whos had statistically a very good season so far

The Minnesota Wild try to avoid their first losing streak of January tonight as they continue a three-game homestand versus the Edmonton Oilers, who juggled their roster a day ahead of this matchup. After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Beginning their three-game stay at home, the Wild were shut out 3-0 by the Ottawa Senators behind Robin Lehners 27 saves. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves versus the Predators to record his first NHL shutout in his sixth career start, but yielded all three goals on 32 shots faced against the Senators. "Execution just wasnt really there all night long," Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo admitted. "We werent really moving our feet, werent attacking, werent crisp with our passing." Minnesota was blanked for just the third time this season and for the first time at home. If past history is a factor, Yeo may go with Niklas Backstrom in net tonight. The 35-year-old Finn is an outstanding 25-4-1 with a 1.91 goals against average and four shutouts in 32 career starts versus the Oilers. The Wild have won 13 of their last 16 versus the Oilers, though Edmonton did notch a 6-1 victory in Minnesota to conclude last seasons series on April 26. It was just the Oilers second victory in their past 21 in Minnesota. Edmonton pulled off a pair of trades on Wednesday, both involving goaltenders. The Oilers first sent netminder Devan Dubnyk to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Matt Hendricks, then shipped a 2014 third-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for goalie Ben Scrivens. Dubnyk struggled to an .894 save percentage and 3.36 GAA in 32 games for the Oilers this season, including 29 starts. He also began to lose playing time when Ilya Bryzgalov was signed in November. "Its been an unfortunate season and the team wanted to go in a different direction," Dubnyk said. Scrivens posted a .931 save percentage and 1.97 GAA in 19 games for the Kings this season, while the veteran Hendricks had two goals and four points in 44 games with the Predators. "It gives us an opportunity to bring in another goaltender, Ben Scrivens, whos had statistically a very good season so far," Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish told his teams website. "It gives us an opportunity to have a pretty good look at him going forward to see where he could possibly fit in on a longer-term goaltending plan." Scrivens does get to be reunited with Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins, who coached the goaltender in the minors with the Toronto Marlies. Scrivens gets the call between the pipes this evening. The Oilers will try to avoid a third consecutive loss tonight having been bested 5-2 by the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The Stars scored 14 seconds into the game and led 3-1 after the first period. "Its the same old story; we cant put a full 60 minutes together for some reason," Edmonton defenseman Justin Schultz said. "We played well at the end, we were skating and using our speed and we had a lot of chances, but weve got to find a way to do that for all 60 (minutes)." Schultz and Sam Gagner had the goals, both assisted by Taylor Hall, and Bryzgalov made 25 saves in Edmontons seventh loss in nine games overall and fifth in a row on the road. It is unknown if the Oilers Ales Hemsky will be able to play tonight after sitting out the third period on Tuesday with an ankle injury. Bryzgalov is 7-8-0 with a 2.64 GAA in 16 career meetings with the Wild, all but one of those starts. 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Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist each as the Sea Dogs extended the longest streak in the Canadian Hockey League this season.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry,Love the column and of course the hair! We here in Orange County obviously have a great admiration for Teemu Selanne and have been fortunate to see him play for the last many years and win a championship. With his impending retirement, do you have any good or funny stories you can share with the fans? We know the kind of player he is and what a nice guy he is off the ice, but few of us know what kind of person he is on the ice. Thanks for doing this column, always a great read. Chris from Laguna Niguel Chris:I can tell you first hand that Teemu Selanne is as nice a guy on the ice as he is off of it. While we didnt always agree (as you might expect) I never heard a curse word or disrespectful comment come out of the mouth of the "Finnish Flash"; either directed at me or anyone else. From the very first game that I saw Teemu as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets, I knew this guy was a very special talent. The rest of the hockey world would quickly recognize just how skilled Teemu was while on his way to scoring 76 goals and winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in the 1992-93 season. (Teemus record remains intact for most goals for a rookie in the NHL.) Teemu always seemed to exude a "boyish" smile when he was on the ice; a signal to me as how much he loved to play the game. I also witnessed acts of kindness that he demonstrated off the ice to arena and parking attendants in the Honda Centre and other NHL cities. An off-ice official of the Calgary Flames once shared with me that Selanne was such a friendly and classy superstar that he could make people around him feel better about themselves; even in their relative insignificance! As nice a guy as Teemu is, I also saw a fierce competitiveness and desire to win. Like all champions he hated losing; but unlike some, Teemu did so with class and grace. The worst I ever got from him at the end of a close loss (when he thought I was less than perfect in my performance) was a saddened look of disappointment and perhaps a slight shake of his head as he exited the ice. If the game was on the line Selanne wanted the puck on his stick. He had pull-away speed and a rifle of a shot that made him a game changer. Teemu always made playyers around him better because he could finish the play.dddddddddddd We recently witnessed Selannes deep national pride as captain of the Finnish Olympic team in Sochi. The 43-year-old played with speed, youthful energy and determination in leading his team to a bronze medal for his home country. I first encountered that Finnish pride in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, an NHL-sponsored event as a prelude to the 98 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. I worked a game in Helsinki (Sweden vs. Finland) where the fan atmosphere was more like a U.S. college football game than a hockey game and was like nothing I had ever experienced before. An hour prior to game time fans jammed into the arena end zone, many with their shirt off and face and body painted in Finnish blue. They chanted and sang unceasingly. It also appeared that they consumed a considerable amount of alcohol. Drums were beaten and horns blew. The crowd never sat down in the end zone seats. Instead they stood throughout the whole game shoulder to shoulder and cheered for Teemu Selanne and their other heroes. They were a happy crowd; very loud but not boisterous or unruly. They were having fun watching the game they loved and went wild when Finland won the game. Back in the Officials dressing room I had showered and dressed as the party continued inside the arena. The dressing room door opened and a guy I thought to be Teemu Selanne said, "Hey Kerry do you have any beer in your room?" I thought it to be very unusual but invited Teemu in and told him to help himself. He sat down and we were having a great visit over a few beers when finally Teemu admitted that he really wasnt Teemu Selanne at all but his twin brother Paavo! Paavo Selanne was a real character and said that his brother Teemu told him there is always beer in the refs room. The next time I saw Teemu and told him of the case of mistaken identity his smile changed to a belly laugh over the joke his brother played on us. They are a fun-loving family. Congratulations to Teemu and his family on a tremendous NHL and international career. There is no doubt he will eventually enter the Hockey Hall of Fame. It couldnt happen to a more deserving candidate and nicer guy. When that day happens maybe I will be lucky enough to sit down and enjoy a beer with Teemu and his twin brother Paavo in celebration of this great players career. ' ' '