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I’m not overly concerned. The record is now even on the year with Colorado. We had 8 minutes of penalties that they cashed in, while we didn’t. They also scored an empty netter. It was 2-1 Colorado at even strength. Wallstadt still had a save % over .900, and the PP is a work in progress after adding a new QB. We also had 7 guys playing a back to back who have spent significant time on the shelf, while Colorado had a rest day, and had played 1 game in 4 days (this was our 3rd game since December 16th, Colorado’s second - on top of our back to back. They were much more rested). We have also been playing primarily playoff teams in much of December, while they’ve had one of the easiest schedules in the league. Lastly, you know Colorado was extra amped to make a statement after the Hughes trade. We weren’t going to win every game the rest of the year. It says absolutely nothing about the playoffs (that we already didn’t know). Were Avs fans panicking about their roster when they lost to Nashville recently? It happens. I mean, Colorado is an absolute wagon. One of the best teams ever. We’re not likely to beat them in a playoff series with or without Hughes and a new center. This game adds no further context. I did not think we would be the favorites in a playoff series before the game, and think our odds are about the same after the game.

HAHA has this guy ever written an article with a positive outlook? Yeah we lost a few to a hungry NJ and WIN team. They needed it more than us, have a hungry team and we didn't counter properly - that's on us - we'll get better. This is NHL and it's a roller coaster - not a cruise to the end. I still stand by my call that we will beat stars in R1. We are still top3 in pts. Kap has yet to be Kap (likely due to cohesion and health). QH is still adjusting. Boldy is just starting his dominance (ascension to top 10 status). So yes - call out the last few games as duds. But to say we are tumbling like Jenga pieces is crazy.

It's a bit confusing to argue that 76% PK is bad, but also suggest that a 25.9% PP conversion rate is bad--that power play effectiveness would be top 5 for the season. 76% PK is bad, so the inverse conversion rate for PP should be good. Since November 1st, the Wild PK is at 82.3%, which is the 12th best rate in the league. The Wild PP has actually dipped to 19.2%, which is middle of the pack at 16th out of 32 teams when excluding October. Obviously, the Wild would like be be above average on the Power Play, but they have already climbed out of the bottom 10 on penalty kills if you exclude the poor October start. They could always be better, but they might not be below average now.

Aron Kiviharju was Finland's captain for the second straight year. I have articles on him and potential late round draft picks queued up - stay tuned. One spoiler: Czechia's Tomas Galvas is a name to keep an eye on.

"The Stars are the only other team getting this sort of break in February. They have a similar advantage because Jason Robertson was snubbed from Team USA" I would not be shocked if he ends up replacing an injured player on the US team.

He has changed a lot and the scoring is definitely up. I would like to see his pairing ending up with Kap's line more. I was at the game in Vegas and his line was totally shut down all night but every time I looked to see who they were on the ice with I would see Bogo or Mids. The puck just moves so effortlessly most of the time when he and Faber get control of the puck and offensive zone entries are no longer a struggle. For anyone wanting to see a road game, and I am not a gambler, Vegas was really fun and you should consider it. Their arena is great and in the center of everything on the strip, plenty to do while you are there. And probably 5% of the people in attendance were Wild fans. Many organized a post game party at a bar after the game (we did not attend.) A goal 15 seconds into the first period shut the crowd up and it was a MN Wild party from the jump. We placed bets on the Wild winning and scoring first and cashed both. Cha ching! Thanks Nojo! I....um.....never had a bad word to say about you!

I’m forgetting everything about this team from the past and going full New Year and evaluating from here to season’s end.

Do we just stop playing hockey because Avs are amazing? Should the whole league just forfeit the year and give them the trophy? Maybe look at what winning a president trophy did for Tampa or Winnipeg or Boston (Two of those teams set point records too - didn't help in the POs) Playoffs are different beast. There would (hopefully) not be similar bs calls and QH will integrate into our O and D structure much better. There is also still potential to add a vet to help with top 9 scoring. So why can they not highlight a 3-2 win? They did not have Rossi then. They had raw rookie (Zeev) and now have QH replacing him. Yes, Makar is a better D, but Makar is on his own level - but the next D up is QH. You say that before they couldn't score, but now they do....so isn't that a good thing? Their D is just coming back together after injuries - so it may take a bit more time to gel. The conclusion is that they might be one of the only teams (Dallas) that can match up with Avs. Yet here you are again - Still, as currently constructed, they’d lose to the Avalanche if they met in the playoffs. again since Avs are that good - is your suggestion to punt the season? to trade away Kap, Hughes and Boldy and go into a rebuild? to admit trading Rossi was a mistake? Or trading Zeev was or Ohgren? what is the conclusion? seems like you are set to give Wild an F no matter what.

Nice win. This version of the Wild is certainly fun to watch!!!!

Unselfish play. All class

Baldy making his case to go from star to superstar status

Watched the Buffalo game today. Hunt-Jiricek was the 3rd pair. Overall, I think they did a fairly good job. Hunt i think may be regressing a little bit or may have a nagging injury. He doesn't seem to have the same pop in his skating. Jiricek played a pretty good game. He did get aggressive in the OZ one time and nearly was trapped but it wasn't a poor play IMO. I thought Midzy had more errors than Jiri.

It's a little early to scapegoat but damn that was an ugly game. This common theme of starting out dominant and then falling apart is an issue but the complete lack of focus to end the 1st was pathetic. Wally had the puck on his stick behind the net with 15 seconds left. The score was 1-0. Period ends and it is 3-0. I swear that Brodin is the only guy that knows to work clock in the corner at this point.

Some interesting notes from last nights game. Hartman is not capable of replacing Ek. There is a steep drop off between these two. We are very dependent on Ek. Bogo and Brodin really solidify 3 D pairs. Without them our skill on the backend drops off dramatically and struggles. We need Johansson producing like he was in Nov and Dec. Without him playing to his potential our top 6 is not top 6 quality. We need Mojo... not Nojo.

I've been impressed with Yurov. He has already come a long ways in half a season. Keep rolling him out and we may need to recognize him as 1C quality by the end of the season... next year for sure.

We talk about this often. We need a 1C. How many 1Cs are out there? We see what happens to this team when Ek is out. He may not be fancy... but he does it all... including making everyone on his line better. How many teams have a 1C that is as important to them as Ek is to the Wild?

He got the game winning assist with a greasy sauce pass that very few players on this roster could execute.

Agreed. I think people should read this part again. Jiricek seems like he has all the talent and ability to be a really good defenseman. It's just taking longer than everyone would like for him to put it together. Some players seem to be able to do that quicker than others, and being in the Wild's development system isn't going to make that happen any faster for a player who can't make that transition largely on their own. The thing I'm most critical of Guerin for is his failure to recognize how ineffective his development team is at actually developing anyone. There's a lot wrong there, and it's a pattern of poor results. The players that have become good prospects largely have done so because they were developed elsewhere before they arrived and had a high floor. Everyone else seems to take a step back if they end up in the system too long.

Yuck. Kadri is a slight upgrade over Hartman. If we had him on a Marcus Johansson league minimum deal...sure. But I wouldn't give up an old puck bag for him in a trade.

Really great piece, Tony. Hughes has been a great addition. My concern since his arrival has been with Kaprizov's adjustment, or lack of adjustment. When QH is on the ice with KK, Kirill doesn't need to be the primary puck mover like he has in the past. He should be looking for soft spots and seams and scoring in droves. Secondly, the Wild would be better served replacing Zuccarello with Faber on the top PP unit. Hughes can be a better Hughes if he has a responsible D-man covering. Just my two cents.

Great article and the stats and eye test back it up. Only disagree with the Wild wanting a new Metrodome because the roofs aren’t that good.

Probably won’t be a popular comment, but I think the Wild should have gotten a solid youngish center for the haul it gave up for Hughes. Why? Because although Hughes is a superstar player, I don’t think he will help this version of the Wild in the playoffs. With Hughes, it means Faber is the “big bad” in the top 4 d-men. That is significant in that I don’t think most people would consider Faber a big bully like d-man. In addition, Spurgeon is small and although Brodin is still elite, he isn’t physical. The big d-men (Bogo and Midsy) are regulated to the 3rd pair and will have limited minutes come playoffs. Compounding the above issue, the Wild have several smaller forwards and/or guys who aren’t physical (Zuccy, NoJo, Hinne, etc.) Bottomline, I think the Wild are fun to watch, but it gave up a lot for a dynamic d-man when the most glaring weakness was size and grit in the top two forward lines. Maybe GMBG can pull off a Tuch rental with the remaining assets, but there isn’t a lot left. Especially when I think it would be a bad idea to trade the Wall or Yurov. Could the same trade package have gotten us Thompson and Tuch or even BT? The d corps was solid before the trade. Also, consider that Rossi was deemed too small and was thicker than Hughes, with Hughes being on the ice twice as much as Rossi. If Hughes doesn’t resign, I think the Wild gave up way too much. Even if he does resign, I think the Wild are 1-2 top 6 forwards away and likely a top 4 d-man with size and nastiness. I think the Wild are a better regular season team, but not a better playoff team after the trade. I hope they prove me wrong come playoffs.

Let’s leave the other 99.99% of the internet for political slap fights. Stay golden HW.com

A while back some politics was voiced on this site. Many on this board voiced their opinion to avoid that topic at all costs on this site. Our writers and members have been fantastic at avoiding any political topic what-so-ever.... and I greatly appreciate that. It's not an official rule or anything. But this is sports and it brings people together... not divisive like that other thing.

If this kid figures things out during this nhl season with VAN the “Wild player development ?” whispers will start again and would be legitimate. I didn’t see an nhl player lacking opportunity when he was with the Wild, but if he transforms this season then the Wild would appear to be the problem

I'll keep posting this until we finally overtake them. Stars...

NoJo!!!!!!

My hope is that the team is just scratching the beginning of his productivity. His size, strength and skill make him a serious now and future star.

Better than the QuiF sisters.

Lets finish this one in regulation.... c'mon Wild!

The upside is that everyone will learn whether Minnesota is ready to contend immediately. If Hughes doesn’t believe they can, they might want to flip him in the offseason to recover assets. If they have to do this then Guerin screwed the pooch royally. Who would trade much for a guy that would want out of this market and have two brothers on another team with free agency right around the corner? New Jersey would not have to bid anything because they could just wait for him to hit free agency. Other teams would know they have a slim chance of retaining him. We would have zero leverage. The best we would get is some draft pick on a deadline deal to a team that wants a cup run and will pick at the very end of every round. And we would have traded away basically four firsts for that prize. I hope he extends, but the flipping him to recover assets is admitting total defeat and a franchise killing mistake.

The success of the Red Line bodes well for Yurzy’s trajectory and ceiling. Everyone succeeds with 97, but to see Yurzy un-lock the two Russian potatoes might mean 22 is already legit top 6 center

A tough back to back this weekend. LFGW!!!

Me too. The guy has been a different player ...

Terry Senko has changed my opinion of him!

GG Boys...and fun. Nice to get most of the gang back together. Gus had a great game with some big saves. Now get to bed and get ready for tomorrow.

Really glad to see Tarsenko getting some points. He seems like a great guy.

STUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMM Classy Senko.

Nice on senko to let sturm get it

I want/need the Bolds hatty.

Zeev was gushing about BoGo in a recent article. Had such an impact he took his number with the Nucks.

Gus owes Spurgy a Ruth's Criss dinner...

If our Red Line can continue to put in some goals, that would give us three lines that are legitimate lines that can score. Having Ek, Boldy and nojo playing against the other teams best is a shutdown/domination type line. Griz, Kap and Lizard has proven to be a good trio as long as the other team isn't able to focus on them. Sturm and Foligno on the fourth line playing with whomever can be a beast of a line. Hinnestroza is effective with them with his speed. If this teams stays healthy, it has forward depth.

HARTZYY!!!!!

Badly? Are you talking about Hynes? Lol

LFGW. Almost got a full squad. Most importantly Jimmy to shut down McJesus.

Mojo is back! Oh.. and some other lesser important people.

He wore out the opponents on his insanely too long shifts.