Wild 2013-14 season

[RK]

Good too get a win out of that last night. Could tell they'd played the night before especially early, and the Sens are the definition of a desperate team.

Koivu's GWG was a dandy, but it was Spurgeon who made it happen by driving up the lane and drawing the D to him. Horrible lack of a backcheck by the Sens made it easier yet.

Still amazes me there are as many Koivu haters as there are among Wild fans. The guy's a horse. And he's 4-8-12 in his last 8 games. He's never going to be an elite scorer, but not many players as complete as he is on both sides of the puck.

Brodin looked a lot better last night. Could tell his fishbowl was really bothering him before. Scandella had another solid game too. Nice to see him finally get comfortable and just play, because he certainly has the skill to be a good 3-4 D-man in the league.

Heately - BB is right on. How priceless was it he gets 2 pts on the 4th line in Ottawa? Have to say, I've been as big a Heately detractor as anyone, at least in terms of what he was producing when he was on the 2nd line. But he certainly seems to have handled playing down with the grinders like a pro. Shoot - Kenopka almost scored again too - off the pipe.

Going to be a fun one in Winnipeg Saturday. You know their fans will be jacked up. And the Wild is in 3rd in the West. Of course if they lose they're in 8th. Crazy tight standings...

[Bear55]

Kuemper does not look like he has it.

Kuemper looks good the first couple of times we saw his but man his last several appearances have been just awful, I think they are trying to give him a chance and he keeps choking. It was a good move to pull Harding when they did on Tuesday, he made up for it last night. Like you said time to throw Gustafson in there or sign another tender.

[CaptainMusky]

Still amazes me there are as many Koivu haters as there are among Wild fans. The guy's a horse. And he's 4-8-12 in his last 8 games. He's never going to be an elite scorer, but not many players as complete as he is on both sides of the puck.

I wouldnt categorize myself as a "Koivu Hater", but definitely a critic. At times he is a beast, but look at last post season for example, he was non-existent. At a time when the team absolutely needed him most.

Personnally I dont see him as a first line center, but at this moment he is the best we have I guess. I would actually like to see Nino, Pominville and Parise together to see how that worked out. IMO Nino is a more dynamic player than Koivu.

Dont get me wrong Koivu is an above average player and has had many good years here, but on 28 other teams he isnt their top center IMO.

[10,000 Casts]

I was growing a little weary of Koivu but he has really picked it up the last few games with a few key goals and some assists. IMO Koivu is the most complete player that we have.

I'm still in favor of dumping the All Star. I still think Rupp will be better on that 4th line. Last year that 4th line really produced most of the year.

[Bear55]

Koivu is Koivu, not a super star but a very nice player to have. Once you accept that he has some offensive limitations and like other players has good and bad streaks we can move on. No reason to hate on one of our best players because of what he isn't. You mad at Suter for not scoring enough goals?

[OnAFly]

One thing I've noticed in last few years, an angry Koivu is a goal scoring Koivu. He's like the incredible hulk, you wouldn't like him when he's angry (unless you're a Wild fan )

[bbfenatic]

One thing I've noticed in last few years, an angry Koivu is a goal scoring Koivu. He's like the incredible hulk, you wouldn't like him when he's angry (unless you're a Wild fan )

That is a great observation! And probably why I still don't see him worthy of a 1st line center spot...way too inconsistent. With that being said he certainly has turned it on recently and carried the team, that may be why this team is performing so well...people stepping up just at the right time. Not sure he has much left in the tank so we need to take advantage this year while we seem to have the right mix of young & old!

[RK]

Re: Kuemper. He's young - only 23, and really only in his second season of pro hockey. Gustafsson is even farther from being ready. 21, first year as a North American pro. League-wise, the average age of the goalies is almost 29...

Worst thing you could do to either of these guys is throw them into the deep end of the pool and destroy their confidence. I think the open talk about finding a veteran backup if Backstrom is out any length of time shows they're already worried about putting too much on Kuemper too soon.

Kuemper will be a very good goalie but most keepers take time to develop - even moreso than D-men.

[OnAFly]

Has anyone got a list of potentials out there for trade/FA? I really don't like the idea of a trade for a rental backup.

[Bear55]

Agreed RK, they just need some time, not ready to give up on any of them. You can see Kuemper just doesn't have the confidence right now so they need to figure something out or Backs needs to get better soon.

[CaptainMusky]

Kuemper obviously has skill but like said its confidence and a but of execution/positioning. That comes with time. Very few can step right in and be rock solid. I have heard Miller thrown around out of Buffalo my fear with that is you likely have to give up one of your young guys and we may need both!

[OnAFly]

Kuemper is still slumping from his Junior year where he got goalie of the year. You can call it a confidence issue, but he's been up/down in the AHL too. Makes me a little nervous that he's got a GAA of just under 3 in the AHL this year. To me, he sounds more like a career backup...in a year or two.

Gusty - waaaay to early to tell. He's only 21 yet. Looks like he's been good in the Swedish league though.

Sabres are gonna want too much for Miller

Toronto will want to much for Reimer

Florida's Tim Thomas? They blowing it up yet?

What's Jose Theodore been up to lately?

Any good Finns/Swedes out there in Euroland?

[hoppe56307]

How crazy tight are the standings. We are tied for 8th but 2pts out of first, well for today anyway. Oh and being tied for eighth still puts us first if we were in the east.

[Bear55]

Should see some separation with more western teams on the schedule, hopefully that is the good kind of separation.

[CaptainMusky]

I know. Its crazy to think of the hot streak we have been on and we have essentially not gained any ground in the standings.

We have some important games coming up. Blues, Coyotes and a pair against the Avalanche! Those are the games that will really make a difference.

The other thing to note is we have played a couple more games than teams above and below us. That will be important when they are caught up. Right now there are two teams (4 total in West) above us with fewer games. How those turn out for them will be very important too.

Still a long ways to go. But to think that the Wild has their best start ever and are where they are is kind of depressing.

[OnAFly]

It's because the east has been dominated by the West. When we start having more West-West games, we'll see more separation. Right now, there is an influx of free points into the West. If we get two points, it's not costing one of our rivals points, they are just getting them too.

Once our system becomes more closed, wins will force losses in our conference and the separation will increase. That is unless we have a clear line of bad teams vs good teams down the middle.

[RK]

Yeah - I saw some crazy stats today. 8th place team in the West is on pace for 114 pts. 8th in the East...85. Hard to believe how bad the East has been vs. West teams this year: 91 - 39 - 17... And that includes Edmonton and Calgary. Top 8 in the West are 60-17-11.

That's nuts...

Will find out a lot about the Wild in the next two weeks I think. They're probably due for a slump (every team has them) but if it's against the wrong teams - Avs, St Louis, Dallas, etc. - will really hurt them.

[OnAFly]

If they are going to slump now, it will be against all of the teams they are fighting for playoff positioning with. Tough schedule coming up here.

That back to back with the Avs will be a fun one to watch!

[10,000 Casts]

My guess is that they'll play well at home and struggle on the road. If their goaltending holds up, they'll be in a good position heading into the 2nd 1/2 of the season.

[OnAFly]

We need Backs back. Harding can't keep this pace up, Kuemper is not NHL ready. I haven't even heard of a time table for his return. I heard he skated once, but that was it.

[10,000 Casts]

Backs practiced today in Winnipeg and they are almost ready to start him.

[PierBridge]

Harding injured in pregame warmup Backstrom may start Against the Jets today at 2 p.m.

[CaptainMusky]

IMO they better be thinking hard about the current goal tending situation. Trade, get kuemper more time or something. These two can't hold up now.

[fishing tech]

Granlund also out. Shootout win!

[Hester]

The shorthanded goal was obviously the key to get the 2 points. It's crazy how NHLers don't think they need to back check to break up a play like that.