Article: Playoffs Are A Real Possibility For Wild

[Willy the poor boy]

40 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Lay off the bong hits!

Never!

[Willy the poor boy]

28 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

The difference between this team and those other teams is that Heinzy can coach whereas Evason was really only good at punching assistant coaches after OT wins. Xs & Os Evason stayed out of. Matchups and countermoves he also was MIA.

Lmao...Sure thing...

[B1GKappa97]

12 minutes ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Yesterdays game was a fun one to watch and it has some folks giddy about the teams chances, but lost in it all is the #7 they put on us. Not good. I wouldn't want to count on this team having to outscore to many teams due to a lack of goaltending. Gus had another bad day and needs to be more consistent. 

 

I think everyone is just very optimistic about our new top-line considering how much ass its kicking night in and night out. Seems to be fairly sustainable considering those are our 3 best players playing together too. 

But yes, the goal-tending situation needs to get figured out. It'd be nice if Gus forgot he already signed a 3-year deal and thought he was playing for a contract again...

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I will agree with you that these are not the Kings from the 20teens. However, this team is as talented as the Blues that won it all, and the Canadiens that went to the final. They got hot at the right time. I'm not kidding myself into thinking they are as talented as FL was last season, they just underachieved in the regular season.....a slogan we have emulated so far this season.

Sometimes, teams play above their talent level. We can and have had runs where we can do that. Timing is everything, but if we have a couple of skaters get hot along with our goalie, it is possible. 

And, I've watched the other teams with essentially the same personnel. Kaprizov tried to carry us through the Blues' series, but he was the only one hot and neither goalie was (though Talbot could have been as he earned that 1st start). 

The difference between this team and those other teams is that Heinzy can coach whereas Evason was really only good at punching assistant coaches after OT wins. Xs & Os Evason stayed out of. Matchups and countermoves he also was MIA.

I have some hefty respect for your hockey knowledge bud but I think you struggle objectively to see what we have on the ice. 

Faber can't play 30 mins a night in playoff Hockey. That's how you end up with a bad injury. The bottom 9 right now can't hold up it's end of the bargain. One scoring line will not get us past the first round. We will not win a round with player like Nojo occupying a second line spot. Our third defensive pairing gets shelled just about every night. That sort of thin talent level doesn't pull you through injuries in playoffs. Gus bus is on a little bit of a skid and not looking like himself. 

This team has overachieved the past two years for the players we have. I'm super excited to have a core of Kap, Ek, Boldy, Rossi and Faber but we also has career years out of role players. Freddy, Foligno and Hartman all had career regular seasons but that isn't who they are. Factor in their regression with our normally stalwart defense is looking fairly porous outside of Faber/Middleton and it is not a banner year. 

This team can't consistently beat bottom feeders let alone a playoff team and consistency is what wins cups.

[Citizen Strife]

Good grief.  Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch.  

Can't be happy if the team is in a losing tail spin, assuming all will be right with the world if they get some elusive top talent; i.e. a #1C (hint, look at Ek right now), and can't win if they make the playoffs.  I actually LIKE seeing people win more than seeing people lose.  Being overly pessimistic all the time must really suck for those kinds of people.  

Anyway, I look at it like this: if they make the playoffs: sweet.  #8 seeds have won big before, whether previous history suggests the Wild can't otherwise.  Well guess what?  If they were a super top end #1 seed with endless points banked up, you know what would happen?  They'd have just as much a chance to lose anyway.  I'd rather just watch games as they happen, and if they win, actually be happy.

Lest we forget, if what the top line is doing is sustainable, then all the Wild need to worry about after that is supplemental forward help (which they are getting), supplemental defensive help (which they are ALSO getting), and oh yeah, some goaltending prospect who is a world beater (at least in theory).  This team is going to play to win today, not for some mythical dream that has or hasn't happened yet.

The Wild proved they can beat Boston, Vegas, and Vancouver.  They also proved they can be trounced by Dallas and Winnipeg or struggle against freaking Chicago.  So, who knows what the season holds.  You know what I'd rather do?  Look on the happy side of things and think of stuff like last night fondly, rather than some woebegotten waste of time, asking players who won't lose to just give up.

Edited February 20 by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

3 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

The Wild proved they can beat Boston, Vegas, and Vancouver.  They also proved they can be trounced by Dallas and Winnipeg or struggle against freaking Chicago.  So, who knows what the season holds.  You know what I'd rather do?  Look on the happy side of things and think of stuff like last night fondly, rather than some woebegotten waste of time, asking players who won't lose to just give up.

What strikes me is people saying the Wild cannot win a series in the playoffs when they went into the playoffs both of the last 2 seasons banged up. If the Wild are healthy, and Gustavsson can get hot again, you never know what could happen.

Eriksson-Ek surely wants to get back after not really getting to play in the playoffs last season. I'd be fine with the Wild dropping back to the bottom 9, but I'm not going to complain about winning, especially over a top team in the standings.

[Will D. Ness]

Best odds for the Wild making the playoffs is +350 at Bet365. 

All other sportsbooks are about +200.

Best odds for the Wild not making the playoffs is -230 at Draftkings.

Others are at -300.

MoneyPuck is at 23%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Willy the poor boy]

Another Wild season...

 

[Protec]

NoJo stinks! Brutal +/-. Needs to get injured long-term. Or just scratch him. So lazy at times. It's not just about you NoJo, how bout a little effort for the team. Swedes on quaaludes should not play hockey!

[Citizen Strife]

Benching is reasonable, but asking or praying for any player get hurt is just plain sad.  

[B1GKappa97]

Welp back to tanking! We can’t beat Winnipeg 😞 at least Rossi is gonna get 20 goals his rookie season?

[Pewterschmidt]

12 hours ago, Protec said:

NoJo stinks! Brutal +/-. Needs to get injured long-term. Or just scratch him. So lazy at times. It's not just about you NoJo, how bout a little effort for the team. Swedes on quaaludes should not play hockey!

NoJo has an epic stick toss at end of game.  Drink entire drink.  He and Fred had an excellent cardio night.  Got the heart rate into fat burning zone.  Raised it above baseline, but never got it too high.  These two are just skating around avoiding contact.   Nojo passing puck backwards, Fred swerving thru opponents chasing the play. 
 

 

Edited February 21 by Pewterschmidt

[Mateo3xm]

20 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

What did your space bar ever do to you?

Remember when you were adamant that Rossi sucked and we should get rid of him because he was a bust?

wasn’t just you it was a few of ya. 
that aged really well didn’t it?

I’ll make sure to double space every sentence just for you next time goof ball.

[Mateo3xm]

20 hours ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

This team is not deep enough to go on a deep run. Plain and simple. IF we play hard enough to get to playoffs we will be beat up and injured from the stretch and get beat out. I love this team, but it isn't Stanley bound regardless of optimism.

I just don’t get how people don’t under this. This isn’t a Stanley cup winning team. it’s Not even close. When the kings won they were far better of a team than the Wild.

[mnfaninnc]

17 hours ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

I have some hefty respect for your hockey knowledge bud but I think you struggle objectively to see what we have on the ice. 

TGAL, I'm looking at it objectively and I see exactly the same things you are seeing. And, you are correct, the Wild have no chance to advance......on paper. I completely admit this, but I'm not talking about on paper.

Let's just assume that the Wild do grab WC2 in the Western Conference. Out of the 16 teams that got invitations, the Wild would be team #16. As things stand now, they'd be headed out West to play Vancouver to start with. What possible way is there that could make this a successful matchup?

Well, the assumptions I made is that:

1. We have a hot goalie. I'm assuming that to be Goose2
2. The Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov combination stays consistent
3. A couple of forward skaters get hot and get bounces that are not on the above line
4. Merrill and Goligoski are chomping on nachos as we watch Chisholm and Hunt on the 3rd pairing. Mermis plays 7th D
5. The Wild have injury luck in this series. They stay healthy, a couple of Canucks are either out or severely limited

8 seeds have nothing to lose, the 16th seed can play completely free since it is expected that they will be swept. Who cares if they lose? Only the betters who put money on them. Of recent memory, the Kings, Blues, Panthers and Canadiens have gone on runs. What was the formula? A couple of hot skaters and a hot goalie. Of course, the Kings pounded other teams into submission and their series didn't even last long. 

Now, to be clear, all 5 items I listed above need to happen. 4/5 will not get it done. And that is through any series. Is it likely? No, it is not. But, can it happen? Yes, it can happen. 

[mnfaninnc]

7 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

I just don’t get how people don’t under this. This isn’t a Stanley cup winning team. it’s Not even close. When the kings won they were far better of a team than the Wild.

I acknowledged that, this team is not the Kings. But, they are on par with the Blues that won and the Canadiens who went to the finals. Florida had more talent but underachieved until facing Boston. 

We've had terrible injury luck all season. What happens if everyone gets healthy at the end and a couple of guys get hot along with a goalie? Lightning in a bottle, that's what happens. Is it likely? No! Can it happen? Yes! 

[Pewterschmidt]

14 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Remember when you were adamant that Rossi sucked and we should get rid of him because he was a bust?

wasn’t just you it was a few of ya. 
that aged really well didn’t it?

I’ll make sure to double space every sentence just for you next time goof ball.

For the record, I never said that we should get rid of Rossi.  I did say that he did not look like an NHL'r last season.  I think we all agreed on that.  I said that if he didn't show marked improvement over the summer and look like a different player this season then I'd entertain trade offers this season.  He has looked like a different player this season (more aggressive, more confident, more goals, etc.).

What point are you making?  That different players require different amounts of time to develop?

[Up North Guy]

14 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

I just don’t get how people don’t under this. This isn’t a Stanley cup winning team. it’s Not even close. When the kings won they were far better of a team than the Wild.

You know, I get it. It is frustrating to not see the team you support have success. I understand how finishing in the bottom can work wonders in getting high end players. I understand that GM's make mistakes and are not held accountable until it is way too late.

I also understand that I love watching hockey and in particular hockey played by teams i support. I do not understand a constant negative attitude toward the team I support. I am getting old and realize i probably will not ever see a Wild (or Viking) team have ultimate success. I wish it was otherwise but know it is not. That being what it is, I want to see the team(s) I support to have as much success as possible ands root for that. It brings no joy to spit and sputter about things i cannot control so i focus on the joy of just watching good hockey as much as possible. I just can't hope my favorite team tanks for the next five years to maybe get a championship ten years from now. 

Hockey players and coaches and executives are all highly competitive people. It is just the way they are wired. Asking or telling them to tank goes against everything they have been nurtured to be. Getting angry with them is just a WTF situation. Life is too short. It is better to be happy than miserable over things you cannot control.

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

On another note; Rossi with Letterri and Lucchini looked really good. That line had some serious bite to it. I was questioning why Rossi was demoted but I think skating on a line with those two hungry players may actually have a positive effect on him. He is Nojo and Freddy free this way! 

I'm hoping they bury Merrill in the A and bring in Hunt for the remainder of the season. I think I am finally on board with Duhaime getting offloaded if not Dewar as well. I would love to see Shaw, Beckman and Dinov as full time players here. Or at the very least get Becky a cup of coffee up here.

Edited February 21 by TheGoosesAreLooses

[Willy the poor boy]

3 hours ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Welp back to tanking! We can’t beat Winnipeg 😞 at least Rossi is gonna get 20 goals his rookie season?

Rossi will get to 30 and, it's not that we can't beat Winny, it's that we lose to the Ducks 6-0

[Will D. Ness]

11 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I just can't hope my favorite team tanks for the next five years to maybe get a championship ten years from now. 

Point being the word "maybe".  It's still a long shot.

[mnfaninnc]

48 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

For the record, I never said that we should get rid of Rossi.  I did say that he did not look like an NHL'r last season.  I think we all agreed on that.  I said that if he didn't show marked improvement over the summer and look like a different player this season then I'd entertain trade offers this season.  He has looked like a different player this season (more aggressive, more confident, more goals, etc.).

What point are you making?  That different players require different amounts of time to develop?

I had the same take pretty much. I said give him another year, I wouldn't trade him yet. But, I also believe and still do, that Anton Lundell was the better center prospect for this team. Rossi is outscoring Lundell this season, but seeing a 1-2 combo of him and Ek, I thought, would be just what this team needed. 

Incidentally, while Lundell is 6'1", both players are playing around 190. That actually makes Rossi the harder guy to play against at this time with that low center of gravity. I'm pretty sure that Rossi has 1 more fight than Lundell does this year too!

[B1GKappa97]

16 minutes ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Rossi will get to 30 and, it's not that we can't beat Winny, it's that we lose to the Ducks 6-0

Whoa!! I hope you are right about the Rossi goals. 

All I know is the guy is producing regardless of who he's put with. Top line, 2nd line, 3rd line, 4th line, he's gotten moved up and down the lineup and all he does is score! Looks like a hit on a top-10 pick for us 😄 

Don't look now but he has more goals than Boldy got his rookie year so clearly that means he's due to get 30+ next year! 

[B1GKappa97]

26 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

On another note; Rossi with Letterri and Lucchini looked really good. That line had some serious bite to it. I was questioning why Rossi was demoted but I think skating on a line with those two hungry players may actually have a positive effect on him. 

Doesn't matter who he plays with, the guy is gonna get goals!! 

When's the last time we had a 22 year old scoring 20+ goals in a season for us? From what I can tell looking over our past rosters, its been Gabby, Boldy and Rossi is just the 3rd. 

EDIT: I guess Nino did it too, but we didn't draft him and that trade was highway robbery.

Not bad for a guy who didn't even look like an NHLer last year xD turns out we need to get more guys to stay in MN for offseason workouts!! 

Edited February 21 by B1GKappa97

[Willy the poor boy]

18 minutes ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Whoa!! I hope you are right about the Rossi goals. 

All I know is the guy is producing regardless of who he's put with. Top line, 2nd line, 3rd line, 4th line, he's gotten moved up and down the lineup and all he does is score! Looks like a hit on a top-10 pick for us 😄 

Don't look now but he has more goals than Boldy got his rookie year so clearly that means he's due to get 30+ next year! 

Of course I'm being optimistic, but I love his energy and I love his shot. And you're right, he shows up way more times than not no matter where they put hi. I like how Vinny and Luchinni have been playing and then he's put on a line with those guys and gets a couple goals. He's gonna be a good one for a long time. I'm so glad the Wild management didn't give up on him like many many fans did.

Edited February 21 by Willy the poor boy