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  • Wild Need To Be Wary of Golden Knights' Power Play in Round 1

    Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    That's Wild

    The Minnesota Wild are set to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a twisted reunion of sorts. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was back in 2021 and it was a significant series. It did end in seven games -- not in the Wild's favor -- but it was the end result of Kirill Kaprizov's rookie NHL season and the first taste of the new-look Minnesota Wild.

    Now, a few years later and the Wild have a more matured superstar along with some other rising talents to take on the beast of Nevada once again. These two teams are certainly different rosters -- Vegas got Jack Eichel on their roster since then -- but what about this season? What specifically should we keep an eye on as this series unfolds?

    Special teams can be the difference in a playoff round and it could be no different in this series. Through this season, Vegas managed to average 61.39 shots on goal per hour during the man advantage. Only the New Jersey Devils' 62.77 shots on goal per hour was higher across the NHL. The Wild did manage to stay afloat in the upper half of the rankings for this specific stat, with 55.55 shots on goal per hour on the power play, which was good for ninth in the league.

    The most major difference between the two teams on the power play is actual goals scored. Vegas again finished second in the entire league averaging 10.99 goals scored per hour. The Wild, on the other hand finished 21st with 7.2 goals scored per hour.

    Maybe the most interesting tidbit while comparing is that there are some similarities beyond shots on goal and actual goals scored. According to Evolving-Hockey, the Golden Knights earned 9.2 expected goals per hour on the power play, which was 12th-best in the league. But, the Wild are right behind them at 13 with 9.07. And it's the same with shot attempts -- Golden Knights at 105.48 attempts per hour, Wild at 102.75 and both in the middle of the league rankings.

    What should we make of this? The Golden Knights are clearly putting more pucks in the back of the net than the Wild on the power play, and managing to get more of their shots actually on net. Is this a talent issue, or more of a systems issue? We can't really place it, but there are significant differences in the result that Minnesota should be cautious of heading into Round 1.

    • Captain Jared Spurgeon isn't getting enough credit for his efforts this season for the Wild. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • Where are the Wild scoring from? And will it work in the playoffs? [Hockey Wilderness]
    • How Marc-Andre Fleury's surprise swan song stole the show in the Wild's season-saving win on Tuesday. [The Athletic]

    Off the trail...

    • The table is set and we are ready for playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens secured the final spot and the action starts on Saturday. [NHL.com]
    • Kris Letang underwent heart surgery. [TheScore]
    By Thomas Williams  

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    FredJohnson
    3 hours ago, Fezig said:

    The NHL and broadcaster's sure don't think much about this series. 9p start Sunday and 10p start on Tuesday. MN TV ratings don't matter, I guess.

    On the contrary, they know that most Mn fans will stay up that late.

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    RedLake
    3 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Or older and wiser so as to not piss off the wife by not going to bed with her.  She is fine if I get up early to watch, but not as accepting staying up late to watch hockey. I can record and rewatch the game, but not a fan of an upset/cutting off wife.  Will reserve that for later rounds….

    My Wife drinks all my beer during Wild games. It's better than getting nagged on. She also thinks #4 looks outta his element on the ice, and gets pissed at Boldys, Zuccs, Rossi's and NoJo buttonhooks.

    • Haha 1
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    SkolWild73
    1 minute ago, RedLake said:

    My Wife drinks all my beer during Wild games. It's better than getting nagged on. She also thinks #4 looks outta his element on the ice, and gets pissed at Boldys, Zuccs, Rossi's and NoJo buttonhooks.

    So it’s her that always posts during the game threads?  Or you just write what she tells you?

    • Haha 3
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    RedLake
    2 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    So it’s her that always posts during the game threads?  Or you just write what she tells you?

    6 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Or older and wiser so as to not piss off the wife by not going to bed with her.  She is fine if I get up early to watch, but not as accepting staying up late to watch hockey. I can record and rewatch the game, but not a fan of an upset/cutting off wife.  Will reserve that for later rounds….

    My Wife drinks all my beer during Wild games. It's better than getting nagged on. She also thinks #4 looks outta his element on the ice, and gets pissed at Boldys, Zuccs, Rossi's and NoJo buttonhooks.

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    Tony Abbott
    On 4/17/2025 at 9:00 AM, Pewterschmidt said:

    I look forward to this series settling the debate re: the importance of size in the playoffs (vs regular season).  Going to be watching Spurge, Rossi and Zuccy closely.  How effective are they during a playoff series?

    We all know what the ideal sample size is to prove things is: One.

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    M_Nels
    10 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Or older and wiser so as to not piss off the wife by not going to bed with her.  She is fine if I get up early to watch, but not as accepting staying up late to watch hockey. I can record and rewatch the game, but not a fan of an upset/cutting off wife.  Will reserve that for later rounds….

    The antithesis of Al & Peg Bundy 

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