Tony Abbott Administrator Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 View full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrydactyls Provisional Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 79.9% chance of making the playoffs? The Twins had a 90% chance with just a couple weeks left. How did that go? 1 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citizen Strife Verified Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 The thing that worries me is the PP isn't as lights out as it was the first few games, and the PK is abysmal (66-67%). A lot gets masked by how fewer penalties they are taking compared to last year, so I suppose a worse PK showing up less evens out as bad as last year's March to the box showed. On the plus side, about 5-7 players are at or near PPG. Kap's surge is huge, but the team is helping behind him. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Protec Verified Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 The scoring ability is very good for this team. An injury or special-teams collapse would make it worse for sure. It's been a great way to begin, but the Wild need to settle into a routine and find a safe groove to stay firmly on-track. That encompasses a lot of little things but keeping guys healthy, and staying out of the box is the most important. The PK has sucked for years. PPs are streaky. EDM had an amazing PK last season, somebody needs to study that. MN's PK or down 6-5 at the end of games has been crummy still. Just stay out of the box and stay healthy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnfaninnc Verified Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 Just like CS, I think being reasonably healthy is the main thing and the red flag here is that depth is not their strong suit especially at forward. I like the way the team is blocking shots and packing the middle of the ice. The red flag here, however, is that sometimes blocked shots lead to injuries. This season's version of the Wild has been to counter score quickly when someone else takes the lead. The red flag here is if this is sustainable? Last season, we had a terrible time scoring 1st. This season seems to be different in that respect, and I think it should be a stressed goal. It is always easier to play with a lead, something that adds confidence to the team and cuts down on injuries. I don't mention the stats here, nor the underlying numbers. It's not that I don't believe in them, it's just that right now, the eye test is much better. The numbers are to goofy this early to mean anything. Another flag, I'm not sure what color it is, is that our schedule to this point has been Eastern Conference heavy. To me, the Eastern Conference is probably the better conference at this time. Banking points against those teams is very good. You could say something similar about our road/home ratio too. Coming up big in that long 7 game road trip probably puts us in the playoff hunt with 5 games to go. I think it is still way too early to believe anybody's % on playoff odds. I said this a little while ago, but you cannot make the playoffs with a good October and November. However, you can miss the playoffs with these as bad months. Just like in a game, chasing teams ahead in the standings is far more exhausting than having the lead. The banked points can actually help you stay within yourself and not try to do too much, keeping you healthier. My biggest red flag, though, is what happens when Kaprizov isn't scoring 2 or more points a night? We've enjoyed 7 in a row. This, to me, is the greatest reason for our record. We need to have improvement throughout the other lines so that they can provide the vital secondary scoring. One last item. Hynes. Last night and on some previous nights, Heinzy makes some very subtle line switches through the game. Sometimes it's dictated by special teams screwing up the lines, but moving Trenin to 4th line and elevating Hartman to 3rd line worked well. So did Rossi moving late to Boldy's line. In comparing this with Evason, he didn't really do this. Hynes hasn't hit the line blender as much as Boudreau, but he has a feel that shouldn't go unnoticed. He won't get every switch right, but I do applaud him for doing it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnt Toast Verified Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said: Kaprizov He plays like an MVP. Shoots, passes, hockey IQ, attitude in elevating other players… etc. etc. If I can so clearly see this certainly their opponents do as well. Hynes seems to have a sense for mixing things up enough to make KK’s on ice time a little unpredictable. I also think having Rossi dig out pucks and find himself getting to the right positions for a play is helping a lot. With KK being the best player on the ice most nights I’m calling for the Checkered Flag! Disclaimer “The above statement represents the results on any given evening only.” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredJohnson Verified Member Posted November 2 Share Posted November 2 Simple: improve the things that are lacking now (CoughPenaltyKillCough) before the overachieving things (shooting percentage) regress to the mean. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Abbott Administrator Posted November 2 Author Share Posted November 2 9 hours ago, terrydactyls said: 79.9% chance of making the playoffs? The Twins had a 90% chance with just a couple weeks left. How did that go? Sometimes you roll a 1 on a D20. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforceror Verified Member Posted November 3 Share Posted November 3 2 hours ago, Tony Abbott said: Sometimes you roll a 1 on a D20. Hopefully our THACO is up to par 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredJohnson Verified Member Posted November 3 Share Posted November 3 18 hours ago, Burnt Toast said: I also think having Rossi dig out pucks and find himself getting to the right positions for a play is helping a lot. If only Rossi was a 1C... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Verified Member Posted November 3 Share Posted November 3 (edited) 3 hours ago, FredJohnson said: If only Rossi was a 1C... You got your wish, looks like Rossi will be the center on the first line between Kap and Zuc… Edited November 3 by Sam Added sarcasm dots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNCountryLife Verified Member Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 Our PK is still ugly. Just avoiding the sin bin has helped dramatically. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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