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Zuccarello's return, and a much needed players only meeting directed by captain Spurgeon, reset the direction of the team after a tough October. Young players also maturing in their understanding of what needed to be done for this system to work. I don't think injuries to Rossi or Hartman have helped the team at all, but the team has been able to find good results through improved playmaking(7 assists in 8 games for Zuc) and leadership. Honestly, they've played well, but they've gotten better puck luck in November too. Sometimes there are just weird bounces that end up in the net when things aren't going your way, but the team has been on the same page much more than before the players only meeting called by Spurgeon.

Krill, Faber, Buium, Yurov…. Seem to have shown up NHL ready. Wally, Ohgren and many others have done their time in Iowa. and then the trade for Gus….. we gave up an aging vet. BG has made a lot of great decisions. Jiricek and a couple others still need time. Im gonna sit back and enjoy the ride.

Yurov simply can’t be the 1C long term as long as he continues to be atrocious on face offs. Everything else about his game is solid, but Kaprizov and Zuccy spend too much of their shifts playing defense due to lost draws. Maybe Sturm can take the draw and, if won, immediately switch out with Yurov. I have seen some teams do something similar albeit usually in the playoffs.

Shhhh! We don't want others to think we're hot. One thing that is hot is our goalies, though. I did want to point out one insignificant play last night that showed us something. Coming down the slot was Adam Lowry, the guy who fought Foligno last night. However, Danila Yurov had his stick under Lowry's and simply would not let Lowry get loose for a rebound chance. Not only was Yurov in the right position, but he did something many other Wild players don't do, he tied up Lowry's stick so it could not hit the ice. This kid has underrated strength that I think we need to acknowledge, and this is why he will not be sent down to Iowa if his offense isn't there. And speaking of his offense, it's starting to come. He scored while centering the top line, but had just changed and still had Trenin and Foligno on the wings. He's starting to get more ice time, and the improvement in his game is climbing a little faster.

lol yeah the Kaapo hype was a little ridiculous. He did have that 8 game stretch where he was on fire too though. Of course he was also older than Wallstedt was at this point. It'll be interesting to compare/contrast the numbers at the end of the year. Right now Wallstedt is leading the league in save% and Shutouts though, which is not a feat I recall Kaapo ever performing. I mean the guy has only played 13 career NHL games and a quarter of those are shutouts!!

After a horrendous first month of the season, the defense turned it around in November. I'm not saying both goalies didn't play incredibly well, but the defense does need an acknowledgement also.

I wonder if he got a talking to maybe just play great defense, learn and then do your offensive stuff after he becomes better at defense. Hes got plenty of time to score goals.

Bro wasn’t a shower or a grower

Guus has an anchor next to his name on Puckpedia. That means he's an NMC for the next 3 years. After that, a 15 team M-NTC. Since he got 2 NMC years with his extension, the NMC moved into this year also. I believe The Wall will be a true #1 goalie, but the only times this franchise has been truly dangerous is with 2 very good goalies. The Wall will, at best, be a 1A for the next 2 years past this one. We will not need to trade one out until then. This season our goalie cost is $5.75m, next year it is $9m. Those are very nice Kap numbers to have.

Indeed. As much as I have loved the past 10 games, I find myself with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach, waiting for the inevitable collapse. Oh, what being a MN sports fan does to a man.....

I forgot to look up the NMC. There is no circumstance I would trade Wally as long as he is healthy and wants to be here. This kid could be a legit star for a decade.

...and this is why I have been opposed to a Spurgeon trade. I know there have been a lot of calls to remove him from the captain role and/or trade him but I think his leadership is underrated. Not only that, his defensive game has been outstanding since the turnaround. What is the cause of the great November play...How much is Zucc a factor? How much is the meeting a factor? How much is the young guns stepping up a factor? I don't know...and I don't know how sustainable it is. I'm sure we'll hit a rough patch again at some point and we'll be back to talking about tanking and blowing up the team. Fickle fans are us.

Not to take anything away from the goalies as they deserve all the praise they are getting, but I really like how our defense has changed since the beginning of the season. We are no longer turning the puck over in our defensive zone. Single attackers have not muscled us off the puck in our own zone in several games. We have not allowed more than a few high-danger chances per game in this winning stretch. Makes the goalies job much easier. If we can keep this up, it should be an interested remainder of the season.

Pretty amazing November.. Especially considering the injuries and changes in the lineup from game to game we have seen.

Both goalies have played some great hockey in November. The Wall seems to be seeing the puck through people right now. Amazing play. A shout out to the team D-zone structure as well. The whole team seems to have bought into a style that limits high danger chances even when prolonged time in our own zone. The Jets owned us in the first period but only got a couple high danger chances because of the structure. We are doing something right that is frustrating opposing teams.

Plan the fuckin’ parade already, ya doomer’s

Goalies are goofy. Doubting Wall & Oates after last season in Iowa was a rational reaction. Title should read: Wall to the Balls justifying his first round selection.

Goalie voodoo, good defense, and timely puck luck (two stick lunges and a crossbar) are in the Wild's favor right now. They win not by overpowering opponents, but screwing with the opponent "just enough" to get the right goals when you least expect them. Winnipeg "deserved" to win, until they didn't't funny how games work.

Wally is the future. Yurov getting a foothold. The Wild erasing their terrible goal differential, and getting a big Central rivalry win. They're getting the confidence and momentum going. We've seen this before. Can they keep it going? 100% on the PK, there are some of us who aren't gonna get too excited yet. Too good to be true vibes, and roller-coaster ride recollections from Wild teams of yesteryear, just in time for the Holidays. What's next, starting to dominate faceoffs and a win against Dallas or Colorado???

What I can’t figure out is if there’s a set salary cap shouldn’t the teams with the best overall value on every contract be at the top of the league? If not then the mid to low tier players must not be pulling their weight.

"Now, what is odd about this is he's taken a few picks behind Ohgren. Why doesn't OgZ have the same sense as Yurov?" Yurov dropped like a stone based on the Ukraine invasion as I recall. He was a top 5 rated talent for his draft class I believe.

I think the team would be wise to shop Gus Bus in the offseason (maybe this season) if someone dangles something spicy. Gus is at his peak, Jesper has not hit his ceiling and is just a baby. Find a number two behind Jesper in the offseason and sell high on Gus.