Minnesota Wild preview: Ryan Suter leads aging but talented core
Strengths
Beautiful Blueline
No team allowed fewer five-on-five expected goals against per hour last season than the Wild (1.95). Head coach Bruce Boudreau has the reputation of being an offensive juggernaut, but give him credit for making Minnesota’s strength an outstanding one. This proves he’s a coach who adapts to the pieces he is given.
It all starts with their blueline. Suter, Spurgeon, Pateryn, Dumba, Brodin, and Seeler are all quality NHL defensemen. The first is laughing in the face of Father Time and is still a difference maker even as he ages. Their depth past those six guys is a bit alarming, but to be fair, that’s the case with a lot of teams.
Penalty Kill
The Wild’s shorthanded units ranked 13th overall last season, killing 81.25 percent of their penalties. I expect them to be even better this season. They allowed the third-fewest expected goals against per hour while killing penalties in 2017-18.
Shorthanded goaltending is volatile and unpredictable. Among goalies with at least 150 minutes spent shorthanded, Dubnyk was below average (22nd out of 35) and Stalock was above average (10th out of 35) as far as save percentage. It’s worth noting Dubnyk had the second-highest expected save percentage. If he does better, the Wild’s penalty kill is going to be a huge strength for them.
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Top Six Talent
I’m a huge fan of the Wild’s top two forward lines. Even if Staal doesn’t score 40+ goals again, he’s a guy who consistently scores at an impressive rate and can drive possession. Koivu’s defense makes his offensive shortcomings far less noticeable. He had his best season defensively in 2017-18, but he’s always posted outstanding numbers across the board there.
Zucker is an underrated talent. All the guy does is score goals and yet you rarely hear his name. Niederreiter is a versatile weapon and it’ll be fun to see how the Wild use his well-balanced skill set. If Coyle bounces back, Niederreiter could drop to the third line to make their lineup far deeper and more lethal.