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  • The Wild Got Caught Robbing the Bellagio

    Image courtesy of Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images
    Tom Schreier

    By Tom Schreier -

    Maybe the officials robbed the Minnesota Wild of a Game 4 victory.

    What in the name of Todd Bertuzzi was Tomas Hertl doing on top of Ryan Hartman near Minnesota’s net when Mark Stone scored that goal? 

    We’ll never know if LTIR Stone intended to pinball the puck off his Czech teammate into Minnesota’s net. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a call there, even offsetting penalties. Still, after a mostly hands-off first two games, the new officiating crew exercised its authority.

    They just didn’t seem to know which penalties to enforce.

    Minutes later, Jared Spurgeon scored to tie it 3-3. The Wild hung on through the third and overtime but ultimately lost. They are 0-5 when leading 2-1 in the playoffs. In 2022 and 2023, they never recovered after losing Game 4. 

    Could this be the beginning of Minnesota’s (semi) annual playoff death spiral?

    Seen through a different lens, the Vegas Golden Knights inflicted a mortal wound in a hard-fought battle. The Knights had nine takeaways; Minnesota had six. The Wild gave the puck away 17 times; Vegas only had 11 giveaways. 

    The Golden Knights outshot Minnesota 46 to 32 and had more high-danger scoring chances (19 to 14). Perhaps most damningly, the Wild took more penalties (4 to 2), allowing the league’s second-best power play to score two goals against their 30th-ranked penalty kill.

    Minnesota didn’t get robbed so much as they got caught trying to steal a series.

    The Sportsbooks favored Vegas -235 before the series started. Moneypuck gave the Wild a 32.6% chance to win it. Even after Minnesota won Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, Vegas favored the Golden Knights -142 to take the series. 

    The Wild are the underdog, and they’re trying to leave Las Vegas having written a story worthy of 16 mm film (and an 8 mm actor).

    Instead, the Golden Knights caught them trying to rob the Bellagio.

    In the 2001 film Ocean’s 11, George Clooney and Brad Pitt assemble an 11-person team who try to rob the Bellagio, Mirage, and MGM Grand. 

    Clooney is Danny Ocean, an ex-con who puts the group together. Pitt is his partner in crime. Matt Damon plays a pickpocket, Don Cheadle is an explosives expert, and Bernie Mac is a con man. Carl Reiner is an even older con man.

    The Wild are Ocean’s 11, except the league only allows them to have nine, and four are Carl Reiner. They’re trying to steal a series against Vegas while in cap hell and with an aging team. Expecting Zach Bogosian and Gustav Nyquist to play like they did in their 20s is like asking Reiner, born the year the Toronto St. Patricks won the Stanley Cup, to do a backflip in the casino vault.

    The Wild are up against it in this series. Still, they had a chance to steal a game and go up 3-1 on the Golden Knights. Instead, they’re tied 2-2 and play two of the next three games in Vegas. The last two times they went up 2-1, they lost three straight. 

    It’s tough to get caught robbing the Bellagio and assume they’ll pull off a heist at the Mirage and MGM Grand.

    Puck drops at 8:30 pm on Tuesday.

    By Tom Schreier  

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    Protec

    If Hartman is holding on to Hertl, let's say. It's Hertl, who performs the takedown. Whistle shoulda blown. Both guys to the box. 

     

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    IllicitFive

    A lot of people going into the series thought it was going to be a quick exit, that the wild would get steam rolled by Vegas, that is yet to happen. Even in their losses they have pushed Vegas to the brink. At the start who would have been mad that the series would be tied 2-2 and become a best of 3? Lets enjoy the ride a bit, outside of the officiating (seriously, tackling a guy and no whistle being blown?) we have been able to watch some damn good hockey. Yes, they missed a chance to, for the first time in the franchise history, take a 3-1 lead, that is disappointing, but maybe we should throw on the green colored glasses, follow our fandom hearts of hope and think they could have another first in franchise history, clinching a series at home. Lose game 1, win 2 and 3, lose 4, why not win 5 and 6 and get the first ever series clinching win on home ice in franchise history. Just think how fun that would be.

    Vegas losing two in a row had to come out with some extra gas in game 4. Maybe getting jobbed by the officials, which the team would be well aware of more so than any of us, will be that extra something to play game 5 with their hair on fire. I am yet to see anything in the series that says we don't belong and can't win.

    Join me in the hope and excitement, enjoy the ride of a great series so far, even though we all may be hurt again. More fun to have hope and dive in than just expecting nothing but pain and sadness.

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    MNCountryLife

    I felt bad for Buium.   That 4 minute high sticking penalty really hurt.  It turned the game.  Mids was exhausted at the end.  Tough for a big guy like him to put up 29 minutes in a game.  On the plus side I really like how this team has risen up to the challenge.  Keep pushing like this and our top line keeps producing and we may steal this series.

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    Imyourhuckleberry
    1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

    I felt bad for Buium.   That 4 minute high sticking penalty really hurt.  It turned the game.  Mids was exhausted at the end.  Tough for a big guy like him to put up 29 minutes in a game.  On the plus side I really like how this team has risen up to the challenge.  Keep pushing like this and our top line keeps producing and we may steal this series.

    Agree, but that was a really bad high stick. No reason for his stick to go up to the face on that play. At least JEE was falling down when he got his high sticking penalty. I've been excited about Buium, but he hasn't quite risen to the occasion like I might have hoped. He'll be working hard and will become a great player, he's just not quite there yet.

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    MacGyver

    Rest easy Wild faithful. The Wild are doing just fine and will move on from Vegas in 7. Then it's Edmonton or the Kings. Let it be Edmonton. Brodin is McDavids Kryptonite. Both those teams have weak defenses and questionable goal tending. The Wild should be able to exploit both. Kaprizov and Boldy should feast on either of them.  Kings have a different wrinkle because they have the disgruntled ex Wild player factor in Fiala and Kuemper. Both would love nothing better than to send the Wild to the golf course. Fiala in particular is having a pretty decent playoffs and he started to heat up towards the end of the season. Not to mention I think he's been on the score sheet every game he's played us since he left. 

    The refs don't have a heavy finger on the scale imo. If you watch that play with Hartman and Hertl they both had a hold of each other right at the face off. Hertl was backing Hartman up and neither were letting go. Hartman went backwards bringing both of them to the ice. What's amazing is Stone's shot. He was going for that deflection of the human pile. 

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    Willy the poor boy
    4 hours ago, IllicitFive said:

    Yes, they missed a chance to, for the first time in the franchise history, take a 3-1 lead, that is disappointing,

    They can take care of that in the 2'nd round...

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    Pewterschmidt
    38 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    I've been excited about Buium, but he hasn't quite risen to the occasion like I might have hoped.

    Please tell this to the "when prospect XYZ arrives we'll begin to plan the parade route" crowd.

    I think Z was attempting a quick stick lift and he missed the stick and caught the nose instead

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    Scalptrash
    Quote

    Could this be the beginning of Minnesota’s (semi) annual playoff death spiral?

    Yes.

    Quote

    Puck drops at 8:30 pm on Tuesday.

    No. 8:30 means 9, at the earliest.

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    Protec
    2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

    Rest easy Wild faithful. The Wild are doing just fine and will move on from Vegas in 7. Then it's Edmonton or the Kings. Let it be Edmonton. Brodin is McDavids Kryptonite. Both those teams have weak defenses and questionable goal tending. The Wild should be able to exploit both. Kaprizov and Boldy should feast on either of them.  Kings have a different wrinkle because they have the disgruntled ex Wild player factor in Fiala and Kuemper. Both would love nothing better than to send the Wild to the golf course. Fiala in particular is having a pretty decent playoffs and he started to heat up towards the end of the season. Not to mention I think he's been on the score sheet every game he's played us since he left. 

    The refs don't have a heavy finger on the scale imo. If you watch that play with Hartman and Hertl they both had a hold of each other right at the face off. Hertl was backing Hartman up and neither were letting go. Hartman went backwards bringing both of them to the ice. What's amazing is Stone's shot. He was going for that deflection of the human pile. 

    By not cailing them both when they went down, the Refs gave Stone that opportunity on a silver platter. That's what's wrong with the no-call. Refs did this to MN against Vegas before. Huge no-calls. No debate MN had some legit penalties, but coincidental minors is what Refs can do at any time, in any game. It's the inconsistencies that makes people mad. It's not just the Wild. The Refs are making themselves noticeable all the time and creating these arguments. 

    Let's not forget the hot-mics and favoritism for the McDavids and Ovechkins of the NHL. 

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    MacGyver
    On 4/28/2025 at 11:10 AM, MacGyver said:

    Rest easy Wild faithful. The Wild are doing just fine and will move on from Vegas in 7. 

    Or I could be wrong! 🫣

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    Protec

    Look at STL. They have pushed WPG to the brink. 

    Sure they got Broberg on defense and a couple Russians but all in all North American players. They have a good goalie, strong defense core just like the Wild. Hate to admit Suter too but look at what they've done in recent years to put the emphasis on being good down the stretch and into the playoffs. 

    MN has no Robert Thomas. MN has no Parayko. MN has no Jake Neighbours, who they coulda picked too besides Jarvis, Lundell, Perfetti, etc. 

    Now we wanna trade our pick from that draft and our "Guru" has a record that is still pretty ho-hum unless you're also a Euro-lover.

    Lazy-eye Billy better get his shit together cause the Wild are still the 5th best team in the Central despite whatever early streak they had this season. 

     

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    Protec

    Aaaaaaand Wyatt Johnston wins it for Dallas in Game 7. 

    At least we got a Swedish AHL goalie from that draft who kinda hopefully makes it to the NHL next season. 

    Judd Brackett, what an effin guru... 🙄

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    SkolWild73
    1 hour ago, Protec said:

    Aaaaaaand Wyatt Johnston wins it for Dallas in Game 7. 

    At least we got a Swedish AHL goalie from that draft who kinda hopefully makes it to the NHL next season. 

    Judd Brackett, what an effin guru... 🙄

    Hindsight is 20/20 on Johnston.  He was like the 40th rated prospect in that draft

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    Protec
    7 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Hindsight is 20/20 on Johnston.  He was like the 40th rated prospect in that draft

    Sure enough, but by that logic any of us could be a draft Guru. Just go by the Scott Wheeler or Dobber Prospects list and take the best player available. After all Paul Fenton picked Boldy, so even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes. 

    I tend to think the guy who picks all Euros in the first round unless he's getting a big athletic center and who also missed Matt Tkachuk is good enough to find one great player someday. 😆

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    SkolWild73

    SkolWild73 1,105

    Posted (edited)

    8 hours ago, Protec said:

    Sure enough, but by that logic any of us could be a draft Guru. Just go by the Scott Wheeler or Dobber Prospects list and take the best player available. After all Paul Fenton picked Boldy, so even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes. 

    I tend to think the guy who picks all Euros in the first round unless he's getting a big athletic center and who also missed Matt Tkachuk is good enough to find one great player someday. 

    Edited by SkolWild73
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