Let's Go Wild!

Kurt Turner wrote:

are still short a couple role players. Blues in 7. (Hope I’m wrong)

Ouch. It’s a tough matchup for sure, but I do think they can dominate any team in the league. Especially right now.

Kurt Turner wrote:

Sorry but i think the Wild are still short a couple role players.

Curious, what roles do you have in mind?

I am certain the Wild will win a cup in the next five years. Could be this year, could be 2020.

Dark horses to watch…

#1 The Jets
#2 Ottawa
#3 Flames

I have a sneaky suspicion that the Jets make it to the finals going through the West. Their Achilles heel along with the red hot Ottawa Sens are that they are young, making a first appearance in a while. Young teams usually don’t go far.

Curious, what roles do you have in mind?

I am certain the Wild will win a cup in the next five years. Could be this year, could be 2020.
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One bad azz power forward who can rearrange the face of any player. Wild need grit. Maybe a young Matt Cooke style player. Maybe Bergenheim can play this role? Their never die spirit is fun. Big risk if Dubnyk gets run over early. Will the Wild play in front of Kuemper?

Has the makings for a fun, long series.

Yeah, granted they aren’t as physical as other twams, but getting Stewart was a big upgrade in that area. The playoffs are a different animal and if I remember Nino and maybe Coyle stepped up their physical play on the playoffs. Those 2 definitely have to finish their checks now.

I think someone will have to put Backes in his place early. He’s going to try and run players.

I am also a sucker for a great story. If the Wild win the cup, it would be epic. Seriously, you could make a damn good movie out of it.

It starts with 2 of the most sought after players signing to play with the Wild. 3 years later both have their fathers pass away during the season. The team struggles with things as strange as mumps passing through the locker room. The coach throws a on ice fit that was captured on video. Players hold a closed door session as the Wild seem to be sinking, if they already hadn’t sunk, out of the playoff picture. The GM makes a move for a goalie whose struggles the previous year are well documented, but apparently after working with a former NHL goalie finds his game. That’s when things change drastically.

With the signing of the goalie, all of the sudden the Wild get their comfidence back and get back to playing their game. They go on a tear in the second half holding the best record in the league. The penalty kill is astounding, even though the PP woes continue. They tie a record for consecutive road wins at 11.

I am pretty sure I am leaving out plenty of known and unknown sub plots.

On with the next chapter in this epic story…

every series will be tough, seriously other than the Flames, I think any Western team can get to the cup, then they’ll play the Rangers…

Hey, those Flames are plucky! I haven’t been following the rookie of year race, but how about that JOHNNY GAUDREAU? I hadn’t heard of him.

I actually picked the Flames over the Canucks, bucking my trend of young teams getting their first taste of playoffs not going far. I love Ryan Miller, but he’s coming back from injury and flopped for Saint Louis last year in the playoffs. And Vancouver is not very deep.

If anyone is interested in the Bracket Challenge:
Bracket Challenge
Search for MN to FLA Wild Fans
password: idofishing

I’m in. User names is skins1843. Good luck to ya.

Here we go! predictions for tonight? I got the Wild winning 3-2.

Also 8:30 starts suck…

I originally thought the Wild drop this one. Now I am going the other way.

I think the most interesting part of this series for me is seeing how the Blues goalies perform. I want to see the Wild get to them early.

The second most interesting part for me is how physical the Blues are, how far they push it and how the Wild responds.

3rd, how do guys like Coyle, Nino, Haula, Bergenheim, Carter, Schroeder and Fontaine play. Those guys have a history of taking their game up a notch in the post season. And many of them will be looking over their shoulder knowing they could be pulled from the next game. And some are sitting this game and waiting in the wings.

I really wish this was the conference finals, because I do think these may be the 2 best teams in the West and there is a bit of a rivalry. The loser will have to live with all the early exit talk, which I don’t think is fair.

Wild in 5. Get that chili hot boys!

#Awesome. I had to listen to it on my phone with the Wild app but liked what I heard. They didn’t have to give them hope at the end though.
DT

zlike my bro always says, they never make it easy. I was surprised the Blues weren’t more physical, especially Backes.

Just about everyone I talk to about this series think the Wild got a tough break in playing the Blues. While St. Louis is a very good team I think they’re the ones facing a tough series. It must be the Minnesota culture of losing thing, not expecting success or that we achieved success just by making the playoffs.

This is a very good hockey team and should be for quite some time. The second half of the season was a great training camp for the post season, adding some guys, experimenting with line combos.

I think their big “X factor” right now is being the best road team in the league. If they win on Saturday St. Louis is toast, I just don’t think the Blues could win four outta five against us.

I personally don’t think it really matters. There is no easy road for the most part. I do think that going through the central is tough, but Winnepeg has played good late and still lost to the Ducks. OF course it is just one game.

Minnesota is playing so sound defensively that they are going to be a tough out.

I believe the Dumba goal celly is saying, “That was a sick goal”. If you watch the replay he appears to be coughing into his sleeve.

I hope the fans pick up on this and mimic it after each Wild goal.

Terrific win by the Wild. After St. Louis had a lot of possession time early in the 1st and nothing to show for it, they seemed to be dazed and confused. They were telegraphing their shots and multiple big blasts from the point look great, but the Wild’s defense discipline blocked shot after shot.

The Wild did a great job of not being baited by Backass and Ott. Ott got his bell rung real nice for all his trouble and Jackass cost his team the chance for the tie with the cheap shot on Granny late in the third. Backass looked like a real moron sitting in jail and therefore negating the 6-5 advantage his team could have had in the closing minutes. Nice thinking Backass.

And I LOVE, love, love to see the Wild jamming it up team’s @sses by scoring empty netters. Gawd, that was so frustrating after that Avs series last year, but late this season the Wild have been making teams pay for pulling the goalie. 2 against the Blues last night! I can’t stop laughing. Brilliant D there St. Louis. No, you cover the goal, no you do it, no you do it…

I don’t think this Blues team is up to the hype. Yes, they’re big and like to hit. They’re also slow and they have to work too hard to keep up with a skills team that’s not willing to wait around to trade punches with them. One of the commentators in the St. Louis media said it pretty well. The Blues would have loved to put more hits on the Wild, and they will do so just as soon as they can catch them.

Pug, I heard on the radio that Dumba’s “coughing into sleeve” celebration move may have been the result of him being warned by Wild management to take it easy on the lip-readable F-bombs after he scored earlier this season. I didn’t see it, but they said that the lip read on what he said included a pretty obvious f-bomb. That was their explanation anyway.

The Wild need to keep on the throttle and don’t give the Blues time to recover. The more the Wild stay on the gas, the more time Ott, Backass, and the other d-bags on the Blues will spend in the box for trying to instigate and take the Wild off their game.

Grouse

Any room on the bandwagon? Was a good game last night, glad they pulled it out in the end. When STL made it 2-1 I got pretty nervous.

I believe the difference last night was the defense as mentioned above. But what do I know, I’m a basketball guy!

ET

We played SO much faster than them last night. Hopefully we can continue that trend. Zucker is a STUD and was at a whole different speed than anyone else. It was funny watching the big Blues players try and catch him.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Pug, I heard on the radio that Dumba’s “coughing into sleeve” celebration move may have been the result of him being warned by Wild management to take it easy on the lip-readable F-bombs after he scored earlier this season. I didn’t see it, but they said that the lip read on what he said included a pretty obvious f-bomb. That was their explanation anyway.

Wouldn’t they have to warn all the players?

BigWerm wrote:

We played SO much faster than them last night. Hopefully we can continue that trend. Zucker is a STUD and was at a whole different speed than anyone else. It was funny watching the big Blues players try and catch him.

Yes, in the 3rd period it was pretty funny, the Blues looked like the coyote trying to catch the road runner. Ott kept trying to line up the big hit, but he was always 3 steps too slow to actually get there.

Obviously, the Wild will have noticed that a fast pace is not St. Louis’ friend. Big vs big is the battle St. Louis is looking for. Big vs fast, not so much.

Keep the puck out of the net and stay confident knowing the Blues are beatable in the 2nd and 3rd period. As long as we play our game and not theirs, the Wild will have a great chance.

Grouse

Ott and McClown remind me of the days of Darcy Tucker and Sean Avery, except with less talent.

Watched parts of the game yesterday, loved the defense and loved not taking their foot off of the gas like in Colorado last year. I watched the postgame as well and saw that the Blues coach said that they won the first and third periods, just couldn’t catch a break. I didn’t see that at all, as shots were even in the first, then the Wild dominated the second and finished in the third. As well as this, St. Louis seemed like they lacked a little bit of discipline. Okay, a lot of discipline. If big hits are what it takes for the Blues to win, I feel like the Wild should do their best to keep moving the puck and frustrating the big guys like Backes and Ott into making bad penalties.

Also, I watched the crazy Blackhawks game on Thursday. They looked pretty damn good. Their backup goalie was that good with limited playing time? Their recent slump may’ve been a little bit deceptive, they could be a threat.

Let’s go Wild!

That Hawks game was one of the best I’ve ever watched. I can’t believe they started Crawford over Darling after the game he had.
DT

acafisherman19 wrote:

Also, I watched the crazy Blackhawks game on Thursday. They looked pretty damn good.

The Hawks scare me, sure would like to see them get knocked out by Nashville but don’t think it’s gonna happen.

No way! I really want the Hawks to advance. We’ll take them in 5 games.

The wild have virtually owned them all season.

If the wild dominate today, I think you could say they are a cup favorite. I’m not convinced yet, but if doobs keeps it up, this will be something special.

I took the Preds over the Hawks. Crawford looks shaky, as well as the defense. Huge contrast to the Wild whose defense is stellar.

But when you have Kane and Sharp on your team, you always have a chance.

biggill wrote:

The wild have virtually owned them all season.

I know. I don’t know what it is…makes me nervous. However there’s nothing I’d like more than knocking them out.

Anyone else share my feeling that if the Wild win today that will all but wrap up the series? I just don’t see the Blues taking four out of the next five.

WHEN the Wild advance to the cup finals who do you guys have them playing? I have them paired with the Rangers.