The Minnesota Wild are on a roll as winners of their last five games. With the offense slowly creeping up, the club looks poised to take a run at the top spot in the Central Division.
The Minnesota Wild have climbed into contention in the Central Division. Although the Wild are still 6 points back of the Chicago Blackhawks as of this writing, they still have 3 games in hand. So if the Wild were to win those three extra games, they would tied for the division lead with the Blackhawks. The same Blackhawks who have the best record in the Western Conference.
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Dec 7, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk (40) tries to follow the puck through a spray of ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Minnesota defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Devan Dubnyk has been as steady as a rock for this team and he is the main reason the Wild are in the position they are in right now. He has played in all but 5 of the team’s games, as they have leaned heavily on the goaltender. And he has been nothing short of spectacular. Dubnyk currently leads the league in Goals Against Average (1.60), shutouts (4), and save percentage (.947). What is more, he currently has a 5 game win streak going and has not lost in regulation going back to the Colorado game on November 19th, a span of 9 games.
However, despite those numbers, Dubnyk does not lead the league in wins at this point, although he is tied for fourth. More than anything, that reflects the inconsistencies of the Wild’s offensive attack. Lately however, the team has played better on the offensive end, scoring 16 goals during this five game winning streak for an average of 3.2 per game. It has been enough to lift the team into the top of teams in the NHL in terms of goals scored. They now rank ninth in the NHL in the category, averaging 2.8 goals per game.
Dec 11, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter (22) celebrates his goal in the second period against the St Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
What has changed offensively? Good question, well for one, the Wild were never that bad of an offensive team, just inconsistent. They would score 6 goals one game against a team like Pittsburgh and then come out and score next to nothing the next night against a lesser opponent. There has started to be some consistency in the lines Bruce Boudreau puts out on the ice, and that has definitely helped. In particular the Staal line of Nino Niederreiter, Eric Staal, and Charlie Coyle has benefited from the chemistry developed over the last couple weeks.
In addition, it seems the veteran trio of Jason Pominville, Zach Parise, and Mikko Koivu have hit their stride as well. All three had relatively quiet starts to the season but have come on as of late. Over the winning streak Koivu has scored 3 points and Pominville 3. Parise has scored a point in consecutive games and has been firing shots to the tune of 17 over the past five games. The veterans are very important to what the team is trying to do and improved contribution from them has meant greater success for the team as well.
Overall, the team is firing on all cylinders at the moment, with the offense finally backing up what the team is doing defensively. Dubnyk has continued to be great as well. Keep it going and they may be able to take the division lead.
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