Minnesota is white-hot

Who's the hottest team in the West? None other than the Minnesota Wild, 8-2 in their last 10 games. Currently in a tie for the NW division lead, Minnesota is looking like a team that could reach the playoffs for the first time in team history.

The man reason behind the surge is leading Rookie of the Year candidate Vesa Toskala. Vesa is 8-1 with 2 shutouts, 7th in the league in goals against with a 2.31 mark and 6th in save percentage at .910.

"We knew going into the year we had two quality guys in net in Vesa and Cloutier," said Wild GM Greg Dockus. "Dan struggled early and once we plugged Vesa in, we just happened to take off. I have no doubt that if Dan were to get back in there, he would step up to the challenge, but Vesa has been great. He's easily the Rookie of the Year so far."

The Vancouver Canucks were the Wilds' latest victim, falling 5-1. Last time out, a cheap elbow by Jim Dowd earned the Canuck a 5 game suspention. While Dowd is still out, the Wild played rugged defenseman Eric Cairns to make sure things stayed calm. Not only did the Wild have plenty of rook to stake, Cairns chipped in with a goal and was + 3 on the night.

 

Make that 10 out of 12 as Marco Sturm scored his 2nd goal of the game in overtime to lead the streaking Minnesota Wild over Atlanta 5-4. Dan Cloutier continued to struggle in net, allowing 4 goals in place of #1 goalie Vesa Toskala, but the Wild continue to find ways to win.

Sturm now is 4th in the HFNHL in scoring as he took a breakout pass from Martin St Louis down the wing and roofed a backhand past Robert Esche.

GM Greg Dockus spent tens of millions on free agents Perreault, Tucker and Drake, but all three have struggled ON the ice early in the season. But the locker room influence of those three have helped Sturm, St Louis, Ribeiro, Bergeron and others make the Wild a legit Stanley Cup contender. If the 3 new additions can step up on the ice, the Wild could be a scary team.