Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Houses of Horrors

Its been a decade since the Wild have won in Ottawa. Photo: Front Page Media Group
Last night, the Wild rode a two goal performance from Mikko Koivu and a 21 save effort from Josh Harding to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The win was the fourth in a row for the Wild, and pushed their record on the young season to 13-4-4.

Now the Wild leave the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center and play their next four games on the road. So far this year, the Wild are 3-3-2 on the road and have won two of their last three in the new white uniforms.

But as the Wild look to build on their strong play as of late, they will have to do so in arenas they have not had good luck in, in the past. Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and St. Louis are all on the schedule for the next week, and all four have seen their fair share of bad games from Minnesota. Here is the rundown of the Wild and those arenas:

Bell Centre (Montreal)
2-2-2 Wild all-time record at Bell Centre 
Last win in MTL 12/17/09

Canadian Tire Centre (Ottawa)
1-3-1 Wild all-time record at Canadian Tire Centre
Last win in OTT 2/25/03

MTS Centre (Winnipeg)
0-1-0 Wild all-time record at MTS Centre
Last win at WPG 10/14/08*

Scottrade Center (St. Louis)
8-9-6 Wild all-time record at Scottrade Center
Last win in STL 2/11/11

*Game was played when Winnipeg was known as the Atlanta Thrashers

As you can see, not much luck has helped the Wild out there in the past. The most glaring fact is that they have not won in Ottawa since 2003 behind a 28 save shutout by Dwayne Roloson. True, they haven't had many chances since, but still worth noting here.

Perhaps the biggest test for the Wild on this trip comes during their last stop when they visit Scottrade Center. The Wild and Blues have been swapping positions in the division standings for the past two weeks. The Blues have had the Wild's number in the past couple of seasons, and are on a current five game losing streak against St. Louis (0-3-2). This is a much different Wild team from recent years (they are finally getting secondary scoring), and could finally stand up to the Blues who have regularly beaten the Wild into submission. 

Last year, we saw the Wild end losing streaks in Vancouver, Detroit, and Dallas. They now have chances to snap losing streaks in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and St. Louis. 

Here's to hoping that at least one of them ends...


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

No comments:

Post a Comment