Third Star- Jason Zucker
With splitting the measly two games during the calendar week of November 17-23, the sample size is unfortunately small, but a few players still managed to have a pretty good week. Jason Zucker was one of those players, and though he only had one point, it was a big one, as it netted the Wild a win in Philly that was a hockey goal equivalent to Bill Burr’s rant against the Philly faithful (Very NSFW). Anyway, Zucker’s beauty with just 46 ticks left on the clock was plenty enough reason to give him the third star along with the continued adoration of lots of teenage girls.
Second Star- Marco Scandella
Nov 16, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Marco Scandella (6) celebrates his goal in overtime against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Jets 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Also helping the Wild to victory in the Philadelphia game was the man known as Pizza, who tallied a goal and an assist, which was enough to tie him with Nino Niederreiter for the Wild’s weekly points leader. Pizza has been deliciously effective lately, and has added more offense to his game, which is a welcome revelation to Wild fans akin to my revelation of ordering my pizzas with barbecue sauce instead of tomato sauce(heartburn is no joke, kids). Scandella is now up to 7 points on the season with 4 goals, which is on pace for a healthy 17 goals and 34 points, which are pretty solid for a blueliner.
Wild fans watching Scandella lately be like
First Star- Darcy Kuemper
Nov 22, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah, I’m a goalie. Yeah, I like goalies. Yeah, I can be incredibly biased sometimes.
But even the most feverish Niklas Backstrom fan can admit that Kuemper had a good week, after they get out of their time machine from 2009. Kuemper really stole the game from the Flyers, making 37 saves on 39 shots, including some big ones covering for some sloppy play by the Wild. Once and a while, you need a goalie to steal a game for you when you’re not playing particularly well, and Kuemper played that role masterfully Thursday night. Although he lost against the Lightning, Kuemper also had a good showing there, with 26 saves on 28 shots, but the Wild could only muster one goal past Ben Bishop. Sure, a 2.00 GAA on the week isn’t mind-blowing, but the .940 save percentage is pretty spectacular, and earns him the first star of the week.