GDT: 12/22/16 - Wild vs. Les Habitants - 6:30PM CT / 2:30AM Suomi - FSN

[Al Lagoon]

That was my favorite game this season. Real test, Dubs and the team get an A from me.

 

[Wabit]

This was a fun game to watch. Koivu line (all 3 of them) was the difference in the game.

 

[DANOZ28]

that was a sensational come from behind win , great job wild boyz!

 

[Minnesota]

that was a sensational come from behind win , great job wild boyz!

 

[TaLoN]

BB says Zach is out tomorrow as well BTW.

 

[TaLoN]

 

[42]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Dubnyk play tomorrow as well. I think BB rested him against Arizona with this back-to-back in mind.

 

[Engebretson]

Very impressed with Zucker tonight. He's come a long way in a year to be playing with a 1 goal lead and the opposing goalie pulled.

 

[TaLoN]

Very impressed with Zucker tonight. He's come a long way in a year to be playing with a 1 goal lead and the opposing goalie pulled.

Loving where his game is at! Loving where that entire 2nd line is at!

 

[Aurinko]

This was a fun game to watch. Koivu line (all 3 of them) was the difference in the game.

The way they work without the puck is amazing. Two guys do aggressive fore-/backcheck and one positions to interrupt passes and poke the pucks away.

 

[TaLoN]

Zucker and Granlund have the speed and the tenacity to allow Koivu to worry about positioning and not be so worried about rushing into the play.

Their speed counteracts his lack of speed and creates such a good balance for the line...

Koivu and Granlund's D makes up for Zucker's not so great D and allows him to be more free in his zone to fly when needed.

They are great in their own zone... great in transition (Granlund is still easily the best forward we have on gaining the offensive zone), and great on the forecheck.

 

[TaLoN]

That pic is scary!

 

[57special]

great call playing Schroeder tonight. His speed was just what was needed against MTL, not brawn.

Maybe again against NYR? They are very fast also, and with Haula missing we need to keep up with them somehow.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Was at the Riverview watching It's a Wonderful Life so I missed the game, glad to see we won!

EDIT: From the highlights, the Staal/Spurgeon goals were beauties, and not the type of goals we would normally see from this team - absolute snipes.

 

[57special]

Spurgeon rang one off the post early on a PP...Price was completely beaten. We looked REALLY good for a while there in the first, then we started to make all sorts of mistakes.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Dubnyk lived up to the billing, that’s for sure. Boudreau said he had all the confidence in the world that Dubnyk was done giving up goals when Montreal made it 2-1 because he has seen Dubnyk basically say, “That’s it,” countless times this season.

<3 Dubnyk

 

[Al Lagoon]

Wonder if this showdown caught anyone's attention outside Minnesota... ahh probably not.

 

[Wild11MN]

Wonder if this showdown caught anyone's attention outside Minnesota... ahh probably not.

Let's keep it that way. Avoid the curse.

 

[Wabit]

great call playing Schroeder tonight. His speed was just what was needed against MTL, not brawn.

Maybe again against NYR? They are very fast also, and with Haula missing we need to keep up with them somehow.

Hope the 4th line can eat some minutes tomorrow night. They were only 5m,5m,2m tonight. Doubt they'll see much more time against the NYR. Missing Dalpe (over Gabriel) with Haula and Parise out.

I'm not a big Schroeder fan, but Stewie can't be the only scoring chance the 4th line has, so better to keep Schroeder in the lineup.

 

[Sharppi]

Yay, victories! Points!

 

[W75]

Wow, wow, wow! Effort, goals, luck, multi point players, shorties, all those empty netters.. The team is on a roll!

 

[hirawl]

Sometimes you just feel privileged to get to witness good hockey players play a very good game. This was definitely one of those times. Mikko may never get the recognition he deserves but man was he boss last night. Absolutely fantastic.

I think this group of players benefit a lot from their time with Yeo. Because the way they play D is a cultural thing, not so much system.

 

[gphr513]

That pic is scary!

Doing his best Marek Hamsik impression!

 

[57special]

Hope the 4th line can eat some minutes tomorrow night. They were only 5m,5m,2m tonight. Doubt they'll see much more time against the NYR. Missing Dalpe (over Gabriel) with Haula and Parise out.

I'm not a big Schroeder fan, but Stewie can't be the only scoring chance the 4th line has, so better to keep Schroeder in the lineup.

Scoring is a nice bonus, but Schroeder's speed is valuable against a fast team both on the forecheck and the backcheck. You can have all the will, strength, and guts in the world, but if you can't get there in time they're of no use.

That's part of what is making Zucker so effective now, makes Haula so important to the team, and is a part of NYR's success.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Scoring is a nice bonus, but Schroeder's speed is valuable against a fast team both on the forecheck and the backcheck. You can have all the will, strength, and guts in the world, but if you can't get there in time they're of no use.

That's part of what is making Zucker so effective now, makes Haula so important to the team, and is a part of NYR's success.

Exactly. I've been an outspoken fan for a while now, but yesterday's game was a good example of why I think he needs to be in the lineup. It doesn't matter how damn short he is; if you have a guy on the ice with that kind of speed and tenacity, it automatically makes the other team play a little differently. Gabriel's face-punching is fun too, but he just really doesn't bring much more than that.