Wild 2013-14 season

[solbes]

Fonzie with a hat trick, nice! I'm gonna have to start looking for a #14 jersey.

Just when the media had all but written off the rest of the season, the Wild start winning on the road. I hope they continue to play with a little desperation in their game for the next 5-10. Agree that they need the separation.

Not a big fan of them shopping Theodore, but I suppose our current goalie situaion is not ideal.

[bbfenatic]

Very impressive! Guys are digging deep and stepping up like they should and Backs was unusually sharp...hopefully a sign of things to come.

[MN BassFisher]

4 game win streak! Who saw that coming!? I could go for a few more games like that from Backs.

[TomWehler]

Fun game last night.

The kids got game.

Keep up the pace an pile up points as best you can and good things will happen.

Enjoyed that game even with Greenlay an Lapanta mumbling thru it all.

Keep on rocken!

Tommy

[Bear55]

Yep very fun Game and nice to actually win on the road for a change. Woo Fontaine!!! He has been a great depth guy for us, nice to have some skill on those lower lines.

[OnAFly]

Of course, I leave the country for 10 days and the Wild some how string 4 together

Hopefully they continue this play into next week. I'd like to be able to watch some of these wins!

[fishing tech]

Of course, I leave the country for 10 days and the Wild some how string 4 together

If they start losing we will have to ask you to leave again.

[yakfisher]

Is it time for OnAFly to go yet? Or is one loss too impatient?

[OnAFly]

Oh don't worry, I'm still here in Singapore. I don't know, if even talking about coming back causes a loss maybe I should just stay a while. It was 108F warmer here when I landed

[10,000 Casts]

Matt Cooke lost us that game with his 2 stupid penalties..

I'm loving the Niño, Pom, gran line, they had lots of good chances last night. The Coyle, Heatley, Fontaine line was good too. The other 2 lines didn't seem to do much.

[bbfenatic]

I'd sat Backs lost us the game, very weak 2nd goal and the 3rd one was typical Backs drop to the knees, poor angle coverage, give up the top shelf. Bummer cuz they worked their tails off, had some chances and then to let it slip away at the end...very unfortunate. Another one tonight in Nashville, be a great one to win on the road against a weaker team.

[10,000 Casts]

Hot wheels Heatley is on fire!!!

[CaptainMusky]

He quietly has 9 goals? And nice pass to zucker!

[yakfisher]

He must have had a few calls from the KHL that motivated him to pick up his game.

[schmitty3]

Who is that wearing Heatly's jersey?

Good win, glad to hear Keumper is getting back in net Tuesday.

[OnAFly]

So, now our goalie situation is looking much better. Maybe we drop the Theo idea and pick up another solid defenseman or a scoring winger later.

[10,000 Casts]

I wouldn't mind if the packaged Zucker and a pick in a decent trade for a scoring winger.

Heatley is still about a -14 and a wreck in the D zone.. But those were some beautiful plays last night. Maybe he has some confidence back.

[Bear55]

Wish we could have pulled a point or two from Colorado but nice to put a stomping on Nashville without Parise, Koivu, and Harding. Kuemps looking good again.

Kind of funny to think about how awful Heatly has been and also watch Coyle and Zucker kind of playing below expectations. Then you are suddenly forced to put them on a line together and they get hot. Odd chemistry but I will take it and hope they can keep it up. Now we just need Granlund and Pommers to get it going again.

[10,000 Casts]

2 thoughts about Zucker. 1. He's small and they want bigger puck possession players and 2. I think he's in a similar situation to where Niño was in that he is stuck in the minors and when he gets to come up, he gets thrown on either the 4th line or a line with Heatley.. Yet he still has a few goals..

[mojogunter]

Don't forget about Spurgeon. He is a top 3 dman on this team. The reason the Grandlund line has slowed is because they are the line the other teams are sending their top defense pair and forwards to shut down with the top line out.

Wish we could have pulled a point or two from Colorado but nice to put a stomping on Nashville without Parise, Koivu, and Harding. Kuemps looking good again.

Kind of funny to think about how awful Heatly has been and also watch Coyle and Zucker kind of playing below expectations. Then you are suddenly forced to put them on a line together and they get hot. Odd chemistry but I will take it and hope they can keep it up. Now we just need Granlund and Pommers to get it going again.

[muskiemanAD]

What ever we do dont trade Zucker for some veteran. He will be a player he just needs some skill around him. Just like Nino he was nothing in NY playing on there 4th line he needs skill around him too....

[Bear55]

Don't forget about Spurgeon. He is a top 3 dman on this team. The reason the Grandlund line has slowed is because they are the line the other teams are sending their top defense pair and forwards to shut down with the top line out.

Wow I did forget about Spurgy, good point about Grandlund line, they are getting the other teams top dogs right now.

[MN BassFisher]

Congrats for Darcy getting his first Shutout! Some of those lines are appearing to really be clicking and having some fun lately!

[CaptainMusky]

Remember early in the season when things were really clicking, Coyle gets hurt, then comes back and suddenly things no longer work?

I do, I sure hope it doesnt happen again when Koivu, Parise and Spurgeon come back.

It is nice to see Kuemper and Backstrom playing well. We went from having ONE solid goalie to having 3 all in the matter of a couple weeks.

The play I have seen out of Kuemper lately really has me thinking about what the Wild brass had seen in him. At one point he gave up 6 goals on 16 shots or something ridiculous like that. Now he is a beast out there.

Hope this feeds his confidence and he keeps the steady play.

[mojogunter]

Early in the season when things were going really well, that was due to the wild running a new system. It took a few weeks for other coaches to watch what they were doing, and changed the way they were defending us by being aggressive in the neutral zone and lining up at the blue line not allowing us to carry the puck into the zone. Everyone has been defending us that way since late November. If you watch now we are back to for the most part a dump and chase style because we have to take what the defense gives us. With the change in style and so many young players it has taken this long for the young players to get comfortable. Early the only line that knew when to skate the puck in and when to dump was the first line. The rest really struggled. I am surprised how well they have been playing without the top 2 forwards, a top three defenseman, and top goalie out. Yeo has also changed his defensive strategy to something similar to when Lemaire was here. Push everyone to the outside for their low percentage shots, and as long as your goalie doesn't give up bad rebounds it works well.

Remember early in the season when things were really clicking, Coyle gets hurt, then comes back and suddenly things no longer work?

I do, I sure hope it doesnt happen again when Koivu, Parise and Spurgeon come back.

It is nice to see Kuemper and Backstrom playing well. We went from having ONE solid goalie to having 3 all in the matter of a couple weeks.

The play I have seen out of Kuemper lately really has me thinking about what the Wild brass had seen in him. At one point he gave up 6 goals on 16 shots or something ridiculous like that. Now he is a beast out there.

Hope this feeds his confidence and he keeps the steady play.