2021 MN Wild/NHL Thread

A and E (solid goaltending)

Kaprizov changes everything offensively, he takes heat off of Fiala, he makes our worst players (Rask) relevant, he makes Zuc look like an all-star, he can take over a game and determine it’s outcome all by himself…

and

The goalies now have the teams full trust that they are not going to let the soft goals in anymore, this is a huge confidence boost for a younger team…

Side note – Anders Lee is now out for the season, does Lou call GMBG and inquire about the Parise trade again? Lou loves “his guys”

I think its A, B, and E. I dont think Evason has done much holistically coaching wise to improve the team. I mean, at the time the Wild fired Bruce they were actually playing better and the PP was humming along pretty good. Now this year you have KK97 in the mix and the fact that BG moved on from Koivu, Staal, essentially both goalies now from last year, Kunin, Donato and the Ian Cole for Pateryn trade cannot go unmentioned. He has been so solid.
The goal tending has been very very good which is what we expect since we give up the fewest high danger shots, our goalies just need to make the expected saves and it would have been an improvement over the last few years, but this year they are playing very well and stealing some saves. Kahko had a couple huge saves last night again as did Talbot the other night.

I don’t think you guys are giving Dean enough credit. I think KK and the other minor moves have been much bigger. But this team comes ready to play every night. There were plenty of nights that Bruce seemed dumbfounded by the effort. All on Dean no probably not. Is the PP good no but not all his fault either. It is also correctable in my opinion. He also been thrust into a difficult situations in his first season and a half. He seams like a no nonsense guy that so far has pushing the right buttons for the most part. They seam to enjoy playing for him especially the young core. He has had the stones to scratch ZP and also bench him in the third a few games ago when he wasn’t playing well. Not saying he is the next Joel Quinvelle or anything but BB has never won anything outside of the regular season anywhere he has been. I think if he is under the radar and getting them wins and can navigate some playoff series I think he should get some respect for that.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I don’t think you guys are giving Dean enough credit. I think KK and the other minor moves have been much bigger. But this team comes ready to play every night. There were plenty of nights that Bruce seemed dumbfounded by the effort. All on Dean no probably not. Is the PP good no but not all his fault either. He seams like a no non
sense guy that so far has pushing the right buttons for the most part. They seam to enjoy playing for him especially the young core. He has had the stones to scratch ZP and not also bench him in the third a few games ago when he wasn’t playing well. Not saying he is the next Joel Quinvelle or anything but BB has never won anything outside of the regular season anywhere he has been. I think if he is under the radar and getting them wins and can navigate some playoff series I think he should get some respect for that.

Couldn’t agree more. He’s not taking S#%& from ANY of the players either. No matter if you’re Parise or Luke Johnson. You screw up, there will be consequences. I think that was lacking with a lot of previous coaches.

Soucy gets one game in time out for the elbow/charge last night.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I don’t think you guys are giving Dean enough credit.

You’re probably right. Just looking at the offseason roster turnover… 6 forwards, 1 defenseman, and both goalies. Teams with that much roster turnover, even if it’s all upgrades, generally struggle out of the gate. Add in the short training camp, no preseason, and covid break; yet the Wild have been firing on all cylinders since about 10-12 games into the season. Pretty impressive for a group of guys that had mostly never played together. I’ve kind of taken the roster turnover for granted, but I think we have to contribute a good portion of this early success to the coaching staff and leadership.

Boldy with 3 assists in the 1st period of BC’s game right now…

Is the team ready to play because of Dean or is it because the players are afraid BG is going to send them packing after what’s transpired in the last year? I think Dean is doing a decent enough job I just think the team is doing well based moreso on other factors.

I’m a little hesitant to give Deano credit due to his lack of powerplay unit changes. Its this teams #1 problem and he’s refused to make major changes like pulling Suter off the 1st until. I personally think the ZP scratch decision came from the GM because he knows how locker room climate works.

Everytime they show Deano on tv he’s not saying much to the players, i’m sure he does, just never seen it yet.

If I had 1 vote it would be for Kaprizov, for the 1st time in franchise history. this team carries around a swagger now because of him…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m a little hesitant to give Deano credit due to his lack of powerplay unit changes. Its this teams #1 problem and he’s refused to make major changes like pulling Suter off the 1st until. I personally think the ZP scratch decision came from the GM because he knows how locker room climate works.

The only negative I’ve seen and I agree it is strange that he hasn’t changed anything. I heard him on KFAN this morning saying he’s going to run with the PP lines from last night’s game for a bit….

BUT…..other than that, everything is running on all cylinders.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m a little hesitant to give Deano credit due to his lack of powerplay unit changes. Its this teams #1 problem and he’s refused to make major changes like pulling Suter off the 1st until. I personally think the ZP scratch decision came from the GM because he knows how locker room climate works.

Everytime they show Deano on tv he’s not saying much to the players, i’m sure he does, just never seen it yet.

If I had 1 vote it would be for Kaprizov, for the 1st time in franchise history. this team carries around a swagger now because of him…

He where’s a mask how can you tell he is not talking😂
Not saying he is the top reason for there start by any means just that he deserves some credit.
Suter didn’t start on the first unit and they didn’t score.
It may have came from Bill but he is the one that has to answer the questions and address the team. Pretty sure he knows what a locker climate should be like. Not like he hasn’t coached before. Bill also didn’t call down to the box when he sat him for 13 straight minutes in the third the other night. If he is to blame for the PP then he deserves some of the credit for the other good parts.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Boldy with 3 assists in the 1st period of BC’s game right now…

tough loss for BC in double overtime after taking a huge 1st period lead and having a gw goal in the 1st ot reversed due to a very close offsides replay challenge. Boldy ended up with 4 assists for the game.

Oh and he also made the final 10 for the Hobie Baker award.

Good to see him producing in big moments. Caufield will win by a landslide.

If I had to pick the biggest reason for success this year, it’s goaltending 10000%. I don’t think everyone realized how bad the goaltending has been the last previous 3 seasons since Dubnyk’s primary stats were still decent until last year.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m a little hesitant to give Deano credit due to his lack of powerplay unit changes. Its this teams #1 problem and he’s refused to make major changes like pulling Suter off the 1st until.

I said a few weeks back that I thought the terrible powerplay was a sign of bad coaching. BUT I don’t see how you can say it is from lack of changing the units. I mean they’ve tried every combination imaginable. I think every single regular player, except for maybe Sturm and Soucy/Cole, has seen significant PP time this year. Suter, Spurgeon, Brodin, and Addison have all ran point. The forwards are swapped in and out almost every game. They had a 4-5 game stretch where they even just cycled the top 3 lines through. Bonino has been taking O-zone draws and then went straight to the bench. I feel like I’ve seen every possible combination put on a PP group together. So it’s not like Evason is just trotting out the same 5 guys for a 1:30 every opportunity. Their expected goals is just below middle of the pack, so some of the problem has been bad luck – but yeah some games the PPs are just brutal to watch. Not sure what it’ll take to fix it, but I think the coaching staff has definitely tried plenty of different options.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Caufield will win by a landslide.

No doubt. It’ll be interesting to see how Caufield’s game translates to the NHL. He’s small, but the college game is almost more clutch and grab than the NHL now. I see no reason he can’t do what DeBrincat has done in Chicago – the kid has more than proven he can score goals. Only big difference is that Montreal doesn’t have anything close to a Patrick Kane for him to play with.

tswoboda wrote:

If I had to pick the biggest reason for success this year, it’s goaltending 10000%. I don’t think everyone realized how bad the goaltending has been the last previous 3 seasons since Dubnyk’s primary stats were still decent until last year.

I would agree. We’ve obviously got a new spark plug on offense, that’s what makes the highlights, but this goaltending is just consistently good.

Caufield is already bigger than zuccarello depending on who stats you use. Bunch of good players 5’9 and under in the NHL now. I don’t think size is an issue in today’s NHL. Does it help and make things easier if you are 6 ft 200 lbs sure but if you can net you can net.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Caufield is already bigger than zuccarello depending on who stats you use. Bunch of good players 5’9 in the NHL now. I don’t think size is an issue in today’s NHL. Does it help and make things easier if you are 6 ft 200 lbs sure but if you can net you can net.

Not saying he won’t be good, but he is smaller than other “small” guys. Caufield is 5’7″ 160 – short and slight. Even Zuccs is listed at like 175-180 isn’t he. Only guys I can think of 5’7″ or shorter are Gerbe and Grimmaldi, and both are heavy for their height – both play a forechecking pest role. That’s why I said DeBrincat as a comparable – short and light guy that scores goals. Johnny Gaudreau is another small guy that scores a lot, but he’s been a ghost in the playoffs. I just don’t think Caufield being a star in the NHL is a done deal and I won’t until I see it. I think it’ll take the right role, he’s definitely a top line and PP1 guy or bust.

Weight wise yes Zucc is bigger now but he should be able to add some weight to his frame. Not saying it’s a done deal either just saying he can net. No way is Zucc 5’8 I have stood next to him and have pictures of his height next to me. I am 5’8 and half. I was surprised how small he was in person. I bet his legs are like tree trunks though.

I wasn’t following the thought that the PP hasnt been changed either. They started it one way, then moved to just rolling their regular lines (which actually produced a little) to now mixing it up again and Suter on PP. They actually had 3 or 4 centers on the ice at one time in a PP which was odd, but considering how they flounder on Faceoffs may have been good in the event someone got booted.

I’m on the Dean bandwagon, how often have you seen the wild do these things in the past.
Pass the puck from the neutral zone back behind your blue line to a defender and go off on a line change.
Circle the neutral zone while players change.
Skate away from trouble until a decent pass can be made. In the past they would have done the stupid corner dump and chase.
A lot of this could be player personel but I think a lot was “safe” scoaching.
Goaltending is better overall, other than rebound control. At some point this will raise it’s ugly head.
And finaly not to be a Debby downer, but the competition may not be an accurate gauge of this team.
It’s hard to say if the Wild are that good, or the competiton that bad.
Either way I do enjoy the games way more than previous years.
Kirill the thrill is the real deal we hoped he would be.

Tom schmitt wrote:

I’m on the Dean bandwagon, how often have you seen the wild do these things in the past.
Pass the puck from the neutral zone back behind your blue line to a defender and go off on a line change.
Circle the neutral zone while players change.
Skate away from trouble until a decent pass can be made. In the past they would have done the stupid corner dump and chase.
A lot of this could be player personel but I think a lot was “safe” scoaching.
Goaltending is better overall, other than rebound control. At some point this will raise it’s ugly head.
And finaly not to be a Debby downer, but the competition may not be an accurate gauge of this team.
It’s hard to say if the Wild are that good, or the competiton that bad.
Either way I do enjoy the games way more than previous years.
Kirill the thrill is the real deal we hoped he would be.

I agree with you on that concept with line changes. That has certainly been noticeable. Regarding the competition, the Wild have faced Vegas and Colorado and certainly haven’t been overwhelmed by them in my eyes. They have dominated the teams they should have, but have played well overall against the front runners, with the exception of the Blues who they havent faced yet.

It so nice to not watch them do the dump the puck and chase. That drives me nuts and I personally think it never works well.

I do wish we could see them against some other teams to gauge how good this team is.

KP wrote:

It so nice to not watch them do the dump the puck and chase. That drives me nuts and I personally think it never works well.

I think they need to really focus on this on the PP too. Don’t dump it in and try and cycle it around, that obviously hasnt been working. Try and score on the rush if they are forced out of the zone they are more of a threat that way or at least carry it in and setup.

KP wrote:

March 17, 2021 at 9:15 am#2022782
I’ve been thinking about this lately about the Wild’s success this year. What do you credit the success to?
A. Kaprizov finally being on the team

B. Billy G’s small overhaul of the team

C. Dean Evason’s coaching

D. All of the above

Great question.

I’ll have to take:
E. None of the above were major factors.

I would say the major factors are:

1. Goaltending. You make it really, really tough on opponents when your goaltenders are letting in almost nothing to begin with. With a GAA of .8 over the last 5 games, the Wild don’t need to be pumping in 3-4 goals a game to win. That takes a lot of pressure off.

2. Zuccarello. Everyone, myself included, was thinking of the Zuc signing as an unmitigated disaster. Well, how do we like him NOW boys? Obviously, he was playing hurt and that took a LOT off his game.

Now, I DO give Deano credit for coming up with what on paper kind of looked like a “WTF” line combo of Zuc, Rask, and Kaprisov. Assuming, of course that it WAS Deano that came up with this line. But either way, Zuc’s scoring and terrific passing has made him a major factor where he wasn’t before.

3. The western conference. As others have mentioned, I think the Wild being in the West this year is a major factor because 50% of the conference (LA, SJ, Anaheim, and AZ) is totally beatable by this Wild squad each and every night. These are all “should win” games every time we play these teams.

Also, Colorado was massively over-hyped going into the season and the Blues are playing poorly. Basically, with this weak of a conference, the Wild SHOULD be doing exactly what they are doing.

How good are the Wild REALLY? We’ll have to wait to see.

4. Finally figuring out how to play in OT. This one probably IS down to Deano, but finally, the Wild have an OT formula that makes us dangerous. Put the speed, puckhandling, and young legs out there, get your changes in even if it involves backtracking, play the possession game, be patient and good things will happen.

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to have the Kaprisov kid out there in OT….

5. The PK. Not only is it tough to find the twine against the Wild 5 on 5, it’s tough to get a PP goal against us. Again, takes a lot of pressure off our offense when we aren’t needing 3-4 goals to win on each and every night.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

3. The western conference. As others have mentioned, I think the Wild being in the West this year is a major factor because 50% of the conference (LA, SJ, Anaheim, and AZ) is totally beatable by this Wild squad each and every night. These are all “should win” games every time we play these teams.

Also, Colorado was massively over-hyped going into the season and the Blues are playing poorly. Basically, with this weak of a conference, the Wild SHOULD be doing exactly what they are doing.

Grouse

DOH. Not sure how I missed this. The Central has been a battleground for like 10 years, so it’s not surprising to see every central team (except for the tire fire that is Nashville) sitting in a playoff spot this year. I think just about everyone predicted the West looking like it is, but with the Wild and Blues switched.

The injury riddled Aves are doing pretty well for being “over-hyped”. Neck and neck with the Wild team we are all raving about.

Joe can we start calling Zuccarello stone hands now too?

tswoboda wrote:

Joe can we start calling Zuccarello stone hands now too?

Holy balls, that doesnt even have the 2 that Zuccarello should have had from the last game. He should have double the goals he has now at least! Bench him!

Last year the wild were one of the worst 1st period teams, this year one of the best. The fact that the boys are ready from the initial puck drop says a lot about the coaching to me.

Holy crap. I think we played Arizona too many times in a row and forgot what a fast hockey game looks like.

Talbot is keeping us in the game but Colorado looks good!!

As I was saying score off the rush with the sniper Rask on the PP.