Macklin Celebrini Embarrasses Wild in 2-1 Loss

2nd game in a row with a 0-0-0 stat line for Rossi playing 1C with 97.  This game ended in a one goal loss where it's fair to expect Rossi to step up and make a play.  There were stretches last night I wasn't sure he was in the lineup.  While Rossi is not the problem with this group, these 0's playing 1C are what the non-rossi-apologist's see when this team is sliding sideways and looking for a player to step up.

Hunt is a silver lining in this cloudy season.  Jiri can now be labelled a "project".  Nice work Guerin.

Are we still complaining about Ogz getting an 'opportunity', why is Ben Jones playing? Or are we ready to come to grips with how dire this lineup really is and what the rest of the season is going to look like?

9 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

2nd game in a row with a 0-0-0 stat line for Rossi playing 1C with 97.  This game ended in a one goal loss where it's fair to expect Rossi to step up and make a play.  There were stretches last night I wasn't sure he was in the lineup.  While Rossi is not the problem with this group, these 0's playing 1C are what the non-rossi-apologist's see when this team is sliding sideways and looking for a player to step up.

Hunt is a silver lining in this cloudy season.  Jiri can now be labelled a "project".  Nice work Guerin.

Are we still complaining about Ogz getting an 'opportunity', why is Ben Jones playing? Or are we ready to come to grips with how dire this lineup really is and what the rest of the season is going to look like?

time to send Jiri to IA, his play is horrendous. skoula was better. barker was better. kuba was better. argh

maybe rotate Harty in for Rossi? One line needs grit and the other playmaking. it could help both lines. someone besides Johy and Boldy needs to score....

If the team gets 2-4 points from Anaheim or Vegas, no one's going to remember this.  I'm encouraged by the team not letting in the 3, 4, 5 goals like they seemingly did EVERY game.  That gets points more often than not, because this team is not going to run and gun.  Keep other teams to 2-3, they can win those.

6 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

I'm encouraged by the team not letting in the 3, 4, 5 goals like they seemingly did EVERY game.  That gets points more often than not, because this team is not going to run and gun.  Keep other teams to 2-3, they can win those.

It will certainly help if the Wild can score more than 1 goal. I could only watch the NHL.com highlights. It looked there like the Wild were very close to adding at least 1 more, but that Askarov was on top of his game.

Buium hit the pipe. Kaprizov had a shot from the middle between the dots and Askaroz was able to get a pad on it. Kaprizov often gets that elevated more to hit the top half of the goal, but not quite high enough on that one.

The Wild only allowing 1 goal in regulation is certainly a much better result than the 5 allowed on 10/26 in regulation, along with the OT goal against.

55 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

skoula was better

Ouch.  

I think it's clear that our prospect pool isn't what it has been hyped up to be.  Jiricek has a long way to go.  He isn't a lost cause... same with Ogz... but neither are going to become NHL game changers soon if ever.  Zeev has massive upside but he needs a season or two as well.

Silver lining for me is Yurov.  He might be better than Rossi by the end of the season.  Wally looking good too. 

24 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

Silver lining for me is Yurov.  He might be better than Rossi by the end of the season.

Great point. while yurov has been pedestrian he’s not looking out of place either.  He’s proven in khl time that he got the offense in him.  This season could look very different in rear view mirror if yurov is consistently scoring in second half.  

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Zeev Buium moved back to the top power play unit during this game, replacing captain Jared Spurgeon. However, Buium has yet to see reps during three-on-three overtime. It’ll be interesting to see whether that changes. -- The Athletic

I feel like this is going to change before 2026 arrives. Buium's skating and offensive skills with that much open ice is bound to deliver some success down the road. He seems like he could be ideal for that environment.

The Wild are currently 1-4 in games decided during the OT session.

Wallstedt got a shootout win in the only game that went beyond OT so far.

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Are we still complaining about Ogz getting an 'opportunity', why is Ben Jones playing? Or are we ready to come to grips with how dire this lineup really is and what the rest of the season is going to look like?

May as well give the young-ins a shot. But OCL wants home playoff game revenue.

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Askarov was on top of his game.

I was at the game, and this statement is most accurate.  If the horseshoe fell out of his ass anytime during the game, the Wild would have stacked up 3 or 4 goals at least.  

Boldy and the Russians everywhere last night.  I swear Boldy looked like he would have ratcheted 15 SOG. 

The main issue I noticed with the Wild is even on the PP, they get trapped in their own zone by 2 guys on the blue line.  More than a few times.  It was embarrassing to witness.  Their passing game was atrocious, zero flow, and seemed like they were always in reaction mode, rarely setting up a play. 

Wild are playing flat, only a few players looked like they had intensity.  Spurgy might be a locker room guy, but the Wild need a C on the ice, not someone invisible.  

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

2nd game in a row with a 0-0-0 stat line for Rossi playing 1C with 97.  This game ended in a one goal loss where it's fair to expect Rossi to step up and make a play.  There were stretches last night I wasn't sure he was in the lineup.  While Rossi is not the problem with this group, these 0's playing 1C are what the non-rossi-apologist's see when this team is sliding sideways and looking for a player to step up

I am assuming by 0-0-0 and you are talking about goals, assist and points? 

What I think the problem that a lot of us have, is that many people that are "non-Rossi-apologists" are quick to point out when Rossi doesn't score.  But where were the posts when Boldy had the same stat line in back-to-back games in losses to Utah and San Jose back in October?  Or how about when Kap did the same thing in back-to-back losses to Washington and Philadelphia back in October?

9 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

I am assuming by 0-0-0 and you are talking about goals, assist and points? 

What I think the problem that a lot of us have, is that many people that are "non-Rossi-apologists" are quick to point out when Rossi doesn't score.  But where were the posts when Boldy had the same stat line in back-to-back games in losses to Utah and San Jose back in October?  Or how about when Kap did the same thing in back-to-back losses to Washington and Philadelphia back in October?

 

 

 

I’m not sure I follow

 and comparing Rossi to Boldy and 97 are apples and oranges.  97 & 12 have nothing to prove re their ability to drive offense.  Rossi still has to prove that he can drive offense. That’s what I want to track going forward

It looked to me that the entire first line (Rossi line) took the night off.  It was a home game, and we had the ability to get the matches that the coaching staff desired, and yet they never took advantage of that to create a mismatch with the highest paid player in the NHL.  Our 4th line was much more noticeable in a "good" way than the 1st line was.  If Kaprizov is not fighting illness or injury, than he was just dis-engaged.

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Spurgy might be a locker room guy, but the Wild need a C on the ice, not someone invisible.  

Worst choice in the history of the NHL. A small, quiet, shy, defenseman should not be the leader of men. He's a great player, but not a leader.

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I’m not sure I follow

 and comparing Rossi to Boldy and 97 are apples and oranges.  97 & 12 have nothing to prove re their ability to drive offense.  Rossi still has to prove that he can drive offense. That’s what I want to track going forward

So, Rossi goes back-to-back games with a 0-0-0 stat line, and we get three points, and it is worth mentioning, but Boldy and Kap do the same thing in back-to-back games, and we get one point, and it is not worth mentioning because they have proven themselves?    If it was 5 or 6 games, sure, but two games?  Come on.  Looks more like just needing to find something else to complain about Rossi about.

Also, since Boldy and Kap are better players than Rossi, and it happens to them, shouldn't it then be expected that it would happen to Rossi too?  

35 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

If it was 5 or 6 games, sure, but two games?  Come on.  Looks more like just needing to find something else to complain about Rossi about.

Also, since Boldy and Kap are better players than Rossi, and it happens to them, shouldn't it then be expected that it would happen to Rossi too?  

I'm not attacking Rossi.  No one should take it personal that Rossi is being critiqued.  I do want to begin tracking his performance and quantifying w/game stats (not just vibes) what Rossi's performance is night to night. If he goes on another 25 game skid like he did last season we can begin discussing it at the 10 game mark of the skid (if it happens again).  I know he was hurt, even though he said he was not hurt.

Again, comparing him to 97 or Boldy is an apple's to oranges comparison.  Rossi is not that caliber of player and it's not reasonable to hold him to their standard.  By quantifying/tracking his box score's night to night I hope to shed light on whether or not he's becoming the same caliber player as those two.

Disclosure: the eye test for me is that while Rossi is a 60 pt player when playing with the right linemates, he's closer to Nojo when not consistently playing w/o 97.

20 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'm not attacking Rossi.  No one should take it personal that Rossi is being critiqued.  I do want to begin tracking his performance and quantifying w/game stats (not just vibes) what Rossi's performance is night to night. If he goes on another 25 game skid like he did last season we can begin discussing it at the 10 game mark of the skid (if it happens again).  I know he was hurt, even though he said he was not hurt.

Again, comparing him to 97 or Boldy is an apple's to oranges comparison.  Rossi is not that caliber of player and it's not reasonable to hold him to their standard.  By quantifying/tracking his box score's night to night I hope to shed light on whether or not he's becoming the same caliber player as those two.

Disclosure: the eye test for me is that while Rossi is a 60 pt player when playing with the right linemates, he's closer to Nojo when not consistently playing w/o 97.

If Rossi belongs on that short list of players who crash back to earth w/o 97 (Zuc, Hartman, NoJo) then we can stop feeling sorry for him and realize he’s a beneficiary.  If he proves he doesn’t belong on that list and proves it to the league his market value skyrockets

Macklin Celebrini will be a top 5 player making over $20M per season at some point in his career. He and Will Smith are going to be phenomenal together.

Also kind of wish the Wild would have traded out some talent and lost for a couple of seasons before putting things back together because talent like the Sharks have now often creates contenders.

Not saying they are contenders now, but they could be heading in that direction, especially a few years down the road.

To IMO. Rossi is a good player , good skill and hockey IQ. He seems to be a good hard working person . However so was Granlund. How many years did it to take us to figure out granny isn’t a#1 center? How many years will it take to figure out Rossi isn’t?  Like granny he has value in the right spot but not on the top line for a contender.  This talk about him being a rising star is ridiculous imo . He was born  in 01. That ship has sailed. Celebrini, bedard.  An Carlson are rising stars. Rossi is what he is. He isn’t the only draft ready player in his draft like Judd said he was. Hes worked hard to be a complete player but that’s not enough for #1 on this little  people constructed roster. San Jose top line had 17 high danger chances to Rossi kk zuc s 3.  They were reactionary all night not driving. This is against a bad d core . Just like when they get there points it’s against weak opposition. Show me when a Rossi top line has dominated a good team. Never. Show me where a Rossi top line wild team has beaten good teams convincingly. Never . Show me a game rossi , kk and zuc or Boldy don’t get pinned In there own end repeatedly throughout a game because they are to weak to break the cycle along with there little people top 4 d core.  It’s not always the size of the player I’m referring to but the size of the fight in the player. We need guys that play big .Especially now with our extortionist kk only wanting to have fun playing side games with zucc instead of caring about winning or what needs to be done to win. 
    The wild can barely beat bad teams with this amazing top line we keep hearing about. The eye test says otherwise. Let’s see what Rossi does in the next block of games against good teams. I see a losing streak coming. Not a coming out party for a rising star.  Boldy and kappy have proven they are top line players.  . . Rossi hasn’t ! 

4 minutes ago, Dean said:

How many years did it to take us to figure out granny isn’t a#1 center?

Great comparable.  Different types of game played by these two, but their pts/career trajectory are and will continue to be similar imo

7 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

May as well give the young-ins a shot. But OCL wants home playoff game revenue.

Damn owners! Payout $17M to a winger and make him the highest paid player in the entire league! Ever! And then the audacity to expect to make the playoffs to try to recoup a fraction of that money!  It's all right for Kaprizov to be greedy but OCL should not expect an even modest return on his investment? 

11 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Damn owners! Payout $17M to a winger and make him the highest paid player in the entire league! Ever! And then the audacity to expect to make the playoffs to try to recoup a fraction of that money!  It's all right for Kaprizov to be greedy but OCL should not expect an even modest return on his investment? 

F 'em both.

23 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

2nd game in a row with a 0-0-0 stat line for Rossi playing 1C with 97.  This game ended in a one goal loss where it's fair to expect Rossi to step up and make a play.  There were stretches last night I wasn't sure he was in the lineup. 

Why don’t you ever point your finger at anyone else on the team? Are you that oblivious that there are multiple players on this team that are underperforming? Why don’t you point that criticism at the seasoned Joel Erickson Ek or Spurge? This team hasn’t been playing well as a whole but it’s always Rossi’s fault. Rossi is still scoring at a 60-70pt pace. Even Kaprizov doesn’t look completely engaged right now. 
I just think your boner for a 3rd year player is unwarranted and you try to find anything and everything to make it his fault. 
 

15 hours ago, Dean said:

To IMO. Rossi is a good player , good skill and hockey IQ. He seems to be a good hard working person . However so was Granlund. How many years did it to take us to figure out granny isn’t a#1 center? How many years will it take to figure out Rossi isn’t?  Like granny he has value in the right spot but not on the top line for a contender.  This talk about him being a rising star is ridiculous imo . He was born  in 01. That ship has sailed. Celebrini, bedard.  An Carlson are rising stars. Rossi is what he is. He isn’t the only draft ready player in his draft like Judd said he was. Hes worked hard to be a complete player but that’s not enough for #1 on this little  people constructed roster. San Jose top line had 17 high danger chances to Rossi kk zuc s 3.  They were reactionary all night not driving. This is against a bad d core . Just like when they get there points it’s against weak opposition. Show me when a Rossi top line has dominated a good team. Never. Show me where a Rossi top line wild team has beaten good teams convincingly. Never . Show me a game rossi , kk and zuc or Boldy don’t get pinned In there own end repeatedly throughout a game because they are to weak to break the cycle along with there little people top 4 d core.  It’s not always the size of the player I’m referring to but the size of the fight in the player. We need guys that play big .Especially now with our extortionist kk only wanting to have fun playing side games with zucc instead of caring about winning or what needs to be done to win. 
    The wild can barely beat bad teams with this amazing top line we keep hearing about. The eye test says otherwise. Let’s see what Rossi does in the next block of games against good teams. I see a losing streak coming. Not a coming out party for a rising star.  Boldy and kappy have proven they are top line players.  . . Rossi hasn’t ! 

How is that Rossi’s fault and not the management? Are you unaware that finding a true number 1 center is exceedingly hard to find? Are you aware that most teams get those very very early in the draft? If you are consistently picking in the middle of the first round how are you going to get those #1 centers especially if you aren’t a large market or low tax team?
I agree he isn’t a true #1 center but that’s literally all they have at the moment. 

People think it’s that easy to just make a trade and get one but it isn’t and never will be. Thats why I can’t stress enough that a true rebuild is necessary if you want to get anywhere. SJ, ANA, OTT, CHI all did it and they will be far better off than we will be in the future. Some people on here really think that they can win a Cup without ever doing a rebuild and it’s crazy to me.

18 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

So, Rossi goes back-to-back games with a 0-0-0 stat line, and we get three points, and it is worth mentioning, but Boldy and Kap do the same thing in back-to-back games, and we get one point, and it is not worth mentioning because they have proven themselves?    If it was 5 or 6 games, sure, but two games?  Come on.  Looks more like just needing to find something else to complain about Rossi about.

Also, since Boldy and Kap are better players than Rossi, and it happens to them, shouldn't it then be expected that it would happen to Rossi too?  

 

EXACTLY 

21 hours ago, hydguy75 said:

I was at the game, and this statement is most accurate.  If the horseshoe fell out of his ass anytime during the game, the Wild would have stacked up 3 or 4 goals at least.  

Boldy and the Russians everywhere last night.  I swear Boldy looked like he would have ratcheted 15 SOG. 

The main issue I noticed with the Wild is even on the PP, they get trapped in their own zone by 2 guys on the blue line.  More than a few times.  It was embarrassing to witness.  Their passing game was atrocious, zero flow, and seemed like they were always in reaction mode, rarely setting up a play. 

Wild are playing flat, only a few players looked like they had intensity.  Spurgy might be a locker room guy, but the Wild need a C on the ice, not someone invisible.  

That is exactly what I saw when I was at the Nashville game. The Wild had no cohesion whatsoever. There were errant passes all over the place. Buium makes irritating mistakes on the PP but he is Sooo much better there that Spurg. Spurg is a shell of his old self and should be given less responsibility at that age. I think the coach needs to be fired to spark something but my brother thinks BG won’t because he’s Guarin’s guy. This team has not looked good as a whole the entire season. 

This is definitely not looking good with BG’s 5 year plan and as time goes by it will be harder and harder to dig themselves out of this hole.