Devin Setoguchi Thriving in Second Season with Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild made a huge splash in free agency last summer, landing coveted defenseman Ryan Suter and star forward Zach Parise. The Wild rolled to a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, thanks to a star performance from Devin Setoguchi, one of the team’s top acquisitions in the summer of 2011. Setoguchi had two goals and an assist against the Avalanche, his 14th career multi-point game and his fourth multi-point game against Colorado.

Setoguchi now has six goals and eight points in eight games in March, as the Wild hold on to third place in the Western Conference standings. He now has nine goals and 17 points this season, trailing only Zach Parise (11) for the team goal-scoring lead. He has the fourth-most points on the team, and three of his goals have come on the power play.  Setoguchi scored 19 goals and had 36 points for the Wild last season, but also had a minus-17 rating. He is plus-7 this season and continues to showcase the skills that the Wild were hoping to see when they traded for him during the 2011 NHL Draft. After four seasons with the San Jose Sharks that all ended in trips to the postseason, Setoguchi seems to have settled in with the Wild and could help them reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

The Wild will face the Avalanche one more time in 2013, in their final regular season game on Apr. 27. In four games against the Avalanche this season, he has three goals and five points; he has no more than two points against any other team.

via Minnesota Wild: Devin Setoguchi Loves Facing The Colorado Avalanche.