I've been avoiding talking about Despres too often, but there was a sequence last night that perfectly displayed what this team lacks in the top-4, what they were missing last year, and why they need to give him more minutes:
3rd period, Adams and Scuderi doing their best, "no one cares about Corsi" dance, Minnesota had sustained pressure for something close to a minute. The puck goes behind the net, Minnie player gets it, Despres ragdolls him into the boards, puck free, cycle over.
Last year, the cycle would have never ended until it was either in the back of the net or the goalie froze it. But Despres has that muscle, that physicality, the kind of play you need to end the down low plays.
In short: give him 16 minutes a night, *******s.