Washington Capitals vs. Minnesota Wild: 2015 Opponent Outlook

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals and the Minnesota Wild are emerging as two of the NHL’s top contenders. Are the Capitals and Wild destined to meet up in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals?

The Washington Capitals and the Minnesota Wild are two teams that are looking to not only make the playoffs in the 2015-16 season but also win their first Stanley Cups. The Capitals and Wild will be in very strong and competitive divisions. Each appear to be ready to make serious runs at a championship led by their respective goaltenders. 

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Unlike the Capitals, who made an offseason splash for the second straight season, the Wild had a pretty uneventful summer. The team did lock up rejuvenated goaltender Devan Dubnyk to a six-year, $26 million contract after playing out of his mind with the Wild. He posted a 27-9-2 record with .936 SV% and 1.78 GAA after being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes.

The team also signed Mike Reilly, a 22-year-old defenseman who was a free agent out of the University of Minnesota. Reilly was originally a 4th round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011, but he opted not to sign with the team before the team’s rights to him expired. He is an impressive young defenseman who had more than a handful of team’s looking to sign him. He will look to make the team out of training camp, but even if he doesn’t, there probably won’t be a very long wait for him to push his way onto the team.

It shouldn’t come as a shock that the Wild stayed quiet this offseason. Though the team has been victimized three straight years in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks, much like the Capitals, they have all of the pieces to finally break through.

The center depth on the Wild is pretty good, which is a good recipe for teams with Stanley Cup aspirations. Mikael Granlund and veteran Mikko Koivu will fill the top two center spots, while youngsters such as Charlie Coyle and Erik Haula will have a shot at bottom six roles down the middle.

Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek will fill in on the left side. Parise is one of the best all-around players in the league, and Vanek is always dangerous. Jason Pominville and perhaps Nino Niederreiter will aim to play opposite of those two, filling out the top-six on the right wing.

The Wild blue line is very young but also very impressive. Ryan Suter will play huge minutes again this season, and one of the best young defensemen in the league, Jonas Brodin, will be a good complement. The bottom-four could include Marco Scandella, Mathew Dumba, the aforementioned Mike Reilly and Jared Spurgeon.

The Wild’s net will be filled by Devan Dubnyk for the foreseeable future. While expectations will be high given his contract and his extraordinary run last season, he will at the very least be better than the revolving door of goaltenders the team has gone through over recent seasons.

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The Capitals faced the Minnesota Wild twice last season. Both contests came during the month of March. The Wild beat the Capitals in a 2-1 game in DC on March 5th. Alex Ovechkin scored the winner for the Capitals in Minnesota in a 3-2 victory on March 19th. Parise led the way for the Wild in the two meetings, tallying three assists. Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Matt Niskanen put up two points each in last year’s contests for the Capitals.

The Capitals and Wild are scheduled to face off twice again in 2015-16. The Caps visit Minnesota on February 11th, and the Wild make the trip to DC on February 26th. Based on last year’s results, I expect the teams to split the series once again. At the same time, if each team’s seasons go according to plan, they could find themselves playing some more meaningful games, perhaps in June of 2016.

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While looking at the Minnesota Wild, I had a great chance to talk with Zach Roethlisberger (follow him @ZRoethlisberger), an editor over at GonePuckWild. I hope you enjoy what he had to say!

How Zach got into hockey, and how long he has been writing:

I grew up in Michigan and started watching the NHL as early as 1997 when I was 3-4 years old. It was a pretty magical time in Detroit with the Red Wings on the brink of a dynasty. I fell in love with the sport, and that was amplified when a nearby town became home of the Saginaw Spirit , an OHL team, where I attended games regularly. I was lucky enough to see guys like Patrick Kane, John Tavares, and Steven Stamkos play live at the minor league level. I started writing for Octopus Thrower, covering the Red Wings, in March and just recently took over the position at Gone Puck Wild.

The Wild have emerged as a contender – are they ready to take the next step?

The potential and players to do so are here and it is going to rely on them. Guys like Mikael Granlund, and Thomas Vanek need to have a big year in order for success this season. The Wild had an amazing streak last year which was highlighted by the play of goaltender Devan Dubnyk. If Dubnyk can play at even a high fraction of what he was able to do last season, the Wild have a chance at a playoff berth and to make some noise in the post season.

With that said, where can the Wild still improve?

Coach Mike Yeo plays a very defensive system, and I personally feel the goal scoring needs to increase. The Wild were 12th in the league in scoring last season which isn’t terrible, but isn’t where I would like the team to be.

Expectations for the Wild this season:

I would love to see the Wild finish 3rd or 4th in the Central Division, and it is definitely doable regardless of everybody predicting them not to make the playoffs. Ryan Suter needs to be in the running for the Norris Trophy, and the same for Dubnyk in contention for the Vezina. Zach Parise needs to have another 30+ goal season while also getting breakout years from players like Jason Zucker who scored over 20 goals last season. Like I said the pieces are in place and this team is capable, everything just needs to come together.

Favorite Capitals player and why?

You know, I did not want to pick the obvious and say Alexander Ovechkin, but I have to. In my 15+ years of watching the game, I have never seen a better shot in the NHL. Ovechkin is the best goal scorer I have ever seen, (was too young to watch Wayne or Mario) and I find myself cringing every time he has the puck if I am cheering for the other team. The guy is magnificent, and I think Barry Trotz is getting a better handle on him and his defensive game.

2016 Stanley Cup Finals. Wild vs. Capitals. Who wins?

Have to go with the Wild here. The leadership of Parise and Suter would give the Wild an edge which would be the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Championship.

Thanks again to Zach, and everybody check out our friends at Gone PuckWild for a better peak into the Minnesota Wild this season!