Let's Break'er Down!
For a long time, the Minnesota Wild have been dependant upon their defensive brand of hockey to hold them to one or two goal leads, and for a very long time it’s been successful.
With the improvements in Edmonton however, the added firepower in Calgary, and the loss of offensive weapons Pavol Demitra, Mark Parrish, and Brian Rolston, the Minnesota Wild may be in for more of a challenge than their defense-first style can handle.
Why have one when you can have two?
Every year it seems that a different goalie tandem will be manning the pipes for the Minnesota Wild. It used to be Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez, but when Roloson left, Niklas Backstrom took his place, and now Josh Harding and Backstrom are preparing for their second straight year as the top tandem in Minny.
So far in his young career, Harding has proven to own the number one ability that he was drafted for. Despite posting an 11-15 record last season and owning a slightly high 2.94 goals against average, Harding has stopped pucks with regularity, posting a .916 save percentage in 36 career NHL games.
Alongside him, Backstrom has been nearly unflappable in his two career NHL seasons. His 2.31 GAA from last season is actually higher than that of his rookie season (1.97), while each season he’s had a save percentage over .920. As he’s coming off his first 30-win season, Backstrom will look to repeat that same success, although with Harding’s continuing development, Backstrom could see a game total closer to his 41 of 2006/07 rather than the 58 he saw last season.
If Harding starts to really come into his own however, one has to wonder whether or not the Wild will shop Backstrom to help them out in other areas of their roster.
They always said three was company…
I just wonder if they were referring to the scoring threats employed by Minnesota when they said that.
In losing Demitra, Parrish, and Rolston, the Wild have lost a quality second line that could create some offense—a necessity when playing on a goal-starved team (The Wild were 18th in the NHL in goals scored last year and ninth in the West).
The main threat that everyone will always talk about, no matter who leaves, is Marian Gaborik. Gaborik is an accomplished scorer as he’s potted 30 or more goals in five of his past six seasons (the one season he didn’t he was holding out and began playing that season in Slovakia), and he’s also improving his play-making game, gathering a career-high 41 assists.
Joining Gaborik as the team’s official scorers will be Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. In an injury-shortened season, Saku’s little brother was on pace to eclipse his 2006/07 career-high of 54 points if he were to play in 70 or more games, so if he stays healthy this year he could easily reach 25 goals and 65 points if he were to play alongside Gaborik.
Bouchard meanwhile, is starting to look like he’s cut from the same mold as Adam Oates—one of the most underrated passers of this generation. With 50 assists last season, Bouchard displayed excellent vision and play-making ability, and if his linemates are able to convert on the chances he gives them, there’s no telling how h
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