NHL season surprise: Surprising Wild
When the NHL futures odds came out for the 2006 NHL season, many sportsbooks had the Minnesota Wild listed as favorites in the Northwest Division… not the favorites to win the division but to finish last (+12500 to win the Stanley Cup).
The Wild have surprised everybody in the NHL with their 9-2-0 start, including 7-0 at home, which has vaulted them into first place in the division.
The Wild are relying on the league’s second-ranked defense to win games, and it is working to near perfection. G Manny Fernandez has been stellar between the pipes in leading a defense that is giving up an average of 1.91 goals per contest.
Fernandez ranks second in the NHL with a 1.79 GAA and 942 save percentage and is tied for first with 8 wins. Minnesota’s defense has also been brilliant on the penalty kill, as it leads the NHL with a 92.9 percent success rate.
RW Brian Rolston has been a scoring machine so far this season with 9 goals and 13 total points. C Pierre-Marc Bouchard is among the league leaders with 10 assists. The Wild need RW Pavol Demitra to find his goal scoring touch once again, however, as he only has two goals.
Minnesota’s stout defense and superior penalty killing make it a very dangerous team. If Rolston can keep on scoring and if Demitra and RW Marian Gaborik can start scoring consistently, the Wild could make a serious run through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Stanley Cup Prediction: Our choice is the San Jose Sharks, a team that often shines after millions of hockey fans in the East have gone to bed.
