Preview: Wild vs Islanders
After a game that had plenty of frustrations, there were just as many positives I took out of that game. The Wild will look to build off the positives in their match-up tonight against the New York Islanders.
Tonight marks another important home game for the Wild as they face another tough opponent from the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders are exceeding expectations this year with their 19-8-0 record and are second in their division to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their off-season acquisitions in Jaroslav Halak, Nick Leddy, and Johnny Boychuk have been huge in the Islanders’ success thus far.
The major off-season acquisition for the Wild, Thomas Vanek, is still looking to find the scoring touch. He hasn’t recorded a shot on goal in the last two games and only had one shot on goal in each of the four games prior. Not what the Wild were expecting when they signed him to a three-year deal, but I still have confidence that he will get hot soon.
Nov 22, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter (20) looks on against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Wild have been alternating wins and losses since their win in Philadelphia. If the Wild want to make some noise and get themselves higher in the standings, they will need to put another winning streak together, regardless of injuries or illnesses. After tonight’s home game, they will go on the road for three games against the Sharks on Thursday night, the Coyotes on Saturday, and the Blackhawks a week from today. After that the schedule will ease up a bit with four straight home games.
As Michael Russo, of the Star Tribune, reported earlier, Ryan Suter will return to the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with mumps-like symptoms. Stu Bickel and Christian Folin will be scratched and Thomas Vanek will play on a line with Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund. The change in the lineup is more so to get Vanek’s game going; he has just two goals so far this year. Finally, Niklas Backstrom will get the nod tonight, a welcome site to Wild fans as Darcy Kuemper has not played well in front of the home crowd lately.
Watch Thomas Vanek’s pregame interview here:
The Islanders are third in the league in scoring this year scoring an average of 3.0 goals per game. Their penalty kill is last in the NHL at 72.5%, a great opportunity for the Wild to build off the success they had on the power-play against the Anaheim Ducks. Last season, each team won on the road in the series. Historically, the Wild are 9-6-1 against the New York Islanders, 5-2-1 against the Islanders at the Xcel Energy Center.
Here are my three bold predictions for tonight’s game.
1. The newly formed line of Parise – Granlund – Vanek will record at least two goals. I am excited to see how this line plays out. I wish Yeo would have tried this sooner, but it is also hard to break up a line who plays well together. I think they will be all over the ice tonight and communicating well with one another. We have seen the passes that Granlund, and Vanek can make, I hope to see this line take every shot available and not be so reluctant to pass it away and potentially ruin the scoring chance. We have seen too much of that already this year.
2. The Wild will again score more than four or more goals tonight. One of the questions in the Hat Trick Challenge asked if the Wild will score 3+ goals tonight, and 68% of players voted No. Come on people, the Wild netted four against one of the hotter goaltenders in the NHL! The Wild will score at least four, a couple from the first line, and the Pominville–Koivu–Zucker/Coyle line will get at least one, if not two, as well.
3. The power-play will be hot again tonight. The Wild will get under the Islanders’ skin with all of the offensive zone time, and the Islanders will have to take some penalties. I think the Wild’s power-play will be hot again tonight against an Islanders team who is last in the league in penalty kill percentage. Expect a loud crowd tonight at the Xcel Energy Center.