Wild 2016-17 Regular Season

[hoppe56307]

What a hard hitting game last night between Canada and Sweden.  Eriksson-Ek even sniped a shorty from just inside the blue line in the first.

[CaptainMusky]

What a game last night USA vs Canada in the World Juniors! That was the best hockey game I have seen in a very long time.

I didn't watch much of the Wild game last night, but from what I read this morning they came from behind. I watched some of the first period, but I was wore out after watching the USA vs Canada game.

[Bear55]

Pretty amazing game and World Jr's Gold for USA! Hate to see a game like this decided by a shootout but the US was the only undefeated team and beat Russia and Canada twice so I'm not going to make too big of deal about it. If you missed it US was down 2-0 and 4-2 and battled back. OT was amazing but nobody scored, both goalies killed it in the shootout, 1 goal for the US was enough for 5 shooters a side, fun game.

Saw the Wild was down 2-0 and went to bed, missed a heck of a 3rd period. Nice to see Parise get back on track and put up some points. Love this team! Only down side is Dubs has let 4 in 3 games in a row, we need to get back to solid D again.

[Bear55]

17 minutes ago, CaptainMusky said:

 but I was wore out after watching the USA vs Canada game.

Me too, took an emotional toll. Numerous heart attacks both ways!

[CaptainMusky]

5 of 6 pts on this roadtrip. I will take it! Nice win last night, boys sure a looking good. Yeah, they had given up a few extra goals the last 4 or 5 games, but last night was a solid win in a tough building.

2 pts back of the dreaded Hawks with 4 games in hand!

[Bear55]

Love this team!

[bottomdweller]

cant wait to take on the hawks!  we want the cup!!!!!

 

[Bear55]

Ya big back to back again Dallas and Chicago, should be fun. We are the best in the west at the moment (ppg) so it sure would be fun to beat the dump out of the Hawks and take the top spot, after crushing Dallas of course. I'd like to see just a little more out of Haula and Pommers but other than that every other player has looked amazing this year, even Parise has picked it up after a slow start. Somehow we got the 70+ point version of Eric Stall for 3.5 million, highway robbery right there. Never in my wildest dreams did I see that coming.

[hoppe56307]

Finally a few home games.  Then another tough road schedule with Stars, Burins and a quick swing through Canada for the Flames and Jets.

[ANYFISH2]

I am a little worried guys, we fall behind 0-2 to thw hawks and i was never worried the other night!  The shoes got to fall sometime, i am starting to become overconfident in this team.

[bbfenatic]

What I worried about in the past and why I was not to high on them was because Parise and Sutter were supposed to carry the load but that is evidently no longer the case.  The Sophomores and Juniors have "figured it out" and have stepped up and are carrying the team...not to mention Stall is "reborn".  IMO as long as Dubnyk stays healthy I don't think we have anything to worry about. It is all about he playoffs now as they'd have to take a huge step back not to get in IMO....we'll so how far they can go....with this new found success.  

[rkhinrichs]

This is our year! i feel there is something different about them! I see the passion and intensity they have. Putting the puck on the net is key!

[Bear55]

One could also say Koivu has been reborn, that line has been on a tear lately. I think all of them are at or near a point per game for the last 22 games. Not to mention they are doing that while usually getting the job of shutting down the other teams top line. Crazyness!

Edited January 17, 2017 by Bear55

[Bobby Bass]

What I have ben enjoying is watching the fourth line on the ice and sometimes they are the best line out there. Playing late in games and giving the top two lines a rest may not seem like a  big deal now but come crunch time that rest just might make the difference. I picked the right time to put the cable back in I think I have only missed one Wild game this season plus I am watching a lot of umd hockey!  As for Sutter I think he is having a banner year, great plus/minus rating. he is scoring a few goals which is another plus and in the Chicago game when he traded sides of the ice with his d partner he pretty much shutdown a tiring Kane. Best time to watch Wild hockey is halfway through the game, they seem to find another level to play at.

[hoppe56307]

Lets not forget about signing the 4th line energy man Stewart putting the biscuit in the basket, with 9 goals so far this season eclipsing his total from last year already.

[bbfenatic]

Agree on both Stall & Stewart as huge bonuses....but I'm not going to give Fletch credit...it's all on those 2 players that they resurrected their game with new found youth.  It was a "wing & a prayer" from Fletch's standpoint....he had to do something, threw his darts on the wall and they stuck at Stall and Stewart and fortunately for Fletch it has worked out...and both were cheap signings....

[Bear55]

I would guess even Fletcher would say Stall has passed all expectations. I will give credit to Fletcher for building this team from absolute zero, we had almost no skill or prospects when he took over,  sure it took longer than we wanted but right now it is worth it. No doubt luck can play a roll, most GM's don't have a Suter, Parise, Stall & BB fall into their lap but quality drafting and development are also paying big dividends right now. We also have a lot of high end prospects that can fill in for the vets in the coming years. A cup is still a long ways away but this year is probably the best NHL team the state has ever seen.

[Bryce]

Parise -4 tonite. Other teams are starting to key in on him.

[CaptainMusky]

Parise hasn't had a very good season. I still think he shouldn't have played in the World Cup. He probably isn't back to 100% yet with his back, maybe he is, but I bet he still has setbacks every now and then.

Overall the team was poor defensively last night. Dubnyk wasn't as sharp as he has been. One of the best goals I have seen in a long time by Spurgeon though was about the only highlight.

Hit the reset button and move on to Arizona.

[Bryce]

And no more interviews with Krissie Wendell please.

[Bear55]

Little bit of an off night, Devils seems to have our number lately too. We are certainly seeing a little more average Parise than we are seeing of good Parise. Might be time for him to take a more active roll on the 3rd line, you can see BB trying to shift guys around to get Pommers and Parise going a little bit but its not working. Stall Coyle Nino could be a dominant first line.

[bbfenatic]

7 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

Little bit of an off night, Devils seems to have our number lately too. We are certainly seeing a little more average Parise than we are seeing of good Parise. Might be time for him to take a more active roll on the 3rd line, you can see BB trying to shift guys around to get Pommers and Parise going a little bit but its not working. Stall Coyle Nino could be a dominant first line.

 

Agree...Pom is definitely our weakest link at the moment and I certainly would not want to be his line mate....and not sure Zach can ever elevate his game to days of old but he needs to find another gear soon.  Brodin being out may hurt us a little but others can step in....just need to keep Dubs healthy.  Can't win them all...even if they play .500 hockey the rest of the season we are in the playoffs.

[CaptainMusky]

So they called Reilly back up, but part of me is kind of hoping that Prosser plays. Earlier this year he was very solid. You never get elite level from him, but I think he was dependable out there and I have been a big critic of his for a long time. The ceiling is obviously higher for Reilly and I want him to be a regular at some point, but if he isn't going to get 10 mins a night he is better off in Iowa and play Prosser.

What impresses me are these numbers: 141 goals for (Tied 4th), 96 goals against (tied #2), +45 differential (#2). When was the last time a Wild team was in the top 5 in goals scored?

We have a very balanced team and it is fun to watch, which this balance is also why slumps by Parise and Pominville don't kill this team or at least haven't until this point.

I will say it again, I was a huge proponent of signing Staal. NO, I didn't think he was going to be leading our team in scoring, but what I was excited about was that it would mean that Coyle/Granlund could play wing where they should be. Those two are playing great overall and both have been playing wing pretty much entire season thus far. We can also thank Gravovac for his role too because without him, one of the two would be playing center most likely.

[hoppe56307]

I have noticed the last couple of games the Coyle and Staal will switch who takes the face off based off of what hand the opponent is to get an advantage.  Since Staal is a Lefty and Coyle is Right.

[CaptainMusky]

1 hour ago, hoppe56307 said:

I have noticed the last couple of games the Coyle and Staal will switch who takes the face off based off of what hand the opponent is to get an advantage.  Since Staal is a Lefty and Coyle is Right.

Yep, I have noticed that too. That is a good thing to have in your back pocket in playoffs and you get caught in your zone for an icing or who knows what reason where you cannot switch lines OR just to have flexibility with matchups line vs line, but faceoff on one side vs the other.