With a big win against the Chicago Blackhawks this past Sunday, the Minnesota Wild have secured a spot at the top of not only the central division, but the entire western conference, as they pass the halfway point of the regular season. Despite the Wild’s lackluster start to the 2016-2017 season, Minnesota has definitely been giving the National Hockey League something to talk about over the past few weeks. The Minnesota Wild’s hot streak has them breaking franchise records left and right, along with landing them a third-place rank in the standings. There are some specific factors that are contributing to the Wild’s success as of late, and are predicted to continue to impact the rest of the regular season. A majority of this hype is revolving around new coaching staff, and notorious brick-wall, Devan Dubnyk.
Bruce Boudreu
USA Today quoted Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher stating that it was a relatively easy decision when selecting Bruce Boudreu as new head coach. This isn’t too hard to believe considering Boudreau’s success with the organization. This success can possibly be credited to Boudreu’s extensive NHL experience, as he has known how to win with each of the three NHL teams he has coached. Perhaps one of the best qualities of Boudreu’s coaching style is how much he demands from the players. With a twelve game winning streak earlier this season, it looks as though this quality is exactly what the Wild needed in order to gain some consistency, and rise in the regular season standings.
Devan Dubnyk
When it comes to Devan Dubnyk, the stats tell it all. With the highest save percentage (.937) and lowest GAA rating (1.85), Dubnyk is arguably the best goaltender in the National Hockey League. Despite his incredible amount of talent, Dubnyk remains humble as an obvious team player on the Minnesota wild. What fans seem to like most about Devan Dubnyk is that he is an actual brick wall- you can always rely on him to make the crazy saves that will lead the Wild to a victory. While on his way to his second consecutive all-star game, there is no doubt that Dubnyk will continue to contribute to the Minnesota Wild’s success this season.
This is only a slight glimpse at the contributions being made by the members of the Wild organization. It is worth noting that young players like Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, and Jason Zucker are all having career high seasons. Captain of the team, Mikko Koivu, is also having one of his best seasons on record. The utilization of talent, along with the impact of younger players stepping up, has lead to the current success of the Minnesota Wild. Along with leaving fans optimistic for a playoff run.
For more information on the MN Wild, check out these sites…
http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/16/your-minnesota-wild-are-better-than-ever-at-least-on-paper-2/
http://www.nhl.com/stats/leaders
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/are-the-minnesota-wild-stanley-cup-contenders-170032853.html