Watching the final minutes of the Minnesota Wild’s game against the Blues the other night, it occurred to me that the team is putting itself at major risk with a style dependent on shot-blocking.
The Minnesota Wild defense, whether that is the defense itself or the forwards playing a proper 200-foot game, are often putting themselves on the line to block shots.
Looking at it from a statistical standpoint, the Minnesota Wild are fifth in the league in terms of blocked shots, having blocked 280 in 18 games thus far this year. That’s an average of just over 15 blocked shots per game.
Now, not all of those will be equal but during the St. Louis Blues game, I saw Marcus Foligno head down the tunnel to be checked out in the locker-room courtesy of taking a shot straight to the ankle. He’s not the only player I’ve cringed watching them absorb a shot lately either.
In terms of the players most frequently blocking shots, the top four are defensemen. That’s understandable. It’s the equal fourth highest on the list that creates a little cause for concern. The team run-down of blocked shots per 60 minutes reads as follows:
- Nick Seeler (7.9 blocked shots/per 60)
- Greg Pateryn (7 blocked shots/per 60)
- Jonas Brodin (5.2 blocked shots/per 60)
- Matt Dumba (3.8 blocked shots/per 60)
- Zach Parise (3.8 blocked shots/per 60)
- Marcus Foligno (3.7 blocked shots/per 60)
Having Matt Dumba, one of your top defensemen tallying so many isn’t ideal. If he were to cop an ankle or knee injury courtesy of an opposition slap shot, you’d struggle to find a replacement.
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Likewise, Zach Parise has a bit of a patchy medical history; is he really someone that you want to place in the line of fire, at risk of another injury?
Someone like Marcus Foligno finds himself on the list because he plays a certain role on the fourth line. Traditionally, shot-blocking would be in the job description.
However, with this all said, the shot-blocking is working for the team – they’re giving up just 31.6 shots against per game.
Obviously there’s still a bit of room for improvement there; under 30 would be ideal, but the playing style certainly has some visible rewards.
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Moving forward, it’d be great if they could play a game driven more so by dominating possession; offense is the best defense and all that. It’s unlikely with this current cohort though.
Likewise, a rough-and-ready hitting style wouldn’t suit them either and comes with it’s own risk of injury.
Maybe this is the best possible manner in which this Minnesota Wild roster can grind out wins.
I just hope it doesn’t lead to further injuries; that’d be the last thing we need after such a successful start to the year.
Statistics courtesy of Dobber Sports and NHL Injury Viz.