Article: Wild Overpower Capitals To Win Third Straight

[Thomas Williams]

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[Protec]

Calgary choked so STL got a regulation win. Just need ARI to lose to Florida teams for their next two, STL to lose to VAN and the Wild need another couple wins, especially against the Preds.

[Citizen Strife]

Wins are fun.  Losses suck.  Will say that until the wild are completely out of it.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

Just need ARI to lose to Florida teams for their next two, STL to lose to VAN and the Wild need another couple wins, especially against the Preds.

Yeah, if the Wild win their next 2 leading into the break, they might not be in playoff position, but they'd likely climb a couple spots in the standings and be within striking distance. They'll have 33 games remaining after the all-star break, which is a lot of time to make up 4 points if they're playing well.

I know there are many who want losses, but coaches and players are going to want to secure that #8 spot and it will look far more possible if they can defeat Nashville in regulation and grab a couple more points from the Anaheim game.

It will be interesting to see what moves Guerin makes, if any. With so many teams involved, might need to go something like 20-11-2 after the break in order to make the playoffs, so it won't be easy, but the Wild do have one of the lowest strength of schedule percentages remaining, with only San Jose beneath them right now.

[MNCountryLife]

Not sure why... but it sure seems like Ek and Foligno are always in sync and make really good line mates.  

IMHO.  Freddy and NoJo both got beat to the back door to give up easy goals to the Caps...our centers have to be better than that.  NoJo did score two goals last night but I didn't feel like his game was all that great.  Brodin played fantastic... Wilson should be kicked out of the league.  The guy is blatantly injuring players.  Goligoski got beat wide side... he really lacks speed.  Rossi didn't fight for inside position last night when in the o-zone.  First time I noticed that.  Bogosian played well and is turning out to be a solid D man that is dependable.  Faber continues to play well and even got a goal.  He deserves a shot at the Calder.

[MrCheatachu]

MoJo picking his spot and sniping home two wristers was not on my bingo card, but I guess you get motivated against your former team?  

Lots of guys looked like they werent scared to fire away at Kuemper, and after that Coyotes game a couple years ago when he seemed rattled at Koivu and Zucker talking smack, maybe the Wild still live rent free in his head?

Regardless of the cause...it's a lot more fun to watch games with a motivated team then a bunch of disinterested dudes pretending to be PLD.

[mnfaninnc]

55 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Goligoski got beat wide side... he really lacks speed.

It is really evident that Goligoski has lost his speed. The sad thing is, his eyes have not adjusted yet, and when he thinks he has the angle, he just doesn't. I have no idea why he keeps wandering deep into the offensive zone? I get activating the D, but you've got to get back and right now Goligoski cannot play a 180' game. He needs to be far more selective in his wandering. 

Now, for those who say, why can't Hunt be called up and play? Until they make a decision on Fleury and the IR, Hunt is in Des Moines as The Wall has to take that roster spot. We can only have 23 and Goligoski cannot be sent down and Merrill would need to pass waivers. Guerin must think Merrill would be claimed, and I'd suspect that he is going to try and trade him at the deadline regardless of where we're at. During silly season that is the TDL, veteran defenders with size suddenly look like bargains for 2nd round picks. I guess GMs get real glossy eyed at that time!

Hunt will be back, but it is likely a double transaction when a player (The Wall) is sent back down. Raska is forward 13 right now, and you need that guy just in case of, well, whatever happened to Gaudreau.

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I know there are many who want losses, but coaches and players are going to want to secure that #8 spot and it will look far more possible if they can defeat Nashville in regulation and grab a couple more points from the Anaheim game.

It is the coach's and player's job to try and win every game with the team that the GM puts out there. They're going to try really hard for that #8 spot. Players and coaches do not tank, only GMs do that. If a player or coach is caught tanking there are serious ramifications. In this world now where betting becomes more and more legal, you cannot have someone breaching their integrity of trying to win by throwing shifts or games. 

Yeah, the fans may not like the points but CS is right above, wins are much more fun and losses really suck. 

In other news, Dino finally ends his pointless streak picking up and apple last night. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

47 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Faber continues to play well and even got a goal.  He deserves a shot at the Calder.

With Bedard out another 6 weeks, Faber will probably get some real Calder attention now.

Bedard could still play roughly 60 games, and if he tallies 50+ points, he may still win it, but the media should at least be talking about the guys who are playing while he's out, and Faber has to be around the top of the list.

Faber and Rossi are tied for 2nd most points, with Faber's 28 in 47 games being much more impressive as a defenseman.  Adam Fantilli and Luke Hughes are 3 points back of them, and very much in the discussion.

I think anyone else would have to heat up after the all-star break to truly be considered, but Voronkov has 23 points in 40 games and Connor Zary has 22 points in 37 games, along with a +13 that is 2nd on the team for Calgary, as well as 2nd best among rookie skaters(Ridly Greig has a +16 for Ottawa).

Bedard is still the favorite by a wide margin(quick look at betting odds).

Faber is ahead of Luke Hughes for 2nd most likely, both far ahead of 4th place Adam Fantilli, or 5th place Connor Zary. Not that age matters, but Zary is the oldest of these 5, at 22. Faber is second at 21. Hughes is 20. Fantilli is 19. Bedard is 18. Faber is the only one not selected in the 1st round. Bedard, Fantilli, and Hughes were all selected top 5.

[B1GKappa97]

Nice try Wild, but I'm not falling for it this time!

[mnfaninnc]

Goose2 looks like he found his game again. Perhaps he had a pile of clothes to be washed like the Eagles' players commercial and he found it in that pile? But, does he take his foot off the gas sometimes or is that the Wild defenders?

Perhaps it's just me, but the last few Ek goals seem to show off his wrister which looks better right now....at least more accurate. Ek is known for his hard working goals, throw in a wrister that can hit twine and you've got double trouble.

That Faber goal was a thing of beauty and I could have sworn it was a #46 type of goal. I didn't get to see a lot of Faber developing. Is it that he just has better teammates to play with now so he can do even more? To know that Zuccarello had the point, and to circle around the whole outside of the Caps team to be in position for the bank off the boards is just off the charts hockey IQ!

Our PK was good last night, the Caps PP just isn't. But, did anyone happen to notice how Duhaime and Faber shaded over to the Ovechkin side, pretty much taking that shot away from him? By doing this, they really got spread out and picked the poison of Strome having open ice (and he couldn't convert). This is what I meant about having that threat over there. Without that threat, a PK team can tighten up and shade the left side of the defensive zone. Other teams do this to us on our PP1 and just that little space of shading takes away a lot of our shooting angles and makes our PP1 less effective. We must fill the Ovechkin office with a capable RHS shooter.

Darcy Kuemper played a tough game. It's nice to see some of our shots go in that are goalie mistakes. He had no shot on the 1st 2 which were just great back door plays. It's nice to be riding high shooting % games but this is unsustainable unless we are the '70s & '80s Soviet squad. You would think, though, by playing lesser quality teams, we will be facing lesser quality goaltending, so maybe we don't resort back to our previous shooting %.

While it seems we are creeping up the leader board in points, there is one thing we'll need to watch: games in hand. We are burning through our condensed part of the schedule, but after Saturday, we have an 11 day break. Other teams we're chasing will be playing during those days, so we may find ourselves falling back with inactivity. Yes, maybe we get within a couple of points of a playoff spot, only to see it wiped out with the break. 

And with that in mind, what does Guerin do over the All Star break? Do we add or do we sit tight? He's on record saying that Hunt has done some good things while up here, and so has Mermis. Do you kick the can down the road a little and just wait another couple of weeks until the 20th of February? I don't really know the answer, but I think he'll be quite busy. My hope would be we see some vets moved and some youth come in. 

Also, just browsing through the A standings, it appears that the Baby Wild have crumbled and are sitting in 2nd to the last position in their division. They've also played the most games in their division. Even if big Wild gets healthy and Baby Wild get all their players back, playoffs will be difficult for them. So, I'd want to see some guys from there that are real prospects get a little taste up here. It would probably be better for their development!

[Willy the poor boy]

24 minutes ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Nice try Wild, but I'm not falling for it this time!

Ya, no kiddin, which team shows up tomorrow night.

[Pewterschmidt]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

know there are many who want losses, but coaches and players are going to want to secure that #8 spot

If choices are

1) sneak into playoff’s and lose in first round.  This scenario gets us another 20+ overall 1st round pick

2) just miss playoffs securing a mid - high teens 1st round pick

3) play Zane McIntyre and have highest probability of high first rounder

 I would choose Zane

 when Benito trades a 3rd rounder to bring in a journeyman d-man for the playoff push, I won’t be surprised

[Will D. Ness]

I understand the hope and desire to get a top 10 pick but we just can't compete with tanking teams to get there.  A healthy Wild team is a playoff team on paper.

Kap is looking healthy.  Gus is looking healthy.  Brodin is looking healthy.

We dug such a hole though, there is no margin for error and we all know there will be error so I'm kind of thinking we are in no man's land.  

The silver lining though... if we manage to put together a miraculous run and make it, then we will be the dark horse in the playoffs.  Could be fun.

It probably comes down to this next game.

[Pewterschmidt]

20 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

I'm kind of thinking we are in no man's land.

Around here it's call MN Wild Country.

[WIWild]

So, we're not going to lose games on purpose, tank, but let's say we called it something else and winning NOW wasn't the priority. The Wild showed last night that they can refocus - they put NoJo on the ice giving him a chance for a ENG and the hatty. If he didn't have 2 goals, he's not on the ice, and we're not trying to get him the puck. If we were to refocus, what would say our top goals are?

1. Keep KK97 happy - he's the future of this org
2. Figure out Boldy. We all know he's good, and could be better (we've seen it). Is it the right linemates? The right kind of linemates? Coaching?
3. Figure out Rossi. He's doing well, but what do they need to get him to the next level?
4. Get Fabes a variety of experience. Spurg's unfortunate injury has 'helped' with this one.
5. Figure out what you've got in the minors. Sure, guys like Beckman and Walker have had short stints and didn't look great. But, how do we know they aren't Boldy or NoGo or ... and just disappear for streches. If we're going to refocus, let's swing for the fences, instead of singles.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

3) play Zane McIntyre and have highest probability of high first rounder

 I would choose Zane

 when Benito trades a 3rd rounder to bring in a journeyman d-man for the playoff push, I won’t be surprised

That would be an interesting path to the lottery. Zane has at least played in the NHL before, but hard to see the Wild veterans being happy with that path.

If the Wild fail to climb in the standings, I think fans would certainly be on board with getting a high pick, I just don't see it going that way if the remaining players are able to play the vast majority of games.

Kaprizov has been in the playoffs all 3 years of his NHL career and I don't think he wants his first as a captain to be the year they miss out. We know that this team healthy is capable of finishing strong, but if short-term injuries derail them along the way again, I think fans will understand the value of the draft pick upgrades.

[Audra Sara]

Kaprizov has been in the playoffs all 3 years of his NHL career and I don't think he wants his first as a captain to be the year they miss out. We know that this team healthy is capable of finishing strong, but if short-term injuries derail them along the way again, I think fans will understand the value of the draft pick upgrades.

[mnfaninnc]

22 hours ago, WIWild said:

1. Keep KK97 happy - he's the future of this org
2. Figure out Boldy. We all know he's good, and could be better (we've seen it). Is it the right linemates? The right kind of linemates? Coaching?
3. Figure out Rossi. He's doing well, but what do they need to get him to the next level?
4. Get Fabes a variety of experience. Spurg's unfortunate injury has 'helped' with this one.
5. Figure out what you've got in the minors. Sure, guys like Beckman and Walker have had short stints and didn't look great. But, how do we know they aren't Boldy or NoGo or ... and just disappear for streches. If we're going to refocus, let's swing for the fences, instead of singles.

I like spelling it out like this, so let's see what we can do

1. Keeping Kaprizov happy may be getting him some new, capable blood in the lineup. For me, it would be having a place for Yurov and Dino, breaking in Ohgren.
2. Honestly, I think the thing with Boldy is he's still a little guy in a big man's body. He needs to focus on skating skills, one timers and playing a heavy game. He doesn't need to play it all the time. As for coaching, he came alive with Hynes, I think Hynes will be honest with him at the end of the year about what he needs to improve. I'd also recommend 10 lbs. of strength (like always) so he can play that heavy game. Unfortunately, all the golf did not pay off this past summer.
3. Rossi is similar to Boldy, and Rossi of last summer, he needs another summer like last summer to be more effective. It took Ek 2 summers to turn into a beast. Rossi needs the same....and some Koivu faceoff lessons.
4. Faber has gotten a huge variety of experience this season and it's been because of the injuries. Who thought he'd have experience on the PP? Who thought he'd be leading the team in TOI? And, having partners of both Middleton and Brodin have been huge. But, like the others, he, too, needs more strength.
5. I'm glad you brought up Beckman who potted a couple of more goals last night. Beckman cannot play in the N at his current weight, he has to thicken. He's got an NHL shot, but needs NHL compete both along the boards and in front of the net. This should be spelled out for him clearly at season's end. I hope he gets up here to show what he can and can't do. Walker simply needs to play balls out his next elevation. He's had 1 or 2 good shifts up here, and the rest have been invisible. 
6. Bonus solution: The Wall. He needs at least 4 more starts this season in the N. He needs to learn how much quicker he has to be, and how much sharper on his angles. I'd suggest that future goaltending is a definite point that we need to solve. 

Gaining momentum and hope for next season is important. This involves the prospects. There is a chance the Dino will make it late as his Sochi team appears out of a playoff race. I think Torpedo and Metallurg will probably make the playoffs, with Metallurg looking like a team about to make a deep playoff run. 

For those wondering, the K regular season ends on Feb. 26th. K playoffs go from Feb. 29th to April 29th. Metallurg is leading the league in points. Torpedo is in 3rd place in their division, and comfortable there. Teams only have 11-14 games left in their regular season. 

Also, and interesting comparison, Dino is a -12 for the season in Sochi, but their team is a -75, the worst in the league. When Dino got there, they were challenging for a playoff spot and then the wheels fell off. He may be having a better season than his stats would indicate, but he also may want to play more hockey and get Sochi out of his system. We will need to make room for him on the big club just before the TDL.

To me, it looks like Yurov may be in the finals for the Gangarin Cup. It also looks like Firstov may get through the 1st round, but probably get knocked out in the 2nd round. If he were to come back, it would be somewhere around March 20th. He is under contract here and on loan over there, so he could simply be recalled, I think....if he's willing. Getting the answers to this are important, as I believe he may have simply been homesick and asked to develop over there and Guerin granted him that request.