GDT: Thursday November 6 | Wild @ Sens | 730 EST | TSN5

[harvey]

I saw a stat flashed up on TSN on one of the streams I was watching which had Anderson and Lehner 1 and 2 in the league in in close save percentages.

 

[BankStreetParade]

I was at the game. Solid win. Anderson was obviously amazing, but I thought the team as a whole, outside of a couple mistakes, were pretty good. Was really impressed by the kid line, but I was always happy that line was together. Hoffman is really growing in confidence and as he adjusts more he just looks better. Lazar was awesome and that embellishment call was a bit much for me. They were missing Parise, but I don't think he changes the outcome of that game.

All that said we can't get outshot every single game and hope to be successful. I remember the Toronto faithful making jokes about it last year until it all came crashing down around them. At some point we're going to have to really start controlling the flow of the game and not letting the other team dictate the tempo and hope our goalies/quick breaks bail us out.

The difference is Toronto were getting outshot and out chanced almost every game. Last nights game I think Ottawa definitely won the scoring chances. Minnesota had about 6 good scoring chances and Ottawa had about 8-9.

 

[God Says No]

The difference is Toronto were getting outshot and out chanced almost every game. Last nights game I think Ottawa definitely won the scoring chances. Minnesota had about 6 good scoring chances and Ottawa had about 8-9.

This is a good point. I'd like to see the scoring chances stat if it's available somewhere. I think that is more important than the number of shots. In the first period MIN maybe had one scoring chance, and yet they had 9 shots. It can be deceiving.

 

[Jorge Garcia]

1) Anderson was insane
2) Backstrom was horrible

1) Yes.
2) Backstrom was horrible on goal number 2. Goal 1 was a bang-bang PP one-timer. Goal 3 was a quick release shot through a screen that might have been deflected. And there was a fourth goal nullified by a quick whistle.
Pretty good, well earned win, I thought.

 

[Benjamin]

I was at the game. Solid win. Anderson was obviously amazing, but I thought the team as a whole, outside of a couple mistakes, were pretty good. Was really impressed by the kid line, but I was always happy that line was together. Hoffman is really growing in confidence and as he adjusts more he just looks better. Lazar was awesome and that embellishment call was a bit much for me. They were missing Parise, but I don't think he changes the outcome of that game.

All that said we can't get outshot every single game and hope to be successful. I remember the Toronto faithful making jokes about it last year until it all came crashing down around them. At some point we're going to have to really start controlling the flow of the game and not letting the other team dictate the tempo and hope our goalies/quick breaks bail us out.

Yup. We're playing unsustainable hockey. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[Karl Cowensson]

Team might have been outshot, but definitely not outplayed. Could have easily been 2-2, the Wild played well and probably deserved to score a few, but the team definitely didn't "steal" the game on goaltending alone. Thought it was a pretty complete effort, everyone was solid, with Anderson being great.

 

[Micklebot]

Yup. We're playing unsustainable hockey. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Despite the shot clock, I don't feel we've been outplayed as often as say last year.

One thing to consider too is score effect can muddy the waters when it come to the shot clock. If we're up, we don't take risks to create offense while the other team opens things up. I think even accounting for score effect, we'd likely still be getting outshot, but not by as wide a gap. Toronto last year was getting outshot by 8 shots a game, we're currently at 6. Clearly there is room for improvement, but at the same time, 12 games isn't a great representation of the league; Chi and Min represent 25% of our opponents and are 1 and 2 in shots per game with a decent gap on #3.

 

[NyQuil]

I'd rather be outshot and win than outshoot the opposition 18-1 and have nothing to show for it in the period.

Ottawa is not a leading cup contender and we are riding strong goalie performances right now.

Hardly a shocking development.

Anyone who knows anything about this team knows that we were going to need strong goaltending to make the post-season.

So far so good.

 

[NyQuil]

Yip, it's going to be a common occurrence this season.

BTW, not sure why the MIN coach and fans were upset with the Scandella penalty. It's a standard instigator penalty that has been called regularly in the NHL. Hell, Boro and Neil were called for that just recently.

Yeah, Boro gave up a PP to defend Eric Gryba of all people.

 

[chipsens]

MacArthur-Turris-Zibanejad
Hoffman-Lazar-Stone
Ryan-Legwand-Chiasson
Michalek-Smith-Condra

Boro-Karlsson (These two need to be stapled together)
Cowen-Ceci
Phillips-Gryba
Wiercioch

Boro-K seems to work. Borocop is strong in the corners and does not get walked. K has not been strong enuf in the corners IMO, despite his good stick and positioning, he lacks physical size. Phillips is big enuf, but not mean enuf. I luvs me Boro

 

[Jorge Garcia]

Boro-K seems to work. Borocop is strong in the corners and does not get walked. K has not been strong enuf in the corners IMO, despite his good stick and positioning, he lacks physical size. Phillips is big enuf, but not mean enuf. I luvs me Boro

Boro didn't lose a puck battle all night. Going into the corner with him is like sword fighting against a power lawnmower.

 

[God Says No]

One thing I'd like to see is the same exact lineup playing against the Jets. Even if Phillips is ready to go, I wouldn't put him in until we lose a game or play poorly.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Not that I'm freaking about standings this early, but dang, 7-3-2 and still not in the top 3 in the Atlantic.

Granted it's early, and teams are shifting up and down nightly, but good thing we are having a strong start just to keep pace:

1. Tampa 9-3-1
2. MTL 9-4-1
3. Boston 9-6-0
4. Ottawa 7-3-2

Big note: we have 3 games in hand on Boston, 2 on MTL and 1 on Tampa.

We'd be second in the Metro divison.

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah, Boro gave up a PP to defend Eric Gryba of all people.

Dude will do it all for this team. Guy just competes. It's nice to know that with him in the lineup, he'll will always have your back even if they don't need it.

He's pretty much doing what Neil used to do for us:

Delivers momentum changing checks: Check
Keeps opposition on their toes and makes life miserable: Check
Stands up for team mates: Check

He's not a heavyweight, but his work ethic is infectuous, he seems to be comportable paired with anyone. Wherever Leftwinglocker is, kudos to him for standing up for Boro when plenty of people were criticizing the signing.

 

[Micklebot]

Not that I'm freaking about standings this early, but dang, 7-3-2 and still not in the top 3 in the Atlantic.

Granted it's early, and teams are shifting up and down nightly, but good thing we are having a strong start just to keep pace:

1. Tampa 9-3-1
2. MTL 9-4-1
3. Boston 9-6-0
4. Ottawa 7-3-2

Big note: we have 3 games in hand on Boston, 2 on MTL and 1 on Tampa.

We'd be second in the Metro divison.

8th in the league in pts %, and on pace for 109 pts. That will probably (read certainly) regress, but it's the games played.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

8th in the league in pts %, and on pace for 109 pts. That will probably (read certainly) regress, but it's the games played.

Most definitely.

On pace for 109... that's hilarious.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Yip, it's going to be a common occurrence this season.

BTW, not sure why the MIN coach and fans were upset with the Scandella penalty. It's a standard instigator penalty that has been called regularly in the NHL. Hell, Boro and Neil were called for that just recently.

Basic excuses imo....my fav so far is the "if Andy wasn't in games different" type comments....like we don't have anyother guy who can step in and play lights out.

 

[Rysto]

BTW, not sure why the MIN coach and fans were upset with the Scandella penalty.

My favourite part was Yeo pleading for a charging penalty on Boro.

 

[OgieO]

All these crazy puck possession teams control the puck just fine, but for the most part we've done well enough to limit the great scoring chances. Last night a lot of shots were hardly what I call reasonable scoring chances, they just throw so much on net. Volume =/= quality.

I thought the actual chances were pretty even last night, we just had the better goaltending.

 

[bigsby]

Absolutely loved the effort and definitely one of the most exciting to watch this season.

- Andy proved why he can start two/three/four nights in a row. Back-to-back this week, Lehner will see action when he is due but Andy is rolling hot right now.

-I have a buddy in Minnesota, huge Wild fan. I told him to watch out for #68 Hoffman pre-game.

-Boro/Cowen playing physical and making good transitional passes out of our D-zone. I've felt D-zone passing has been our biggest flaw so far, and it improved dramatically last night. I've been suggesting since the start of the season that Boro-Karlsson would work due to the nature of both of their strengths and I still feel that way after last night.

New PP units (only mild criticism from the game):

Mac Turr Ryan
Zib Karl

Hoff Legwand Chiasson
Cowen Karl/Ceci

Even though I don't think Legwand is PP material, Maclean does and he may find chemistry with Chiasson, who should be on the PP in front of the net. Rotate Stone and Chiasson, see who plays it better.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

MacArthur-Turris-Zibanejad
Hoffman-Lazar-Stone
Ryan-Legwand-Chiasson
Michalek-Smith-Condra

Boro-Karlsson (These two need to be stapled together)
Cowen-Ceci
Phillips-Gryba
Wiercioch

Just let Zibby figure it out down the middle. We shouldn't be shifting him to the wing. Same with Bobby. If we're trying to get Ryan to succeed, this is not the way to do it. Moving Bobby to the third line with 2 (not slow but) not fast guys doesn't make sense. Bobby is still our biggest scoring threat at any given time due to his shiftiness and release. So he's a little out of shape, let him round into form. He's still giving his all out there, no reason for the demotion.

 

[Golden]

All these crazy puck possession teams control the puck just fine, but for the most part we've done well enough to limit the great scoring chances. Last night a lot of shots were hardly what I call reasonable scoring chances, they just throw so much on net. Volume =/= quality.

I thought the actual chances were pretty even last night, we just had the better goaltending.

I agree. Yes we were outshot and we need to fix that but I actually thought the team looked decent. It wasn't one of those undeserved wins IMO.

I'm not sure why we're nitpicking some of these wins. We're not a cup contender nor according to many a playoff team so why are we holding the team up to those same standards? We have a very young team. Let's enjoy the wins while we can.

 

[Bileur]

I agree. Yes we were outshot and we need to fix that but I actually thought the team looked decent. It wasn't one of those undeserved wins IMO.

I'm not sure why we're nitpicking some of these wins. We're not a cup contender nor according to many a playoff team so why are we holding the team up to those same standards? We have a very young team. Let's enjoy the wins while we can.

Agreed.

I'm excited about this season.

If we perform well, great! We get a shot at the playoffs. The good part is that for us to play well enough to have a shot at the playoffs several young players will necessarily have to have taken a huge step forward in development, I’d actually say they will have to have developed faster than I was expecting. I’m notably talking about Cowen, Ceci, Zibanejad, Stone, Lazar, and Hoffman.

If we don’t get quite that level of development and miss the playoffs, we still have one of the youngest teams in the league. Management will know who needs to be moved and who will develop and we’ll be able to make the necessary moves in the off-season. Besides, it would be great to get a shot at a top 10 pick this year. Adding a guy like Konecny to the prospect pool would be amazing.

Just a win-win season.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Im not sure where you get that from. THe Sens were badly outshot in this game, if it wasn't for the disparity between the goalies this is a probable win for the Wild.

The Sens didn't look bad, but they didn't look great either. Goaltending made them look a lot better than they were tonight in my opinion.

I disagree. This is the most complete game Ottawa has played all year.

Even though they outshoot us, we had more scoring chances... which is what counts at the end of the day, imo. They had 2-3 excellent chances and Anderson stopped them. We had multiple and we messed up on them.

Legwand's 2on1, Karlsson's 2on1, multiple PP's, Lazar's chances, Turris' post etc...

vs Vanek's 2 chances, post by Dumba, 1 more glove save by Anderson on Granlund?

Ottawa allowed 35 shot to one of the best teams who's been averaging more than that. Yesterday was very, very successful.

Consider Methot isn't playing and a potential upgrade on Michalek in 2nd line could seriously make this team a division contender.

Karlsson isn't even playing his peak yet or close to it. Good times, Sens fans.

 

[Minister of Offence]

The team deflates fast if Anderson wasn't in trance mode. That's what great goaltending can do, you avoid a couple deflating goals and the team plays well.

So the truth is they played very well, but with a lesser goaltending performance it probsbly goes south fast.

Not to say the team is doomed but it has to be understood by fans that this roster has holes.