Wild 2014/2015 Regular Season

[OnAFly]

The point system should be 3pts for a non-shootout win, 2pts for a shootout win, 1pt for a shootout loss.

This keeps all games equal and really pushes the teams not to play for the shootout.

[CaptainMusky]

The point system should be 3pts for a non-shootout win, 2pts for a shootout win, 1pt for a shootout loss.

This keeps all games equal and really pushes the teams not to play for the shootout.

Agreed

[solbes]

I see Keumps was recalled and could start in Winnipeg on Tuesday. I understand we can't burn out Dubnyk, but at the same time we need both games against the Canucks and the Jets. Tough call ahead for Mr Yeo.

[PierBridge]

I originally had tickets for this game tonight but I gave them to my cousin a while back....DOH!

IM 0-3 on the year so maybe a good thing.

Go Wild!

[10,000 Casts]

Kuemper was 2-3 with a 3.22 gaa in Iowa.

so now what? Do we sit a goalie? Put Kuemper on waivers? They obviously would rather play Kuemper over Backstrom.

I think they have a mess on their hands.

[PierBridge]

2 points for a win 1 for a tie and stick the silly shootout where the sun doesnt shine.

Did i do that right?..

[PierBridge]

I think sit Baks....not sure lets wait for BB on this one...

[schmitty3]

Gonna be interesting to see what they do with the goalies. They can't send Backstrom down to Iowa without him agreeing to it. Would he do it? Who knows.

Even though Keumper has looked bad in Iowa I would still rather have him in net than Backstrom, at least there is a chance he plays good. Backstrom gives up 3 goals on his good nights.

[CaptainMusky]

Iowa is really bad right now so its really hard to put too much in his numbers there because of how bad they are. That's a concern for me, there isn't as much defensive depth down in Iowa. So they better draft well this year.

Yeo was asked about what he was going to do when Kuemper came back on Friday and he said "we don't know yet". Sounds about right.

I hope Backstrom sits over Kuemper because Kuemper certainly has a better chance at a future here. We are in a serious bind at net though.

At least Harding is off the books after this year.

I would have to agree, play the hot goalie. Ride em while they are hot.

[bbfenatic]

Gonna be interesting to see what they do with the goalies. They can't send Backstrom down to Iowa without him agreeing to it. Would he do it? Who knows.

Even though Keumper has looked bad in Iowa I would still rather have him in net than Backstrom, at least there is a chance he plays good. Backstrom gives up 3 goals on his good nights.

I agree...Kemps at least has been seeing game time, tough for Backs...apparently he is taking this very well but asking him to go to Iowa might be where he draws a line in the sand...we'll see. My understanding is that if Dubs takes more than 20 shots tonight then either Kemps/Backs in tomorrow...we'll see more blocked shots from everyone tonight than we've seen all year! .....IMO I'd put Dubs in back to back regardless of SOG then give him the night off thurs vs Florida.

[OnAFly]

Kuemper - Play him when needed (he will play one night of the B2B) as a backup

Dubbs - if this keeps up, sign him to a bridge contract (prove you're good)

Backs - Buyout this summer

If Kuemper doesn't put it together as a backup next year, trade him for what ever we can get.

[PierBridge]

Captain continues to be a BEAST!

LOVE It!

Tough injuries tonite though!

[schmitty3]

Good win, but two tough injuries...especially zucker. Yeo said he doesn't expect either of them to be back in the near future. That really sucks, Zucker was playing some really good hockey lately, the guys are really going to have to step up to fill in his spot.

Tomorrow is going to be tough in Winnipeg after playing most of tonight's game down 2 forwards.

[OnAFly]

That was a fun game to watch. Nino played better, but still has some seasoning to do. When put on a line with Koivu, he passed a few times he should have shot and had a couple turnovers, but overall his game last night was pretty good.

Haula needs to be smarter with the puck. He seems to be giving them away a lot. Couple times he did it in the neutral zone leading to an oddman rush. BTW, too many of those in the first period. We were lucky to only have had one scored against.

Tough game tonight for sure. Both Zucker and Carter will be missed. Lets hope Fontaine uses his scratches as motivations and whoever gets called up plays well. Think we'll see Graovac?

[CaptainMusky]

I would like to see Graovac, but wouldn't be surprised to see Bickel come up. I would prefer Graovac.

Played the majority of the game with 10 forwards. That is tough. A back to back MUST win game tonight. I really don't like the looks of this game.

Our guys have to be gassed, but if we can somehow pull this one out that would be HUGE!!!

[solbes]

Signature win last night against a team we're chasing. 5 different guys scoring, thats perfect.

Going to be a rowdy crowd tonight in Winnipeg I would imagine. Should be a lot of fun to watch. I would also agree that playing Dubs tonight and Keumper against the Panthers has some serious merit.

I was dissapointed to see Calgaray beat the Sharks but then realized they passed the Sharks in the standings. Maybe we'll start chasing them instead. With the number of games in hand the Wild have, some of these teams are starting to come into view. Lots of hard work ahead still.

[CaptainMusky]

Am I imagining it but I thought the top 3 teams from each division made the playoffs regardless of points??? Meaning you could have teams in one division making the playoffs that have fewer points then the other division.

Example, say San Jose finishes in 3rd place in the Pacific Division while the Wild finish in 9th place overall, but have more points than San Jose. I believe San Jose is in. Right?

I thought that was how it worked.

[Bear55]

That is correct CM, top 3 in each division make it, that could work against us this year but it would also mean finishing 6th in our division so you just can't let that happen.

Also on board for playing dubs tonight and giving him a rest for the Panthers. He's pretty young and we road Backs much harder than this during the lockout season.

Kind of fun going 8-1-1 in the last 10, lets keep on rolling!!! Took a peak at the standings, still on the outside but games in hand are nice to have. Pretty sure the Preds, Ducks, Hawks, Blues will have spots locked up no matter what so the focus will be on everyone else. Looks like a 7 team race for 4 spots, I think we can pass any one of Peg, SJ, Cal, Van but need to watch our backs for the Kings, Dallas could also turn it on but less of a threat. We need to keep tearing it up this Feb because things will be crazy tight come March and it's not at all reasonable to think we can keep up this pace. Fun to have the "old" Wild back.

[schmitty3]

Calgary just keeps winning, wasn't really expecting them to go into San Jose and beat the Sharks by 3. Between San Jose Vancouver and Calgary you would think one of those teams will start to slump here, and hopefully the Wild can take that spot.

[PierBridge]

[OnAFly]

Not seeing Bickel in that lineup makes my heart smile.

Interesting stats from another forum:

Odds of making playoffs after tonight if we...

Win in regulation: 53%

Win OT: 51%

Win SO: 50%

Get a point: 42%

Lose in regulation: 36%

This is a pretty huge game. Hope the team knows it.

[bbfenatic]

Not seeing Bickel in that lineup makes my heart smile.

Interesting stats from another forum:

Odds of making playoffs after tonight if we...

Win in regulation: 53%

Win OT: 51%

Win SO: 50%

Get a point: 42%

Lose in regulation: 36%

This is a pretty huge game. Hope the team knows it.

Interesting suff....I am with you on Bickel...I like Sutter....good size, has a little more skill than Bickel IMO. My guess is they know the importance of all these games...kind of fun with so many teams fighting for a playoff spot it really brings a playoff atmosphere to all the games at this point....I hope Dubs is in...unless he is saying he needs to rest his back I see no reason why they'd sit him in this game.

[PierBridge]

Sorry he "Dubs" was listed 1st in lineup graphic. I cropped out the goalies, Kemps was listed 2nd.

[bbfenatic]

Sorry he "Dubs" was listed 1st in lineup graphic. I cropped out the goalies, Kemps was listed 2nd.

Thx for the clarification...saw no goalie thought no decision was made yet...that is great news...and I am sure Winnipeg was hoping we'd rest Dubs...nope...we shoved all in thank goodness.

[schmitty3]

Well things just got a lot tougher. Zucker is out 3 months, and needs surgery for a broken collar bone. Carter is also out at least a month.

Terrible news, Zucker was playing so good.