Gameday Thread – Game 34 – Wild @ Habs

Well, well, well.  Look who’s back in Montreal. 

That’s right, Wild Nation faithful.  Guillaume Latendresse is returning to Montreal tonight to help the Wild dispatch his former team. 

While the game will likely be much more than just G-Lat versus the Montreal Canadiens, it is certainly a storyline that bears observation. 

Since arriving in Minnesota, Latendresse has been nothing short of marvelous.  He has played with a physical edge, he has shown a tireless work ethic and he has produced.  Since arriving in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, G-Lat has notched three goals and an assist in 10 games, not to mention a shootout goal against the Anaheim Ducks. 

The bottom line is that, suddenly he has had the weight of the world lifted off of his shoulders — and it shows.

But tonight the young power forward heads home again, hoping to rub some salt in the wound against his former team. 

Lineups
While I have not heard anything of yet regarding the Wild’s lineup for tonight’s game, I can’t imagine much changing for tonight’s game, though Andrew Ebbett has traveled with the team and may see action in either tonight’s or Saturday’s game.  Were I setting the lineups, though, here’s what it would look like:

Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Kobasew-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Earl-Ebbett-Sheppard

This is a quick, undersized lineup that the Wild are facing tonight and it is a lineup that has a wealth of skill on it.  The biggest mistake the Wild could make, in my opinion, would be to put Derek Boogaard on the ice tonight.  Boogaard has not been able to catch a break over the last few games and, against Vancouver especially, his reputation has worked against him.  In a game that will likely be up tempo, it will be important for the Wild to put their best foot forward, so to speak.

Zidlicky-Zanon
Schultz-Johnsson
Hnidy-Stoner

There aren’t many changes here, but I’ll be honest — I want to see what Clayton Stoner can do.  He was called up just before the road trip and he’s played very, very well in Houston so far this season.  The likelihood that John Scott would play anymore than 10-12 minutes in this game is very small, so I don’t see the harm in giving Stoner a shot and getting him in his first NHL action.

Backstrom

‘Nuff said.

What to Watch For
I already mentioned the return of Latendresse to Montreal, but to me, this is one of the less intriguing storylines of the evening. 

What is more intriguing is the match up between two teams that are seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum.  The Wild are coming off of a hard-fought win against the Columbus Blue Jackets and have lost just two games in their last 10.  The Habs, on the other hand, have struggled mightily as of late, losing four straight and just three of their last 10 games. 

The biggest thing to watch in this game will be special teams, however.  The Wild’s powerplay that started out so strong this season has faltered, with the team going zero for their last 19 opportunities with the man advantage.  Against a strong penalty killing team in the Habs, that isn’t going to be an easy stat to change.  Montreal sits at an 84% penalty kill, good for 8^th in the NHL. 

The Wild is a surging team, however.  Their play has been much improved from their 3-9-0 start and they are slowly clawing their way back up the standings.  As it stands today, they are just four points from the 8^th place Detroit Red Wings and three behind the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks. 

A successful road swing in Eastern Canada could go a long way towards pushing farther up the standings. 

Keys to the Game
How will G-Lat respond? 

The line of Latendresse, Brodziak and Havlat have been absolutely scintillating over the last couple games.  Havlat has six points in three games and has had a hand in six of the team’s last seven goals.  He has finally found linemates that he has chemistry with and the line is clicking. 

But, the pressure of Montreal had gotten to Latendresse before.  Will it get to him again tonight? 

I, for one, don’t think so. 

In Montreal, he was cast out to the fourth line.  His minutes cut and his confidence was shattered.  He has said himself that the fact that Richards thinks enough of him to play him consistently has helped and right now his confidence has got to be sky high. 

With a coach that trusts him enough to play him and is willing to give him every opportunity to succeed, G-Lat is starting to come into his own and is starting to apply everything that he has learned in his young career. 

The Wild also need to continue their trend of shooting, shooting and shooting some more. 

In games that they outshoot their opponents in, the Wild are 9-5-2 this season, compared to the Habs record of 8-11-2 when being outshot.  Minnesota needs to keep Carey Price busy all night long.  While Price is certainly a solid tender, he has not shown the elite level of play that he showed during his rookie season consistently and getting into his head will be paramount for the Wild’s success. 

The puck drops tonight from the Bell Centre at 6 pm CST and is televised on Fox Sports.