Central Division notebook

Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau got off the phone with center Eric Staal a few days before the veteran center signed a three-year contract on July 1 and had one thought in his head.
"From my end, I thought this was going to be a perfect fit," Boudreau said Wednesday.
What Boudreau didn't think about or realize at the time was how familiar his new top-two center duo, Staal and Wild captain Mikko Koivu, would look to him. He sees it now, and it's a fresh reminder of what a dominant 1-2 punch down the middle can mean for a team.

"It's very similar to having [Ryan] Getzlaf and [Ryan] Kesler," Boudreau said. "It's those two big forwards down the middle that you can play against anybody and makes matchups an awful lot easier. They both win draws. They both are really good down low. They're both responsible. I think that's a lucky byproduct."

Boudreau, who spent the two previous seasons coaching Getzlaf and Kesler with the Anaheim Ducks, specifically compared Staal to Getzlaf and Koivu to Kesler.
"Kesler, I always thought was the best defensive player in the League, and Mikko Koivu is a great defensive player -- and they can both add offense," said Boudreau, who was Ducks coach from 2011-16. "Getzlaf has always been one of the best playmakers and setup men, and Eric Staal is right up there."
A look to the numbers this season proves Boudreau's point.
Staal has 29 points, including 13 during the Wild's 11-game winning streak, which they put on the line against the New York Islanders at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, MSG+, NHL.TV). Getzlaf has 28 points. Staal is playing 19:18 per game, and Getzlaf is getting 20:30 of ice time per game.
Kesler's 29 points lead the Ducks. Koivu has 21 points. However, Kesler is playing 21:36 per game compared to Koivu's 19:50 of ice time per game. Kesler has 14 points on the power play, where he's averaging 3:05 per game. Koivu has four points on the power play, where he's averaging 2:12.
"We don't play them the same minutes that [Getzlaf and Kesler] play, so the point differential is a little bit different, but they're both up there," Boudreau said. "They've both got over 20 points. Eric has 29. That's really good balance for our team."
Staal and Koivu have combined to win 53.47 percent of their faceoffs (740 of 1,384). Kesler and Getzlaf are slightly better, having won 56.29 percent of their faceoffs (711 of 1,263).

On size alone, the pairs are about the same, averaging right around 6-foot-3, 211 pounds.
"I didn't expect it, but you've got [Kesler and Getzlaf], who I thought were the two best, and now you've got these two (Staal and Koivu) and I think they are right there with them as far as size, strength and knowing how to play the position," Boudreau said.
Staal, like Kesler for the Ducks since arriving in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks on June 27, 2014, has been a game-changer for the Wild. His 29 points lead the Wild, but more importantly his presence and production have created openings for Koivu to expand his offensive game and create matchup dilemmas for the opposition.
"The big thing for us now is we have depth down the middle, and it doesn't hurt that the two guys, our two top centers, are big guys," Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said Wednesday. "I feel like it was easy to match up against us [in the past]. Now it's easier for us on matchups when we have two or three guys that the other team has to worry about. It's just harder for other teams to defend those guys."
As a result, the Wild are more balanced than they have been in the past. It has led to more offense. Minnesota is averaging 3.06 goals per game, including 3.64 during its winning streak.

Staal and Koivu have combined for 25 percent of Minnesota's goal output during the winning streak (10 of 40), but the Wild have had a total of 17 goal-scorers in the 11 games. They've also gotten five goals from Jason Zucker, four from Charlie Coyle and three each from Mikael Granlund and Matt Dumba.
It helps, of course, that the Wild have allowed 18 goals during the winning streak, including 15 in nine starts by goalie Devan Dubnyk, but the offense is what stands out on a team that never has averaged three or more goals per game for a season.
The Wild record for goals per game for a season is 2.77, which they averaged in 2014-15. That was tied for 12th in the League. They are fourth this season.
"Since I've been here in Minnesota, I feel we've always been a defensive-minded team and we've always been structured defensively," Suter said. "Obviously, [Dubnyk] has been playing great, lights out, but I also think a reason why we're on this streak and why we're having success this year is because with Staal here and more depth and size up front now, we have that other element that we never really had."

More Wild winning and Bruce Boudreau's NHL record

Sticking with the streaking Wild, Boudreau is the only coach in NHL history to lead three teams to winning streaks of 10 games or longer, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"Oh great, now that's going to go to his head," Suter said. "No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'll just be sure to give him some [grief] about that [Thursday]."
In addition to Minnesota's 11-game winning streak, Boudreau also guided the Washington Capitals to 14 straight victories during the 2009-10 season (Jan. 13-Feb. 7) and the Ducks to 11 wins in a row last season (Feb. 13-March 5).
"I've been lucky to be blessed with good teams," Boudreau said.
Boudreau said excellent goaltending and the ability to go into games expecting to win are the two common themes that spread through each streak.
Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper have allowed 18 goals during the 11-game winning streak. Ducks goalies John Gibson and Frederik Andersen allowed 21 goals in Anaheim's 11-game winning streak last season. Jose Theodore and Michal Neuvirth allowed 33 goals in Washington's 14-game winning streak nearly seven years ago.

"They're the ones that get on the rolls and they save you a lot of the time," Boudreau said.
Suter tried to explain why Boudreau's presence leads to extended winning streaks.
"He gets it," Suter said. "He played for a long time in the minors and he gets how the mind works, the hockey mind. He relays his message really well. Every night, it's a fresh message that everyone is like, 'You're right, that makes sense.' I think that just comes with experience."
Something to be mindful of is what happens once the streak ends. The Ducks went 1-3-1 in the five games after the last win in their streak last season. Washington was 0-1-2 with 16 goals against in the three games that followed the last win in its streak in 2010.
"The thing is, we're not doing anything fancy or once someone catches on to us they're going to shut us down," Suter said. "We're not going to go undefeated the rest of the way, but we should have success. The way we play, how structured we are, by not giving up a lot, [Dubnyk] making the big saves, those are important things to have, and I don't see that going away."

Stat pack

The Chicago Blackhawks' 13 one-goal wins lead the NHL. They are 13-5-5 in games decided by one goal. They were 17-7-9 in games decided by one goal last season. … The Blackhawks also are one of two teams to have two goalies with 10 or more wins this season. Corey Crawford has 12 wins, and Scott Darling has 10. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the other (Matt Murray, 13; Marc-Andre Fleury, 11). … The Winnipeg Jets are 10-3-0 in games played after the Christmas break and before New Year's Day since 2011. … The Jets have won five straight games against Central Division teams and are 9-4-1 against the division this season, including 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks. … The Dallas Stars' seven overtime losses are the most in the League. They are 2-7 in games decided in overtime. … The seven teams in the division have a combined seven shootout wins, fewest among the four divisions. Dallas in the only team in the NHL that has not played in a shootout. … The Colorado Avalanche have allowed four or more goals in 14 of their 34 games. They have scored four or more in five.

Games to watch

Columbus Blue Jackets at Winnipeg Jets (Dec. 29, 8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-O, NHL.TV) -- The Jets get a chance to stop the Blue Jackets winning streak, which is at 13 games and counting. It's the first of two games between the teams this season.
New York Islanders at Minnesota Wild (Dec. 29, 8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, MSG+, NHL.TV) -- The Wild put their 11-game winning streak on the line against the Islanders, the only team to win by more than one goal against them this season. The Islanders defeated the Wild 6-3 at Barclays Center on Oct. 23.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Minnesota Wild (Dec. 31, 6 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-O, NHL.TV) -- A double-digit winning streak will end in this one if the Blue Jackets and Wild each win their game Thursday.
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues (Jan. 2, 1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV) -- It's the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Busch Stadium. It's also the first outdoor game in Blues history. Chicago defeated St. Louis 6-4 on Dec. 17. Each team is 1-1-1 in the season series.
Montreal Canadiens at Nashville Predators (Jan. 3, 8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, SNE, RDS, NHL.TV) -- Former Predators captain Shea Weber, traded for P.K. Subban in the 1-for-1 blockbuster on June 29, returns to Bridgestone Arena as the opponent for the first time in his career. It's unclear at this point if Subban will play. He has missed five consecutive games with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least two more.