Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings, Thursday 1-28-21, 7:00pm, Xcel Energy Center

[MNSOTA]

https://thesportsdaily.com/?p=1181527

 

Minnesota Wild (4-3-0)  8pts  6th in Honda West

2.71 Goals For Per Game (21st in the NHL)

2.43 Goals Against Per Game (7th in the NHL)

6.7% Power Play (29th in the NHL)

91.3% Penalty Kill (3rd in the NHL)

 

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #14 Joel Ericksson Ek ~ 4G 2A = 6pts

2. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 1G 5A = 6pts

3. #97 Kirill Kaprizov ~ 1G 5A = 6pts

4. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 0G 5A = 5pts

5. #24 Matt Dumba ~ 2G 1A = 3pts

 

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 12 PIMs

2. #22 Kevin Fiala ~ 8 PIMs

3. #27 Nick Bjugstad ~ 6 PIMs

 

Top Goaltenders:

1. #33 Cam Talbot ~ (2-1-0)   2.34GAA   .925SV%

2. #34 Kaapo Kahkonen ~ (2-2-0)   2.22GAA   .918SV%

 

Vs.

 

Los Angeles Kings (3-2-2)  8pts 4th in Honda West

3.14 Goals For Per Game (13th in the NHL)

3.00 Goals Against Per Game (22nd in the NHL)

20.7% Power Play (15th in the NHL)

85.7% Penalty Kill (8th in the NHL)

 

Top 5 Scorers:

1. #11 Anze Kopitar ~ 1G 9A = 10pts

2. #77 Jeff Carter ~ 1G 5A = 6pts

3. #9 Andrian Kempe ~ 3G 2A = 5pts

4. #22 Andreas Anthanasiou ~ 3G 2A = 5pts

5. #19 Alex Iafallo ~ 1G 3A = 4pts

 

Top 3 PIM's:

1. #24 Lias Andersson ~ 6 PIMs

2. #23 Dustin Brown ~ 6 PIMs

3. #77 Jeff Carter ~ 4 PIMs

 

Top Goaltenders:

1. #32 Jonathan Quick ~ (2-0-2)   3.15GAA   .898SV%

2. #40 Cal Petersen ~ (1-2-0)   2.38GAA   .919SV%

 

[wildstars95]

 the kings bigger stronger faster ... any goalie the wild face are Tretiak's that being said I'm on the wild tonight

If they lose tonight they're sliding down a crap rope with no crap knot at the end and will fall into a pool of crap 

[lynxrattle]

Wishlist:

 

1. Get Suter off PP1. It's getting back to the non-motion, old men standing around PP that we've seen over the years

2. Break Suter - Spurgeon pair

3. Restrict Suter's TOI - he is not the solution to any problems anymore

4. Let Kaprizov try playing with Eek. Eek has earned the chance for the experience. It's detrimental to morale, if a player plays that well in the third line and does not get any kind of reward

5. A healthy Talbot; Kaapo's alright but too raw yet

6. A Fiala that is not rattled by Kaprizov's emergence - Fiala can excel, but in his own way

[CreaseAndAssist]

Kahkonen is getting the start tonight.  Talbot's still out so Hammond is still the backup.  

 

Also, Eriksson Ek is going to center the 2nd line.  Sturm moves up to 3rd line center and Bonino moves back to 4th line center.  Otherwise I think the lineup is the same as you see in @MNSOTA's article.  

 

Still ZERO news on Rossi.  IMO, this is starting to concern me a bit.  

[lynxrattle]

Now you got me worried about Rossi. Been injured like three weeks now. 

[Hockey-78]

2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Kahkonen is getting the start tonight.  Talbot's still out so Hammond is still the backup.  

 

Hammond is a spent force.

 

But Kahkonen in? Very good. A proper audition. If he can't cut it, better to know early. 

[Hockey-78]

2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 Also, Eriksson Ek is going to center the 2nd line.  Sturm moves up to 3rd line center and Bonino moves back to 4th line center.  Otherwise I think the lineup is the same as you see in @MNSOTA's article.  

 

Still ZERO news on Rossi.  IMO, this is starting to concern me a bit.  

I was very skeptical of Guerin's center acquisitions in the off-season.

 

What is your hot take from a small sample size so far - is the Wild screwed because of not enough of high end talent in C?

[Icechipper]

1). Staal to Buffalo for Johansson a head scratcher, 20-20 hindsight, but there were term and salary rationalizations involved. Johansson was sold as a center. He's a wing, and could find himself scratched when Zuccareturns, whenever that is.

2). Moving Staal gave Rossi a shot to slot in and see what he's got. He's got something alright, we just don't know what. But he's a kid. Maybe he fell off his bike on the way to practice

3). I am certain Guerin was and is still seeking a center. Picking up Bonino and Bjugstad was tacit admission that we do not have any other options in the organization, i.e. Rau, Johnson or one of those Canadians whose names all seem to start with the letter D.

4) What options are even out there? Casey Middlestadt anyone? Kunin getting second line time in Nashville.

5) I like moving Ek to 2, Sturm to 3 and Bonino to 4. Bonino will get a lot of faceoff time regardless.

6). Maybe Bjugstad can hold the fort, this season, until Rossi ready? The big guy is good at standing in the crease.

7). Are there any dynamic colligiate draftees or free agents centers, who could step in, at seasons' end? Not like they need to go to class these days.......

Edited January 28, 2021 by Icechipper
Spelling

[ClusterChuck]

Let Suter babysit Dumba again and have Spurge-Brodin paired like we had when we were winning.  

[MNSOTA]

Watching the interview of Kahkonen during the pre-game, made me think of this:

 

https://youtu.be/n_9qSa-g2DI

[MNSOTA]

How do you not generate a shot on goal with a 4-on-1????

[MNSOTA]

Is it wrong that I really don’t feel like celebrating Johansson’s goal?

[MNSOTA]

FIALA!!!!!!

[MNSOTA]

KAPRIZOV!!!!

[MNSOTA]

I think this song is appropriate for tonight’s gameday thread:

 

 

[Lonkkis]

Oi! I'm lurking, don't you worry.

[ClusterChuck]

Now that's more like it !! 
A solid 18 minutes. 
Now throw out the damn whiteboard for the PP and let them play.

Edited January 29, 2021 by ClusterChuck

[TonyOday]

Ouch

[ClusterChuck]

This is going to Sh!% fast...

[Icechipper]

5 min major and game.....potential league sanctions?

[Lonkkis]

5 minutes ago, Icechipper said:

5 min major and game.....potential league sanctions?

 

1st timers usually get a slap on the wrist and a fine.

[MNSOTA]

BJUGSTAD!!!!

[Icechipper]

The dreaded 2-goal lead!

[EmptyShelf]

Had some technical difficulties with my laptop, but have watched the game.  Wild showed a bit of grit to get back one of the goals.  Not thrilled that the Fiala play ended up like it did.  Not saying he didn't deserve the Major - HE DID.  Just a play that scared the he77 out of me when my boys played defense.  My wife (who never watches) even had to turn away.  Scary play.  Good work to get out the momentum back.  We shall see in the 3rd if they can hold.

[ClusterChuck]

*whew*
What is going on with our 2nd periods?? It's not like LA was going to cash it in.
Inside locker room after 1...
Kaptain Spurgeon: ...um, hey guys...sooper period there...let's keep it up...<insert more Kevin Gorg interview cliches>
Foligno: Great Period Boys !! but NOT GOOD ENOUGH  Play Smart, Hey, Suter Wake up, I'm talkin' here...
Just keep it 5 on 5 and we should be fine tonight.