The New Path in the North: A Minnesota Wild Dynasty (NHL 09)

[thrashman]

WILD BRING NUMMELIN BACK ON 1-YEAR DEAL


The Wild hope Petteri Nummelin can solidify their 6th defenseman spot.

The Minnesota Wild welcomed a familiar face back to the team today as they announced they have signed free agent defenseman Petteri Nummelin to a 1-year-deal worth $475,000. At 36 years old, its almost certain that Nummelin will be a stop gap until next season when some of the younger players are ready to contend for a spot on the team.

The Finnish offensive-defenseman spent the last two seasons with the Wild but wasn't re-signed in the offseason by former GM Doug Risebrough. Nummelin has three years of NHL experience which includes a stint in 2000-2001 with the Columbus Blue Jackets before he headed to play for Lugano in Switzerland. In 139 NHL games Nummelin has 9 goals and 36 assists. He was also a member of Finland's silver medal team at the 2006 Olympics.

"We think Petteri can add an offensive punch to our third defense pairing that we haven't had this season," Wild GM Alex Clark said. "Obviously he's familiar with most of the players on the team, and although the style of play for us has changed some, I'm sure with him being an offensive-defenseman those changes are welcomed."

Since trading Kurtis Foster to Buffalo, the Wild have only had six defenseman on the club roster. With Martin Skoula having a few too many mental lapses and no one in the AHL seemingly ready to play at the NHL level, the Wild hope Nummelin can sure up his side of the ice with the defensively responsible Kim Johnsson as a linemate.

[thrashman]

AVERAGE OF LATE


The Boogeyman has been re-inserted into the lineup to try and spark the team.

MINNESOTA 4 COLUMBUS 6
- RJ Umberger 1 goal, 3 assists
- Nikita Filatov 2 goals
- Mike York game winning goal
- Jakub Voracek 1 power play goal
- Fredrik Modin 1 goal
- Maxim Afinogenov 1 power play goal, 1 assist
- Mikko Koivu and James Sheppard 1 power play goal each
- Owen Nolan 1 goal

PHOENIX 2 MINNESOTA 3
- Nick Schultz game winning power play goal
- Maxim Afinogenov and Kim Johnsson 1 goal each
- Martin Hanzal and Petr Prucha 1 goal each

EDMONTON 5 MINNESOTA 3
- Dustin Penner hat trick
- Ales Hemsky 1 goal, 1 assist
- Patrick O'Sullivan 1 power play goal
- Marian Gaborik 2 goals
- Derek Boogaard 1 goal

ANAHEIM 4 MINNESOTA 5
- Colton Gillies 2 goals
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard 1 power play goal
- Marc-Andre Bergeron and James Sheppard 1 goal each
- Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf 1 goal, 1 assist each
- Rob Niedermayer and Ben Clymer 1 goal each

MINNESOTA 3 CHICAGO 4 OT
- Samuel Pahlsson 2 goals (game tying goal with 3.4 seconds left in 3rd Period)
- Martin Havlat game winning goal
- Duncan Keith 1 goal
- James Sheppard and Colton Gillies 1 goal each
- Maxim Afinogenov 1 power play goal

WILD RECORD THROUGH 45 GAMES: 35-6-4 (1ST IN WEST)

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RESURGENT MAX
It looks like the cure to Maxim Afinogenov's recent woes was to get out of Buffalo. Since coming to the Wild, the Russian speedster is at a point-per-game pace with 3 goals and 9 assists in 12 games. With Pierre-Marc Bouchard as the other winger on the 2nd line, opponents are having a hard time keeping up with the two blazing skaters which has been creating a lot of open ice.



FALLING BACK TO EARTH
Although 5 goals in 12 games wouldn't be considered a slump for most players, considering at one point that Marian Gaborik had 39 goals in 33 games, this has to be considered a down point of the season for him. The opportunities have not been quite as frequent recently, but mainly Gaborik has been missing a lot of shots he was netting earlier in the year. Also disturbing is that in the past five games Gaborik is a -6 player in plus/minus.

[thrashman]

2009 NHL ALL-STAR ROSTERS



FORWARDS
Paul Kariya (St. Louis Blues)
Brad Richards (Dallas Stars)
Marian Gaborik (Minnesota Wild)
Daniel Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings)
Teemu Selanne (Anaheim Ducks)
Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings)
Olli Jokinen (Calgary Flames)
Milan Hejduk (Colorado Avalanche)
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (Minnesota Wild)
Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton Oilers)
Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild)

DEFENSEMEN
Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)
Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
Brent Burns (Minnesota Wild)
Brian Campbell (Chicago Blackhawks)
Keith Yandle (Phoenix Coyotes)
Rostislav Klesla (Columbus Blue Jackets

GOALTENDERS
Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Anaheim Ducks)





FORWARDS
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
Erik Cole (Carolina Hurricanes)
Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators)
Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers)
Andrei Kostitsyn (Montreal Canadiens)
Brian Rolston (New Jersey Devils)
Thomas Vanek (Buffalo Sabres)
Sean Bergenheim (New York Islanders)
Nathan Horton (Florida Panthers)
Simon Gagne (Philadelphia Flyers)
Jason Blake (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes)

DEFENSEMEN
Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)
Derek Morris (New York Rangers)
Mike Green (Washington Capitals)
Paul Ranger (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Joe Corvo (Carolina Hurricanes)

GOALTENDERS
Kari Lehtonen (Atlanta Thrashers)
Martin Biron (Philadelphia Flyers)

[thrashman]

DANIEL SEDIN LIFTS WEST IN COMEBACK WIN OVER EAST


Vancouver's Daniel Sedin scored two goals in the final five minutes of the game, including the game-winner with under a minute left in regulation.


GAME SUMMARY


1st Period
EAST E.Cole(A.Ovechkin) 0:40
WEST S.Weber PP(H.Zetterberg) 7:52
WEST B.Campbell(P.Bouchard,S.Horcoff) 18:40
2nd Period
EAST I.Kovalchuk(M.Green,A.Kostitsyn) 11:04
EAST N.Horton SH(J.Corvo,T.Vanek) 12:01
EAST J.Blake(I.Kovalchuk,D.Morris) 13:38
EAST S.Gonchar PP(D.Heatley,A.Ovechkin) 15:35
3rd Period
WEST A.Frolov(O.Jokinen,S.Weber) 5:13
WEST B.Richards 7:38
WEST D.Sedin PP(S.Weber) 15:19
WEST D.Sedin(B.Burns,B.Campbell) 19:22
WEST M.Hejduk EN(O.Jokinen,A.Frolov) 19:41

Shots - WEST 27 EAST 40

FINAL SCORE - WEST 7 EAST 5

3 STARS


1. Daniel Sedin (WEST) - 2 goals


2. Shea Weber (WEST) - 1 goal, 2 assists


3. Ilya Kovalchuk (EAST) - 1 goal, 1 assist

[thrashman]

DEFENSE AND GOALTENDING OPTIONAL


After a brief slump, Marian Gaborik has found his goal scoring touch again.

LOS ANGELES 6 MINNESOTA 8
- Antti Miettinen game winning goal, 2 assists
- Mikko Koivu 2 goals
- Dan Fritsche 2 shorthanded goals (1 empty net)
- Maxim Afinogenov 1 power play goal, 1 assist
- Colton Gillies shorthanded goal
- James Sheppard 1 goal
- MIN scored final 4 goals of game
- Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar 2 goals each
- Justin Williams 1 power play goal, 1 assist
- Oscar Moller 1 goal, 1 assist

TORONTO 7 MINNESOTA 6
- Jiri Tlusty 2 goals, 2 assists
- Jason Blake 2 goals
- Nikolai Kulemin 1 goal, 1 assist
- Lee Stempniak and Ryan Hamilton 1 goal each
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard 1 goal, 3 assists
- Maxim Afinogenov 2 goals
- James Sheppard 1 goal, 2 assists
- Marian Gaborik and Marek Zidlicky 1 goal each

MINNESOTA 9 EDMONTON 8 SO
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard 2 goals, 2 assists
- Maxim Afinogenov 2 goals, 1 assist
- Marian Gaborik 1 goal, 1 assist
- Mikko Koivu 1 power play goal
- James Sheppard and Colton Gillies 1 goal each
- MIN outscored EDM 5-1 in 3rd Period
- Ales Kotalik hat trick, 2 assists
- Robert Nilsson 1 goal, 1 assist
- Patrick O'Sullivan 1 power play goal
- Fernando Pisani, Dustin Penner, and Gilbert Brule 1 goal each

MINNESOTA 6 VANCOUVER 2
- Marian Gaborik hat trick
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard 2 goals
- Colton Gillies shorthanded goal
- Steve Bernier 1 power play goal
- Michel Ouellet 1 goal

ANAHEIM 3 MINNESOTA 4
- Mikko Koivu 1 goal, 2 assists
- Marian Gaborik 1 goal, 1 assist
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard game winning goal
- Owen Nolan 1 goal
- Chris Pronger, Corey Perry, and Eric Boguniecki 1 goal each

WILD RECORD THROUGH 50 GAMES: 39-7-4 (1ST IN WEST)

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BRILLIANT BOUCHARD
With 6 goals in the past 4 games, Pierre-Marc Bouchard has already set a career high for goals this season with 26 as he continues to be on fire this season. Bouchard also added 5 assists over that 4 game span, and has jumped to third in the league in scoring with 58 points, only trailing teammates Marian Gaborik and Mikko Koivu.



NUMMELIN BENCHED
It looks like the return of defenseman Petteri Nummelin will be a short one because the title of "defenseman" is misleading when it comes to the Finland native. Martin Skoula is back on the blueline after Nummelin played just 5 games for Minnesota since being signed as a free agent. While the bad defense in the games Nummelin played clearly wasn't all his fault, Nummelin's -5 rating is already by far a team low.

[canucksfan33]

LOL 9-8! That's crazy!

Good job with this.

Even though this is my first post in here, I've been following.

[thrashman]

50 GAME STAT UPDATE

                  GP   G   A   PTS   PIMS   +/-
M.GABORIK         50   50  27   77   24     26
M.KOIVU           50   32  34   66   18     28
P.BOUCHARD        50   26  32   58   12     22
B.BURNS           50    4  46   50   22     26
J.SHEPPARD        50   25  23   48    8     13
M.ZIDLICKY        50    4  36   40   49     21
A.MIETTINEN       50   12  25   37   28     28
N.SCHULTZ         50    2  34   36   37     25
M.AFINOGENOV      51   13  19   32   45     11
M.BERGERON        50    7  23   30   30     21
E.BELANGER        50   10  17   27   18      5
C.GILLIES         50   16  10   26    4     10
O.NOLAN           50   11  10   21   24      4
K.JOHNSSON        50    1  12   13   12     11
D.FRITSCHE        50    9   2   11    4     11
C.MACARTHUR       41    5   5   10    6      1
S.VEILLEUX        38    3   6    9    9      7
M.SKOULA          30    0   8    8   14      7
C.CLUTTERBUCK     33    4   1    5    9      6
D.BOOGAARD        12    1   1    2   20     -1
P.NUMMELIN         5    0   0    0    2     -5
 
                  GP   W   L   GAA   SV%   SO
N.BACKSTROM       30   24  3   3.25  .899   3
J.HARDING         24   15  8   2.35  .920   4

[thrashman]

Quote: Originally Posted by canucksfan33

LOL 9-8! That's crazy! Good job with this. Even though this is my first post in here, I've been following.

Thanks for following. I appreciate it!

Yeah things got insane for a few games. It was a combination of both teams playing terrible defense and a lot of soft goals.