Wild 2013-14 season

[Bear55]

Ya Koivu either looks like a genius or an one-who-thinks-I-am-silly with that move, by this point everyone knows its coming. Just once I'd to see him fake that move and tap on into the open net.

[CaptainMusky]

Maybe he will unleash it to win game 7 in the western conference finals? Lol

Go backhand, drop puck back between skates and reach back for the forehand winner. They do it all the time in all star skills competitions. Lol

[knoppers]

koivu nets one in the first, nice wrist shot. this is the best I have seen the wild play at home of late.

[OnAFly]

Maybe he will unleash it to win game 7 in the western conference finals? Lol

Go backhand, drop puck back between skates and reach back for the forehand winner. They do it all the time in all star skills competitions. Lol

Or if you're Ninja Hertl (Thomas Hertl) you do it in the middle of a game on your way to scoring 4. That move is sick.

So as soon as I leave town, we decide to score 4 on the Pens...why does this team hate it when I can watch them dominate?

[PierBridge]

Quick somebody steal OnAFly's passport before he can get back in the country.

Great coaching tonite!

[Bear55]

Wheels are in motion to cancel his citizenship for the remainder of the playoffs.

Fun game and nice to win one without a big comeback for a change. Koivu and Coyle have been kicking butt lately, love to see that. If Coyle can even sustain 70% of this kind of play on a consistent basis he will be amazing for us for years to come. Lots of youngins stepping it up this season, love to see that this time of year. Now we just need to get Granlund healthy and demote Brodz to the 4th line and we are set.

[CaptainMusky]

Since I missed the entire game was heatley in the press box? Impressive win though Pitt has little to play for now.

Dallas with a win as well so we kept them from gaining. Magic number down to 3. Take care of business in Winnipeg then we should be there because Dal and Phoe will stumble at least once.

Definitely be nice to hold on to the #7 spot.

Heard the interview with Bryz after the game. He seems like a really classy professional guy. Reid asked him about getting multiple shutouts in MN already and hinting toward a better defense scheme or strategy. Bryz replied "I'm not going to compare teams but I love how my guys helped me tonight". Paraphrase but that's a classy guy

[fishing tech]

I am impressed with Haula. I have to admit, I didn't think he was ready for the NHL. Of coarse I wanted him to stay at the U.

[10,000 Casts]

I think this goes to show us that our defensive scheme really makes a goalie look better than they are. It kinda worries me that Kuemper isn't as good as his stats. Same goes for Harding and Backstrom. And for as many juicy rebounds as Bryzgalov gives out, IMO it's crazy that he is still undefeated in a wild uniform.

[CaptainMusky]

IDK if I agree. Bryz seems to do a good job with initial shots in the games I watched. I didn't see any of yesterdays games so that may have been different but overall I think he deflects shots to the side or freezes the puck when possible.

We do have a great defensive strategy though and that's important provided they continue it.

[OnAFly]

So...it was someone on here that misplaced my bag in the Singapore airport

I came pretty close to winding up in Penang with only the clothes on my back. Luckily the SG airport is quite organized and SG Immigration was nice enough not to fully search me and my luggage after leaving it unattended at the checking counter and walking through customs

On Bryz, yeah, he does give up bad rebounds sometimes but like he says, our guys are helping him out in that area. Overall, I really don't care if a goalie is good on any other team, as long as he's good for us. If that means our system is making him good, that's ok. Bottom line is that the puck is staying out of our net.

Haula is amazing. I remember talking to my brother last year about him, asking if he had a real shot in the NHL. He wasn't too optimistic on it, saying that his size and style just aren't going to translate from the NCAA. Well, it seems my brother was wrong.

[Bear55]

Bryz makes me nervous but seems to be getting more comfortable out there. I don't really care if our system makes any goalie better, if the results are strong team D I am all for it no matter who is in net. This might also allow us to pass on high price tag goalies down the road and use our cap space on other needs.

I was happy to have Haula in our system but really wasn't sure he was going to be able to produce at the NHL level. Glad to be very wrong about that and love what he brings to this team. Koivu, Granlund & Haula down the middle is looking pretty sweet for us. Brodz on the 4th line gives us 4 quality centers.

[CaptainMusky]

Brodz on the 4th line gives us 4 quality centers.

I was totally with you until this comment.

Preposterous statement of the year? Im only poking fun. They certainly could do worse for a 4th line center, but after all the heat we have been giving Brodz I thought it was a bit funny you said that.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

I don't really care if our system makes any goalie better, if the results are strong team D I am all for it no matter who is in net. This might also allow us to pass on high price tag goalies down the road and use our cap space on other needs.

exactly. it would be nice if they don't need to spend huge money on a top tier goalie.

[CaptainMusky]

Goal Tending does concern me though. We dont have a ton of money wrapped up in Backstrom, but We lost basically an entire season between the games missed by him and Harding this year.

I thought this Gustafson was supposed to be even better than Kuemper, but I havent heard a thing about him recently. Did he get injured or something? WHo is this 40 year old guy that might have to start? Scary.

I am hoping Harding is sitting in a phoneboth somewhere just getting ready for the playoffs and come swooping in with his cape and pick up right where he left off before New Years.

We basically have our top two goalies that you cannot even count on playing 50% of the games based on their track record. I am certain this will be addressed in the offseason, whether its with re-signing Bryz or someone else.

[bbfenatic]

exactly. it would be nice if they don't need to spend huge money on a top tier goalie.

If Wild are not happy with the goaltending down the stretch and into the playoffs there is no D that can keep the puck out of the net no matter how stellar they are. IMO Goalie should be top on there list of signings during the off-season with willingness to spend what it takes to get a "good one". We seem to be set with the other positional players to succeed IMO, goalie is questionable at this point.

[Bear55]

I was totally with you until this comment.

Preposterous statement of the year? Im only poking fun. They certainly could do worse for a 4th line center, but after all the heat we have been giving Brodz I thought it was a bit funny you said that.

Ya I hear you, Brodz has been bad this year but a lot of that stems from some random bad d-zone play and absolute terrible offensive play. One could get sick just thinking about all of the golden opportunities he has blown. However he can still be a good shut down guy and playing 9-12 minutes on the 4th line is perfect for him.

[Bear55]

I am hoping Harding is sitting in a phoneboth somewhere just getting ready for the playoffs and come swooping in with his cape and pick up right where he left off before New Years.

Harding has been skating with the team so there is an outside chance he might see the ice again this year. Don't know when or if he will be ready but it is at least a possibility at this point.

[CaptainMusky]

Harding has been skating with the team so there is an outside chance he might see the ice again this year. Don't know when or if he will be ready but it is at least a possibility at this point.

I was so happy to hear that he was skating with the team. Its one thing to practice on your own, which apparently he has been doing for several weeks, but with the team its a whole different deal. Much more real to me. I think I can speak for all Wild Fans that we are pulling for him to make a recovery whether that means he plays again or not, but just that he can have as normal a life as possible. The icing on the cake would be he could play some more hockey.

[RK]

Captain - Gustafsson is probably the better prospect long term but he's young, and this is his first year in North America (played in the Sweidsh Elite league last season) so throwing him into the deep end of the pool at the NHL level would have been a bad idea. That having been said, Gustafsson might be a higher rated prospect on paper, but Kuemper has exceeded expectations everywhere he's played. Be interesting to see where this plays out long term.

Step back a second and it's kind of amazing how resilient the Wild have been with the revolving door in goal this season. Your first half MVP goes down and a kid like Kuemper steps right in. He's out and a guy off the scrap heap in Bryz comes in and puts up a 1.8 GAA... Look at some other teams (Leafs, Coyotes, Sens) that have collapsed when their goalie went down. Wild just keep in chugging away.

About Brodziak... Offensively the guy's about as snakebit as anyone could be. Have to admit though he's getting the chances he can't seem to bury by playing well on the defensive side more often than not. Yeah there have been some gaffes here and there but that's hockey. His line routinely draws the top line on the other team, plus he kills penalties and he's still only a -3 as a 3rd line guy. The only thing that truly bothers me about him is his tendency to take a bonehead penalty now and then. All in all though, there are worse third line centers out there, and that's what he is - a third line center.

On the plus side - how good has Charlie Coyle been the last few games. Man that kid's a horse along the wall. There were a couple shifts against the Pens Saturday night where they just couldn't do anything with him down low. Easy to forget he's only 22.

[RK]

No Big Buff or Ladd for Peg tonight. Buff out for the rest of the season with a torn muscle...

Kane will play. Hopefully Prosser or Cooke or McCormick catches him with his head down. Man I can't stand that little punk for some reason.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

No Big Buff or Ladd for Peg tonight. Buff out for the rest of the season with a torn muscle...

AND they are starting a Rookie goalie in his first NHL game. Should be a fun game to watch!

[CaptainMusky]

Captain - Gustafsson is probably the better prospect long term but he's young, and this is his first year in North America (played in the Sweidsh Elite league last season) so throwing him into the deep end of the pool at the NHL level would have been a bad idea. That having been said, Gustafsson might be a higher rated prospect on paper, but Kuemper has exceeded expectations everywhere he's played. Be interesting to see where this plays out long term.

On the plus side - how good has Charlie Coyle been the last few games. Man that kid's a horse along the wall. There were a couple shifts against the Pens Saturday night where they just couldn't do anything with him down low. Easy to forget he's only 22.

Thats good to hear on Gustafsson. I wasnt implying (maybe I did indirectly, but not intended) that he be called up now, but I just hadnt heard his name at all. It almost seems more concerning to play this old guy, I think he is my age 40? :-)

You are right on about Coyle. He has definitely came back in the last few weeks. I was reading something online where Yeo talked with Coyle and basically told him to just be the most physical guy on the ice. The offense will come. I think its obvious he is being more physical. Things like these conversations that Yeo has with players seem to go unnotticed. I think in time he will be a great NHL coach. Its probably tough for him right now since he is still a very young coach, but overall I think he is doing a very good job.

It is quite amazing to consider where the Wild are at with the issues in net. All teams seem to have injuries at one point during the season. The Red Wings are in an amazing situation considering all the injuries they have suffered, but one thing that is different about the Wild injuries is that they are everywhere including in net!

It seems to be someone stepping up each couple weeks just when its desperation time.

Granlund goes down, Haula steps up, Coyle is a monster. All the guys that went on a tear when Koivu and Parise were out...

The Goal tending scenario is well documented as well. Pretty impressive when you think about it.

[Bear55]

Not the prettiest win but 2 points no less. Our magic number is down to 1 to make the playoffs and 2 to clinch 7th place. Considering our schedule and where we were two weeks ago it pretty hard not to be happy with the team right now, a great run when we needed it the most. Heck we are knocking on the kings door, however even if we pass them I donn't think it will chance much with the new playoff format but not sure on that.

Coyle has been amazing lately, he's been showing flashes for 2 seasons now but something must have clicked big time. 5-5-10 in his last 9 games.

[Bear55]

Anyone else happy to see Vancouver mathematically eliminated from the playoffs?