The Blues have given up 10 goals in their last two games while scoring only one. Granted, they  played Pittsburgh and Anaheim. Based on stats they Blues are the favorite:

2.86  GFA , to the Wild 2.12

2.86 GGA, to the Wild 3.38

Perhaps the most interesting state for this match up is 5 on 5 goals for/against ratio. The Blues are 8th in the league in this stat, the Wild are dead last meaning we don’t score 5 on 5 goals. 

Which leads me to look at the Blues penalty situation since that is an area where the Wild excel. The problem is they are fairly disciplined team averaging only 10 minutes per game. The good news there is that the Blues are average at best killing penalties.

Another interesting thing to look at is which periods the teams seem to more active in. The Wild seem to be most active in the 2nd and 3rd periods while the Blue seem to have scored more goals in the 2nd than in the 1st and 3rd combined. However, the Blues have given up only 3 goals in the 3rd period and that’s the fewest in the league.

I think tonight it will be very important for  the Wild to score early. The Blues are 3-0 when leading after the 2nd while they are 0-3 if trailing after the 2nd.  The fact that the Blues are 2-1 when they score first and 1-2 when they trail first adds more weight to the Wild needing to come out fast.

Players to watch:

Wild= Mikko Koivu (He was a beast against the AVs), Zidliky two assists last game.

Blues: Tkachuck & Kariya (wiley vets), T.J. Oshie (From Warroad),David Backes (from Blaine).

#1- It’s the firest Wild home game in quite some time.

#2- They are wearing their “Miller High Life” Jersey’s tonight.

#3 – Chuck Kobasew should make his Wild debut.

#4- It’s Koivu’s first game with the “C”.

That’s the good stuff. The bad stuff is that Colorado comes into the game with the 3rd largest margin of victory in the league and they are healthy. The Avs have been outstanding on both sides of the ice this year scoring 28 goals while only giving up 18.

I think the Wild have a first line that can hang with Colorado’s first line but with all of the injuries it could be a big night for their 2nd and 3rd lines. Things could  work out better for the Wild if they can get a favorable line matchup for their first line. Given that the Wild have played pretty well the last couple of games, they are at home, and have more depth with Kobasew I think the Wild are poised for an upset here.

Players to watch:

Photo courtesy of Resolute

Wild= Andrew Brunette (probably their best player so far), Belanger (surprisingly good so far), Kobasew (see what he can contribute)

Photo Courtesy of FrenchKheldar of Wiki Commons.

Avalanche= Matt Duchene (the rookie has been almost a PPG player in the last few), David Jones (PPG+ over the last four), Cody McLeod (PPG+ lately) and you always have to watch Hejduk.

The way they are playing right now the Avs 2nd line are nearly as good as their first which could be very dangerous for the Wild. If the Wild lose this game I think you will see that the AVs second line had a huge part in it.