MN Wild 2019-2020 Official Thread

When did Philly get relevant again?

mplspug wrote:

When did Philly get relevant again?

Haha where have you been Pug? They went on a 9 game winning streak before the season stopped and lost to Boston the day before it ended. Alain Vigenault is up for Coach of the Year. Their goaltending was significantly better too. Carter Hart is the best goalie they’ve had since Bernie Parent.

I know, but I look at that lineup and I am nonplussed.

mplspug wrote:

I know, but I look at that lineup and I am nonplussed.

In my opinion they were better than both the Caps and Pens when the season was suspended.

Whether they still are is unknown.

Well, Anyone stay up for the game last night!? Overall I thought the Wild looked pretty good. Good Pace, they were physical, & didn’t take any stupid penalties. All the major sports folks picked Vancouver to win the series in 4-5 games. If the Wild play like they did last night, every night, they’ll be tough to beat!

Was a fun game to watch. Since I do not go to bed till midnight or later it was no issue staying up to watch.

All these hockey games on for hours on end makes it pretty entertaining. Kinda feel bad for Boston. They worked for 70 games to clearly earn the top seed and after a 4 month layoff they look rusty and might drop down to a 4 seed instead. Not really a fair way to do it.

Fiala looked good which is encouraging. Three point night for Spurgeon is nice to see. The team looked pretty solid I thought. Stay tuned.

I watched the game this morning. Good first period. Meh in between and a good last 6-7 minutes.

So that guy going to get suspended for spearing?

mplspug wrote:

So that guy going to get suspended for spearing?

Of course not. The guy he speared on the bench was wearing a Wild sweater. You have to be wearing a totally different sweater to get that call.

Good effort from the Wild. Nobody looked flat, PP looked good. Things got a little hairy with long possessions by Van, but the Wild kept them from doing much with the puck. Staylock was good and was still Staylock, but did anybody else notice he was more reluctant to let loose with long passes? granted he was protecting a lead the whole way. No sense getting crazy.

I was falling asleep in the second. So I had to watch the third today. These middle-of-the-night games really suck. I need my beauty sleep.

Grouse

Can someone please enlighten me? How is it teams can cross into Canada to play a game, but the border is supposed to be closed?

Not complaining about hockey starting back up. I enjoyed watching it and the wild seemed to play at a good pace, more prepared to play.

It just confuses me with this whole border closure thing for all non essential travel.

Weekender wrote:

an someone please enlighten me? How is it teams can cross into Canada to play a game, but the border is supposed to be closed?

Not complaining about hockey starting back up. I enjoyed watching it and the wild seemed to play at a good pace, more prepared to play.

It just confuses me with this whole border closure thing for all non essential travel.

I believe the issue in pro sports in Canada is the travel back and forth. The NHL has placed teams in these hub cities and they are not permitted to leave. Its almost like a bubble that contains their hotel, practice facilities, gyms, restaurants, and game rinks. Not even their families are allowed. They are in this setting until their season ends or someone wins the Stanley Cup. They are also tested for Covid 19 on a daily basis.

The Toronto Blue Jays were not permitted to play in Canada because they wanted to travel back and forth for months in and out of the United States.

Interesting! Thanks for the info!

Weekender wrote:

Can someone please enlighten me? How is it teams can cross into Canada to play a game, but the border is supposed to be closed?

Not complaining about hockey starting back up. I enjoyed watching it and the wild seemed to play at a good pace, more prepared to play.

It just confuses me with this whole border closure thing for all non essential travel.

Because it’s hockey. Nothing stops hockey in Canada.

I don’t think you could’ve asked for a better game one from the Wild.

I really enjoyed watching it… although I only caught the last part of P2 and all of P3. Still, the boys looked good i thought.

What is it about Erickson Ek that gets under the skin of opponents? His opposite centerman on the Canuckleheads was barking at him the whole night, he was just going nuts. As far as I can tell, Ek doesn’t say anything out there at all, but there’s just a player type that seems to be driven absolutely crazy by Ek. What is it?

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

What is it about Erickson Ek that gets under the skin of opponents? His opposite centerman on the Canuckleheads was barking at him the whole night, he was just going nuts. As far as I can tell, Ek doesn’t say anything out there at all, but there’s just a player type that seems to be driven absolutely crazy by Ek. What is it?

Grouse

Finishes every check the whole game on whoever has the puck. Always in their space. Would drive me crazy too. Never thought that’s the player he’d turn into.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

As far as I can tell, Ek doesn’t say anything out there at all, but there’s just a player type that seems to be driven absolutely crazy by Ek. What is it?

Grouse

Probably his name

omg did you guys see the McDavid’s 2nd goal last night!!!! That kid is something special… so funny that whichever team loses this series you just know they will win the draft lottery… I really want the Wild to win that lottery but it sure was fun watching them win the other night! Fiala is turning into a special player, kudos to Fenton for seeing the talent, does anybody even remember Granlund anymore? At the time I was critical of the trade because I thought Fenton gave up getting extra draft picks in the deal, but i’ll gladly eat crow on that one…

I heard on NBCSN last night during intermission of the Hawks-Oilers game that the NHL has administered over 7,000 covid 19 tests to players, coaches, and support staff since Phase 4 started (return to play) at the 2 hub cities and not a single positive has been found. That’s impressive.

gimruis wrote:

I heard on NBCSN last night during intermission of the Hawks-Oilers game that the NHL has administered over 7,000 covid 19 tests to players, coaches, and support staff since Phase 4 started (return to play) at the 2 hub cities and not a single positive has been found. That’s impressive.

it’s a tight bubble!

Thanks Paul Fenton for bringing Fiala here.

Thanks ZP for playing with some heart.

back to reality a bit last night, lots of lazy penalties and bad plays… Fiala is the real deal though

I only watched the highlights. Damn all those goals were lasers.

Where are all the thanks to Fenton for bringing in Zuccarello with his big salary and NTC? And man, don’t we ALL wish that Fenton would have pulled off that masterpiece trade of Zucker for Phil Kessel? Wow, that would have been awesome to put Kessel on a senior citizen line centered by Koivu or Stal.

Even the blind squirrel gets a nut every now and then. Great deal for us that Fiala worked out, but it ain’t because Fenton is some kind of talent genius.

Haven’t seen the 3rd from last night, just highlights. Wild need to go back and play their style rather than upping the tempo and trying to out sprint Vancouver.

Grouse

I’m not making any excuses but I gotta think it’s tough to play consistent after all the time they had off. Wonder how in shape these guys really are. Especially for playoff intensity.

Finally a decent start time! Drop the puck at 1:30. I’m up at the lake and it’s beautiful outside so I will stream the audio. Weather forecast says I should mow lawn today and not wait. So it’s ear buds and lawn mowing time!

I looked at the app and it didn’t say it was nationally televised. Lucky I checked the guide.

Is it me or is Brad Hunt become complete garbage. He’s screwed up more in this series than I’ve ever seen him over the last year and a half.