GDT: Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues 1/27/2013 7PM CST

[Dampland]

Suter - Gilbert
Brodin - Scandella
Stoner - Falk

Eh. I'd like to split up Brodin and Scandella, but overall I like it.

I sure hope that Scandella's noggin is fine, because I predict the Blues will try to get overly physical with Brodin, to intimidate the rookie. So someone will need to help him out.

I also agree that Suter-Gilbert is a bad pairing. Gilbert needs to be with someone very strong defensivly, as he is not good on D. And thus far this year, neither had Suter been.

 

[Minnesota]

I sure hope that Scandella's noggin is fine, because I predict the Blues will try to get overly physical with Brodin, to intimidate the rookie. So someone will need to help him out.

I also agree that Suter-Gilbert is a bad pairing. Gilbert needs to be with someone very strong defensivly, as he is not good on D. And thus far this year, neither had Suter been.

St. Louis is usually physical with everyone. I expect to see Granlund tossed around like a rag doll.

I don't think the Suter - Gilbert pairing is bad for the reason you listed. Gilbert is underrated defensively. Also, out of our entire D-corps, I think Suter is bar-none the strongest defensively. He hasn't played well in the past few games, but he's by far our best defenseman.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I'm fine with seeing...

Suter - Gilbert
Stoner - Brodin
Scandella - Falk

... for a little while longer. Let Brodin and Scandella actually play their way into bigger minutes and hopefully we end up with something like this, and can be off and running...

Suter - Brodin
Scandella - Gilbert
Stoner/Falk - Spurgeon

 

[pbunder]

Thinking 4-2 Wild, with Backes on both goals. Blues are my second team to watch, so I'll only be mostly disappointed if Wild lose.

RE: Brodin. I feel like once his game stamina is back in a good place, he should be paired with suter.

 

[jedisports]

I am kind of scared about our goalie situation and wondering what everyone thinks... before Harding sadly got diagnosed with MS, I truly thought he would be our number 1 and maybe even Back would be let go. Now, obviously things are different. We cannot afford to let go with the uncertainty of Harding.

What does everyone think is going to happen concerning the goalie situation, say, in the next few years?

Does everyone feel comfortable with this current pairing?

 

[Karl]

For some reason I have a good feeling about tonight I don't know why I think our second and third lines will step up and contribute to a 4-2 win. Go Wild!

 

[Dampland]

I am kind of scared about our goalie situation and wondering what everyone thinks... before Harding sadly got diagnosed with MS, I truly thought he would be our number 1 and maybe even Back would be let go. Now, obviously things are different. We cannot afford to let go with the uncertainty of Harding.

What does everyone think is going to happen concerning the goalie situation, say, in the next few years?

Does everyone feel comfortable with this current pairing?

Harding was/will never be a #1 goalie, and that was before the MS announcement. He is a good quality backup, but not a guy you can ride for a whole season.

I think the Wild will not re-sign Backs after the season (unless cheap) and then we will struggle a bit next year, but after that, Hackett & Kuemper will be fine...not superstars, but fine.

 

[jedisports]

Harding was/will never be a #1 goalie, and that was before the MS announcement. He is a good quality backup, but not a guy you can ride for a whole season.

I think the Wild will not re-sign Backs after the season (unless cheap) and then we will struggle a bit next year, but after that, Hackett & Kuemper will be fine...not superstars, but fine.

Yeah, that makes sense. I haven't watched Hackett and Kuemper enough to know much about them so it's good you feel this way.

Yes, I don't see us resigning Backs either.

 

[Billy Mays Here*]

Will be a physical game with lots of chirping back and forth and one fight for sure if not two, maybe even three and a number of group pile-ups around each net. Not feeling too confident about this one though, so I'll go 3-0 Blues with Tarasenko, Backes, and Shattenkirk scoring.

 

[Fallenity]

While I'm betting against the Wild, I really just want to see a tight game where the Wild play a full 60 minutes. Also I really want to see Suter take control at some point. If we lose 3-4 or 4-5, I won't be disappointed.

 

[W75]

I'm very confused. When the game is going to start..?

7PM CST.. but is it really 1:00 AM here as Viaplay says.. or.
Like three hours from now?? Is it me and my math..

 

[Lapa]

I'm very confused. When the game is going to start..?

7PM CST.. but is it really 1:00 AM here as Viaplay says.. or.
Like three hours from now?? Is it me and my math..

It starts 3 AM in Finland.

Easiest way to check the starting times of the games in Finland is via Yle teksti-tv, imo. 255/2.

 

[W75]

It starts 3 AM in Finland.

Easiest way to check the starting times of the games in Finland is via Yle teksti-tv, imo. 255/2.

Yeah, that's what I thought also. 3 AM.
Viaplay has it all wrong then. They say that:

STL-MIN
MTL-NJ
TB-PHI

..all start at 1:00 AM (wrong time). Thanks!

E: Alsto, interesting thing is that YLE teksti-TV page 235 says 1:00 AM (wrong) but page 255 says 3:00 AM (right)...

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Blues fan here:

I'm really pulling for Minnesota to win your division this year. People forget how strong of a start the Wild had last season before injuries devastated the team.

The Blues aren't really playing their game yet, at least not consistently. Last night, they really only had one good period (the second) where they played their forecheck and fast transition game. They've managed to win and get points out of games where they may not have deserved to win.

That said, they haven't allowed a goal at home yet. It will be interesting to see how much the home crowd helps on a back-to-back. I think the Blues will have a bounce-back performance in terms of playing the system much more consistently than last night. Also, Elliott has looked sharper than Halak early this season (despite Halak's two shut-outs).

Should be a good game. Watch for #91 Vladimir Tarasenko. For those who don't follow the league as closely as your own team, he's a very special rookie and may be the biggest competition with Granlund for the Calder.

Looking forward to remembering why I can't stand Clutterbuck and want him on my team.

 

[Lapa]

Yeah, that's what I thought also. 3 AM.
Viaplay has it all wrong then. They say that:

STL-MIN
MTL-NJ
TB-PHI

..all start at 1:00 AM (wrong time). Thanks!

E: Alsto, interesting thing is that YLE teksti-TV page 235 says 1:00 AM (wrong) but page 255 says 3:00 AM (right)...

Yeah, there are sometimes troubles in 235 page but 255 has been right every time so far.

 

[Wasted Talent]

It starts 3 AM in Finland.

Easiest way to check the starting times of the games in Finland is via Yle teksti-tv, imo. 255/2.

Finnish version of NHL.com also has accurate game times.

 

[TZM]

...
Should be a good game. Watch for #91 Vladimir Tarasenko. For those who don't follow the league as closely as your own team, he's a very special rookie and may be the biggest competition with Granlund for the Calder.
...

I think Tarasenko is in his own tier in the Calder race.

 

[tyratoku]

Suter - Brodin
Scandella - Gilbert
Stoner/Falk - Spurgeon

This is my ideal pairings as well. Good call

 

[BrokenFace]

Wild vs. Blues games are typically pretty entertaining.

Say that on the main board and you'll get flamed to death. Don't you know that teams that play with structure and defense are automatically boring and should be banned from the NHL?

 

[INTOTHEVOID]

So I'm going to miss this game tonight, but still want to watch it and not know the score beforehand, does FSN ever replay games like later in the night?

 

[tyratoku]

So I'm going to miss this game tonight, but still want to watch it and not know the score beforehand, does FSN ever replay games like later in the night?

Sometimes at like 2-3 in the morning central time. But the game is on NBCSN(VS) not FSN so I'm not sure if they will.

 

[Madhouse Mafia]

I'd have to look it up but I thought the Wild have done really well on national TV games...

I remember the Wild winning on Hockey Day America last year against the Bruins

 

[RxDangles19]

What's with all the negativity?

I like the line swaps of Butch and Cullen.

The D pairings are exactly as I would set them up tonight.

Should be a tough game but there is no reason why we shouldn't be competitive tonight and maybe pull off a W.

 

[Puhis]

What's with all the negativity?

I like the line swaps of Butch and Cullen.

The D pairings are exactly as I would set them up tonight.

Should be a tough game but there is no reason why we shouldn't be competitive tonight and maybe pull off a W.

Exactly. While St. Louis is a tough team, we were supposed to beat NSH and DET. No reason why we can't pull off an upset tonight.

 

[NHLPodium]

I remember the Wild winning on Hockey Day America last year against the Bruins

It was such a good game too.