Article: The Wild Enter the Playoffs Doing the Same Thing and Expecting Different Results

[Tom Schreier]

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[Citizen Strife]

"They prefer declining veterans over skilled young players. "

Went looking for it, and I found it.

[IllicitFive]

Well I think we found one person not bothered by the late start times since why watch, it is 100% certain they will lose, and to think otherwise is insane. "Minnesota always loses in the playoffs", well yeah, so does every other team until they don't, that's usually how it works. Also the Wild rank 22 in total penalty min as  a team, don't get me wrong Vegas has 2nd least PM taken this year so there is a difference but lets not pretend the Wild are a team that spends all day every day in the box. NoJo, for the year was not what anyone hoped, but lately, we have to admit he has been playing well, would have loved to see this version of him throughout the year, but better late than never.

I think Zeev not playing the final game this year had more to do with have 0 team practices prior to it but it is now being reported he is practicing, appears to be running the top PP unit and running lines with the defense over Merril.

I am curious what you think they should change or what you would want them to do. In the authors eyes, what would give them a shot, or is it because, well historically they haven't won so they cant win?

[SkolWild73]

12 minutes ago, IllicitFive said:

Well I think we found one person not bothered by the late start times since why watch, it is 100% certain they will lose, and to think otherwise is insane. "Minnesota always loses in the playoffs", well yeah, so does every other team until they don't, that's usually how it works. Also the Wild rank 22 in total penalty min as  a team, don't get me wrong Vegas has 2nd least PM taken this year so there is a difference but lets not pretend the Wild are a team that spends all day every day in the box. NoJo, for the year was not what anyone hoped, but lately, we have to admit he has been playing well, would have loved to see this version of him throughout the year, but better late than never.

I think Zeev not playing the final game this year had more to do with have 0 team practices prior to it but it is now being reported he is practicing, appears to be running the top PP unit and running lines with the defense over Merril.

I am curious what you think they should change or what you would want them to do. In the authors eyes, what would give them a shot, or is it because, well historically they haven't won so they cant win?

I agree with you.  

Every article from this author talks about the bad contracts to veterans and why we won’t win because of it.  
 

I never really like the history thing.  Both of us have different teams than we did when we last played each other in the playoff's.

I suppose it’s easier to say we are going to lose when the odds are we will and then when/if we do said person can say “See, I told you we would lose because of this”.

 

[FredJohnson]

30 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

“See, I told you we would lose because of this”.

We’d have 1/10th of the comment count without those comments.

[Will D. Ness]

I don't think it's fair to call yourself a fan or even a person who enjoys watching sports when you have already been defeated in your own mind.  

There is another name for that.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

45 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

I suppose it’s easier to say we are going to lose when the odds are we will and then when/if we do said person can say “See, I told you we would lose because of this”.

The Wild should lose because of the Draisaitl sized difference in salary cap, but this is a different team with a different coach, and this team was taking the fewest penalties in the league the 1.5 months of this season.

A lot has changed, but the Wild are playing against a team with more talent because they have around $15M additional cap dollars to spend.

Vegas had roughly $51M in forwards this season and $30M in defense.

Wild have roughly $45M in forwards this season and $21.5M in defense.

Adin Hill also makes more than Gus, but I'd put them about even.

The Wild should lose, but this might be about the healthiest they have entered a playoffs since they last played Vegas, and that was a tight series. Vegas was probably better then than they are now, and the Wild might be better now than they were then(when healthy).

One thing that is similar is that Johansson had the worst +/- on the team back in that 20-21 season, and he only missed that distinction this season by assisting on Boldy's goal in OT in game 82.

It was one of the better plays he's made with the Wild, but missing the lowest +/- by 1(Shore and Merrill both finished -8 to tie for the lowest on the Wild this season) doesn't given me a lot of confidence in Johansson's overall game.

[SkolWild73]

7 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

The Wild should lose because of the Draisaitl sized difference in salary cap, but this is a different team with a different coach, and this team was taking the fewest penalties in the league the 1.5 months of this season.

A lot has changed, but the Wild are playing against a team with more talent because they have around $15M additional cap dollars to spend.

Vegas had roughly $51M in forwards this season and $30M in defense.

Wild have roughly $45M in forwards this season and $21.5M in defense.

Adin Hill also makes more than Gus, but I'd put them about even.

The Wild should lose, but this might be about the healthiest they have entered a playoffs since they last played Vegas, and that was a tight series. Vegas was probably better then than they are now, and the Wild might be better now than they were then(when healthy).

One thing that is similar is that Johansson had the worst +/- on the team back in that 20-21 season, and he only missed that distinction this season by assisting on Boldy's goal in OT in game 82.

It was one of the better plays he's made with the Wild, but missing the lowest +/- by 1(Shore and Merrill both finished -8 to tie for the lowest on the Wild this season) doesn't given me a lot of confidence in Johansson's overall game.

Yea, I am hoping for a competitive series.  If we get back to playing how we did earlier in the year, I would say our chances are between 45 and 50% we can win the series.

 I will be rooting for Edmonton to win their series I think. Not sure why, but I feel like we have a better chance to beat them than LA.  Also, I am a little old school in who I root for in hockey.  I have a hard time rooting for any team that is from an area that you can’t play outdoor hockey.

[Patrick]

You definitely touched a nerve with this one!  Nothing upsets Minnesotans more than telling them the emperor is in fact naked when the official stance is that he has beautiful new clothes on.  They will tar and feather you for pointing out the truth.  

However, despite Foligno's idiotic penalties, this team has a real chance.  Why? Kaprizov is the real deal so shutting him down is easier said than done.  On top of that the blue line is legitimately good and Gus Bus is quietly having a great year. I'm guessing it goes 6 or 7 games and its a coin toss who wins.

[SkolWild73]

3 minutes ago, Patrick said:

You definitely touched a nerve with this one!  Nothing upsets Minnesotans more than telling them the emperor is in fact naked when the official stance is that he has beautiful new clothes on.  They will tar and feather you for pointing out the truth.  

However, despite Foligno's idiotic penalties, this team has a real chance.  Why? Kaprizov is the real deal so shutting him down is easier said than done.  On top of that the blue line is legitimately good and Gus Bus is quietly having a great year. I'm guessing it goes 6 or 7 games and its a coin toss who wins.

I agree with you that it can be a coin toss series.  I think the series against the Stars in 2023 was the only playoff series that Foligno had idiotic penalties.  Back in 2021 he actually had zero penalty minutes that series and 14 the next year against the Blues, all in game one.  If he and can play disciplined hard-hitting hockey, we have a chance.

They will tar and feather you for pointing out the truth. 

Not sure how much truth was in this article.  A lot of opinion and conjecture about what might happen.

[Citizen Strife]

It's one thing to be like, "The Wild are underdogs, and always are due to history saying as much."  You can still pull a positive spin and say, "Any weird bounce, and hot player or goalie, any given Sunday" stuff can always make or break a series.

But to flat out just go, "Yeah, fuck this, not happening, don't bother."  Why even clinch a playoff berth in the first place?  The team is going to bust its ass to win games, and managed to do so with 20 seconds being the difference from "getting a chance" to "not even try."

If we're going in with the narrative of, "Well, fuck this, I'd rather watch paint dry," why even watch any sport, and competition, or anything really?

Edited Friday at 06:02 PM by Citizen Strife

[bisopher]

Kaprizov was a rookie in 2021, and the Wild took Vegas to seven games.

JEE was out with a broken leg (one 20 second shift in game 3 doesn't count) against Dallas two years ago, and the Wild jumped out to a 2-1 series lead before DeBoer's ability to change and Evason's lack thereof let the Stars pull away.

The Wild were one of the best teams in the league when fully healthy in 2024-25. Add in Buium (as it appears Hynes is going to at least consider, vs. Guerin's/Evason's handling of Boldy in '21), and I think the Wild have a decent chance to take this series to six or seven games, minimum. From there, who knows?

[Imyourhuckleberry]

32 minutes ago, bisopher said:

The Wild were one of the best teams in the league when fully healthy in 2024-25. Add in Buium (as it appears Hynes is going to at least consider, vs. Guerin's/Evason's handling of Boldy in '21), and I think the Wild have a decent chance to take this series to six or seven games, minimum. From there, who knows?

It's sounding like Buium replacing Merrill on 3rd pairing and taking over PP1 is a real possibility as early as game 1. Nobody knows what that could do, but Vegas has not been an incredible team on the PK, so there's a chance that the kid could be a difference maker in this series. Merrill battles, but he's obviously not one of the top 4 defenders, so replacing him for 10-14 even strength minutes per game probably will not hurt the Wild significantly.

[Dean]

Great article! I agree the wild are undisciplined come playoff time. Vegas having a great pp and the wilds pathetic pk is probably the key to the series.  The wild have proven nothing . They limped into playoffs barely beating a bottom feeder. Vegas knows what it takes to win a cup the wild don’t know how to win a round. I also agree the wild don’t have the skill to go anywhere in the playoffs . I was thinking they’ll get swept so Vegas can rest for next round however kappy probably has a game or two he can put the wild on his back . This is the same team that gave up last playoffs so why would anything be different. I’m sure they’ll lose a few guys to injuries. Spurg , ek   Kappy , Brodin and its series over. Until the wild prove something like they actually have playoff preforming players , it’s going to end as it always does. With excuses  

[Imyourhuckleberry]

35 minutes ago, Dean said:

 I agree the wild are undisciplined come playoff time. Vegas having a great pp and the wilds pathetic pk is probably the key to the series. The wild have proven nothing.

🙄

The Wild have never played with this coach in the playoffs. In the minutes without Khusnutdinov on the ice, the Wild were pretty equal in PK efficiency to Vegas, and the Wild have a capable power play unit when JEE and KK97 are healthy.

No team has proven anything in the regular season other than they were capable of reaching the playoffs. 2021 Canadiens and 2023 Panthers come to mind as teams people didn't think were likely to win in round 1. Both were given less than a 25% chance to win in round 1, but both ended up in the finals.

Vegas should be favored, but the favored team doesn't always win. It could be a very entertaining series.

[punch_cut]

Wow.

This author Is a whiner and should find another hobby. No wonder Dean likes it so much.

[Enforceror]

Guerin doesn't know a damn thing about hockey. He just signs his friends so they can drink beer together after they lose every game. Hynes is an outcast that doesn't know which end of the hockey stick to hold. He just repeats "play structured hockey" over and over so he sounds intelligent. KK is injured almost every game so is practically worthless. Same with Ek. Boldy chokes game in game out. The rest of the team is a bunch of tired old vets that make too much money. We're never going to get past the first round. In fact, we'll probably be at the bottom of the division for the next 50 years. The Xcel is a piece of crap that's going to cost a bunch of money and is still going to be a shit hole.

The NHL sucks. Hockey sucks. This forum sucks.

Wow, that was kinda fun. I guess I can see now why people like doing this.

 

[FredJohnson]

4 hours ago, Enforceror said:

Guerin doesn't know a damn thing about hockey. He just signs his friends so they can drink beer together after they lose every game. Hynes is an outcast that doesn't know which end of the hockey stick to hold. He just repeats "play structured hockey" over and over so he sounds intelligent. KK is injured almost every game so is practically worthless. Same with Ek. Boldy chokes game in game out. The rest of the team is a bunch of tired old vets that make too much money. We're never going to get past the first round. In fact, we'll probably be at the bottom of the division for the next 50 years. The Xcel is a piece of crap that's going to cost a bunch of money and is still going to be a shit hole.

The NHL sucks. Hockey sucks. This forum sucks.

Wow, that was kinda fun. I guess I can see now why people like doing this.

 

[1Brotherbill]

One of the worst articles I have read on this sight and that is saying a lot.  Even worse than the trade Boldy and Rossi for a bunch of garbage articles. 

I like how the article is out there and if none of it comes true the person who wrote it won't acknowledge that they were wrong on so many levels. 

This the Wild always do this garbage needs to stop.

[Patrick]

9 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

I agree with you that it can be a coin toss series.  I think the series against the Stars in 2023 was the only playoff series that Foligno had idiotic penalties.  Back in 2021 he actually had zero penalty minutes that series and 14 the next year against the Blues, all in game one.  If he and can play disciplined hard-hitting hockey, we have a chance.

They will tar and feather you for pointing out the truth. 

Not sure how much truth was in this article.  A lot of opinion and conjecture about what might happen.

I think the point of the article is that getting big, mean and gritty has produced terrible results for the Wild. There is a LOT of truth in that.

[SkolWild73]

38 minutes ago, Patrick said:

I think the point of the article is that getting big, mean and gritty has produced terrible results for the Wild. There is a LOT of truth in that.

I know everyone can interpret different things when they read something, but what you say is the point of the article would be a stretch for me.  Even reread it and could not come to that conclusion.

Especially when most say we lose because we are too small and don’t play big enough in the playoffs.

Edited 22 hours ago by SkolWild73

[TCMooch]

I identify with this post. 

[Dango]

13 hours ago, Patrick said:

I think the point of the article is that getting big, mean and gritty has produced terrible results for the Wild. There is a LOT of truth in that.

Ryan Suter was an upgrade at the time in those departments and even though it didnt bring a cup it did what it was intended to do  ,  more scoring was produced by the defense ,   Would have been nice to keep Burns that might have gotten it done .

[Patrick]

13 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

Especially when most say we lose because we are too small and don’t play big enough in the playoffs.

This is 100% subjective. 

I think most feel we lose because we don't have enough talent. (due to the buy outs for the last few years and terrible drafting for the decade before that)   

[mnfaninnc]

The Wild come into this series as a 7 seed playing a 2 seed. A 1/3 chance is about all they will get regardless of how good the team is. What we need is

• puck luck and a lot of it
• injury luck
• a goalie who stands on his head all series
• starting the game on time, play from ahead
• an intensity I haven't yet seen out of these guys

Is that too much to ask? Sometimes, you have to burn out all your energy just to make it there. We did that with most of our guys. Exceptions were Ek and Kaprizov. Both did not have a lot of miles this season. That could help. Also, our tired guys got an extra 2 days of rest.

Other times, you come in hot because of the winning you had to do. Getting used to that before the playoffs is probably a good thing. Most of our games this season have been decided in regulation. The last 10, though, most went to OT. We should be seasoned in getting that final goal in regulation and punching one in in OT. 

I do like the team circling the wagons and saying "nobody believes in us but us. Let's show 'em!" As for pressure, all pressure is on Vegas. They are supposed to win and win handely. This series should be 5 games max. Let's just start by stealing one in Vegas.