GDT: 11/13/16 - Wild @ Senators - 4 PM CT / 12 AM Finland - FS-N

[tomgilbertfan]

For sure, Haula being out there with Granlund at the end is a perfect example.

 

[melinko]

Players were very determined to get off the ice quick for the first time. Always had fresh legs. Instead of only going off in groups like they did under Yeo, if one player had the ability to change, the one player changed. Thus was a constantly rotating line of skaters who are fresh.

The line combos too.

Instead of just playing the best 2 players on from each line he made his own 3on3 lineup.

Haula would have never been with Granlund under Yeo. Would have been Haula + Zucker just long enough to get Koivu + Granlund a rest.

 

[Minnesota]

OT winner.

 

[TaLoN]

The line combos too.

Instead of just playing the best 2 players on from each line he made his own 3on3 lineup.

Haula would have never been with Granlund under Yeo. Would have been Haula + Zucker just long enough to get Koivu + Granlund a rest.

That was my point though, once play started, set pairs were out the window. The point was fresh players over set lines, thus it was one big rotating line as one player changed at any given time.

That's why it was Staal and Coyle to start, but as players individually rotated, it was Koivu and Coyle out there together on both players second go in OT.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Wow. Reading through this after the game....

I thought it was a good game. You would have thought there was a massacre of puppies by reading this. Lighten up people! Don't find the bad in everything. Look for the good.

And people wonder why there aren't as many posts as previously. This place has become, like, a black hole of optimism.

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

I won't go through and read everything but I thought it was a reasonably well played game, especially with an early start on the backend of a back to back. We definitely had the better chances, just didn't convert near as many as I'd like to see. Pretty decent to good game.

 

[gphr513]

Wow. Reading through this after the game....

I thought it was a good game. You would have thought there was a massacre of puppies by reading this. Lighten up people! Don't find the bad in everything. Look for the good.

And people wonder why there aren't as many posts as previously. This place has become, like, a black hole of optimism.

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Don't really know what is spawning all the negativity.

 

[Wabit]

Just finished watching the game. Good game, couple of posts, a few breakaways, and their goalie played well.

I liked the PP tonight, no scoring but lots of movement and good passing/shooting.

Kemps played well, and didn't crack after the first goal. Granny had a one of his better games of the year, he was shooting the puck as a nice change.

So who were the guys on the ice for OT? They didn't play like a normal Wild OT game.

 

[Wabit]

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Don't really know what is spawning all the negativity.

Vikings game maybe?

 

[melinko]

We are in a good position given our road heavy schedule and fewer games played.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Vikings game maybe?

This started waaaayyyyy before the Vikings started losing. It's been gradual for the last year or two, but it's overwhelming. Coming to this site has become such a downer. The problem is, I like keeping up with the Wild so...

 

[tomgilbertfan]

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Don't really know what is spawning all the negativity.

Vikings, current sociopolitical climate.

 

[57special]

I won't go through and read everything but I thought it was a reasonably well played game, especially with an early start on the backend of a back to back. We definitely had the better chances, just didn't convert near as many as I'd like to see. Pretty decent to good game.

we hit 3 posts, all of them when the goalie was soundly beaten. Kuemper was very good, which is HUGE. The Staal, Coyle, Nino has the potential to be something special...I think they'll be even better during the playoffs. They were dominant on a few shifts.

I like Scandella quite a bit, but the D looked pretty good as is. Reilly overcoming a bad start to the year, and showing the wheels and puckhandling ability again.

Having said all that, our forwards have a tough time scoring. Maybe it will change once Parise comes back...I still think we're undermanned up front. We are quite capable of playing well and being the "better" team on the ice, but losing because we don't put the puck in the net easily.

 

[57special]

Just finished watching the game. Good game, couple of posts, a few breakaways, and their goalie played well.

I liked the PP tonight, no scoring but lots of movement and good passing/shooting.

Kemps played well, and didn't crack after the first goal. Granny had a one of his better games of the year, he was shooting the puck as a nice change.

So who were the guys on the ice for OT? They didn't play like a normal Wild OT game.

BB seemed to have just about everyone on the ice during OT. Started with Brodin, Staal and Coyle. He seemed to have a nice mix of speed, skill, and defensive ability out there. I think size is way less important on 3v3. Speed, IQ, and defensive ability gets super important...and goaltending, of course.

 

[Minnewildsota]

we hit 3 posts, all of them when the goalie was soundly beaten. Kuemper was very good, which is HUGE. The Staal, Coyle, Nino has the potential to be something special...I think they'll be even better during the playoffs. They were dominant on a few shifts.

I like Scandella quite a bit, but the D looked pretty good as is. Reilly overcoming a bad start to the year, and showing the wheels and puckhandling ability again.

Having said all that, our forwards have a tough time scoring. Maybe it will change once Parise comes back...I still think we're undermanned up front. We are quite capable of playing well and being the "better" team on the ice, but losing because we don't put the puck in the net easily.

We're top 10 in the league for GF/G, I really don't know what else you guys want? Now you're really just trying to find something wrong. Can't we just enjoy that the team is doing well? Is it really that hard?

 

[gphr513]

Staal has been excellent. I've been so impressed with him; now if he could just convert on a few of those breakaways

 

[Wild11MN]

Coming into the game we were 7th in GF/G, 2nd in GA/G. That's pretty dang good. It's obviously skewed because of the three straight shutouts, but they still count. If Parise comes back at even 90%, this team could start on a huge roll.

With the rest of the Central outside of Chicago struggling, we've taken pretty decent advantage to sit basically in second assuming we can pick up a point with games in hand. If we avoid the midseason swoon, we could legit finish top three in the division.

 

[Wabit]

we hit 3 posts, all of them when the goalie was soundly beaten. Kuemper was very good, which is HUGE. The Staal, Coyle, Nino has the potential to be something special...I think they'll be even better during the playoffs. They were dominant on a few shifts.

I like Scandella quite a bit, but the D looked pretty good as is. Reilly overcoming a bad start to the year, and showing the wheels and puckhandling ability again.

Having said all that, our forwards have a tough time scoring. Maybe it will change once Parise comes back...I still think we're undermanned up front. We are quite capable of playing well and being the "better" team on the ice, but losing because we don't put the puck in the net easily.

I don't know if we're undermanned is the correct word. The 4th line isn't great, but how many are (besides the NYR)? The 3rd line (with Haula) is better than most other 3rd lines that I've seen.

I think we're lacking a game breaker. If Zucker could put even 1 in 3 breakaways in the back of the net, Pommer stops hitting posts...

Getting Parise back will help, the skill gap between him and whatever 4th liner gets sent back to the AHL is huge.

Staal line i like a lot. Koivu line has been inconsistent (to me). If the Wild still aren't all on the same page with BB's system (and have some semblance of health), they could be a dangerous team by the end of the season.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

I love Bruce's post-gamers

Q: You ever get impressed with how Suter can continue to play so well? (Abridged, question was kind of awkwardly phrased)

A: That's why he makes the big bucks. That's what your stars are supposed to do.

 

[melinko]

We're top 10 in the league for GF/G, I really don't know what else you guys want? Now you're really just trying to find something wrong. Can't we just enjoy that the team is doing well? Is it really that hard?

I think a big reason the mood is poor is the "kids" that were sold as the future have all turned out to be meh

They are good but haven't developed into something most of us would call irreplaceable.

At the very least they didn't develop as fast as hoped and their improvement will now be occurring at the same time the vets start declining likely negating a team-wide improvement during that time frame.

 

[57special]

We're top 10 in the league for GF/G, I really don't know what else you guys want? Now you're really just trying to find something wrong. Can't we just enjoy that the team is doing well? Is it really that hard?

We had two games that we scored 6 goals in that are skewing our GF averages. Both goals tonight were scored by Dmen( one on a PK). Have you forgotten yesterday? We do not have a single elite scorer on our team, unless Parise gets healthy, and even he isn't a true sniper, at this point.

Depends what your definition of success is. A slightly above average, or maybe even better than that , team is not what I want this team to be aiming for. I want a Cup.

Our D is good enough, and our goaltending might be. We are short up front. MAYBE, if Parise gets healthy, and someone like a Zucker, or a Granlund, has a breakout year, we have shot. I'm already assuming that Nino and Coyle will get 45 goals between them.

Some of the old North Stars teams had a nice mix of defense and scoring ability. They never won a Cup, but they got close. I want a team that is at least a legit threat to win it all. I am not happy watching a team eke out a win against an average team like OTT, after losing to an average team like PHI.

 

[57special]

I think a big reason the mood is poor is the "kids" that were sold as the future have all turned out to be meh

They are good but haven't developed into something most of us would call irreplaceable.

At the very least they didn't develop as fast as hoped and their improvement will now be occurring at the same time the vets start declining likely negating a team-wide improvement during that time frame.

Pominville's steep decline, and even more, the reality of Vanek's play, was disappointing to a lot of us, I think. I had very low expectations for Staal, and don't expect him to be scoring at a PPG for the season, but if he can score 60 pts. it would be huge. With the quality of linemates he has been playing with, it's not impossible.

He is playing like a legit #1C right now.

 

[Wabit]

Pominville's steep decline, and even more, the reality of Vanek's play, was disappointing to a lot of us, I think. I had very low expectations for Staal, and don't expect him to be scoring at a PPG for the season, but if he can score 60 pts. it would be huge. With the quality of linemates he has been playing with, it's not impossible.

He is playing like a legit #1C right now.

Staal is earning Pommer's paycheck, Pommer is earning Staal's. Now that I say that, Staal is earning Parise's paycheck (so far).

 

[W75]

Yeah baby, a win, on overtime!

 

[FVM]

We're top 10 in the league for GF/G, I really don't know what else you guys want? Now you're really just trying to find something wrong. Can't we just enjoy that the team is doing well? Is it really that hard?

I think people are tight because they have seen this before - Wild playing great to start the season but then completely collapsing around the New Year. Personally I'm not worried about that. I really think there's no reason to assume such a slump under Boudreau. Guy just wins, wherever he goes.

Coming into the game we were 7th in GF/G, 2nd in GA/G. That's pretty dang good. It's obviously skewed because of the three straight shutouts, but they still count. If Parise comes back at even 90%, this team could start on a huge roll.

With the rest of the Central outside of Chicago struggling, we've taken pretty decent advantage to sit basically in second assuming we can pick up a point with games in hand. If we avoid the midseason swoon, we could legit finish top three in the division.

We could legit win this division. Without catastrophic injuries it's very much possible and that's what Boudreau does, so count me in among the optimists. No reason to shoot for second place here. Win the whole damn thing.