NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 8th - Page Two
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Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks
| Minnesota Wild | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-9-5 | 21-12-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.16 | 2.11 | 18.90% | 85.50% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.68 | 22.70% | 81.50% |
Minnesota fought the good fight yesterday afternoon but could not get over the job done as they lost in Los Angeles to the Kings by a 4-3 overtime score. The Wild still have a comfortable lead for second place in the Central Division with 53 points. The Wild made some changes before the game yesterday as Nino Niederreiter was moved to the top line to skate with Zach Parise and Eric Staal. Parise has looked more like his old self of late as six of his 18 points have been registered over the last five games. Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund could make for a nice GPP play from the second line as they have combined for five goals and eight assists over the last five games. Granlund is third on the team in scoring with ten goals and 21 assists. Charlie Coyle makes for a decent one-off play here as has moved into second place on the teams scoring list with 13 goals and 19 assists. He has even more value as he skates on the top power play unit with Parise and Staal. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba are the plays from the point as both receive the extra ice time when the wild draw a penalty. Suter is always the choice for me as he is a more consistent player as he leads usually leads the team defensive corps in scoring year in and year out.
Anaheim comes into this one with a 13-4-2 home record which is half of the reason why they lead the Pacific Division with 50 points. The Wild get in fresh off of playing Los Angeles yesterday afternoon and should be ripe for the pickings tonight. Ryan Getzlaf has skated on his own but that’s about it as he tries to get back into the lineup from his recent injury. Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell skate on the top line with Joseph Cramarossa and should be considered for your cash game plays tonight. Perry and Rakell are the stronger plays as they get the extra time on the top power play unit. Perry has tallied 14 of his 30 points on the power play while Rakell has 16 goals and sven assists in the 30 games he has suited up for. The second line of Ryan Kelser, Jakob Silfverbeg and Andrew Cogliano make for a decent GPP line stack but more importantly is Kesler’s value as a one-off. Kesler leads the team with 34 points and leads the team with 15 power play points. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the choices from the back line but Fowler is the one who has been more productive so far this season. Fowler has nine goals and 13 assists on the season while he leads the team by logging over 24 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. This will be a tough test for the Ducks as the Wild are one of the better defensive teams in the league.
Elite Plays
MIN: Eric Staal
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler
Secondary Plays
MIN: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, Jakob Silfverberg