Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks
Another team that has quietly had a very good month is Minnesota, posting an 8-3-1 record so far this month. This stretch of games has vaulted them back into a playoff position with a little bit of a cushion (four points). What’s amazing is they’re doing it on the back of third-string goalie Darcy Kuemper and an offense that has had fewer than 20 shots in five of those 12 games. They also have averaged under 20 shots on goal in their last four games; not surprisingly, the Wild have just six goals in those four games. The power play has also gone eight straight games without connecting (21 straight opportunities).
Anaheim has lost two games in their last five which isn’t much of a problem; a 60-percent win rate will give a team a monster season. What should worry Ducks fans is that in those five games, they’ve been outshot by 33 shots and that number would be a lot worse if you discount their game against Winnipeg where they doubled the Jets in shots. It’s hard win consistently if you get consistently outshot by 6-7 shots per game but they get a team that is struggling in that situation themselves tonight.
Anaheim has won both meetings between these two teams so far this year but both were one goal games. There were only 10 total power plays in those two games and the shot differential is negligible enough (four total in favor of Anaheim). The way these two teams are playing, this screams of a low-scoring game. I would avoid most skaters and take goaltender Jonas Hiller in a couple lineups (though I’m not confident about that, either).
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Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
(ANA) $7555 |
(MIN) $8030 |
Saku Koivu |
(ANA) |
Pat Maroon $6546 |
Good luck!
