.51GAA  .917%SP

2. #19 Mikko Koskinen (4-0-0)  2.21GAA  .934%SP

 

Are these two teams even in the same league?  Statistically it is night and day, but can Minnesota re-focus itself and earn another home win before going back on the road?  MNSOTA wrote up the game preview, I'll be on the post-gamer.  Enjoy and discuss!  

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IMO, this season difference, the Oilers having a key player James Neal (in 9 games - 9 goals;1 assist) who is showing for years by playing in different clubs mostly a tremendous consistence in his production(an average 25-27 goals per season). For tonight game, if our team will be able to neutralize him as well as Connor McDavid then we will have a chance to win or to get at least a point. The entire Wild team defense and a goalie should be well focused during the game too.

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@Alexandron

 

The three biggest differences which I've observed in the Oilers:

 

General Manager: this is the first time in over 10 years that the Oilers haven't had a teenager on the roster, let alone 2 or 3 or 4. They actually have MEN playing in a MEN'S league. Several young players had excellent camps, such as Evan Bouchard, and Ken Holland promptly sent them all to the AHL, where there is far more time for practice and development.

 

Coaching: structure is greatly improved, and the Tire Fires/60 is really down in comparison to previous season. They dropped that disastrous L-shaped PK they ran for the last two years and was historically picked apart by the opposition, have opted for a box. The players clued-out Todd McLellan, and took only about 3 weeks to be tired of Ken Hitchcock's cruelty and completely zoned him out. The one thing I will say in Hitchcock's favour is that he taught Leon Draisaitl to be a better all-around player. The folks on TSN were calling Draisaitl a top-5 player in the league, and nobody would be saying that pre-Hitch.

 

Neal in/Lucic out: Milan Lucic provides sub-replacement ability at a top-6 price. His foot speed is best described in terms of continental drift; he simply can't keep up with play. Almost overnight, half-way through the 2017 season, he lost his hands and the ability to take/make a pass, and the play died on his stick practically every shift. He's still very tough, but in a league with few tough guys, that's not worth very much. I still can't believe just how badly the Calgary Flames wanted to get rid of Neal, who skates as well as he ever did and still has that terrific release. They even opted to honour his NMC, so they can't even leave him unprotected for the expansion draft. It was a monumentally bad trade for Calgary the day it was made, and gets worse with every goal scored by Neal. Another point I heard made: people and media around the club noted that the Oilers had a VERY quiet room, and that Neal made an immediate impact in this department, and is apparently quite good at firing up teammates both in thr room and on the bench.

 

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Tonight I want to see several things:

 

Do they continue with the tape to tape passing?

Do they play a structurally sound defense?

Can they NOT give up two goals in less than two minutes in any period?

Can they come out in the second period and NOT sleepwalk through the first five-ten minutes?

 

I would love to see a win. The homer in me. But I will settle for a loss if the Wild can accomplish those four things...

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3 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

What you're actually saying is How many times do we get to see Mikko in just his jock tonight. 😃

Chuck, seriously... we know it can't be Staal nor Koivu, otherwise that line will be in the defensive zone all game hunting down the puck.

 

Donato has the speed but not the hockey IQ. Furthermore, does BB really want to matchup Mayhew-Donato-Kunin against Edmonton's top line? I guess Parise-Koivu-Zucker makes the most sense but BB probably wants to rotate and spread the burden.

 

How do you see it?

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Their forwards making Oilers goalies(it seems both goalies splitting the games about 50-50)stats too good, but  in reality they are not superb. We have a chance if a smart defense from our side will be able to stop their forwards as well as be able to score some goals from our defensemen Dumba, Hunt, Spurgeon. Defensively play entire team should match-up against the opposite team scorers. We do not have any other choices to match up against this good team. According to NHL stats currently Oilers are #1 in PP and #3rd in PK. We should stay out of the penalty box(including Koivu, Parise, Staal) as much as we can and play a smart defensive game. If not then we will have a chance to lose our 7th game this season. As always I am concern about our goalies too. Agree with IllaZilla, the team should not let to give up quick 2-3 goals in  a couple of minutes as we have that trend since the beginning of the season. This game has got a lot of interest at my work. Some our fans are going to see that game at the Xcel. I like the LIG's comparison  - the game between the night and the day. Who knows maybe we will be able to make a nightmare for the Oilers?

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1 hour ago, Hockey-78 said:

Chuck, seriously... we know it can't be Staal nor Koivu, otherwise that line will be in the defensive zone all game hunting down the puck.

 

Donato has the speed but not the hockey IQ. Furthermore, does BB really want to matchup Mayhew-Donato-Kunin against Edmonton's top line? I guess Parise-Koivu-Zucker makes the most sense but BB probably wants to rotate and spread the burden.

 

How do you see it?

You want serious...Ok, Pretty much as you stated then. BB history shows he puts Koivu against the top line C.. It's tough to guess with the 'Boudreau Shuffle' almost nightly to know what lines there'll be*. lol.

Whoever BB chooses to key on him, I'm guessing the idea would be to clog up middle and force him to the boards, Then hope the D is in place if he gets by. But obviously If the Wild focus too much on McD then the rest will have a field day.

 

*I've only been able to see 1 full game and parts of 4 others so it's tough to get a feel of this team for me.

(DISH...Bad Centurylink routing from ancient hub, So streaming (hulu) is a poor option...a few online like Bilasport, which is a terrible feed but free. etc etc)  I haven't missed much but I still want to see the games.

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