Category: Minnesota Wild

Canucks Tame the Wild to Even Series at One

Minnesota Wild v. Vancouver Canucks Game 2

Vancouver looks to even the series after their Game 1 loss Sunday night.

 

Minnesota Wild Lines and Defencive Pairings

Jordan Greenway Eric Staal Kevin Fiala
Zach Parise Joel Eriksson Ek Luke Kunin
Marcus Foligno Alex Galchenyuk Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Donato Mikko Koivu Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin Matt Dumba
Brad Hunt Carson Soucy
Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk

Unfit to Play: Greg Pateryn

Scratched:

Matt Bartkowski Louie Belpedio Luke Johnson Kaapo Kahkonen Gerald Mayhew
Brennan Menell Victor Rask Kyle Rau Mat Robson Nico Sturm

Vancouver Canucks Lines and Defencive Pairings:

J.T. Miller Elias Pettersson Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson Bo Horvat Loui Eriksson
Antione Roussel Brandon Sutter Micheal Ferland
Tyler Motte Jay Beagle Jake Virtanen
Quinn Hughes Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler Tyler Myers
Oscar Fantenberg Troy Stecher
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko

Unfit to Play: Josh Leivo

Scratched:

Justin Bailey Jordie Benn Jalen Chatfield Louis Domingue Adam Gaudette
Tyler Graovac Olli Juolevi Zack MacEwen Brogan Rafferty Tyler Toffoli

1st Period Summary and Analysis:

In the first 24 seconds, Tanner Pearson would open up the scoring with his first goal of the post-season.  Bo Horvat would register the lone assist on the goal.  19 seconds later, Brock Boeser would be issued a minor penalty for Hooking on Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin.  Minnesota would go on their second power play in the contest at the 4:31 mark when Vancouver would be issued an interference penalty.  On the second power play, the Wild would have only one shot, a 50 footer.

Vancouver must stay out of the box if they want to remain a factor throughout this contest.  Another factor is giving Elias Pettersson much needed shots in the contest.

Vancouver would be given the chance to go up 2-0 when Minnesota’s Jordan Greenway would be issued a roughing penalty at the 7:27 mark.  On the power play, Vancouver would have three shots but did not score with the extra man.

At 13:28, Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu would be doled a minor penalty at the faceoff for Delay of Game of a Faceoff Violation.  Vancouver would only register one shot before going on the power play once again.  Minnesota’s Greenway would make his second trip to the penalty box on a slashing call at the 15:32 mark.

Minnesota would score a SHG at the 17:16 mark, with the goal going to Luke Kunin.  Assisting in the goal would be Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.   The goal would be Kunin’s first in the postseason.

1st Period Results:

VAN Goal Tanner Pearson (1) Assisted by Bo Horvat (1) 00:24
VAN Pen Brock Boeser for Hooking 2 min minor 00:43
VAN Pen Troy Stecher for Interference 2 min minor 04:31
MIN Pen Jordan Greenway for Roughing 2 min minor 07:27
MIN Pen Mikko Koivu for Delay of Game – Faceoff Violation 2 min minor 13:28
MIN Pen Jordan Greenway for Slashing 2 min minor 15:32
MIN SHG Luke Kunin (1) Assisted by Zach Parise (1) Ryan Suter (1) 17:16

1st Period Stats:

Minnesota Vancouver
Faceoffs 7/17 10/17
Power Plays 0 for 2 0 for 3
Shots 9 10
Hits 13 6

 

 

2nd Period Summary and Analysis:

Vancouver would go down a man early in the period when Troy Stecher would make his second appearance in the penalty box for Tripping Minnesota’s Zach Parise.  Vancouver’s J.T. Miller would score in front of Minnesota’s net after a costly turnover by Alex Galchenyuk to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead in the contest.

Vancouver would make the contest 3-1 with a tip-in goal by Brock Boeser, his first goal in the postseason at the 8:42 mark.  About 30 seconds later, Tanev would be shown the penalty box after he would trip Minnesota’s Greenway at the 9:18 mark.  On the power play, Minnesota would register three shots but not score.

Vancouver is playing a much better game than they did Sunday but they need to continue putting their feet on the gas if they want to come away with the win in the contest.

Vancouver goes on the power play for a Ryan Donato slash at the 14:27 mark.  The Canucks would get a couple of great chances to score with the extra man advantage but were unable to get a goal in.

If Minnesota expects to come away with a win, they need to come out of the 2nd intermission on fire, playing the same game they played Sunday night.

At the end of the period, there were penalties doled out for matching interference minors.  The start of the third period will be 4-on-4 action.

2nd Period Results:

VAN Pen Troy Stecher for Tripping 2 min minor :43
VAN Goal J.T. Miller (1) Unassisted 03:01
VAN Goal Brock Boeser (1) Assisted by: Alexander Edler (1) Elias Pettersson (1) 08:42
VAN Pen Christopher Tanev for Tripping 2 min minor 09:18
MIN Pen Ryan Donato for Slashing 2 min minor 14:27
VAN Pen Tyler Myers for Interference 2 min minor 20:00
MIN Pen Jared Spurgeon for Interference 2 min minor 20:00

2nd Period Stats:

Minnesota Vancouver
Faceoffs 16/40 24/40
Power Plays 0 for 4 0 for 4
Shots 19 20
Hits 24 10

3rd Period Summary and Analysis:

The 4-on-4 would result in no goals while both teams would battle for puck possession.  Vancouver would go on the power play yet again at the 3:05 mark when Galchenyuk would trip Pettersson.  It has not been the night that Minnesota nor Galchenyuk would want to have.  Antoine Roussel would go down on the ice after a slapshot from teammate Jake Virtanen would bounce off of Wild’s Marcus Foligno’s stick and hit Roussel in the visor and face, opening up Roussel.

Vancouver would briefly go on a 5 on 3 after another slashing call from Minnesota.  At the 6:22 mark, Vancouver would score a PPG with Bo Horvat getting his second career postseason goal.  Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller would earn the assists on the Horvat goal.

Minnesota hoped to get another chance to score when they went on the power play after a Tyler Myers penalty for cross-checking at the 11:03 mark, but were unable to get the puck in the net.  Myers would go back in the box after yet another cross checking penalty, just 19 seconds after coming out of the box on the prior cross checking penalty.

Things get chippy for Minnesota at the 15:00 when Kevin Fiala goes to box for a high-sticking call.  There will be 4-on-4 play for 26 seconds due to the Fiala penalty.

Ryan Hartman goes down on the ice with two seconds left on the power play after an injury and is slow to get up after an Elias Pettersson hit to the back of Hartman.  Hartman was able to leave the ice under his own power and there were no penalties issued to Pettersson on the hit.

Kevin Fiala was able to get Minnesota their second goal of the night after the puck goes off the top of the bar and back out at the 17:32 mark and would go down as an unassisted goal.  This would be Fiala’s second goal of the series.

Kevin Fiala would score one more goal of the night with nine seconds remaining in the contest to make the score 4-3 and Minnesota would almost score at the end of the contest but the puck would not go in the net thanks to a great stop by Jakob Markstrom to end the contest.

Vancouver has tied this series at 1-1 with the 4-3 win and will look to go up 2-1 Thursday.

3rd Period Results:

MIN Pen Alex Galchenyuk for Tripping 2 min minor 03:05
MIN Pen Brad Hunt for Slashing 2 min minor 05:03
VAN PPG Bo Horvat (1) Assisted by: Quinn Hughes (1) J.T. Miller (1) 06:22
VAN Pen Tyler Myers for Cross checking 2 min minor 11:07
VAN Pen Tyler Myers for Cross checking 2 min minor 13:26
MIN Pen Kevin Fiala for Hi-sticking 2 min minor 15:00
MIN Goal Kevin Fiala (2) Unassisted 17:32
MIN Goal Kevin Fiala (3) Assisted by: Matt Dumba (1) Eric Staal (4) 19:51

3rd Period Stats:

Minnesota Vancouver
Faceoffs 25/68

43/68
Power Plays 0 for 6 1 for 7
Shots 35 28
Hits 37 19

Game 3 of the series will take place Thursday afternoon at 2:30 pm EDT/12:30 pm MDT

Stalock Records First Career Playoff Win with Shutout over Cancuks

Vancouver Canucks v. Minnesota Wild

Vancouver Canucks Projected Lines and Defencive Pairings

J.T. Miller Elias Pettersson Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson Bo Horvat Brock Boeser
Antoine Roussel Adam Gaudette Micheal Ferland
Tyler Motte Jay Beagle Brandon Sutter
Quinn Hughes Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko

Unfit to play:  Josh Leivo

Scratched:

Justin Bailey Jordie Benn, Jalen Chatfield Louis Domingue Loui Eriksson
Tyler Graovac Olli Juolevi Zack MacEwen Brogan Rafferty Jake Virtanen

Minnesota Wild Projected Lines and Defencive Pairings:

Jordan Greenway Eric Staal Kevin Fiala
Zach Parise Joel Eriksson Ek Luke Kunin
Marcus Foligno Alex Galchenyuk Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Donato Mikko Koivu Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin Matt Dumba
Brad Hunt Carson Soucy
Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk

Unfit to Play:  Greg Pateryn

Scratched:

Matt Bartkowski Louie Belpedio Luke Johnson, Kaapo Kahkonen Gerald Mayhew
Brennan Menell Victor Rask Kyle Rau Mat Robson Nico Sturm

1st Period Summary:

Things would get very scrappy early in the contest as there would be 5 minute majors doled out for fighting at the 1:19 mark between Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno and Vancouver’s Micheal Ferland.  About 90 seconds later, Vancouver would go down a man with Alexander Edler getting called for tripping.  Three seconds later, Minnesota would get the first goal in the contest with Kevin Fiala scoring.  At the 4:17 mark, Vancouver would again go down a man with Tyler Myers being shown the sin bin after a cross check to the Wild’s Jonas Brodin.  After the second power play for Minnesota ends, things would smooth out for the next few minutes of gameplay.  Minnesota would be clicking on all cylinders throughout the first ten minutes in this contest, sticking to tough defence and making crisp passes on all sides of the ice.

With roughly two minutes left in the period, Vancouver and Minnesota would both be called for matching minor penalties.  First Minnesota’s Zach Parise would be whistled for a holding penalty and Vancouver would be called for Too Many Men on the ice, which would be served by Micheal Ferland.  At the start of the second period, there will be eight seconds left in 4-on-4 action.

The first 20 minutes of the contest would prove to be a very gritty contest between both squads.

1st Period results:

VAN Pen Micheal Ferland for Fighting 5 min major 01:19
MIN Pen Marcus Foligno for Fighting 5 min major 01:19
VAN Pen Alexander Edler for Tripping 2 min minor 02:47
MIN PPG Kevin Fiala (1) Assisted by: Eric Staal (1) Zach Parise (1) 02:50
VAN Pen Tyler Myers for Cross checking 2 min minor 04:17
MIN Pen Zach Parise for Holding 2 min minor 18:09
VAN Pen Too Many men Served By Micheal Ferland 2 min minor 18:09

1st Period Stats:

Vancouver Minnesota
Faceoffs 15/24 9/24
Power Plays 0 for 0 1 for 2
Shots 14 12
Hits 16 10

2nd Period Summary:

The 2nd period would be a battle on both ends of the ice for puck possession within the first few minutes.

At the 9:53 mark, Tanner Pearson would be called for Slashing.  31 seconds later, Minnesota would score, giving the Wild a comfortable 2-0 lead.  Vancouver, thus far in the contest, does not look like they are playing like a full squad.  If they expect to stay in this contest, they definitely need to start clicking and take advantage of all the shots and do whatever is possible to score.  Minnesota is crowding the net in Vancouver’s zone and trying to get the puck in the net.

The contest has been a hard hitting affair thus far and by the looks of it, it’ll continue going into the third period.

Elias Pettersson has essentially been a non-factor throughout the entire contest.  If Vancouver expects to stay in the contest, as well as the series, Vancouver needs to find a way to keep Pettersson moving and getting the puck.

2nd Period Results:

VAN Pen Tanner Pearson for Slashing 2 min minor 09:53
MIN PPG Jared Spurgeon (1) Assisted by: Eric Staal (2) 10:24

2nd Period Stats:

Vancouver Minnesota
Faceoffs 28/48 20/48
Power Plays 0/0 2/3
Shots 24 20
Hits 34 21

3rd Period Summary:

Just as the period begins, Tanner Pearson is called for a slashing call on Minnesota goaltender Alex Stalock.  It looked like it hurt Stalock a bit but not enough for Stalock to be pulled.  Minnesota on their fourth power play of the contest would only get off two shots.  Things get a little chippy when there is a shove to Antoine Roussel, but no penalty is called.

Vancouver’s Micheal Ferland would be called for a slashing penalty at the 9:40 mark and Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman would be called for interference, setting up another 4-on-4.

Vancouver would finally get their first power play advantage of the evening when Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu would be called for interference at the 15:19 mark in the period, however the Canucks were unable to get a shot off with the extra man.

With 2:04 left in the period, Vancouver would pull Markstrom to give the Canucks an extra attacker, but that would not prove to be successful as the Wild would take the 3-0 win after Jared Spurgeon hits an ENG.  At the faceoff after the empty net goal, Vancouver’s Antoine Roussel would be issued at 10 min game misconduct, ending his night with just 47 seconds left in the contest.

Minnesota takes the 1-0 series lead with Game 2 in the series taking place Tuesday evening at 10:45p EDT.
3rd Period Results:

 

VAN Pen Tanner Pearson for Slashing 2 min minor 00:24
VAN Pen Micheal Ferland for Slashing 2 min minor 09:20
MIN Pen Ryan Hartman for Interference 2 min minor 09:20
MIN Pen Mikko Koivu for Interference 2 min minor 15:19
MIN ENG Jared Spurgeon (2) Assisted by: Joel Eriksson Ek (1) Mikko Koivu (1) 19:13
VAN Pen Antoine Roussel for Misconduct 10 min 19:13

 

3rd Period Stats:

 

Vancouver Minnesota
Faceoffs 36/61 25/61
Power Plays 0/1 2/4
Shots 28 31
Hits 40 28

 

Game 2 of this series takes place Tuesday night at 10:45p EDT.

Stanley Cup Qualifiers Preview – Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild

#7 Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6) vs. #10 Minnesota Wild (35-27-7)

On the season, the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks would face off three times.  The Minnesota Wild would win two of the three contests, with one being in the overtime session.

This will be only the second match-up between the two squads, with Minnesota winning the match-up in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals.

Schedule of contests (all contests are in Edmonton):

Image

 

What to look for:

VANCOUVER:  Since the shutdown, look for Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom to be back healthy and forwards Micheal Ferland and Josh Leivo could come back healthy as well.  Markstrom (23-16-4, 2.75 GAA) was out of action when the season paused with a knee injury.

Ferland has been out of action since December 10th, due to recurring concussion symptoms and is currently symptom-free, according to TSN.  Leivo has been recovering from a fractured kneecap since the December 19 match-up against the Vegas Golden Knights.  Vancouver GM Jim Benning wasn’t sure about Leivo returning to play on April 29th.

MINNESOTA:  Defenceman Carson Soucy is the only player injured and he is expected to return to play.  Soucy missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury prior to the season being put on pause.

ANALYSIS:  The return of Markstrom is going to be a advantage for Vancouver.  Markstrom is due to be an UFA once the postseason comes to a close, after completing a three-year contract.   If Markstrom shows a great outing in the series, it could work in his favour for contract negotiations.  Minnesota was 12-5-1 in their last 18 games, showing signs of strength.  Wild F Kevin Fiala had 26 points (14G, 12A) and hopes to pick up where he left off when the season was paused.

PREDICTION:  Minnesota in 5

 

VAN-MIN

 

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Minnesota Wild Team Preview

2019-20 Regular Season: 35-27-7 (.558%, 77 pts), 6th in Central Division

2019-20 Playoffs: 10th seed in Stanley Cup Qualifiers

 

The Minnesota Wild in their last 23 contests finished 15-7-1 before the league paused operations due to the concerns surrounding COVID-19, including a record of 8-4-0 in 12 games after Dean Evason replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach February 14.  Minnesota has the opportunity to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years after not being in the postseason last year.

Forward Kevin Fiala was on a hot streak before the season was paused, scoring 26 points (14G, 12A) in his final 18 games.  Within that stretch, there were 10 multi-point contests.  However, the team will need to have more players score other than Fiala (23 goals this season), Zach Parise (25 goals), and Eric Staal (19 goals), the only Wild players to register more than 15 goals this season, if the Wild are wanting to advance.

Player to Watch:

 

Forward Alex Galchenyuk.  Galchenyuk had the fewest goals (eight) and points (24) this season, his eighth in the NHL.  Galchenyuk would go on to have seven points (3G, 4A) in 14 contests after Minnesota traded for him from the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 10th.  In the final three contests before the NHL paused its season, he had three points (1G, 2A).  If Minnesota expects to be successful in the qualifier round, Galchenyuk, who is to be an unrestricted free agent upon the conclusion of the season, will need to be a big factor.

 

 

Question Mark:

Starting goaltender.  It seems as if there might be a competition for the starting goaltender job between Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock.
Dubnyk has started all 26 playoff contests for the Wild since being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on January 15, 2015.  Dubnyk, 34, was 12-15-2 (3.35 GAA, .890 SV%) this season and his save percentage was the lowest among goaltenders who played at least 30 games.  Dubnyk missed time in November and December while his wife had a medical issue.

Stalock would prove himself to be capable in Dubnyk’s absence.  Stalock went 20-11-4 (2.67 GAA, .910 SV%) om 38 contests, and started in Minnesota’s seven of their last eight contests before the season was paused.  23-year-old Kaapo Kahkonen could also be in the mix for playing time.  Kahkonen, a rookie, started in five contests for the Wild during the season.

 

 

 

Injury Updates:

Defenceman Carson Soucy should be healthy for camp after missing the final nine games of the season due to an upper-body injury.

Fresh Face:

Gerald Mayhew had 39 goals and 61 points in 49 games with the Iowa Wild and would be named the MVP of the American Hockey League.  Mayhew, 27, scored twice in 13 games with Minnesota and could be great on offense, if Mayhew is given the chance.

 

 

Projected Minnesota Line-up:

 

Zach Parise — Eric Staal — Kevin Fiala

Alex Galchenyuk – Luke Kunin – Mats Zuccarello

Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Jordan Greenway

Ryan Donato — Mikko Koivu – Ryan Hartman

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin – Matt Dumba

Brad Hunt — Carson Soucy

Alex Stalock

Devan Dubnyk

 

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Game Recap – 3/1/2020 – Washington Capitals v. Minnesota Wild

Washington Capitals (39-19-6 84pts) v. Minnesota Wild (32-25-7 71pts)

 

Game Recap:

The Washington Capitals head to Minnesota to face the Wild and finish their short two game road trip, and boy would we have a wild one (pun intended) to start this game. In the first period Ryan Donato would open the scoring for the Wild three minutes into the game, but Alex Ovechkin would lead the charge as he would net two goals and Richard Panik would score his eighth of the season to give the Capitals the 3-1 lead. However, while on the powerplay Kevin Fiala would fire a bullet over Braden Holtby’s shoulder to bring the Wild back within one.

 

Then after a chippy second period, Tom Wilson would score his 21st of the season 40 seconds into the third period to give the Capitals their two goal lead back. However, the Wild would strike back while on the powerplay as Zach Parise would be able to take the puck from behind the net and jam it in past Holtby to bring the Wild back within one, but the Capitals would hold on to defeat the Wild 4-3.

 

Lineups:

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

Carl Hagelin — Lars Eller — Ilya Kovalchuk

Richard Panik — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson

Michal Kempny — Dmitry Orlov

Jonas Siegenthaler — Nick Jensen

Braden Holtby

Ilya Samsonov

Scratched: Travis Boyd, Brendan Leipsic, Radko Gudas

Injured: None

 

Minnesota Wild:

Gerald Mayhew — Eric Staal — Kevin Fiala

Marcus Foligno — Alex Galchenyuk — Mats Zuccarello

Zach Parise — Joel Eriksson Ek — Jordan Greenway

Ryan Donato — Mikko Koivu — Ryan Hartman

Ryan Suter — Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin — Matt Dumba

Brad Hunt — Greg Pateryn

Alex Stalock

Devan Dubnyk

Scratched: Victor Rask

Injured: Luke Kunin (upper body), Carson Soucy (upper body)

 

First Period:

MIN Goal – 3:01 – Ryan Donato (14) from Ryan Suter (37)

MIN Penalty – 5:29 – Greg Pateryn 2 minutes for Tripping

MIN Penalty – 6:12 – Alex Stalock (Marcus Foligno) 2 minutes for High Sticking

WAS PPG – 7:21 – Alex Ovechkin (44) from Nicklas Backstrom (40) and John Carlson (58)

WAS Goal – 10:28 – Richard Panik (8) from Carl Hagelin (15)

WAS Goal – 10:59 – Alex Ovechkin (45) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (31) and Ilya Kovalchuk (14)

WAS Penalty – 11:56 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Slashing

MIN PPG – 13:13 – Kevin Fiala (20) from Jared Spurgeon (19) and Brad Hunt (11)

MIN Penalty – 18:57 – Ryan Hartman 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – 18:57 – Brenden Dillon 5 minute major for Fighting

WAS Penalty – 18:57 – Ilya Kovalchuk double minor for Roughing

MIN Penalty – 18:57 – Ryan Hartman 2 minutes for Slashing

 

End of 1st

03-01 at MIN.png

 

Second Period:

WAS Penalty – 8:31 – Richard Panik 2 minutes for Roughing

MIN Penalty – 8:31 – Jordan Greenway 2 minutes for Roughing

WAS Penalty – 8:31 – Garnet Hathaway 2 minutes for Roughing

MIN Penalty – 8:31 – Ryan Suter 2 minutes for Roughing

WAS Penalty – 12:46 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Tripping

 

End of 2nd

03-01 at MIN-2.png

 

Third Period:

WAS Goal – :40 – Tom Wilson (21) from Alex Ovechkin (18) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (32)

WAS Penalty – 11:40 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Interference

MIN PPG – 12:53 – Zach Parise (23) from Kevin Fiala (29)

 

End of 3rd

03-01 at MIN-3.png

 

Next Up:

Washington (40-19-6 86pts) v. Philadelphia (38-20-7 83pts)

Minnesota (32-26-7 71pts) v. Nashville (32-24-8 72pts)

Call of the Wild: Washington Capitals vs Minnesota Wild

Washington Capitals (39-20-5) vs Minnesota Wild (31-25-7)

 Predicted GoaltenderRecordGAA / SV% / # SO
Washington CapitalsBraden Holtby23-13-53.12 / .897 / 0
Minnesota WildAlex Stalock18-9-42.60 / .910 / 4

The Washington Capitals completed their home-and-home series on Thursday night against the Jets, and now the good guys are off to Minnesota to take on the Wild to kick off the month of March. The Capitals have won eight of their last nine meetings against Minnesota, but dropped their most recent game in a 2-1 loss on home ice back on March 22nd of 2019 (mcubed).

The Washington Capitals were shutout for the first time on the road this season, 2-0, by the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, with Ilya Samsonov getting the start for just the 2nd time in seven games. The Capitals have now lost four straight on the road for the first time, and were shutout for just the second time, this season. Washington played much of the first period in their own zone, and at the 6:33 mark, Dmitry Kulikov scored his 2nd goal of the season to give Winnipeg an early lead. The Capitals were called for two overlapping penalties in the first period and were successful in killing off 1:45 of 5-on-3 play, and 15 seconds of a standard Jets power play. The successful kill gave Washington a decent morale boost that carried them throughout the rest of the period, as they racked up the majority of high-danger scoring chances. The Capitals certainly had the better opportunities throughout the second period, but it was Ilya Samsonov that kept Washington in this one. Evgeny Kuznetsov was called for cross-checking midway through the second, but again the Caps were able to kill off the penalty. Finally, the Capitals received their first power play of the evening as Neal Pionk went off for hooking at the 15:07 mark of the period. Despite being unable to convert on the first man-advantage, Washington went right back on the power play as Bitetto was also called for hooking. The Capitals did not score despite playing four minutes of 5-on-4 play, and trailed by one heading into the third period. Through two periods, the Caps in fact led in faceoff wins, 29 to 19, which is something we haven’t been able to report on much this season. The third period started with a third power play opportunity for the Caps as Dylan DeMelo went off for holding, but Washington would go 0-for-3 on the man advantage on the night. Kyle Connor’s 32nd goal of the season sealed the shutout win over Washington with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Capitals emptied their net in attempts to get on the board and avoid being shutout, but Mark Scheifele would make it 3-0 with just over 90 seconds remaining. Ilya Samsonov ended the night with 28 saves on 30 shots to drop his fourth straight start. Braden Holtby will get the start for Washington against the Wild.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z_D_PhfiiU

The Minnesota Wild were last in action on Friday night, where they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-0. The shutout came on the second half of a back-to-back, after the Wild took down the Red Wings in a dominant 7-1 win the night before. Despite sitting in ­6th in the Central Division, the Wild are on a three-game win streak, and have five wins in their last six games. Within 40 seconds of each other, both Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon scored to give the Wild an early 2-0 lead over the Blue Jackets. Eriksson Ek’s 8th goal of the season was his first in eight games, and Spurgeon’s 11th came just four games after the defenseman scored a hat-trick against the Edmonton Oilers. Columbus received the first power play of the evening, as Alex Galchenyuk was called for high-sticking. Minnesota’s 4th-worst-penalty-kill-in-the-league was able to keep Columbus off the board, and thus, led by two heading into the second. About halfway through regulation, Ryan Hartman added to Minnesota’s lead with his 9th goal of the season. Zach Parise made it 4-0 less than two minutes later, and Columbus, staring down a potential shutout, elected to pull Joonas Korpisalo in favor of playing Matiss Kivlenieks for the remainder of the match. Korpisalo allowed four goals on 15 shots, but has six wins in his last nine starts. Kivlenieks has played just five games this season with a 1-1-2 record, a save percentage of .897, and a GAA of 3.04. Kevin Fiala, with Andrew Peeke in the penalty box for interference, made it 5-0 for the Wild. Fiala’s 19th of the season came at the 12:20 mark of the third period of a game that had been controlled entirely by Minnesota. Both Fiala and Eric Staal are tied for most points on the team (45), with Fiala edging out Staal in assists (27), and Staal in goals (19). Defenseman Ryan Suter leads the team with 35 assists. The Minnesota Wild are no joke as of late; they have scored 7 or more goals four times this season, and put up a total of 12 goals for and allowed just one against in back-to-back games (DET, CBJ). Goaltender Alex Stalock stopped all 24 shots faced to earn his 17th win of the season, and 4th shutout. Stalock will start for the Wild versus the Capitals.

The Minnesota Wild are without the services of Luke Kunin (OUT, upper body), and Carson Soucy (DL, upper body).

Coverage of the game begins at 7:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 7:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 8:00pm.

References:

Mcubed. (2020). NHL: Series records : Washington Capitals against Minnesota Wild. Retrieved from http://mcubed.net/nhl/wsh/min.shtml.

TheScore. (2020. Minnesota Wild News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/29.

TheScore. (2020). Washington Capitals News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/15.

Bruce Boudreau fired as Head Coach by Wild

The Minnesota Wild today announced that Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has been relieved of his head coaching duties, effective immediately.

Boudreau, 65, had been the Head Coach of the Wild since 2016-17 season.  He compiled a record of 158-110-35 over the last three and a half seasons, and only made the playoffs twice, losing in the first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs in both appearances.

Minnesota thus far on the season has a record of 27-23-7, and is currently three points back of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Per Darren Dreger, Dean Evason has been named interim Head Coach with a replacement to be named in the offseason.

Game Recap: New Jersey Devils vs Minnesota Wild 11/26/19

New Jersey Devils (8-11-4 20pts) vs Minnesota Wild (10-11-4 24pts)

Game Recap:

Coming off a 5-1 victory over the Red Wings last game out, the New Jersey Devils host the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center tonight. Tonight would feature the NHL debut of Finnish goaltender Kappo Kahkonen for the Wild. Speaking of which, the Wild would get on the board first as former New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise would score his tenth goal on the season while his team was on the power play. New Jersey would tie the game at the 12:44 mark as rookie Jesper Boqvist would score his first career NHL goal which was assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Jack Hughes.  This “goal” was subjected to controversy as it was challenged by the Minnesota Wild for a “missed game stoppage”. The Wild were challenging the play as they thought Devils winger Wayne Simmonds played the puck in the neutral zone with a high stick. After the video review, it was determined to be a good goal. However later on in the game, the NHL issued an apology upon further video review which determined that the goal should have been disallowed due to Simmonds playing the puck with a high stick. After first period, the score would be tied 1-1.

About the midway mark of the second period, Jordan Greenway would give the Wild back the lead temporarily. Three and a half minutes later, Kyle Palmieri would tie the game 2-2 after deflecting a Taylor Hall pass into the back of the net. After two periods, the score would be tied 2-2.

In the third saw the Minnesota Wild regain their lead for good as defenseman Ryan Suter would score his third goal of the season. New Jersey put on good pressure with hopes to tie the game. However, unfortunately for the Devils it was not enough and would fall to the Minnesota Wild by a final score of 3-2. The Devils are back in action Thanksgiving night as they head up north to take on the Montréal Canadiens.

Lineups

New Jersey Devils

 

Minnesota Wild

First Period Highlights

 

 

 

Second Period Highlights

 

 

Third Period Highlights

 

https://twitter.com/hockeydaily365/status/1199514391248400384?s=21

Final Stats

NJ-2 MIN-3

Shots: 34 29

Hits: 14 6

PP: 1/2 1/4

Faceoffs: 43.8% 56.2%

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NHL News and Notes from Saturday, November 2nd, 2019

NHL News and Notes from Saturday, November 2nd, 2019

 

News:

  • The Nashville Predators unveiled their 2020 Winter Classic jersey.

  • The jersey pays homage to the history of hockey in Nashville including the Dixie Flyers.

 

Game Recaps:

Edmonton Oilers v. Pittsburgh Penguins – 1p EST Start Time

EDM RoadPIT Alt

The Pittsburgh Penguins would play host to the Edmonton Oilers as they looked for their ninth win of the season, but it would be the Oilers striking first in the second period when Colby Cave scored his first of the season. Then in the third period Brian Dumoulin would score while shorthanded to tie the game and send it to overtime. However, it would be the Oilers taking this one on a Leon Draisaitl goal to defeat the Penguins 2-1.

 

New York Rangers v. Nashville Predators – 2p EST Start Time

NYR RoadNAS Home

In Nashville, mere hours after unveiling their 2020 Winter Classic jersey, the Predators host the New York Rangers for an afternoon matinee. In the first period the Rangers would strike on a Filip Chytil marker to take the 1-0 lead. Then in the second period Ryan Strome would grow the Rangers lead to two, but before the second was over Viktor Arvidsson would cut the Rangers lead back to one. However, it would not be enough as the Rangers would hold on to win 2-1.

 

Ottawa Senators v. Boston Bruins – 7p EST Start Time

OTT RoadBOS Home

In Boston the Ottawa Senators come to town looking to take down the Bruins, but after going back and forth with the Bruins the first two periods, the Bruins would get a three goal third period to secure the victory. The Senators would get their goals from Anthony Duclair and Connor Brown, while the Bruins got goals from David Pastrnak (PPG), Patrice Bergeron, Danton Heinen, Brad Marchand (PPG), and Jake DeBrusk to secure a 5-2 win.

 

New York Islanders v. Buffalo Sabres – 7p EST Start Time

NYI HomeBUF 50

In Buffalo the Sabres would look to down their interstate rival New York Islanders, but Derick Brassard would score early in the first period to give the Islanders the 1-0 victory.

 

Detroit Red Wings v. Florida Panthers – 7p EST Start Time

DET RoadFLA Home

The Florida Panthers would clip the Detroit Red Wings with four unanswered goals as Brett Connolly, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Huberdeau (2 goals) would score for the Panthers for a 4-0 victory.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs v. Philadelphia Flyers – 7p EST Start Time

TOR RoadPHI Alt

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers would play a barn burner that would see both teams play to an eleven round shootout. The Maple Leafs would get goals from Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Spezza (First as a Leaf), and Mitch Marner, while the Flyers would get goals from Ivan Provorov (PPG), Claude Giroux (PPG), and Travis Sanheim. In the eleventh round of the shootout it would be Andreas Johnsson scoring the game winner for the Leafs as they take the 4-3 victory.

 

New Jersey Devils v. Carolina Hurricanes – 7p EST Start Time

NJ RoadCAR Home

In Carolina the struggling New Jersey Devils come to town to face off with the Hurricanes. In the first two periods the two teams would trade three goals each with the Devils getting goals from Miles Wood, Jack Hughes, and Nico Hischier, while the Hurricanes got their goals from Warren Foegele, Teuvo Teravainen, and Erik Haula. However, in the third period the Devils would get goals from PK Subban and Damon Severson to secure a 5-3 victory.

 

Calgary Flames v. Columbus Blue Jackets – 7p EST Start Time

CAL RoadCLB Home

In Columbus the Calgary Flames looked to burn down the Blue Jackets, and burn them they would as the Flames would score a goal per period and David Rittich would post a shutout for their victory. The Flames would get their goals from Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, and Matthew Tkachuk to secure the 3-0 lead.

 

Montreal Canadiens v. Dallas Stars – 7p EST Start Time

MON RoadDAL Home

In Dallas the Stars would dominate the Montreal Canadiens as they would get goals from Alexander Radulov (PPG), Denis Gurianov (even strength and PPG), and Miro Heiskanen. The Canadiens would get a late goal from Artturi Lehkonen, but it would be too little, too late as the Stars would defeat the Canadiens 4-1.

 

St. Louis Blues v. Minnesota Wild – 8p EST Start Time

STL RoadMIN Home

In Minnesota the Wild would look for their fifth win of the season, but it would be the St. Louis Blues forcing overtime to take the victory from the Wild. The Wild would get goals from Marcus Foligno, Kevin Fiala, and Mats Zuccarello (PPG), while the Blues would get goals from Mackenzie MacEachern, Carl Gunnarsson, and Sammy Blais during regulation. Then in overtime Ryan O’Reilly would score the gmae winner to give the Blues the 4-3 win.

 

Colorado Avalanche v. Arizona Coyotes – 9p EST Start Time

COL RoadARI Alt

In Arizona the Coyotes would don their Kachinas once again as they took on the Colorado Avalnache, and it would be a howling time for the Coyotes as Darcy Kuemper would backstop his why to a shutout victory. The Coyotes would get goals from Christian Dvorak (PPG), Phil Kessel, and Conor Garland to secure the 3-0 victory.

 

Winnipeg Jets v. Vegas Golden Knights – 10p EST Start Time

WIN RoadVGK Home

In Vegas the Golden Knights would take on the Winnipeg Jets in a game that would require extra time. The Jets would get two goals from Mathieu Perreault (even strength and PPG), and a goal from Mark Scheifele, while the Knights got goals from Jonathan Marchessault (PPG), Max Pacioretty, and Nate Schmidt in regulation. Then in overtime Kyle Connor would score to secure the 4-3 victory for the Jets.

 

Vancouver Canucks v. San Jose Sharks – 10p EST Start Time

VAN RoadSJ Home

In San Jose the Vancouver Canucks would tame the Sharks. In the latter half of the third period the Sharks would get goals from Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SHG) and Evander Kane, but the Canucks would get two goals from Elias Pettersson (even strength and PPG), and goals from Brandon Sutter, Jake Virtanen, and Adam Gaudette to secure the 5-2 victory for the Canucks.

 

Chicago Blackhawks v. Los Angeles Kings – 1030p EST Start Time

CHI RoadLA Alt

In Los Angeles the Kings and Chicago Blackhawks would renew their rivalry, and it would not disappoint as this game would require overtime. In regulation the Blackhawks would get goals from Dominik Kubalik, David Kampf, and Jonathan Toews, while the Kings got their goals from Kyle Clifford, Matt Roy, and Michael Amadio. Then in overtime it would be Drew Doughty scoring with 17 seconds left to give the Kings the 4-3 victory.

NHL News and Notes from Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

NHL News and Notes from Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

 

News:

  • The NHL announced that Jim Gregory has passed away.

 

Game Recaps:

Tampa Bay Lightning v. New Jersey Devils – 7p EST Start Time

TB RoadNJ Home

In New Jersey the Lightning would outscore the JDevils with the 7-6 overtime victory that saw a Kyle Palmieri hat trick and an Ondrej Palat three point game. Scott’s Recap

 

Edmonton Oilers v. Columbus Blue Jackets – 730p EST Start Time

EDM RoadCLB Home

In Columbus the Edmonton Oilers come to town to visit the Blue Jackets, and it would be all Oilers to start as they would get goals from James Neal and Leon Draisaitl in the first period. Then in the second period Jujhar Khaira would score his first of the season and Draisaitl would score his second of the game for the commanding 4-0 lead. However, while on the powerplay the Jackets would finally get on the board with a Zach Werenski tally. However, after a scoreless third the Oilers would hold on to win 4-1.

 

Minnesota Wild v. St. Louis Blues – 8p EST Start Time

MIN RoadSTL Home

In St. Louis after going through a scoreless first period the Blues would strike first on a Sammy Blais tally, but the Minnesota Wild would strike back as Mats Zuccarello would score his first as a Wild. Then in the third period Alex Pietrangelo would score his fifth of the season to give the Blues the 2-1 victory.

 

Florida Panthers v. Colorado Avalanche – 10p EST Start Time

FLA RoadCOL Home

In Colorado the Avalanche would get the jump on the Florida Panthers as they would get two goals in the first from Matt Nieto and Joonas Donskoi, but the Panthers would get a goal from Colton Sceviour to cut the Avalanche’s lead to one going into the first intermission. Then after a scoreless second period the Avalanche would grow their lead to two on a Nathan MacKinnon, but the Panthers would roar back with goals from Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau to tie the game at three and send it to overtime. Then in overtime Huberdeau would score his second of the game to complete the comeback and win the game for the Panthers 4-3.

 

Montreal Canadiens v. Arizona Coyotes – 10p EST Start Time

MON RoadARI Home

In Arizona the Montreal Canadiens would get atleast a goal per period to take down the Coyotes. The Canadiens would get goals from Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber, Nick Cousins, and Jonathan Drouin, while the Coyotes lone goal would come from Jakob Chychrun as they would fall to the Canadiens 4-1.

 

Vancouver Canucks v. Los Angeles Kings – 1030p EST Start Time

VAN RoadLA Home

In Los Angeles the Vancouver Canucks come to town to face the Kings, and it would be Brock Boeser scoring the hat trick (2 PPGs, 1 even strength) to lead the way for the Canucks. The Kings would get goals from Jeff Carter and Adrian Kempe in the first two periods, while the Canucks would also get a goal from Bo Horvat to have a 4-2 lead in the third period. However the Kings would get another goal from Jeff Carter, but Elia Pettersson would score on the powerplay to secure a 5-3 victory.