Will the Wild get the Blues?
By mcrow
I think so. I think they will win.
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).