MN Wild 2019-2020 Official Thread

mplspug wrote:

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

There was a partial national telecast on NBCSN until the Capitals/Flyers game started at 3pm.

Can’t win with out a goal.

Win or go home I guess. We know how that usually works for the Wild, once they start dreaming of golf and the offseason it’s typically over.

Hoping that’s not the case this year. Not that I’ll be able to see any of the 9:45pm start time anyway (WTF) but would love to see a Sunday game 5 as I’ll be with some college buddies then….

Our old guys are looking/playing old again…other than Fiala and Dumba, we have zero offensive creativity. Lets get this over with tomorrow and hope we have a lucky 12% chance at getting the 1st pick and moving on to 2021

Zuccarello and his contract will at least give people an opportunity to stop complaining about Sutes and ZP…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Our old guys are looking/playing old again…other than Fiala and Dumba, we have zero offensive creativity. Lets get this over with tomorrow and hope we have a lucky 12% chance at getting the 1st pick and moving on to 2021

Take heart Joe the magic Russian is almost here to save the team.

Well, it was a great game if you like watching power plays…

The whole series looked like preseason games for both sides.

Grouse

lindyrig79 wrote:

Not that I’ll be able to see any of the 9:45pm start time anyway (WTF)

I know. What a cluster…

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Well, it was a great game if you like watching power plays…

Grouse

our powerplay is so broken I don’t even know where to start…I guess we don’t have players with enough skill to make quick passes as we move the puck like it weighs 100 lbs…and this powerplay zone entry with the 1-2 drop passes to the guy with speed who then either tries to stick handle through the 3 guys standing on the blueline or does a last second pass that either gets intercepted or results in offsides, I swear it fails 70% of the time and yet it seems like most NHL teams adopt it? why?

Lastly if the Penguins lose today then their 1st round pick next year is ours without any protection, it could turn into a San Jose Sharks type of pick that the Senators got this year (top 5) I’m fine with that gamble vs the mid/late 20’s pick we would have likely got this draft if they move on….if Crosby or Malkin get hurt next year we could be in line for a much better pick!

The future of this team is brighter than it’s even been before.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I swear it fails 70% of the time and yet it seems like most NHL teams adopt it? why?

Because dump and chase on a power play literally gives the puck to the other team, often resulting in the other team clearing it down the ice. Carrying it into the zone maintains possession of the puck and allows setup of the umbrella power play immediately.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Lastly if the Penguins lose today

Wouldn’t bother me if they lost today. They are clearly the better team in that series but sometimes a team with the will to win more can get it done. Even if the Habs win that series, they’re not going anywhere in the next round because they’re going to draw the bolts or flyers in a longer series.

gimruis wrote:

JoeMX1825 wrote:
I swear it fails 70% of the time and yet it seems like most NHL teams adopt it? why?

Because dump and chase on a power play literally gives the puck to the other team, often resulting in the other team clearing it down the ice. Carrying it into the zone maintains possession of the puck and allows setup of the umbrella power play immediately.

Totally agree. The reason most teams are running a version of the drop pass PP entry is because it works. Flat footing the D inside their own blue line while you 5-4 rush them is always going to have better odds than the old dump-n-chase. That’s why everyone’s doing it.

Also, as a Wild fan, I begin to break out in a rash anytime anyone even says “dump and chase”. It’s like some kind of allergic reaction. I’ve heard it’s quite common in MN, some call it Lemaire Syndrome.

The Wild’s problems all go back to our fatal lack of ANY GMs who understood the game and could DRAFT. This series is a terrific illustration of how bad GMs kill a team. Brock Boeser was still on the draft board when we passed on him to pick…Erickson Ek. Pretty much says it all, really.

Grouse

If the Wild lose tonight they’ll pick either 1st or 9th in the draft.

That OT performance by the Wild there was about like my sex life.

Very quick and very anti-climatic. Maybe it’ll be better next year.

tbro16 wrote:

That OT performance by the Wild there was about like my sex life.

Can we finally stick a fork in them now?

A lot funner team to watch without #20 on the ice last night. Thought they were going to get blown out. But they had quicker looking legs and had some intensity. Power play looked way better too. Put #20 on the ice and you could take away 2 of their goals and all of ours cause he would have not liked the intensity or speed the team played with. Slow it down, keep’er in 2nd gear and don’t get intense about anything is more his style. But at least his hockey iq is off the charts, he’s an effortless skater, is a minutes hog and no team has ever even been remotely interested in what he has to offer. At least ZP has teams interested in him. Man I hope they trade RS for an ice shovel, a skate sharpener and a big bag of hockey tape. Hope some players start pushing his ice time way down and he shows more openly how much of a cancer to the team he truly is. Don’t deny the GM’s haven’t done us any favors, but neither has the trickle down affect of the attitude rs has brought to the team and locker room. After watching last night’s game vs the day before, the team could survive just fine without him.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Totally agree. The reason most teams are running a version of the drop pass PP entry is because it works. Flat footing the D inside their own blue line while you 5-4 rush them is always going to have better odds than the old dump-n-chase. That’s why everyone’s doing it.

Also, as a Wild fan, I begin to break out in a rash anytime anyone even says “dump and chase”. It’s like some kind of allergic reaction. I’ve heard it’s quite common in MN, some call it Lemaire Syndrome.

Dump and chase is effective at even strength, its just not a good strategy on the PP. If you are able to get a good fore check going at even strength it works because it forces the other team and can cause them to make mistakes. Then you can capitalize on some of those mistakes.

tbro16 wrote:

That OT performance by the Wild there was about like my sex life.

Very quick and very anti-climatic. Maybe it’ll be better next year.

Winner^^^.

The wild need draft picks and good ones way more than they need another low-grade playoff appearance and quick exit. It can’t be lost on Bill Guren just how goal anemic this offense is.

I was very encouraged by the new head of scouting that guren brought in. Coincidentally from Vancouver. This guy has a track record for seeing talent rather than just taking the consensus pick. That’s exactly what we need.

I do have to say however that it’s going to be a major downer seeing next season being played only on television. It’s very hard to envision how are things will turn around quickly enough that we’ll be able to safely go back to live hockey games in time for any part of this upcoming season.

Grouse

The team seems like it has a way to go to become a contender. You need a few vets, but this team has a few too many vets and vets that are old. Koivu is a start.

Koivu is done, Staal has 1 year left as a placeholder #2 or #3 center until a prospect is ready. This team will get alot younger very quickly. Parise and Suter will always be anchors until their contracts are up, but at least they can still play, they just aren’t top players anymore and need their roles reduced a bit.

The decision to start a washed up captain, a kid playing his first play off game and foligno is fireable. It is a sign of decisions to come, mark my words. Cut ties with Now, move on.

That line should not have sen the ice for the first 10-15 minutes of OT. You play your stars. You play the guys that got you there. Watched every other to game, they went 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-1-2-1-2-3 MAYbe 4. This A-Clown was going to outsmart everyone by going backwards.

Mind you this team was not going anywhere. Their age showed terribly. Stahl got a lucky goal, it was going into the pads but Tanev got his first goal of the night ramping it over Markstroms shoulder. Aside from that Stahl was clumsy and slow, Not an NHL player anymore. Parise had a nice seat, he never let the front of the net, created nothing. Looked like he want to be back on the shores of Tonka. Goaltending is sub par, Fox sports can toot the local angle all they want but As good and occasionally spectacular as Stalock can be? he is just TOO SMALL. He needs to make spectacular saves because his size cant make it look easy. A good team will just use patience and lateral puck movement to what him out, he is out of control.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The wild need draft picks and good ones way more than they need another low-grade playoff appearance and quick exit. It can’t be lost on Bill Guren just how goal anemic this offense is.

I was very encouraged by the new head of scouting that guren brought in. Coincidentally from Vancouver. This guy has a track record for seeing talent rather than just taking the consensus pick. That’s exactly what we need.

I do have to say however that it’s going to be a major downer seeing next season being played only on television. It’s very hard to envision how are things will turn around quickly enough that we’ll be able to safely go back to live hockey games in time for any part of this upcoming season.

Grouse

X2 on all that!

Greenway needs to go to a sports shrink, how is he not better?

tbro16 wrote:

That OT performance by the Wild there was about like my sex life.

Very quick and very anti-climatic. Maybe it’ll be better next year.

Can’t say I saw the Flyers grabbing the top seed in the East. Come in as a 4 seed after 70 games, 4 month layoff, wallop the top 3 teams in the conference, and then claim the top seed? Geez, they really took advantage of that round robin format. And the best team during most of the season, the Bruins, look awful.

We lost Hedman. Not good. I hope he doesn’t try playing injured like he did last year.

Greenway needs to go to a sports shrink, how is he not better?

Greenway is another one of those big guys who plays small. He shows flashes of how he can and should play but he seems to forget it by the next shift.

So who do you think will get the #1 pick, the Penguins or Pittsburgh?

mplspug wrote:

So who do you think will get the #1 pick, the Penguins or Pittsburgh?

The real question is can your Bolts manage to avoid another sweep at the hands of the star studded Bluejackets

tswoboda wrote:

The real question is can your Bolts manage to avoid another sweep at the hands of the star studded Bluejackets

I sure hope our luck changes tonight, if the Penguins, Oilers or Leafs get that #1 pick, then add another bullet point to 2020 being the worst year ever….

If the Wild does somehow win the #1 pick, I wouldn’t be opposed to BillyG shopping the pick to Ottawa for their picks 3 & 5 if we can get some assurance from the Kings that they aren’t taking Byfield (They are absolutely loaded with top C prospects already)

The Wild lost 11 seconds in OT and Lafrienier wears #11, i’m thinking it’s meant to be Oh and Kaprizov touches down in MN today, have the stars ever been more aligned for the Wild?

And the winner…

The New York Rangers….