Gone Puck Wild
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Minnesota Wild: Key statistics that need some team focus

By Luke Ryan

ST. PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 6: Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild makes an acrobatic save during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on October 6, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 6: Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild makes an acrobatic save during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on October 6, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 19: Greg Pateryn #29 and Eric Fehr #21 of the Minnesota Wild try to keep the puck away against Brett Ritchie #25 of the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on October 19, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 19: Greg Pateryn #29 and Eric Fehr #21 of the Minnesota Wild try to keep the puck away against Brett Ritchie #25 of the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on October 19, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Realistically, it can’t be fixed overnight for the Minnesota Wild. They need a few more weeks of limiting teams shot counts.

That is the clear way to bring the averages back to a respectable place.

In turn, it’ll help the team to maintain a healthy and well-rested Devan Dubnyk. Alex Stalock has proven he can step up when he needs to, so maybe if the shot count lowers, you can afford him a little more game-time too.

Ryan Suter being back to fitness makes a huge difference, but he isn’t a fast player and we’ve yet to see the team hold up very well against the faster teams of the league.

Look at how they were hemmed in against the Carolina Hurricanes; even the overtime win against Tampa saw them struggling somewhat in this sense.

Not all problems can be fixed with the current make-up of the team, so maybe that’s a non-issue.

As long as the scoring chances, shots and especially the high danger chances are limited, I guess it doesn’t matter how; whether that’s a block, a save or a poke check; they all serve the same purpose. That purpose being keeping the puck out of the net.

Provided that continues to happen for the Minnesota Wild, they’re going to continue to see improvement this year.

Can Nino Neiderreiter break out of his slump?. dark. Next

Whether the right players can shine and ensure it’s another trip to the playoffs is anyone’s guess this early on, but the signs aren’t as bad as they seemed just a mere week or so ago. There’s life in this Minnesota Wild team yet!

Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick.

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