Since the playoffs begin tomorrow, I decided we would pay our respects to the 2013 regular season, by handing out some hardware. It seems early to be doing this, but I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway.
Team MVP:Ryan Suter-Zach Parise and Matt Cullen were in the running as well for this award, but in the end, Suter was the clear choice for this award. Suter lead the NHL in average time on ice per game with 27:16 of ice time. He eclipsed 30+ minutes of TOI 10 times this year, including three out of the final four games of the season. Suter ranked second among NHL defenseman with 28 assists (Kris Letang had 33), while scoring four goals. Suter's poise in any situation was a great addition to the Wild roster this year and bolstered a blue line that is rather bothersome, after the top d-pairing. As we saw in the St. Louis game on April 11th, Suter missed the last half of the game, the defense looked awful and suffered horribly without him. He returned the next game and helped the team win a big matchup against Columbus (A 3-2 shootout win, which looks pretty good right now). Plain and simple: Ryan Suter is the Wild MVP of the season. There is no argument there.
Benoit Pouliot Award (Rookie of the Year): Jonas Brodin-Since Brodin will finish in the top three of the Calder Award (NHL ROY) voting, this award was not a close decision (with all respect to Charlie Coyle and Jason Zucker). Brodin, 19, showed poise of a 29 year old, while being an anchor on the top d-pairing with Ryan Suter. Brodin showed tremendous defensive skills, putting on a clinic to some of the best forwards in the league, while adding 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) on the season. He will be a staple on the Wild blue line for many seasons to come, and at the age of 19, still has his best years ahead of him.
Keith Carney Award (+/- leader): Matt Cullen (+9)-A finalist for Team MVP award, Cullen was a tremendous asset for the Wild this year as their second line center. He posted a 7-20-27 line on the year, in 42 games played. We saw in those games he missed, the team was just lost and confused without him. To win the +/- award, Cullen only finished the game with a minus just seven times out of those 42. He also never finished a game with a -3 or worse this year. Considering some of the games the Wild has played this year, that is no easy feat.
Performance of the Year: Josh Harding vs Dallas-There was a lot of coverage about Harding this offseason, once he was diagnosed with MS. He continued on with his hockey career, and in his first game this season, he notched a 24 save shutout against Dallas. Harding missed a good chunk of time later on in the year, but has returned to the Wild lineup in time for the playoffs. He is the Wild's nominee for the Masterton Trophy, and after reading the other 29 canidates, he should be a lock to win that award.
Hit of the Year: Charlie Coyle-13 seconds into the April 13th game against Columbus, Charlie Coyle delivered a controversial, but legal, hit to Columbus F Artem Anisimov. Four seconds later, Coyle was locked in a fight with Brandon Dubinsky, then was given a match penalty following the conclusion of the fight. The match penalty was rescinded the next day, confirming the legality of the hit. Coyle has been a force on the top line this year, bring a bit of physicality that his line mates Koivu and Parise, do not.
Goal of the Year: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter-Another award handed out with very little contest. This goal was a thing of beauty to see, and continues to get better over time. Please watch the goal and admire how awesome it is.
Yesterday in his blog, Russo was talking about the Wild-Blackhawks upcoming playoff series, and then towards the bottom of the post, he tossed in a quote from Blackhawks F Patrick Kane. Kane was speaking to the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc about the Wild:
“When they play like they want to, they can score four or five goals a night and keep it out of their net with maybe one of the best defensemen in the league [in Suter]. It’s a dangerous team. You definitely have to be careful with them. They’re a team that I’ve watched throughout the year and it seems like one night they look like the best team in the NHL and the next night they look like they don’t even want to be out there.”
Folks, that quote summed up the 2013 Minnesota Wild season. Kane could not of hit the nail on the head anymore.
We saw this past week in games against bottom-feeder teams Calgary and Edmonton, the Wild had an extreme lack of interest, and by the third period in both those games, they just plain gave up losing 4-1 and 6-1 respectively. Meanwhile, their game against Los Angeles was the exact opposite. They were focused, poised, and executed very well, looking like a playoff team in a 2-1 victory. Then on Saturday against Colorado, in a game the Wild had to win, they were found to be unfocused at times, but narrowly escaped with a 3-1 empty net goal victory.
Kane was definitely right, when he said that quote. But if I'm the rest of his team, I would not be happy with him.
The quote makes sense to all who are reading it, but if that gets read in the Wild dressing room, Wild fans may be thanking Mr. Kane for putting this out there.
The Wild are very capable of playing great hockey, as we saw during the month of March (11-4, including a seven game winning streak). But, the team lacked a motivating factor and suffered in April, with their sometimes lifeless play. Now that this quote was said, it might be the motivation that could drive the Wild to do great things, and play well night after night.
Where the season goes from here remains to be seen. But when all is said and done, and we look back on this in July, we will either remember this as the turning point, or it will just be forgotten all together.
Tonight, the Minnesota Wild, losers of eight out of their past eleven games, will take to the ice at Xcel Energy Center against the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Los Angeles Kings. The Wild enter the game tied with Columbus for 7th in the West at 51 points and are up 1 point on 9th place Detroit, after dominating the Coyotes 4-0 last night.
The Wild are coming off an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Calgary at home on Sunday. The loss now makes tonight's game a MUST win for the home squad, if they want to remain in the hunt for a playoff berth.
I know many of you have just given up and said this team is finished. Yesterday, I went against the grain and went over some positive thoughts about the final week of the season for this team. For those who still think negatively, please, don't give in to those thoughts.
In the team's remaining three games, they play LA at home, Edmonton at home, and Colorado on the road. The final two games are games the Wild SHOULD WIN and CAN WIN. I know, I know, we learned that games they should win are no easy wins, on Sunday. But the fact is, the Wild have owned Edmonton at home in recent years, and Colorado is just a joke. If the Wild can bring the same effort to those games like they did in the first half of the Calgary game on Sunday, they should have two easy wins right there.
But that brings us to tonight's game, against the Kings. The season series is tied between the two, as Minnesota won a 4-3 shootout game at home, then five days later lost in LA 3-0. The Kings enter tonight with a 6-2-2 record in their last 10 and are holders of the 4th seed in the West, with a two point cushion on fifth place San Jose. LA has been playing very outstanding hockey lately, and they will give you a very tough 60 minutes. They do the little things in a game so well (Getting sticks in the passing lanes, creating turnovers in the neutral zone, etc), that its just frustrating to play against them. After all, they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Tonight, you should expect a bit of desperation in Minnesota's game, something they did not bring on Sunday. That will help them, if they can use that the right way against Los Angeles. But, this is a team that lost just FOUR games last postseason, so they have a way of channeling a team's desperation in their favor.
The Wild win this game, if they can get 3 or more goals past Jonathon Quick tonight. If its a 1-0 or 2-1 game, the advantage goes to LA. Minnesota is too snake bitten offensively lately to win those close low scoring games. As was the case with their victory earlier in the year against the Kings, four goals would be a good number to get the two points. They just need to catch a break or two along the way.
If Minnesota can pull out a victory tonight, you can lock them into the postseason. A big win during a bad stretch will greatly help the team's confidence going into their final two games of the season, especially when those two games are against bottom feeder teams. They will certainly roll over Edmonton and Colorado, after gaining the confidence from a victory tonight.
So sit back, and try to watch the game peacefully tonight. All you can do, at this point, is hope that this team can rise up in their darkest hour...
"They are the team Minnesota deserves, not the one they need right now."
Last night, the Wild suffered their worst loss of the season, losing 4-1 to the Calgary Flames, in an almost must win game. The Wild came out strong, peppering the Calgary net, but could only get one shot past Joey MacDonald. The team has lost eight of eleven games in April, and are now tied for the 7th seed in the West, with the red hot Columbus Blue Jackets.
There was much negativity on the internet following the game. The "Fire Yeo" squad was out in force last night. Folks don't seem to think the Wild will win another game this year and will miss the playoffs.
So instead of joining the crowd, I'm gonna take the high road here and give you some positive notes today:
There are three games left in the season. Two of them are at home, and two of them are against teams who sit at the bottom of the NHL standings.
If the Wild can get four points in the last two games, they are a lock to make the playoffs.
Mikko Koivu finally found the scoresheet last night, ending a streak of not registering a point in nine out of his previous ten games played.
If Minnesota can consistently get 36 shots on net, like last night, good chance they win some games with that kind of shot total.
Mike Yeo is the head coach of this team, and will be behind the bench to start the 2013-14 season. The front office has total confidence in him, and you should too.
Niklas Backstrom has been playing well in net. He has been the unfortunate victim of some bad bounces and some sloppy defensive play lately. If the Wild can clean that up, Backstrom will have the numbers to back up his good play.
Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund were sent down today. They will greatly help the Houston Aeros in their playoff run. They will get their games turned around, and will be back to help the Wild in their playoff run.
The Wild WILL make the playoffs. Just do yourself a favor and say that out loud and see how that sounds, compared to the "They are finished" which has been uttered several times in the past day.
Today, the Wild kick off their final week of the season, seeking a playoff bid for the first time in five years. They enter the game losers of 7 of their last 10 games and now clinging to the 7th seed in the West, after watching St. Louis get hot and fly past them in the standings.
A big factor in the Wild's cold streak, has been the play of their captain Mikko Koivu. Koivu has played one of the worst stretches of his career in the last 10 games, just registering one goal during that time, while posting a -6 (Including a horrible -3 Thursday night in San Jose).
Mikko's poor stats are a perfect reflection of his play these past 10 games. His play in the defensive zone has been poor, he oft turns the puck over, and he has been kryptonite to the Wild's power play by more times opting to pass, when he has a great shot to take.
As we have learned in past years, Mikko is such an important factor in the Wild lineup. In fact, when he has gone down with injury in recent seasons, the Wild fall apart without him. Last year, he missed 27 games and watched the Wild fall from #1 in the NHL to missing the playoffs (But an argument can be made for lack of depth on the team last year, especially when Warren Peters was getting significant ice time).
If the Wild wants to even get in the playoffs at this point, they need Koivu to start just playing better. He doesn't have to necessarily get points, but he just needs to be more smart when he hits the ice. Because right now, his play is just as bad as if he was out of the lineup.
Perhaps mixing up the top line would benefit Koivu, and linemate Charlie Coyle, who is also snake bitten as of late. But with other lines producing well, it is not likely that the lines will be juggled (The Bouchard-Brodziak-Pominville line has become Minnesota's best line). So Koivu will have to solve his issues with Coyle and Zach Parise on the wings.
Seriously folks, Mikko Koivu is what makes this ship run. Not Zach Parise. Not Ryan Suter. Not Niklas Backstrom. Its Mikko Koivu. They need him now more than ever before. Because he will be the difference between a playoff berth or another missed postseason.
Instead of ballplayers coming out from cornfields, imagine hockey players coming out of large snowbanks
Today, at the AHL Board of Governors meeting, it is expected that the Wild's AHL affiliate will be allowed to move from Houston to Des Moines. The move will obviously be put up to a vote, and should pass without any issues.
The team will not be retaining the name Aeros either. That will die once their final game is played in Houston. When the team will move to Des Moines, they will simply be known as the Iowa Wild (I know, very creative).
The Wild have had their AHL team in Houston since 2001. So this will not be an easy move for either side. But in the end, it simply came down to the fact that the operators of the Toyota Center did not want to renew the Aeros lease because they felt they could make more money off of concerts and other events.
For those thinking attendance was the problem, it was not. Houston ranks 7th in the AHL with 258,122 total fans in 38 home games this season, for an average of 6,793 fans a game. And as HW points out today, the final regular season home game drew 13,506 fans in the Toyota Center (Give that HW article a read, as it salutes the good folks down in Houston).
Des Moines did not strike me as a great hockey market, so it will be interesting to see if they can match the Aeros attendance numbers. Their arena, the Wells Fargo Arena, does have a capacity of 17,000, but obviously they will not be filling that every night.
Houston has a fairly big airport, making it easier for players to get to wherever the Wild were, when they got called up. Now with the move to Des Moines, there may be more delays with callups getting to the team when players are getting on planes coming out of Des Moines (Heck, it may be easier for a player to just drive up to MSP from Des Moines to meet up with the team).
The only positive from this move to Iowa, is that fans will be able to take the 4 hour drive down to Des Moines and watch the team play. So one could expect a slight boost in attendance nightly from Twin Cities folks making the trek down there.
To be clear, the Wild made every effort to keep the team in Houston. They just simply were in a no win situation with the operators of the Toyota Center.
Once the playoffs end, this team will fold its tent and move to Iowa. So here's to a long playoff run, keeps the team in Houston for just a few more weeks longer than necessary!
Raise your glass to the Houston Aeros tonight, because their days are very numbered.
Following last night's 5-3 win in Edmonton, I took a trip over to sportsclubstats.com and started reviewing the Wild's playoff odds. Not only does it give the Wild's percentage to get in the playoffs, it gives odds on where the Wild will finish and who they will play. All of this is based on how the Wild finish the season and with how many points they end up with.
Here are the odds for the Wild and the playoffs:
The Wild's playoffs odds went up 4.3% to 97.6% on whether or not they will make the playoffs at all.
Any combination of wins and OT games that gets the Wild to 57 points, gives them a 100% chance of making the playoffs and gives them a 33% chance to finish at least as the 6th seed. So keep 57 as your magic number at home.
Should the Wild go 5-0-0 in their final 5 games, that will give them 61 points and it gives them a 60% chance of winning the division and finishing as the 3rd seed.
Minnesota has a 30.8% chance of playing Anaheim in the first round. Vancouver is close behind at 26.7%.
There's a 10.2% chance of Minnesota finishing 8th and playing Chicago in the first round.
The percentage of Minnesota missing the playoffs entirely is now 2.4%..
Finally, Minnesota's percentage to win the Stanley Cup is 1.2%.
So out of all of this, you should take away that six more points in the final five games, assures Minnesota of a playoff spot, and it gives them a good chance to finish as the 6th seed in the West.
The Wild's remaining schedule is: @ SJ (4/18), vs CGY (4.21), vs LA (4/23), vs EDM (4/26), and @ COL (4/27). I count at least three wins (six points) in there. Question is: Can they get more?
