GAME DAY | Canadiens – Wild: Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy
Jordan Lambe
Pre-game Notes and Quotes
Wild Captain, Mikko Koivu: “As a line, as a team, we try to build on our game, so it always starts in the d-zone, and then we go from there, you have to defend well to be able to create, and that’s what we’re finally doing”.
The Wild have really been rolling recently, as they have won four of their last five games at home. They have also only failed to get a point twice in their past 11 games (with three losses in overtime over that span), but are currently on a modest two game losing streak after a 6-3 loss to the Stars last night.
The Canadiens have really been struggling to cope without Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, as they have won only a single game in their past nine. Add this to the fact that the Canadiens are also on a four game road losing streak, and it is very clear that they are going through a very rough patch. They have also allowed 17 goals against in their past four games.
The Canadiens are 4-1-1 so far this season in the second game of a back-to-back, while the Wile are 1-1-3. Both of these teams lost their game last night (Canadiens versus the Predators and Wild versus the Stars).
While the Canadiens have a 4-8-0 record versus teams in the Western Conference this season, The Wild boast a 5-2-0 record versus teams coming out of the Eastern Conference.
The Canadiens have dropped down in the goals against category, they are currently 15th in the league in goals against, with 87 in their first 35 games. The Wild’s defensive game has been very good, as they have allowed only 79 goals against in their first 32 games and are in 3rd in the league.
The Canadiens are currently in a tie for third place in the NHL in the goals for category, with 104 over their first 35 games. The Wild’s offense has been average this season as they rank 15th in the NHL in goals for with a total of 89 goals over their first 32 games this season.
Matchup
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN. | December 22, 8:00 PM ET | TV: NBCSN, RDS, SNE
2015-16 statistics
WILD
CANADIENS
38 (14th)
Points (League rank)
43 (5th)
17-8-6
Record
20-12-3
12-3-1
Home
11-6-2
5-5-5
Road
9-6-1
6-1-3
Last 10
2-8-0
2.77
G/G
2.97
2.09
GA/G
2.49
20.6
PP%
19.7
77.2
PK%
84.8
49.8
CF%*
54.0
51.5
CF60*
57.0
51.9
CA60*
48.5
*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Quick Note: Although Dale Weise doesn’t have a point in 12 games versus the Wild over his career, there is still a high probability he may show flashes of his magic tonight. First of all, on the second half of back to back games this season, Weise has five points in the six games (with 15 hits, plus-5 and 13 shots). Next, “Dutch Gretzkey” has gotten quite the promotion of late, to the first line with the always dangerous (albeit recently struggling), Max Pacioretty. A promotion to the top two lines is a key thing to look for when trying to find “bargain bin” players for daily fantasy hockey leagues. With 20 teams in action Tuesday night, there is a chance that teams in shallow leagues would have better starters than Weise, but he is a solid starter for deeper leagues or teams that don’t have a full roster.
Top scorers for the Wild at home this season are:
Thomas Vanek and Mikko Koivu (both with 18 points in 17 games).
Ryan Suter (with 15 points in 17 games)
Charlie Coyle (with 13 points in 17 games)
Top scorers for the Canadiens on the road this season are:
Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and P. K. Subban (all with 13 points in 16 games)
Alex Galchenyuk (with 11 points in 16 games)
Player stats from War-on-Ice, NHL.com and Yahoo Sports.
