Slumping Minnesota Wild host Florida Panthers – NHL Preview
The regressing Minnesota Wild have already been eliminated from the playoff contention and it seems that they will end the season on a losing note.
Wild’s recent performance has been very poor and their inconsistency has really hurt them throughout the present season.
They have six more games left in the regular season and they are going to play their next game against Florida Panthers on Thursday, March 29, 2012, at Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
As for Panthers, the only goal is to enter the playoffs carrying a winning momentum.
Let’s have a look at both teams.
Wild
They are ranked at 13th spot in the Western Conference with 72 points after 76 games.
Wild have played 13 games this month and could only win three of them. At present, they are on a three-game losing streak with the defeats coming against Buffalo Sabres (3-1), Washington Capitals (3-0) and New York Rangers (3-2).
Despite being eliminated from the playoff contention, Wild are determined to win the rest of the games and finish the game on a positive note.
Their centre, Kyle Brodziak, said after the last defeat:
"It's just the little mental lapses we've got to get rid of. We have a jersey to represent, and we have fans that come out and support us and there's a lot of reasons to keep playing and keep working as hard as we can."
Panthers
Panthers are leading the Southeast Division and are ranked at third spot in the Eastern Conference with 89 points after 76 games.
In their last game, Panthers defeated Montreal Canadiens to snap their three-game losing streak.
Panthers and Canadiens scored one goal each in the first period and the latter scored another in the second to take the lead. Panthers, however, equalised in the final period to force the game to overtime, which went goalless and shootout was called.
Panthers scored the only goal of the shootout to beat Montreal.
Panthers’ goaltender, Scott Clemmensen, said after the game:
"We're in the driver's seat and we want to tighten our grip a bit. In a perfect world, we could go into Washington next week and have a big cushion and take that pressure off ourselves.”
Predictions
Panthers have an edge.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might stay under six.
If Wild win, the winning margin could be less than two goals.
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