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The 7 Best Minnesota Wild Stats Of The Week

By Dustin Nelson |
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Our weekly round-up of the seven best Minnesota Wild stats of the week.

Mar 6, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (11) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes goalie Anton Khudobin (31) in the third period at PNC Arena. The Wild won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

1. 6 Road Wins

The Wild have been winning anywhere and everywhere. After beating the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh they extended their road winning streak to six straight win in regulation. That’s the longest road winning streak in franchise history. What they leave behind them on the road is similar to what you’ll find on the road in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Ashes. Vigilantism. A shopping cart with three wheels. Canned beans. Not sure why that is, but it’s a verifiable fact.

Jan 10, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle (3) celebrates his goal with forward Nino Niederreiter (22) during the first period against the Nashville Predators at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

2. 56.2%

56.2% is the Corsi For% of Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter when they’re on the ice together this season. Charlie Coyle has a 47% CF% without Niederreiter and Niederreiter has a 49.2% CF% without Coyle. That’s a pretty strong argument for keeping these guys on the ice together. And this isn’t an abbreation created by a small sample size. They’ve been on the ice together for 417:22 of 5-on-5 play. Coyle has 416:04 of 5-on-5 without Niederreiter and Niederreiter has 338:36 without Coyle at 5-on-5.

2.5 53%

More WOWY numbers, kids. 53% is the Corsi For% of Justin Fontaine, Erik Haula, and Kyle Brodziak. This trio does have a bit of a sample size issue at play. There has only been 42:45 of 5-on-5 ice time with all three on the ice, but there isn’t anyone watching the Wild who hasn’t noticed how strong this trio has been recently.

Two of these three players are showing better possession numbers when they’re together than apart. Part of that for Haula could be that he’s just playing better recently and that’s when this group has been a line, but it’s a line worth keeping together to see if they can maintain the strong possession numbers and it seems like Mike Yeo has noticed, as it’s been one of the few lines that’s been kept in tact recently. (Until Tuesday night, when it appears that Fontaine will be moving to third line and Sean Bergenheim will get dropped down to fourth.)

Apart from each other, Haula is posting a 49.6% CF%, Brodziak is at 45.5%, and Fontaine is at 53.5%.

stats via Puckalytics

Feb 26, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; (Editors note: Caption correction) Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Prosser (39) and Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher (12) battle in the corner during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

3. +/- Since February 14

Yeah, it’s a flawed stat, but it doesn’t mean that it’s 100% without value, especially when you’re looking for sunny-looking stats. The three players with the best plus/minus in the NHL from February 14 to March 7? Mikael Granlund, +12; Matt Dumba, +11; Nate Prosser, +10.

Mar 6, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) takes a water break during the 2nd period against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Wild defeated the Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

4. 26 Straight Games

Devan Dubnyk will start his 26th straight game when the Wild take on the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. According to Elias, that’s the most consecutive starts for any goaltender in the NHL since Jonas Hiller started 32 straight games in the 2011-12 season.

Jan 29, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) celebrate a win with teammates against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Minnesota Wild won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

5. 79 points

We’re beyond this now, but when the Wild hit 79 points on the year — after Game 65 of the season — it was the most points the franchise had ever had at game 65 in a season.

Feb 22, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund (64) looks on against the Dallas Stars at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

6. Granlund Rising

In the game against Carolina, Granlund posted his career-high eighth multi-point game of the season and grabbed his second game-winning goal of the year, which ties a career-high.

Jan 2, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild center Tyler Graovac (53) skates with the puck in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota Wild win 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

7. 40 Points

An overtime goal in Friday’s win over the Texas Stars gave Tyler Graovac his 40th point of the season, making him the first player in Iowa Wild history to hit 40 points.

Next: Minnesota Wild Prospects Report

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