Matthew Smith Hockey Wilderness Contributor Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 View full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgodwin17 Verified Member Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 I have to say I was really impressed with Minnesota defensemen on Monday. All six of them played elite hockey, and I think every single one did an exceptional job at breaking up plays and blocking pucks from going in to an empty cage. The Brock Faber one was very notable (what a play.....can't believe it was his third NHL game), there were quite a few others, including a few by Spurgeon, one by Middleton, and at least one by Merrill. How about Brodin stripping Benn of the puck when he is laying on the ice? Our defense is the key to series, and so far I've been really impressed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manbearpig Verified Member Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 I agree about their performance monday night but what the hell happened last night they forget how to play that style all of sudden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imyourhuckleberry Verified Member Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 2 hours ago, manbearpig said: what the hell happened last night they forget how to play that style all of sudden? Seemed like a shift in puck luck, intensity of the opposition, and Wild focus. The Stars saw more lucky bounces, but also were playing with tons of energy and focus, more so than the Wild, which seems pretty common for this situation where the road team wins game 1 against the higher seed. It even happened to the #1 rated Boston Bruins at home, and we'll see what happens for the Maple Leafs, Devils, Avalanche, and Golden Knights tonight. The team that loses game 1 is extremely motivated to even the series, and although the Islanders failed to do so, they did fight hard enough to drag a far better Carolina team into OT before falling behind 0-2 in that series. Would a closer loss have been better hockey for the fans? Definitely. Still just one loss and it seems like the Wild are in a better position than they were in when the series started, assuming Kaprizov and Eriksson-Ek continue to get healthier. To end on a positive note, Nyquist has looked extremely good and should increase the chances of a healthier Wild team to advance! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pewterschmidt Verified Member Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 16 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said: Nyquist has looked extremely good IMO he’s earned some top 6 time. Probably with Boldy and Mojo. Let’s see what they can do. Put Foligno back in bottom 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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