GDT: Post-Game: Wild @ Blues 1/27/13

[W75]

5 games is "only"
7 games isn't "only" anymore
9 games is "already"
10 games, "sky is fallin"
12 games, "sky has fallen"

 

[bozak911]

Nah... I'm not hitting the panic button.

Our division is a bloody mess right now and so far, we have only played Colorado... once.

Edmonton: still weakish D, gap in net.
Vancouver: holy balls, batman... they are having major issues
Calgary: 'nuff said
Colorado: slow start, injuries to bigger cogs piling up

 

[Jarick]

I'd say about 25% of the season is when it's time to panic. Normally that's 20 games, but here that's about 12 games.

Still that seems kind of early...but if we drop say 6 of the next 8, I'll be pretty pissed.

 

[651*]

Hey guys. I am 1st a Hurricanes fan, but have been a Wild fan since 2008. My goal is to move to Minnesota at some point, so I get as involved as I can with the way the area reacts to things. I live in NC and go to Canes games all the time, and expect to be at Xcel all the time when I move. I just started here on HFBoards and I want to make a few comments.

Minnesota has had a lot of struggles the last few years in the sports world. Timberwolves lost Love, Twins lost Span and are in rebuilding mode, the Vikings gave some hope, but that was quickly washed away. Now we have the Wild back. Parise has been amazing. Suter has not. I can't really complain right now. The fact that our top line is a TOP line is just awesome. We haven't had that in years, since Gaborik was with Koivu. So, no complaints there. However, Suter's struggles have been worrysome. It's hard for me to go into panic mode very quickly, so I'm not giving up on Suter yet. I just think he needs a solid D partner again to get going. Spurgeon cannot come back soon enough. The bottom lines are struggling. I'm glad we didn't trade PMB after all, as he has been better than most of our other pieces, being Setoguchi and Cullen. (Also, no, we will not give you the other JF for Cullen.) I want to see people get called up as well, but not 5 games in. As for Goaltending, Hackett should come up and play a game or two. Harding has been fine, Backstrom has been pretty mediocre. Last night's game he had a few unlucky bounces, but he needs to be better. Hurricanes fans are very excited that we now have a capable backup to Cam Wad after one game. Dan Ellis was wonderful against Buffalo. I think Hackett could be that guy, maybe better.


I know some of this is kind of scattered, and also talked about earlier in the thread, but being a fan of Minnesota sports really is hard. I suggest we all try to not go into panic mode very quickly. I'd wait until game 15 to decide. If we are under .500, i'd get worried. If not, i'm sure we will be fine. I look forward to making more posts here and being active in both the Canes and Wild community.

That's an understatement. Three of our top three pro sports teams - Wild, Wolves, Twins - have more or less led their entire leagues in injuries over the last couple year. And don't forget AP blowing his leg to shreds and Rudolph and the Ponder thing this post season as well.

 

[Wild Caniac]

I know, but it can't be much more stated than it already is. Harvin also went down. The fact that the Vikings made the playoffs was magical.

 

[Fallenity]

Commenting on that FRB article, should we be playing Suter 30 minutes a game? I mean even Gilbert has looked better in my opinion. Should we perhaps ease him more slowly into the system, play the defensive pairs more equally? Because while he's not responsible for all the minuses in his column, he hasn't been close to what he was with Nashville.

 

[Jarick]

Welcome by the way!

That was a great run by the Vikes.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Commenting on that FRB article, should we be playing Suter 30 minutes a game? I mean even Gilbert has looked better in my opinion. Should we perhaps ease him more slowly into the system, play the defensive pairs more equally? Because while he's not responsible for all the minuses in his column, he hasn't been close to what he was with Nashville.

Suter (25) - Brodin/Gilbert (22)
Scandella (19) - Gilbert/Brodin (22)
Falk (16) - Stoner (16)

(minutes per game)

I'd like to see them settle into something like this. Our problem is we haven't yet been up by 3-4 goals in the 3rd and allow Suter to take some shifts off.

 

[Jarick]

I would like Suter to average 25 minutes or so during the regular season so he's not so worn out at the end of the year.

If Spurgeon comes back soon, we could probably roll three pairings of D. Scandy looks like he might have matured some, Brodin looks good so far...

 

[thestonedkoala]

Here's the thing; good teams find ways to win, bad teams find ways to lose. Minnesota keeps spinning their wheels and isn't getting anywhere. Why? We've swapped out everything from the tires, to the transmission, to the drive shaft to the seats and this organization continues to be muddled between mediocre and average at best. Philadelphia is a place where goaltenders go to die. It appears Minnesota is the place where offense goes to die. It's frustrating because we keep getting these big name players and prospects and then bam! They just suck. Or they do well and then the other half of the team sucks.

Something has to change within this organization. The philosophy, something.

 

[Hypno Toad]

People need to step up (with the exception of Cullen stepping down). Suter needs to turn it up, Parise needs more effort from his teammates, and so so many other issues.

I personally am enraged when I see Heatley because he's literally frolicking around, barely skating and barely defending. He's just a shooter, that's it.

 

[rynryn]

good christ, Heatley is getting crap now?

This is almost too much.

 

[jedisports]

Outside of the top line, everyone can do a better job getting chances.

Glad he was blunt on this. Our other lines better get going, man. No way on earth we will be able to keep up with Blues-like teams with so much depth if those lines don't get things fixed.

 

[Kari Takko]

I knew expectations were high when GMCF signed Suter, Parise, Konopka, and Mitchell, but I didn't know people expected the Wild to go unbeaten.

RynRyn is exactly right. When fans are ragging on the F#$%@in' All Star after he's piled up 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, it has gotten ri-DQ-lous.

 

[ewoksonhoth]

RynRyn is exactly right. When fans are ragging on the F#$%@in' All Star after he's piled up 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, it has gotten ri-DQ-lous.

He's the one I've been happiest about actually. I just wish there was a way to put a boot in the ass of the guys on the second and third line. Didn't expect to win last night, but I would have liked to see some real effort from the guys below the first line and on the blueline. Not worried yet, but if we drop the game against the BJ's tomorrow night I'll start to have my doubts.

 

[llamapalooza]

I knew expectations were high when GMCF signed Suter, Parise, Konopka, and Mitchell, but I didn't know people expected the Wild to go unbeaten.

RynRyn is exactly right. When fans are ragging on the F#$%@in' All Star after he's piled up 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, it has gotten ri-DQ-lous.

I don't think it's that anyone expects them to go unbeaten, but a 3-game losing streak is pretty noteworthy, especially when the season's half its normal length.

Personally, my concern is not that they're losing, but that they seem to be making all the same mistakes and generally showing the sloppiness and listlessness that we've seen for four years.

 

[Billy Mays Here*]

good christ, Heatley is getting crap now?

This is almost too much.

This. Heatley's main job on that line is to get in front of the net, screen the goalie, and deflect the puck and convert on the rebounds when he gets the chance. He's done just that and I have no problems with his performance thus far. Parise and Koivu are already great defensively so Heatley really doesn't need to do much on defense. The blame-train seems to be going into full effect on this board after just 5 games.

 

[NHL1674]

good christ, Heatley is getting crap now?

This is almost too much.

Agreed. Heatley can do whatever the heck he wants as long as he keeps scoring. He's one of the very few guys that is actually a threat out there. Actually not a few....he's one of TWO guys who are a threat. The other one is #11.

That's it. That's our scary team right now. Two guys. And unlike the girls, this team won't be able to pull off 2 Guys 1 Cup.

 

[roon]

good christ, Heatley is getting crap now?

This is almost too much.

I am one of them ragging on Heatley...the dude is old and slow. He is a pylon who is effective when parked in front of the net and only has to move his arms.

I always laugh when hockey fans point to the number of goals someone has and expects that to hold up as an argument for how well they are playing. Lots more to the game than standing at the goal mouth and having someone else create plays while you just hack away after someone feeds you the puck.

 

[BusQuets]

Heatley hasn't been nearly as good as his stats would indicate. Anyone can rack up points with Parise and Koivu especially on pp.

 

[NHL1674]

Heatley hasn't been nearly as good as his stats would indicate. Anyone can rack up points with Parise and Koivu especially on pp.

Even Sheppard?

Fact is that top line is doing all the work when it comes to putting goals on the board. It may not be pretty, but when it's the only thing keeping this team from being 0-5 right now, you don't mess with it. So Heatley parks himself in front of the net. I can remember having a roster full of guys for years who were afraid to do so. At least he can occasionally finish something, which other guys appear incapable of. Cullen and some of his buddies look like a group of guys who would miss the net even if fed the puck on a silver platter.

 

[ewoksonhoth]

I always laugh when hockey fans point to the number of goals someone has and expects that to hold up as an argument for how well they are playing. Lots more to the game than standing at the goal mouth and having someone else create plays while you just hack away after someone feeds you the puck.

You're forgetting that he's on the top line to score goals. The top line with two guys that are much better at making plays than he is. All he's supposed to do in the offensive zone is get the puck to Parise or Koivu and get in position to get a shot on goal. You're also forgetting he's had two helpers already so he isn't completely one dimensional. His play isn't what we should be concerned with right now anyway, the main concerns are secondary scoring and defense which have been much worse.

 

[UMD05]

I am one of them ragging on Heatley...the dude is old and slow. He is a pylon who is effective when parked in front of the net and only has to move his arms.

I always laugh when hockey fans point to the number of goals someone has and expects that to hold up as an argument for how well they are playing. Lots more to the game than standing at the goal mouth and having someone else create plays while you just hack away after someone feeds you the puck.

Heatley has always been slow and his game has always primarily been around the net. He's obviously past his prime but the guy isn't a problem.

 

[thestonedkoala]

I knew expectations were high when GMCF signed Suter, Parise, Konopka, and Mitchell, but I didn't know people expected the Wild to go unbeaten.

RynRyn is exactly right. When fans are ragging on the F#$%@in' All Star after he's piled up 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, it has gotten ri-DQ-lous.

Expectations were a bit high because last year we were missing mainly a good top line. Our secondary scoring and scoring in general was coming from the team. It's like they forgot how to play offense.

 

[Jarick]

Let's see what happens when Yeo stacks the second line instead of spreading it out. I'd like to see Bouchard-Granlund-Clutterbuck before we fire Fletcher, Yeo, and trade off everyone making over $2M.