GDT: Kings @ Wild | 28th of March, 2015 | 7PM CDT, 2 AM Suomi | FS-N

[tomgilbertfan]

at home watching the highlights. Stewart is an excellent hugger. he feels it. head on the shoulder and everything. awwww.

They look so genuine and happy.

 

[57special]

Weird thing is that there is no team that I fear in the playoffs, yet no team I feel comfortable against. Except for home ice advantage, it doesn't really matter where we finish.

If we play the big brutish teams we put out Carter, Brodziak, Cooke( is he even coming back?), Stewart, Koivu, Nino, Coyle... That's plenty of beef. Can always put out Schroeder or Fontaine for speed/skill. Haula has been invisible offensively this year, but his D, and especially the PK work has been elite, and I like the way Schroeder's PK work has been looking.


We have depth in the D position, too. I'm comfortable with Folin out there in limited minutes, Prosser not so much but he has been improving.

Now, if we could only hypnotize Yeo into putting Dumba back on the PP we'd be good to go.

 

[NHL1674]

BTW, good move on Yeo to trash the top PP unit and simply put the Koivu line out there for that last powerplay. Maybe we should try that for a bit and see what happens.

 

[TaLoN]

Notice, that PP goal came from just a standard line. I've been begging for a while to give up on PP units and just roll with the top two lines instead!

 

[NHL1674]

Notice, that PP goal came from just a standard line. I've been begging for a while to give up on PP units and just roll with the top two lines instead!

Exactly. It may take the pressure off a bit. Just throw it out there a few times and see what develops.

 

[SMTHook]

Man its good to be Wild fan. Yesterday's tour de force. And a sweet win tonight. Back to back? No problem. Don't care who we get. Bring it!!! Stewart is an awesome pick up. Probably just a rental but he's making a very strong case to get a deal.

 

[TommieNation]

Notice, that PP goal came from just a standard line. I've been begging for a while to give up on PP units and just roll with the top two lines instead!

I really like rolling the normal lines too. We have terrible coaching on the PP but luckly it hasn't hurt us too badly this year. I really wish we could be more confident in the PP but it hasn't shown promise so far

 

[Avder]

Notice, that PP goal came from just a standard line. I've been begging for a while to give up on PP units and just roll with the top two lines instead!

I have wanted this for so long. Just roll standard lines on a powerplay and let good chemistry and good play take advantage of the power imbalance on the ice.

 

[57special]

did anyone notice Gaborik tonight?

 

[Minnewildsota]

did anyone notice Gaborik tonight?

Who?

 

[NHL1674]

did anyone notice Gaborik tonight?

Same with Brown. Didn't really hear their names.

 

[123TripleDoge]

I swear Brodin has more goal saves like that this year than I've noticed for any guy here combining years.... Dude is amazing

 

[hipchecks]

Couldn't watch the game tonight, but watching the highlights tells me it was another good one.

And now we passed Chicago? Man, who would've thought we'd ever be ahead of the Hawks this year. Everything is clicking and everyone is confident. It feels so good.

 

[BurnsyMN]

Same with Brown. Didn't really hear their names.

Brown has been invisible the last two seasons. Last year 27 points, this year 26 points. Yikes.

 

[123TripleDoge]

so many wins lately thru secondary scoring.... and then POW

2nd / 1st line with all the stuff

nino koivu stewart is such a beastly line

 

[PariseNation]

I've never seen the Xcel go so bonkers for a successful penalty kill. Good work wild fans. Also a few sightings of Finland/Wild fans, whom I assume made the trip.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Yeo said it’s not just the puck going in, it’s the job his linemates are doing on the walls, defensively and reading off of each other. We know how Yeo trusts Koivu to go up against any line and any player in the NHL. It says a lot that Yeo trusts Niederreiter, who has embraced the defensive side of the puck this season, and Stewart, who came from Buffalo with the type of minus that would win him a golf tournament.
...
“Brods saved me from one there. It’s perfect,” Dubnyk said. “It was a wide-open net. It happens so fast. [Drew Doughty] hammered it from in tight. It comes off my pads so hard, all I had a chance was to look over and think it was going in the net. Brods saved it for me.”

Dubnyk, since being pulled in Detroit on Jan. 20, is 4-0-1 in the second of back-to-backs with six goals allowed and a .967 save percentage. This was another game where the Wild’s legs got heavy and it wasn’t able to establish a forecheck because of those heavy legs. But it defended well. Just a lot. But Dubnyk has always been there to save the day in these instances.

Koivu line gets the best of the Kopitar line in Wild's 24th win in 30 games since the All-Star break

 

[W75]

What an incredible team! They just refuse to lose.

In the 1st you wouldn't guess it was a back to back. Very strong period, and Koivu's line was rocking. In the 2nd they got tired (naturally), but that huge 5-3 kill made a difference. And what a crowd! It was purely amazing to listen! Even though only watched on Gamecenter, you could almost feel some of it.

No words. An amazin team with amazing fans right now. Feels good.

 

[Sharppi]

I'm so happy. Koivu is a beast, what a game from him.

 

[TaLoN]

I've never seen the Xcel go so bonkers for a successful penalty kill. Good work wild fans. Also a few sightings of Finland/Wild fans, whom I assume made the trip.

Back in the Rolston days, the Wild had to kill off 5 minutes of PP time sure to a major, with a significant portion (2 minutes) of a 5 on 3 and did it successfully...THAT was the most insane I've ever seen the X get for a successful kill!

 

[W75]

It's kind of like we had a 3 hour cease fire with most teams in the league tonight. They all wanted the Kings to lose, so they briefly hopped on our wagon.

The Wild have been dealing with a tough schedule for this last part of the season, so it's good to see them taking care of business one game at a time. On one hand, I was concerned about guys getting tired. But on the other hand, I'm glad we aren't backing our way into a spot. Playing all these tough teams will keep us sharp. And if they clinch a playoff spot, I'm am going to be eating crow for a good week considering the things I said mid-winter.

I could use some good crow recipes too

 

[PariseNation]

Back in the Rolston days, the Wild had to kill off 5 minutes of PP time sure to a major, with a significant portion (2 minutes) of a 5 on 3 and did it successfully...THAT was the most insane I've ever seen the X get for a successful kill!

I was there back then...I was young. Still think the energy now is unmatched.

 

[BB88]

This team has been just lights out, this team and deserves a lot of credit, not just Dubnyk.

I want to give credit to all those D's and F's that have been playing some amazing hockey lately.

 

[DANOZ28]

well that game was alot closer than the score. LA outplayed us in the 2nd. glad we pulled it off. i think we still need players like coyle , haula , granlund & pommer to step it up for this team to be a cup contender.

 

[MuckOG]

well that game was alot closer than the score. LA outplayed us in the 2nd. glad we pulled it off. i think we still need players like coyle , haula , granlund & pommer to step it up for this team to be a cup contender.

If Dubnyk keeps it up, the Wild are a cup contender right now. BTW - I think Coyle as stepped it up, last night's game aside where he didn't look good. But he's looked pretty good the past couple of weeks. I also think Haula has stepped up his defensive play and has been huge on the PK. Granlund seems to getting more scoring chances, but just isn't capitalizing. Pominville is the very definition of a "streaky goalscorer". My hope is that he kicks off another streak when we need it most.