A big part of the reason that Wild forward Mikael Granlund is having a breakout season has been the decision to play him almost exclusively on the wing, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Minnesota experimented with him on that side late last year under former interim head coach John Torchetti and new bench boss Bruce Boudreau decided to keep the duo of Granlund with Mikko Koivu at center together.
The call to keep them together has certainly worked out for the Wild. Granlund has 36 points already this season (just eight shy of matching his career best from last year) while Koivu is on pace for a 60 point campaign, a mark he hasn’t reached since 2010-11. Meanwhile, Minnesota leads the Western Conference in goals scored, something we’re not used to seeing from a club that had a long-time reputation as a defense-first squad.
Other notes from around the league:
- In what appears to be merely a procedural move, the Red Wings will transfer goalie Jimmy Howard onto LTIR, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. There’s no indication of a setback for the netminder, who has been skating in recent days. However, doing so will allow the team to activate Darren Helm off of LTIR without requiring any further roster moves as he is close to returning and could suit up tomorrow. Helm has been out of the lineup since November 15th due to a dislocated shoulder. If he is activated, center Steve Ott is expected to be placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury to open a spot on the active 23-man roster.
- Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie reached a rare milestone yesterday. By suiting up in his 500th career NHL game last night, he became just the eighth player to play in 500 games at both the NHL and AHL levels, via the AHL’s Communications Department (Twitter link).
- The Flames announced that center Sam Bennett will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. The fourth overall pick in 2014 has been mired in a major slump lately, scoring just three goals without any assists in his last 19 games. Calgary also received some good news on the injury front today as winger Micheal Ferland is set to return from a lower body injury that caused him to miss the last three games.
Should have also mentioned that Jason Zucker has been an asset on that line with his speed and scoring. All three have been playing well! Well done guys. Keep it up Wild
Shows what a good coach and change of hockey philosophy can do for you. For all those upset when Yeo was fired…told ya so!! Too many guys used in the wrong spots and being out coached night in night out does not create a winning environment or attitude. They’re learning what winning is like now.