Record: 24-21-3 Conference Rank: 10th Division Rank: 4th Top Scorer: Mikko Koivu (18 goals, 31 assists, 44 points) Top Goalie: Niklas Backstrom (21 wins, 2.62 GAA) Midseason Grade: C+
The Wild started the season slow, going 5-9-0 through September, but have been impressive over the last two months and have battled their way back into the playoff picture in the West. Their offense was supposed to take off this season with a new coach and a new system in place, but the Wild still have one of the lower goal outputs in the conference.
Martin Havlat hasn’t been scoring the way he did in Chicago, but he’s still doing his part to help ease the loss of longtime Wild star Marian Gaborik. Koivu continues his rise to elite status with another impressive offensive year, proving he’s a player that the Wild can build around for the future.
In net, Niklas Backstrom has continued to play well, and Minnesota has a solid defensive corps. Marek Zidlicky is one of the better powerplay quarterbacks in the league, although the Wild could definitely use some improvement in that department. In what has become typical for Minnesota, not many weaknesses that are glaringly obvious, but no real strong points around which to make a championship run.