 |
Thursday, April 24
Updated:
May 9, 9:05 AM ET
Pivotal players: Gaborik & Naslund
By E.J. Hradek
ESPN The Magazine
Marian Gaborik
Minnesota Wild
GP: 81
G-A-P: 30-35-65
+/-: +12
PIM: 46
First round:
7 GP, 4-2-6, +1, 2 PIM
|
|
Markus Naslund
Vancouver Canucks
GP: 82
G-A-P: 48-56-104
+/-: +6
PIM: 52
First round:
7 GP, 4-3-7, -1, 10 PIM
|
|
Jacques Lemaire's Wild is all about team play. It was a total team performance-with a special gold stars going to goalies Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez-that propelled the third-year expansion club past the powerful Avalanche in the first round.
They'll need a similar team performance to stop the high-octane Canucks, who seem to have regained their mojo in the first round. Like the Wild, the Canucks came back from a 1-3 deficit to win their series.
The Wild also will need continued production from top forward Marian Gaborik, who scored a key goal in Game 6 and Game 7 of the series against the Avs. And, in case you forgot, he scored those critical goals against a goalie named Patrick Roy. That's not too bad for a 21-year-old kid in his first NHL playoff series.
Gaborik finished the series with a team best four goals. He tied center Sergei Zholtok and left wing Andrew Brunette for the club lead with six points.
Against the Canucks, he'll be working against a defense that includes tough guy Ed Jovanovski and underrated Mattias Ohlund. As a group, that defensive unit likes to take chances to create offense. If they're not careful, the lightning fast Gaborik-who won the league's fastest skater contest at All-Star Weekend-will make them pay.
During the season series between the Northwest Division rivals, which finished in a 2-2-1 tie, Gaborik rang up five goals and nine points. In Minnesota's two wins over Vancouver, Gaborik netted four goals and dished out three assists. If the Canucks can't keep him in check, their task will be that much tougher.
|
|
After a disappointing season-ending home ice loss to the Kings, which cost the Canucks the Northwest Division title, captain Markus Naslund-addressing the crowd-said his club had "choked." Then, Naslund guaranteed he and his teammates would play a lot better in the playoffs.
After a slow start (an ugly 6-0 Game 1 loss to the Blues), the Canucks got better and better throughout a tough first round match-up. By Game 7, Naslund's team was playing a lot better. They dominated the decisive game, winning 4-1. Naslund contributed a key power-play goal in the series-clinching win.
Dangerous in any situation, Naslund becomes nearly unstoppable on the power play. This season, exactly half (24) of his personal best 48 goals and more than half (54) of his career-best 104 points came with the man-advantage. In the first round, the ratio remained the same. Two of his four goals and four of his seven points were scored on the power play.
The Wild did a nice job limited very skilled Avs' power play unit. Minnesota held Colorado-with Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Rob Blake-to four goals on 26 attempts. They'll have to be better against the Canucks, who hurt the Blues with four PPGs in the last three games.
Coach Jacques Lemaire's penalty killers will focus on shutting down Naslund, who likes to set up on the off-wing (right side) half wall. If they give him room, he can score from a distance with his laser-like wrist shot. If they pressure him, he can set up teammates like Todd Bertuzzi. They'll have to search for a middle ground in defending against him.
No doubt, the Wild's penalty killers will have their work cut out for them. If Naslund continues to do damage on the power play, the Wild will have a tough time finding enough goals to win the series.
|
| |
|
