Never before has a Wild team been as dominant at the All-Star break as this year’s team. Minnesota’s 69 points leads the Western Conference and they’ve been the best team in the entire league since Dec. 4.
Nearly everything the Wild has done through 48 games has been impressive.
Among the stats and facts to be braggadocious about, none provides more “wow factor” than how few games they’ve lost by more than a goal. Hint: an owl can get to the center of a Tootsie Pop with the same number of licks.
Three.
They lost 6-3 to the Islanders in the sixth game of the season and have since lost two other games by two goals. No team in the league, not even the 72-point Capitals, can claim such consistency.
To put it simply: The Wild are kicking ass.
- 15 road wins – 1st in the NHL
- 160 goals – 3rd in the NHL
- 109 goals allowed – 2nd in the NHL
- +51 goal differential – 2nd in the NHL
- 11 losses in regulation – 2nd in the NHL
- 21.5 % power play – 10th in the NHL
- 84.2 % penalty Kill – 5th in the NHL
Those are season totals. But they’ve obliterated the league with a 21-3-1 record since Dec. 4. In that time they rank:
- 1st in wins (21)
- 2nd in goals (94)
- 4th in goals allowed (59)
- 5th on the power play (25.4 %)
- 3rd in penalty kill (85.9 %)
- 1st in road wins (11)
And they’re the only team in the NHL since Dec. 4 without a regulation road loss (11-0-1).
Consider this: Mikael Granlund has been playing at a ridiculous level. His 28 points in since Dec. 4 are tied second most in the league, trailing only a couple of no namers – Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who each have 29 points.
All of that offense while Devan Dubnyk leads the NHL in save percentage (.936) and goals-against average (1.88).
The State of Hockey has never been this hot.
