penaltykill.net» Minnesota Wild http://penaltykill.net/blogs "Where we're always playing short handed" Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:33:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 en Minnesota Wild: In The Hunt! http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-in-the-hunt/ http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-in-the-hunt/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:18:03 +0000 craigb http://penaltykill.net/blogs/?p=2356 Minnesota WildBelieve it or not, the Wild are literally two wins from 8th place in the West. Pretty dang impressive. 8-2 in the last ten and just pretty solid all around. Also, remember that Sykora has been limited and Bouchard and Burns have been out with concussions. With those three back in the lineup at any point this year, the Wild go from a team in transition to a true playoff contender and, (this is biased) if those three come back in full form, I feel that the Wild are a viable threat for second round action.

It didn’t look good early and there’s a long way to go, but new additions are sure paying dividends and Koivu is the rightful captain. I’ve been saying they look like they can do something ever since I got to see them play in SJ in Oct. Even then there was a feeling in the lineup and style that this was going to be, at the very least a fun to watch year. Now the fans have something to cheer about and I’m going to predict that the sellout streak in St. Paul continues, at least another year.

Seriously though, two wins (and two Detroit and Vancouver losses) and the Wild are legitimately 8th place! Amazing isn’t it? Let’s see what happens in Ottawa tonight, 8th place may only be one win away. Fun, fun, and more fun in Minnesota.

By the way, Havlat’s turning into something Gaborik never really was, a playmaker as well as gamebreaker. It was Havlat’s assist for the winning goal in Montreal. (Disclosure: I never really like Gabby, even with the 5 goal game against his current team. So, maybe he could pass but only when he wasn’t hurt.)

]]> http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-in-the-hunt/feed/ Minnesota Wild Get A Convincing Win http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-get-a-convincing-win/ http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-get-a-convincing-win/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:59:23 +0000 craigb http://penaltykill.net/blogs/?p=2306 Minnesota WildThe first period was pretty even last night against Nashville until the last 5 minutes when the Wild got 2 to take the lead 2-1. From there they never looked back racking up 5 goals before giving up 2 later in the third to give Nashville a respectable loss.

I’m not sure Harding is quite all he’s cracked up to be and I want to believe he is, but…maybe he’s an unhappy backup. There are trade rumors in any case. Big kid, but he just doesn’t turn into a wall and never has that I can remember. I hear a lot of announcers talk about him as an up and coming (for his sake I truly hope he is) but I haven’t seen it. Maybe it’s like any trade talk though sometimes it’s motivation to stay, sometimes it’s motivation to make your mark with the new team. Best of luck to him no matter what happens though.

The Wild have won 5 straight and are now 13-12-3, while giving everyone a reason to cheer. I’m getting jittery to be honest. I live in Northern California and woke up this morning to snow coming down. That, to me, is a good omen. The smell of snow is the smell of hockey. So, I’m going to jump out on a limb and say this: The Wild are going to make the playoffs if they can stay more or less healthy. Remember they have won many times already this year without Havlat, Sykora, Bouchard, Burns…that’s a hefty chunk of offense. Good trades by GM Chuck Fletcher means the State of Hockey is going to remain just that, + Offense.

]]> http://penaltykill.net/blogs/minnesota-wild-get-a-convincing-win/feed/ Wild, Rallying http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-rallying/ http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-rallying/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:04:36 +0000 craigb http://penaltykill.net/blogs/?p=2300 Minnesota WildFour in a row is good, 12-12-3 is better and two new additions, Ebbett and Langresse are huge parts of the equation. The Wild have really come together since the beginning of the season and it’s starting to get hopeful. They are tied for 12th in the West and are only about 10 points out of first. Now lets not get ahead of ourselves, there won’t be any first place finish but there is more and more a likelihood to make the playoffs and that’s amazing.

New coach and all that and the Wild are gutting it out. Just think of what this team will be when Havlat lives up to his contract, Burns and Bouchard get healthy and Sykora stays healthy? It’s downright impressive really. Not many teams are able to make such significant changes and remain competitive. Slow start maybe, but it will come even if it’s next year. Point is, things are getting exciting in St. Paul.

]]> http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-rallying/feed/ Wild, Still Not Great but Good Enough For Me http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-still-not-great-but-good-enough-for-me/ http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-still-not-great-but-good-enough-for-me/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:48:57 +0000 craigb http://penaltykill.net/blogs/?p=2156 Minnesota WildSo it’s been slow. Breathtakingly, teethgrinding slow. That said, I’m down to stubs and applesauce. But, if they pull it off against Vancouver at home on Thursday, well, 6-9 is almost respectable. New Team, New system. It’s pounded to death. Fact is, 3 short handed goals for any team with any system this early in the season is atrocious (that’s at my last count, there could be more now). SH markers are not encouraging with the 5 on 5 scoring woes. Thank you Backstrom, thank you thank you thank you. Keep it up, you’re a full on wall these days.

I like Koivu and always have. I like this team, at least what I think they can be. I wouldn’t write them off with some of the additions. But, I think they can do it, once the cylinders are all firing (probably next year at the earliest). I’m a patient man. This is good for the Wild. There will never be another Lemaire, but Richards could still borrow his defense from time to time (I hope). But to be fair, the Wild have only lost by more than a goal once or twice all year. That’s not bad for a team in transition.

Maybe I’m wrong and I could have something to cheer for in the first round of the playoffs afterall. I hope so.

I’m partial to defensive hockey myself. I’d have loved another year with Lemaire. But, a few more goals isn’t making me spit in disgust either, once they finally arrive.

Well Canucklehead, what’s your take? I’ve got the Wild 3-2 and possibly OT since it seems like it may be hard for the Canucks to even dress a healthy team.

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]]> http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-still-not-great-but-good-enough-for-me/feed/ Wild In San Jose, Not Great But Still Good http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-in-san-jose-not-great-but-still-good/ http://penaltykill.net/blogs/wild-in-san-jose-not-great-but-still-good/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:58:21 +0000 craigb http://penaltykill.net/blogs/?p=2066 ##.thumb_wild.|Minnesota Wild.##I got a chance to catch the Wild in SJ on Oct 10th and let me tell you, they don’t look at all like you might remember. The Wild have been giving up a lot of odd-man rushes with their aggressive style at the point. Numerous times during the SJ game they had one defenseman at the point and that led to a few shorthanded chances on the PP. The Wild gave up a shorthanded goal to Columbus much the same way. And in the SJ game, they lost because SJ started hustling to loose pucks midway through the 2nd and beat them every time. Also, MN needs to step up and hit, not fight, just hit and hit hard, it was severely lacking in SJ.

Either way, it looks like the Wild could pull it together this season. If Sykora can fit in and gel like it looks like Havlat and Koivu will, well, those 40 shot games might actually begin to yield more than 2 goals. Besides the 9 minute 4 goal streak by SJ on the 10th, the Wild were, for the most part, good. Not great, but good.

There were a few blown assignments that led to goals. On the PK there was a bit of running around, but on the whole good — the forwards got too high in the slot to stop a pass had it come. But, at one point there were three Wild players who converged on Heatley, which left a man all alone in Backstrom’s face = 3-2 SJ. On the fourth goal, 9 seconds into the 3rd, Backstrom didn’t stop what was a dead on shot even if it did come quick and on a blue line in breakaway. More importantly, Marleau went in untouched; one defenseman seemed to lose an edge, Koivu got beat thinking the defense had it and Marleau just hustled it to the net, snapped the shot, 4-2 SJ.

Todd Richards seems to be trying from what I’ve read. He’s benched players he feels aren’t doing well (during the LA game) or aren’t skating hard enough. And I can see why, there were a few chances for SJ that were a direct result of slow skating to the bench for a change (Havlat noticeably). That said, the Wild’s new system looks a lot like the Sharks. Just like the Sharks program from the game said: “It looks like the Shark’s will be playing themselves in this one.”

I think it’s too early to write off the Wild though. Backstrom’s going to have to get stronger on the odd-man rush/breakaway situations. The kids are going to have to play the smartest hockey of their lives. And the whole team is going to have to learn about living with growing pains. I’m not looking for them to go to the playoffs necessarily, I just don’t want to see them blown apart. So far, so good.

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