Minnesota in desperate need of a win against San Jose

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You hate saying that a game in early January is a ?must win? game for anyone, but that?s how it shapes up tonight for the Minnesota Wild.

Coming into tonight?s game against the Sharks (7:30 p.m. ET), the Wild have lost 11 of their last 12 games and have gone from being media darlings on top of the Western Conference to eighth in the conference and hanging on to a playoff spot by a thread. While defense and goaltending was keeping them on the winning side of things, things have cooled off considerably and the Wild?s poor offense is catching up to them.

Guys like Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, and Devin Setoguchi haven?t generated the sort of offense the Wild were hoping they would and Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding can only win so many 1-0 or 2-1 games on their own. Having to deal with the Sharks tonight won?t make life any easier.

San Jose comes in as the polar opposite of Minnesota winners of 8 out of their last 10 games. Antti Niemi is playing a special brand of goaltending that?s keeping opponents frustrated to no end all while the offense cruises. Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture are all at it again scoring goals and points in bunches bringing the Sharks to the top of the Pacific Division.

The Sharks might just be playing their best hockey of the year while the Wild are in in a horrible slide. That sounds like a recipe for bad things to happen to the Wild tonight. After a summer that saw these two teams entangled together thanks to three separate trades, their fortunes couldn?t be headed in more opposite directions.

 

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Best hockey of the year?


They?ve won four in a row, gained points in 11 of their last 12 games (8-1-3), and taken control of the Pacific Division despite playing fewer games than any of their rivals.

Are the San Jose Sharks playing their best hockey of the year, Joe Thornton?

?Yeah, we feel good and we have confidence,? said the captain. ?Our team game is really good, we?re getting some spectacular saves from [Antti Niemi and Thomas Greiss] when he comes in. The team has confidence now and we?re feeling really good about ourselves.?

Several times in November and December, head coach Todd McLellan cited the wins during the team?s successful 5-1 road trip at the end of October as the Sharks' best play. During that stretch, San Jose beat New Jersey, Boston, Nashville, Detroit and the New York Islanders to right the proverbial ship after an inconsistent start.

McLellan was asked today if the Sharks are playing just as well now as they were then.

?I think we?ve pushed our way back to that level,? he said. ?The thing that I like about our team right now, is the understanding of how the games are evolving or presenting themselves. We talk about the number three a lot, and they are understanding that and buying in, and playing with more details to their game.

?We were doing that on that trip [in October] as well, against some very good teams. We?re pushing the envelope to that point again.?

That?s not to say things are perfect.

Special teams play is still wildly inconsistent. The Sharks' penalty kill sits in 28th overall in the NHL (75.9 percent) while the power play is 16th (17.6 percent). In the last 19 games, the Sharks are just 8-for-64 with a man advantage (12.5 percent).

McLellan sees both of those units improving, though. The power play has scored a goal in three of the last five games, while the PK has allowed just four goals in the last nine games (23-for-27, 85.1 percent).

?The penalty kill has been pretty good. It hasn?t been excellent, but it?s been better than it was,? McLellan said. ?It?s not four people out of position, it?s just one guy that makes an error.

?The power play still has some work to do, but it has produced enough for us to be gaining points on most night.?

Thornton correctly pointed out that every team has areas in which would like to improve upon.

?Every team has their things they?d like to get better at. Some teams just want to get wins, and we?re just kind of nitpicking,? he said. ?It will get better. It?s just a matter of time, I think.?

The Sharks will play nine games in 15 days starting on Tuesday in Minnesota, leading up to the NHL All-Star break.

?We had our little tough skid there, but it seems like the New Year has been really kind to us,? Thornton said. ?We took care of our home games and played well going to Vancouver on that road trip, too. We?re feeling good and confident, and are ready to play some games.?

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Odds and ends: Colin White returned to practice on Monday from his lower body injury, and will accompany the team on its four-game road trip to Minnesota, Winnipeg, Columbus and Chicago. He and Jim Vandermeer remain on injured reserve. ? Brent Burns will play his first game in Minnesota on Tuesday night since getting traded to the Sharks from the Wild this summer. ?