2016-2017 nhl Playoffs

[bottomdweller]

Brutal! just another typical mn team throwing away a great season.  Wonder why I watch or care anymore

[leech~~]

11 minutes ago, bottomdweller said:

Brutal! just another typical mn team throwing away a great season.  Wonder why I watch or care anymore

 

On 4/12/2017 at 3:04 PM, leech~~ said:

 

Sad to say but the Wild did have a pretty good year. They just don't have enough left.

 

I did say this.

[lungdeflator]

The Blues really seem to have the Wild off their game.  After 3 games, I have to believe this has easily been the most physical 3 game stretch the Wild have played all year.  Seems they just don't have the room to use their speed and skills.  Yesterday the Wild looked dull.  

 

[Bear55]

We are so mental and getting progressively worse each game, this team can only play up to their own confidence level and when they lose or don't have it they are toast. 2nd leading team in overall NHL scoring and we get one goal a game. I was worried about Dubs and the defense this series but they have been pretty good. Allen no doubt is playing well but we have to be better. We are the longest of long shots now, if somehow we make the greatest of comebacks we might break this funk but it would take a miracle at this point.

[bbfenatic]

25 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

We are so mental and getting progressively worse each game, this team can only play up to their own confidence level and when they lose or don't have it they are toast. 2nd leading team in overall NHL scoring and we get one goal a game. I was worried about Dubs and the defense this series but they have been pretty good. Allen no doubt is playing well but we have to be better. We are the longest of long shots now, if somehow we make the greatest of comebacks we might break this funk but it would take a miracle at this point.

 

Not gonna happen...we just don't have the caliber of lineup to compete well in the NHL Playoffs...especially teams like STL.  We may have faired better against Chicago but eventually we meet up against the inevitable...and this is Fletch's problem...has been for a while and will continue to be a problem for years to come IMO.  It is simple math/physics and when the going gets tough it is easier to take a speed team off their game than visaversa. Tarasenko has not even been up to par plus they are missing Statsny so they don't need big O...they just pinch along the boards harder, box out in front tighter and play smarter. Coyle and Scandella are the only ones who can compete at the playoff level IMO...where is Zucker, Granlund, Stall, Nino, Koivu...etc? Suter even looks pathetic, slow...reaching...no body checks...it takes heavier players not only to dish out checks but also to take and recover from checks and continue playing at a high level.

[lungdeflator]

After 5-6 years of the same core players and a coaching change, something needs to change in the core of the team this offseason.  It will be interesting to see who they protect in the expansion draft.  Maybe they will use the expansion draft as an eye opener to some of the guys.  If they don't protect Parise, Suter, Granlund, or Koivu maybe it will send a message to them that they aren't as valuable as they think.  

The only way the Suter and Parise signings are successful is if they made it to the finals.  So far, IMO, those 2 guys have not made a big enough impact in the playoffs when it counts to make that kind of money.  Regular season for show, post season for dough.  Time for a change.

 

 

[Bear55]

2 hours ago, bbfenatic said:

 

Not gonna happen...we just don't have the caliber of lineup to compete well in the NHL Playoffs...especially teams like STL.  We may have faired better against Chicago but eventually we meet up against the inevitable...and this is Fletch's problem...has been for a while and will continue to be a problem for years to come IMO.  It is simple math/physics and when the going gets tough it is easier to take a speed team off their game than visaversa. Tarasenko has not even been up to par plus they are missing Statsny so they don't need big O...they just pinch along the boards harder, box out in front tighter and play smarter. Coyle and Scandella are the only ones who can compete at the playoff level IMO...where is Zucker, Granlund, Stall, Nino, Koivu...etc? Suter even looks pathetic, slow...reaching...no body checks...it takes heavier players not only to dish out checks but also to take and recover from checks and continue playing at a high level.

Lets not get too down on the team, they are sucking right now but this is the first time in a long time we have been favored to win a series. Many of our players in the past have shown some capacity to step up in the playoffs, we are just not seeing a lot of them do that right now on the offensive end. The blues have one line to worry about and Yoe has them playing extremely well, they are not some juggernaut we can't handle. Lets not forget we took the Blues out under reversed rolls in 2015 when they were heavy favorites, this kind of stuff happens every single year, only one team can win. Sure it would be great to finally win the cup but we can't freak out every time they lose, there are 29 other teams trying to win and we clearly weren't playing well at the end of the year when we needed to be. If anything those handful of wins at the end of the year gave us some false hope that they team was back when they were just beating up terrible teams.

Lets hope the extra days rest is spend cleaning the cobwebs out of our mental game, hopefully something happens in game 4 to spark this team but I'm sure we all won't be holding our breath. If we were to ever win cup and get that monkey off our backs we might as well make it special and come back from a 3-0 deficit to really make it special. Like I said, not holding my breath but fingers crossed. This is the best NHL team (Wild or North Stars) that we have ever had based on wins, points and probably a few other metrics, if they get their stuff together anything is possible.

[bbfenatic]

11 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

This is the best NHL team (Wild or North Stars) that we have ever had based on wins, points and probably a few other metrics, if they get their stuff together anything is possible.

 

Please Bear...I love the positivity but stop with the nonsense.  What matters is how they stack up today....no excuses....no "we ran into a hot goaltender", no we were favored or they were favored, no we have proven in the past we have done this or that. Slates are wiped clean come playoff time...you can get the job or you can't....the bottomline is the regular season success has little bearing on the ability to perform in the playoffs...like Lung stated " Regular season for show, post season for dough". No one is feaking out...we are Wild Fanatics...We are Minnesotans...We are the State of Hockey....and we expect better....We'd rather win a Stanley Cup one time than win the Superbowl, World Series, NBA Championship..and WNBA all in the same year. I've had friends who played for other teams win the Cup, I've drank from the Cup, I have a friend who played on the Miracle on Ice Team...held the medal.....but just hoping we bring a Cup to MN in my lifetime...and my days are getting short.

[Duffman]

The only thing positive about the Wilds situation is that this is playoff hockey, and coming back from 0-3 deficits is not impossible.

[Bear55]

1 hour ago, bbfenatic said:

 

Please Bear...I love the positivity but stop with the nonsense.  What matters is how they stack up today....no excuses....no "we ran into a hot goaltender", no we were favored or they were favored, no we have proven in the past we have done this or that. Slates are wiped clean come playoff time...you can get the job or you can't....the bottomline is the regular season success has little bearing on the ability to perform in the playoffs...like Lung stated " Regular season for show, post season for dough". No one is feaking out...we are Wild Fanatics...We are Minnesotans...We are the State of Hockey....and we expect better....We'd rather win a Stanley Cup one time than win the Superbowl, World Series, NBA Championship..and WNBA all in the same year. I've had friends who played for other teams win the Cup, I've drank from the Cup, I have a friend who played on the Miracle on Ice Team...held the medal.....but just hoping we bring a Cup to MN in my lifetime...and my days are getting short.

I think tempering expectations is the key, even if we won the presidents trophy which we have never done those teams don't win the cup most years. http://www.puckreport.com/2014/05/nhl-presidents-trophy-winners-and.html

 

Look at the Caps, they have had amazing teams for like 8-10 years now and got nowhere. San Jose has been among the contenders for what feels like 20 years now and have one final to show for it. There are a thousand examples of great teams doing nothing in the post season, it would be amazing to win one but these things are out of our control. This is the first year I would ever call us anything close to contender status based on our 2nd place finish in the west, even then we were one of 8 or 10 teams you could give that label to, it takes a special team to win one and right now its looking like it's not us again, nothing wrong with that. Yes it sucks but we have a lot of talented young players and some decent prospects coming up, even the vets have some gas in the tank so all hope isn't lost if we don't figure it out this year.

[lungdeflator]

If we can't expect to make a big run to the Cup when we have set a record for season points, when can we expect it?  

 

Maybe next year I'll try not to watch the regular season, that way I'll be "pleasantly surprised" that they made it into the playoffs and happy with a bounce in the first round.....again.....

[Bear55]

I just think we are setting ourselves up for failure by expecting anything, if there is one thing MN sports has taught us it should be not to get our expectations too high or we are doomed. I was certainly hoping this would be our year but the last month of the season threw up plenty of warning signs this wasn't our year. What do you do, its just sports, it doesn't really matter. I'd love to see a cup in my lifetime but if we don't win one there isn't much I can do about it other than come back next year and try again.

[lungdeflator]

Yeah we should all know better by now to expect good things to come from MN sports teams.  This stuff is frustrating....I let it affect my mood too much lol.

 

On a side note, is Blocked Shots the most underrated stat in the NHL?  

 

I would be willing to bet that the team with the most blocked shots wins a vast majority of the time.  

[bbfenatic]

3 minutes ago, lungdeflator said:

On a side note, is Blocked Shots the most underrated stat in the NHL?  

 

I would be willing to bet that the team with the most blocked shots wins a vast majority of the time.  

 

Agree...and we'd have over 200 shots on net had Blues not blocked so many....just think...all 3 of those games would have gone into OT had those extras got on net! 

[bbfenatic]

1 hour ago, Duffman said:

The only thing positive about the Wilds situation is that this is playoff hockey, and coming back from 0-3 deficits is not impossible.

 

Correct.....that it is positive we are 1 of 16 teams (out of 30) that made the playoffs (but whoop de frickin doo) and correct that coming back from the deficit is not impossible....but highly improbable....2.2% chance given past teams in this situation. They might win Wednesday with their backs against the wall just to save a little face but winning 4 in a row...

 

The Parise/Suter signing was to be the foundation...done....fill in the pieces with good young talent...done....fill in even more with some more decent Vets...done...get a good goaltender...done...get a good coach...done...have a record regular season...done....Win the Cup...boink.

 

On a side note...my wife kicked me out of the house again this year till a week after Wild are out of the playoffs...I can pick up the dog and pull my boat out and put it back into storage but not welcome in the house...crappie fishing has been excellent up here...heading out again shortly....if the Wild would ever make a run I could extend this right into the Walleye season.

 

 

[BringAnExtension]

47 minutes ago, bbfenatic said:

if the Wild would ever make a run I could extend this right into the Walleye season.

 

 

 

We could turn that statement into a positive ... looks like the Wild won't interfere with the opener.

[Bear55]

Wowza 4 teams down 3-0 right now including Chicago, can't remember that ever happening before but it probably has.

[BringAnExtension]

Wonder what the odds in Vegas were for both the Wild and the Blackhawks being eliminated in the first round?

[bbfenatic]

How about those Cardiac Kids up 2-1 on Caps...every game has gone to OT...happy for Toronto...we think we are hockey nuts..that is the World of Hockey there and they have suffered with dump way too long.....and then they blew it up.  Best thing about "starting over"....low expectations....along with high energy....fun to watch...see things progress.

1 minute ago, BringAnExtension said:

Wonder what the odds in Vegas were for both the Wild and the Blackhawks being eliminated in the first round?

 

Great question...had to be unbelievably high and would have taken some big kahoonas to make that bet. 

[CaptainMusky]

22 hours ago, lungdeflator said:

It will be interesting to see who they protect in the expansion draft.  Maybe they will use the expansion draft as an eye opener to some of the guys.  If they don't protect Parise, Suter, Granlund, or Koivu maybe it will send a message to them that they aren't as valuable as they think.  

Parise, Suter, Koivu, Pominville ALL have to be protected in the expansion draft because they are on "No Move" contracts. Granlund isn't under contract for next year, neither is Nino or Haula. Our D corps are all signed through next season, but we have forwards to lock up. The only other notable player with an expiring contract is Kuemper.

 

Suter, Koivu, Parise, Pominville (all required to be protected), Granlund (once signed), Dubnyk I think are guarantees to be protected. After that it gets muddy.

 

The expansion draft requires some players exposed to be under contract for the 2017-18 season as well

 

Valuable info here:

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expansion-draft-rules/c-281010592

 

Its going to be tough. Coyle, Niederreiter, Granlund and Zucker all had career years this season. They are on the upswing.

 

We can either protect 7 skaters, 3 D men and a Goalie OR 8 skaters and a Goalie.

[BringAnExtension]

28 minutes ago, CaptainMusky said:

Valuable info here:

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expansion-draft-rules/c-281010592

 

 

Thanks for that link.  It helps put things in perspective.

 

* All first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).

 

This means players like Kunin, Lucia, and Kloos don't factor in.  As well as Erickson Ek.

 

For the defensemen (assuming the 7 skaters option) the decision is easy.  Protect Suter / Spurgeon / Brodin.  At this point I could care less if we lost Dumba or Scandella (please take Dumba).  Unfortunately, I suspect that we would lose the 8th skater that is unprotected.

[Bear55]

They pretty much have to ask pommers to waive or buy him out, no way he gets picked by vegas. Then you protect Koivu, Parise, Staal, Nino, Granlund, Zucker, Coyle. Then Suter, Spurge and their choice of Brodin/Dumba/Scandella.

[CaptainMusky]

Ive been a very vocal critic of Dumba the last couple years. He isn't having a good year, neither is Scandella though he has picked it up in the playoffs IMO. Up to this point I would have gotten rid of Dumba or would leave him exposed in the expansion draft. Then I looked at their ages. Scandella is 27 and Dumba 22. There is lots of room to grow for Dumba yet. He has a higher ceiling than Scandella I think too. I'm a bit torn now. I might want to keep Dumba hoping that more time with Stevens gets him to develop more.

 

Wouldn't you know it, I text my buddy "I'm done with Coyle" and then 30 seconds later he gets one of the greasy goals he needs to be scoring on Sunday. Figures.

 

Around December I was wanting Fletch to buy off Vegas so they wouldn't take ANY of our players. At this point, I don't even really care. Its been that frustrating.

21 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

They pretty much have to ask pommers to waive or buy him out, no way he gets picked by vegas. Then you protect Koivu, Parise, Staal, Nino, Granlund, Zucker, Coyle. Then Suter, Spurge and their choice of Brodin/Dumba/Scandella.

Pominville is absolutely killing us right now. He doesn't produce at all. Isnt a factor in any games and is costing us $5.6M for TWO MORE YEARS! Ouch.

We are still paying off Vanek after this year. If the Cap doesn't go up, we cannot buy out Pominville too. That would be almost $7M toward the Cap of dead money between the two next year. Ouch!

Too bad we cannot find a team willing to take him like the Phaneuff trade to Toronto last year. Arizona owes us one...

[bbfenatic]

I knew this was a small window of opportunity and they had a better year than I thought but poor playoff performance puts a damper on a decent season. Overall I think the Vets are riding their contracts...not much fire in the belly...pretty battle weary over the years...locker room leadership seems non existent....young guys have the fire but not the consistency needed for the NHL Playoffs IMO.  

 

All I can say is thanks Chuck... don't have a draft choice in ether round 1 or 2...plus future years are hampered too. Hanzal and White have been a bust IMO...you'd think Hanzal with his size would fight into the crease area more but not happening, If I were BB I'd tell Hanzal or Coyle or Stewie to fight into the crease first opportunity and give a good bump to Allen...might take a penalty or might start a brawl but that might not be bad either...we have to take Allen off his pedestal asap, make him a little nervous...get in the trenches quick...get bloodied up...show some grit then settle into our game and see what happens.  Letting them dictate their D zone is what they need/want.

 

Go Leafs.

 

[lungdeflator]

Hanzal is the biggest teddy bear in the league