Article: This Is What Matt Boldy Taking 'The Leap' Looks Like

[Tony Abbott]

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[Imyourhuckleberry]

Quote

This time, Kaprizov has so much room that a blindfolded Ryan Reaves could've scored. 

I appreciate the colorful language, but for the sake of posterity, I felt like I needed to say that this is so not true. I've seen Ryan Reaves with 3x that amount of open net, with a far easier angle, and still miss the net.😉

[Pewterschmidt]

Johansson bumped to second line:  

fuck you Hynzy.  Seriously bothered by this. 
only silver lining is rinse-sanko now stands a chance to record a shot on net w/o Foligno on the line.  NoJo becomes a poor man’s slap nutz

Edited 9 hours ago by Pewterschmidt

[AKwildkraken]

"That midseason slump started reversing just before the 4 Nations Faceoff break, when Boldy had a three-point game that carried over into a strong showing for Team USA."

I've eluded to this before and it was mentioned in the article by Tony, but I think it's important to ask, "What happened at the 4 Nations tournament?"  

It's my belief that Boldy gained confidence in realizing his game translates with the best in the world caliber players.  Also, I think he learned what it takes to be an elite player by the atmosphere of being with other elite players.  I know he gets that with Kaprizov, but when you are surrounded by a whole locker room of guys that are that level, I believe something rubbed off on him.  Maybe just the fact that now he knows he belongs in that tier of players.  

I hope he continues to play with new level of dominance going forward.

Edited 9 hours ago by AKwildkraken

[MNCountryLife]

Nojo went back to his skating drills after his one nice game.   How is he not reprimanded when he does this.  Is Hynes blind?  You can't let a veteran play like that and call yourself a good coach.  Ugh..

 

[MNCountryLife]

Is it just me, or is Bogo slow on his skates.  Mids isn't real fast either.  The two paired together doesn't work.  It appears the neither is fast enough to recover from anything.  Jiricek was a better pairing with Bogo.  I bet he would pair better with Mids as well.  Those guys each appear to need a faster pair next to them.

Faber wanted to activiate too much.  He wasn't taking care of his positioning and got burned around the outside a few times.  He needs to clean that up... which I do have faith that he will.  

Buium was one of the rare guys on the team that I thought played better in the 2nd game.  The kid has skill.

[MNCountryLife]

I see Yurov is listed as the 4th line center for tonight.  Good luck to him.  I have high hopes.  I am hoping he adds a bit of discipline to that 4th line.

[mnfaninnc]

This should be the breakout year for Boldy. I think the key will be for him to have that confidence throughout the whole season, not just in spurts. And, if Kaprizov can remain healthy and next to him, I think that will happen. 

The same thing goes for Rossi too. He needs to remain confident. If he can do that, I expect another points jump for him. 

Also, my other hope is that Heinzy can find 4 lines that have chemistry and can perform better than the individual pieces. If he can find that, who cares what number they're listed under, the next thing is to give the lines minutes when they're going. If the rookies are on line 4 but are buzzing that night, play them like a 2nd line.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

I see Yurov is listed as the 4th line center for tonight.  Good luck to him.  I have high hopes.  I am hoping he adds a bit of discipline to that 4th line.

A bit surprised they are sitting Haight. Perhaps he got banged up a little last game?

I'm happy to see they are getting Yurov in the lineup, I just thought it might be at the expense of someone other than Haight.

Hopefully the Wild will have/create more puck luck against the Kings than they had in their last game.

[MNCountryLife]

30 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I just thought it might be at the expense of someone other than Haight.

Who were you thinking?

[NoJoSux]

54 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Who were you thinking?

NoJo. Always NoJo. Between NoJo and a squirrel who has been run over on Como Ave, I'll take the gimp-rodent. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Just now, NoJoSux said:

56 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Who were you thinking?

NoJo. Always NoJo. Between NoJo and a squirrel who has been run over on Como Ave, I'll take the gimp-rodent. 

Given the prior usage and comments, I would have anticipated Ohgren sitting while Yurov gets a turn, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to sitting Johansson.

I fully believe that Yurov would play better across from Tarasenko than Johansson, but I guess we'll see how that combination does against the Kings.

I do like the 3rd line the Wild are supposedly using tonight. Hartman centering Trenin and Foligno is solidly built. They might not generate tons of offense, but I don't think the opposition will either.

[Pewterschmidt]

11 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

across from Tarasenko than Johansson, but I guess we'll see how that combination does against the Kings.

Prediction: NoJo gets an assist that gets rinse-sanko his first goal.  
 

why?  So that keeps him in the top 6 so he can continue drive everyone nuts.  Because that’s who he is

Edited 5 hours ago by Pewterschmidt

[Imyourhuckleberry]

6 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Prediction: NoJo gets an assist that gets rinse-sanko his first goal.  

Always possible. Usually it's a 2nd assist on a drop pass to someone who makes a great play to get a scorer the puck. His ability to skate the puck into the zone is not in question. What he does with it after crossing the blue line often is. Every time it isn't a nearly instant turnover, I'm pleasantly surprised.

[Citizen Strife]

If Ohgren or Yurov were good enough to be in the Top 6, they would be there by now.  Or at least shown something offensively that would be worth it to pursue. Buium isn't having any trouble tilting the ice despite his own issues.

Yurov and Ohgren have to find out something that makes them unique.  That or Guerin will try to trade for someone who will 

[Will D. Ness]

15 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

If Ohgren or Yurov were good enough to be in the Top 6, they would be there by now.  Or at least shown something offensively that would be worth it to pursue. Buium isn't having any trouble tilting the ice despite his own issues.

Yurov and Ohgren have to find out something that makes them unique.  That or Guerin will try to trade for someone who will 

It's hard to argue that any dude doesn't deserve to be in the top 6 when you have a coach that plays Nojo there for years.

[Citizen Strife]

Excuse me for trusting a guy who can get a point every other game over two people basically hand picked by the team to grab the spot (to the point Hynes and Guerin both said as much) and they didn't do anything either.  Maybe they find it together on their own line instead.

For all we know, the issue could be Tarasenko.  If the lines continue struggling, he'll be the common factor.  Hynes is gonna try everything before admitting that's the reason.

I'm not saying Ohgren or Yurov can't be that guy.  But waiting and hoping in the league is tantamount to admitting failure.  Rossi took a whole heap of shit til he figured it out.  Maybe they both figure it out.  Until that point, watching an inept 2nd line get lapped by the first line blowing everyone away is kinda sad. Even Hartman's line has a pulse.

Edited 4 hours ago by Citizen Strife