Article: Wild Increase Gap With Win Over Kings

[Thomas Williams]

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[MNCountryLife]

Really bad call against Rossi for a slash in the 1st.  Gus played outstanding.  Out PP isn't pretty but is keeping us in games.  Our PK still looks bad but seems to be finding ways to hold on for dear life.  Nyquist needed to close down that pass across on the PK.  Can't let that through untouched.  He was a bit lazy getting back into the lane. 

[Enforceror]

I missed the game last night. Starting to wonder if I should stop watching because every time I miss a game we win. 

If you see me on the game day thread, tell me to GTFO.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Wild currently have the 1st tie breaker against all of the teams behind them in the standings, which is regulation wins. The teams behind them would not only need to make up 8 standings points, they would need to get at least 6 more regulation wins than the Wild in the next 14-16 games if they tie MN for points.

If the Wild can average at least 1 point per game the rest of the way, they'll almost certainly stay in the 7th spot, unless of course they win at a significantly higher rate and move up ahead of the Kings and/or Oilers.

St. Louis seems poised to grab the 8th spot now. They have a winning record since changing coaches early in the year and have been playing well lately.

Very possible the standings tighten up with St. Louis making a playoff push, but the Wild close the season with San Jose, Calgary, Vancouver, and Anaheim, 3 of the 5 worst goal differential teams in the West.

St. Louis has a few games against Nashville, and a game against Chicago in the next couple of weeks(one of the easier schedules over the next 6 games based upon standings), but closes the year with a more challenging schedule after that, including 2 against Colorado and one each against Winnipeg and Edmonton in their final 8.

[MrCheatachu]

Failing to score first and failing to put one in the first frame made me concerned that the outcome was going to be similar to the past couple games.

Going 2/3 on the power-play was a welcome surprise, with Hartzy getting a nice tip, and a passing play that *SHOCKINGLY* went to the center of the ice instead of rimming it around the edge for Zucc to get an absolute snipe past Kuemps.

After getting booed off the ice last game, this is the type of game this team needed.

I didn't hear the injury report on Moose (Upper Body Injury??), but not happy that ANOTHER player is on the trainers table, especially with how well Moose has been performing.

 

[FredJohnson]

58 minutes ago, Enforceror said:

I missed the game last night. Starting to wonder if I should stop watching because every time I miss a game we win. 

If you see me on the game day thread, tell me to GTFO.

[Willy the poor boy]

6 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

[Amaddeo]

The boys really dug in last night and played hard. The PP and PK looked good. They were cleaner in their d zone, even when giving up extended zone time and long shifts. Gus was unreal too, and Merrill played well. Still in a great spot for the playoffs. If we can get Ek and Kap into at least a 2-3 games before the playoffs, who knows what can happen with this team being healthy 

[Scalptrash]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

St. Louis seems poised to grab the 8th spot now. They have a winning record since changing coaches early in the year and have been playing well lately.

The goal differential is an excellent predictor this time of year, St. Louis will be the 2nd Wild Card team. If it weren't for their hot start this season, the Wild would be outside looking in, or at best a bubble team.

[Willy the poor boy]

This is for Red...🙃

 

Edited yesterday at 04:12 PM by Willy the poor boy

[Scalptrash]

38 minutes ago, Amaddeo said:

If we can get Ek and Kap into at least a 2-3 games before the playoffs, who knows what can happen with this team being healthy 

It will be sad and tragic if this is the case. The LTIR money could have been used to target Rantanen (Nelson or Boeser, if they seriously want them). If they are serious about competing in the playoffs this year (never really are), it was mandatory to deepen this team now. They could have signed them to new contracts that start next year, when money isn't an obstacle. I have a strong feeling that BG already knows who he is going to target this summer, part of the "5 year plan". Prepare to be disappointed.

I'm sure people think I'm crazy for even suggesting it, but I would have tried to trade Kaprizov for Rantanen. It may have been enough to entice Carolina. A star player, who they were expecting with Rantanen, that can produce right now. Kaprizov is hurt 1/3 of the season or more EVERY year. The Wild will never win a cup if he is the golden savior.

[Kato AK]

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

If the Wild can average at least 1 point per game the rest of the way, they'll almost certainly stay in the 7th spot, unless of course they win at a significantly higher rate and move up ahead of the Kings and/or Oilers.

The Kings and Oilers are in the Pacific, so the Wild can't move ahead of them. We would have to catch COL or DAL.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

3 hours ago, Amaddeo said:

If we can get Ek and Kap into at least a 2-3 games before the playoffs, who knows what can happen with this team being healthy 

It will be sad and tragic if this is the case. The LTIR money could have been used to target Rantanen (Nelson or Boeser, if they seriously want them). If they are serious about competing in the playoffs this year (never really are), it was mandatory to deepen this team now. They could have signed them to new contracts that start next year, when money isn't an obstacle. I have a strong feeling that BG already knows who he is going to target this summer, part of the "5 year plan". Prepare to be disappointed.

I will call it a maligned group, but if we're only getting 2-3 games from Ek and Kaprizov, why not sit them both until playoff time? They could have had a 2-3 game rehab stint in Iowa. You have to trust your medical team and what they tell you. Both of these players better be ready by the turn of the month or the medical staff should have their walking papers as soon as our season ends. 

Good grief, we went from a minor tweak on Kaprizov in December to missing the whole entire 2025 part of the season -3 games. This is below an F on a star player like that. But to compound things, both of these guys are expected back in plenty of time to make an impact on the season. 

My suspicion is that Guerin is now having to replace the medical team in which he's probably now taking interviews. They say where there is smoke there is fire, and at this point, I'm seeing smoke to the north all the way to NC. The Keystone Cops have nothing on this group!

Nice win last night. Thankfully, after 2 games off, I came back to see a hustling team. I have no idea why they won't play Jiricek. The team needs offense, and when the offense went dry in January, the defense picked it up. Jiricek can help. Play the man.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, Kato AK said:

The Kings and Oilers are in the Pacific, so the Wild can't move ahead of them. We would have to catch COL or DAL.

Good call. NHL does it so differently than other sports that it can throw me off sometimes. Moving up to catch Colorado is mathematically possible although those chances do seem remote.

[MrCheatachu]

39 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

My suspicion is that Guerin is now having to replace the medical team in which he's probably now taking interviews. They say where there is smoke there is fire, and at this point, I'm seeing smoke to the north all the way to NC.

I agree if they've miss-estimated the timeline, that'll be disappointing, but you can hardly blame the staff for three of the top players being out considering their injuries.

Jimmy and Ekker are both out because of broken bones from blocking shots, no?  I don't see how that is the medical teams fault.

Kaprizov, as it seems, was evaluated by multiple specialists that were not affiliated with the team, and picked the treatment path that was determined by him and his agent.  Eichel/Buffalo relationship soured because the team wouldn't let him get the surgery he wanted...with how Eichel's performed in Vegas after the surgery, it seems like Eichel's camp was correct in that decision watching out for the player not the team.

It seems like this team is stuck like a broken record on injuries, but it's hard to blame the training staff for these three...

[Imyourhuckleberry]

18 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

Kaprizov, as it seems, was evaluated by multiple specialists that were not affiliated with the team, and picked the treatment path that was determined by him and his agent. 

Yeah, it's certainly possible that the Wild medical team was recommending surgery early on, but that Kaprizov didn't want surgery unless it was absolutely necessary. A team cannot make a player have a surgery they don't want. It's possible that the Wild medical team could be better, but it's not like fans have enough information to truly evaluate a team's medical staff, particularly for NHL hockey teams where they typically only tell you upper body or lower body, and nothing about body part/injury/severity.

[Up North Guy]

41 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

I agree if they've miss-estimated the timeline, that'll be disappointing, but you can hardly blame the staff for three of the top players being out considering their injuries.

Jimmy and Ekker are both out because of broken bones from blocking shots, no?  I don't see how that is the medical teams fault.

Kaprizov, as it seems, was evaluated by multiple specialists that were not affiliated with the team, and picked the treatment path that was determined by him and his agent.  Eichel/Buffalo relationship soured because the team wouldn't let him get the surgery he wanted...with how Eichel's performed in Vegas after the surgery, it seems like Eichel's camp was correct in that decision watching out for the player not the team.

It seems like this team is stuck like a broken record on injuries, but it's hard to blame the training staff for these three...

I think MnFann is referring the the length of the recovery versus the stated expectation. Also, I read that Ek's broken bone was a stress fracture from over use rather than a blocked shot.

[Fezig]

21 hours ago, Enforceror said:

I missed the game last night. Starting to wonder if I should stop watching because every time I miss a game we win. 

If you see me on the game day thread, tell me to GTFO.

Same thing for me. I'm pretty sure I'm on a six game losing streak.

 

[RedLake]

20 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

This is for Red...🙃

 

He did save the day.  I'll give him that. He also could of scored but he decided to shoot the puck in the goalies gut. Jiricek would of roofed that opportunity.

[Scalptrash]

Two teams 6 pts. back now. 😬 The Wild control their own destiny. Win and they're in, lose and they are probably out. There is little doubt that St. Louis will pass them. Hottest team in the NHL since January (Wild are the worst). They have a much easier schedule (Wild have the most difficult stretch of their whole season). It will depend on what Vancouver does. If they rise to the occasion, they will bump the Wild right out. I personally think it would be the best thing to happen. It's ultimately less painful than a very likely four game sweep in round one.

[SkolWild73]

47 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

Two teams 6 pts. back now. 😬 The Wild control their own destiny. Win and they're in, lose and they are probably out. There is little doubt that St. Louis will pass them. Hottest team in the NHL since January (Wild are the worst). They have a much easier schedule (Wild have the most difficult stretch of their whole season). It will depend on what Vancouver does. If they rise to the occasion, they will bump the Wild right out. I personally think it would be the best thing to happen. It's ultimately less painful than a very likely four game sweep in round one.

If you mean since February 1, the Blues are third and the Wild are 25th, not good, but not the worst.