Wild 2014/2015 Regular Season

[CaptainMusky]

IMO the hit on Haula was far more severe than the one against Weiss. The elbow clearly connected when he hit Haula. There was obvious intent there. With Weiss I think the elbow came up after he connected.

Either way its a goon move. I am surprised nothing for Kreider on that hit. That is just as dangerous. I was shocked to see Brodin back in the game after that.

[OnAFly]

Backs is looking a bit rusty so far and Dumba has made a few high profile mistakes get well soon Brodin.

[CaptainMusky]

Good no, great win tonight. This to me shows more about this team than last nights loss, great comeback!

Dumba still scares the dump out of me out there. Scandella is impressive on both ends of the rink. He makes some errors but he is pretty solid.

Gritty performance guys. Fun to watch. Last night was painful in the 3rd but glad I stuck it out tonight.

[OnAFly]

I don't even remember what happened last night

Great win tonight!

[schmitty3]

Big win, showed a lot of guts to come back after what happened last night.

Dumba and Faulk scare the $hit outta me when they're anywhere near the puck.

And as much as I try to keep telling myself how much better Vanek looks than Heatley did, each game gets worse and worse. Yea he had a big assist tonight, but he just doesn't seem to show any effort while out there. He's just kind of there.

[PierBridge]

Best win in franchise history!

Thats all!

[CaptainMusky]

Best win in franchise history!

Thats all!

worst to best in back to back nights. Lol

[CaptainMusky]

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Dumba and Faulk scare the $hit outta me when they're anywhere near the puck.

[OnAFly]

I'm trying to stay positive on Vanek. I'll wait until the 41 game mark to judge.

[Bear55]

I'm trying to stay positive on Vanek. I'll wait until the 41 game mark to judge.

Yep give it time, Suter looked pretty bad his first 10 games or so, he will get going pretty soon here and the goals will start coming in bunches.

[RK]

Fun game last night. Way better than the night before that's for sure. Still amazes me that a team of NHL guys can collectively let off the gas like they did in NY. Really a strange deal. Peewee teams do it, so do NHLers.

Dumba can be an adventure sometimes but that's what you get with a young defenseman, especially one with an offense-minded game. He'll settle down as he matures and develops, and at least he has forwards that backcheck if he does something risky.

[CaptainMusky]

Dumba can be an adventure sometimes but that's what you get with a young defenseman, especially one with an offense-minded game. He'll settle down as he matures and develops, and at least he has forwards that backcheck if he does something risky.

Thats a very good point. I remember Spurgeon being the same way at first. He still has a gaff now and again, but not as often.

Its good Dumba is getting playing time and so far I cannot call out too many times where a mistake has cost us a goal.

[10,000 Casts]

How big is the Folin pick up last year turning out to be?? Remember that he had the pick of just about any NHL team and he chose the Wild.

With Brodin out, we have Prosser, Ballard, Folin and Dumba that can all fill in not to mention Falk.

[OnAFly]

Yeah, if he ever recovers from that mystery illness he and Ballard got.

[CaptainMusky]

Yeah I was wondering what happened to him.

[CaptainMusky]

Dumba is about the same as Edward scissor hands out there. He has the worst hands I have seen in a long time.

[archerystud]

I really like the Wild's pressure tonight despite being down by 2.

Suter overskated the second goal and Prosser made a horrible pass on the third. I'd rather have Folin out there over Prosser or Falk.

And just as I was going to say replace Brodz with Haula and this is a great looking team and Brodz scores.....

[archerystud]

Couldn't believe Brodz missed the break away in the first and now he ties it!!!

Okay now how about Granlund, Pommer and Parise who are all -2, improve on their plus/minus!!!

[CaptainMusky]

Vanek may not score but he sure makes plays. Brodz can thank him twice!

[OnAFly]

This is textbook Brodziak to me. He scores in bunches then gets it in his head to look for goals then gets nothing and can become defensively poor. Hopefully he scores a few more and we can trade him for something...anything.

How about that Zucker-Koivu-Coyle line last night? That was the best I've seen Koivu play in a while. Beast mode came out at the end when Thornton checked him away from the puck. Those two were yelling at each other for a couple minutes after the horn blew.

[bbfenatic]

Agree, Koivu stepped it up a notch or two and was the best he's been in a long time.

As far as Brodz goes; I heard they told him he'd no longer be doing Yeo's yard and pool maintenance and would have to prove his worth on the ice....and he did....for now. Only makes sense to sit him when Haula is ready to go.

Kemps came up huge when we needed him to!!!!

[Bear55]

Really liking the Zucker Koivu Coyle line too, a couple of young legs to compliment Koivu out there. Zucker has been amazing so far, kid has stepped it up big time. This also frees up Vanek for a potential deadly 3rd line of him, Haula & Nino.

[CaptainMusky]

I think it really helped Koivu being dropped down a line. Maybe its motivation, but when you have a couple guys with you like Coyle and Zucker who are fast (not that Granlund and Parise arent) and with Coyle being able to play the body, it takes some of the pressure of Koivu. This was a good move for him. He certainly has something left in the tank, but dont put him in a position to fail or not do as well IMO that would be playing him with Parise and Granlund. When Koivu plays with those two he has to be the physical presence on the ice. That takes its toll.

Vanek hasnt scored yet, but he has some of the best passes leading to goals on the team, aside from that Granlund one against Boston.

His goals will come, but happy he is setting up others now. Nearly 1 pt per game. Im happy with that.

[RK]

Fun one last night, although I was getting nervous there for a while in the second. Was starting to look like one of those 4-1 stinkers.

2nd line was great last night - wow. Nice to see them pick up the slack when the top line has an off night. Koivu was good, and I thought Coyle was phenomenal. Man that kid is a horse along the wall.

Have to say too Zucker looks like he's finally figured it out. I was really wondering if he would the last couple seasons. Seemed to get tunnel vision on this ice and was just a defensive liability. Not so this year. He's been great.

Vanek isn't scoring goals but he's starting to look better and is taking care of the puck a little better. He was a turnover machine for a while there. The scoring will come. Guy's only played a handful of games on a new team. Suter looked pretty average his first dozen games or so, and look at him now...

Speaking of D-men, hope some of our injured guys get back soon. The Falk/Dumba shifts were a little hair-raising at times last night. Like I said yesterday, Dumba is a young d-man and that's usually an adventure, but you can tell they're missing Spurgeon and Brodin.

Going to be a fun on when Dallas gets to town. Hope we get Haula and Broding back for it. Will need the speed and puck moving.

[10,000 Casts]

I wonder if this gambling/money laundering scheme is on Vanek's mind. ;)It's starting to look like he was pretty involved.

Quote:

This is textbook Brodziak to me. He scores in bunches then gets it in his head to look for goals then gets nothing and can become defensively poor. Hopefully he scores a few more and we can trade him for something...anything.

It helps that he is back playing with skilled players but I think after his big contract, he got comfortable and rarely tried hard and showed no emotion. Now he gets sat and he comes back out and has 2 big games.