Another routine night in St. Paul
Posted on December 29th, 2007 – 11:09 PMBy Kent Youngblood
Youngblood here.
As I just told Russo — who is out somewhere carousing with his friends — the Wild has rallied from three-goal deficits to win twice in franchise history. And I have had the good luck to cover both games. The other one was in Nashville in the fall of 2006. Remember?
All I remember about that game is having a near-meltdown in the press box trying to re-write my story on deadline. Tonight? Many of the players said they felt this coming after Rolston scored late in the second. I didn’t. But I did after Gaborik scored in the third.
Belanger said he thought the third period tonight might have been the team’s best of the season. It was certainly close. The pressure the reformulated Wild lines put on the Oilers was impressive and you just got the feeling the game was going to go into overtime.
That said, here are some random — and, I hope, lucid — thoughts about this game, in no particular order:
1. When Lemaire changed up his lines, putting Rolston, Bouchard and Demitra together on one line and Gaborik with Belanger and Parrish, the result was amazing. How good was the puck movement on the Demitra line in the third period?
2. The difference between the Gaborik of periods one and two and the one who showed up in the third was astounding, much like the five-goal Gaborik we saw a few games back. But since that game, through two periods Saturday, Gaborik had been a minus-8. But he came out flying in the third period. Staios had no choice but to hook him in overtime.
3. If victory is about the little things, lets give props to Sean Hill and Nummelin — and not just for Nummelin’s goal. Hill and Nummelin made great plays to keep the puck in the offensive zone before the Rolston and Gaborik goals, respectively.
That’s it. I have practice tomorrow so I’ll get back to you then. Have a good night.
169 Responses to "Another routine night in St. Paul"
First comment. Nice.
“WHOOO!!! THAT’S WILD HOCKEY!!!”
~Glad to see they still play the Walz clip at the end of the game.
Anyone else catch Dumber’s call last night on nummy’s goal? Without skipping a beat he said, “Hello, Nummelin.” Total Seinfeld reference.
My question- how long has he been sitting on that call? There’s no way he came up with that off the top of his head.
RG - it has been a while since Nummy has made a play, so probably a while.
I wasn’t able to see any of the game until the power play in OT. I’m glad to hear that Jacques switched up lines, but all I could think of during that OT was “What an odd combination - Grumpy, Butch, Rolston, and Nummy?” Did anyone else think that too?
Thanks for the update, Kent. Keep up the good work.
To Kent: I, too, have been at both games. I was really getting it from the Nashville fans last season on November 16th until the Wild woke up and played like they could. If you remember (thru the anger, the rage of a rewrite) the Gaylord Entertainment (now Sommet) Center was as quiet as a funeral parlor as the Predator fans left after the shootout. (remember the Paul Kariya non-goal in the shootout?)
Wes Walz supposedly did the talkin’ to that night. Did Eric Belanger do it last night?
The third period showed Wild fans what they can do when they WANT to. There were two different Gaboriks out there last night, as you pointed out. Doesn’t Gaborik realize that he would make things easier on himself (not to mention his teammates and Jacques) if he would play more like he did in the third period in EVERY period? Granted, players take periods off now and then; it’s part of the game. But how improved would the Wild be if their most skilled, most talented player wasn’t also their single biggest head case?
Granted, it was against the Oilers — a team looking like they want to join the LA Kings in the race for the No. 1 draft pick next summer more than a playoff-contender — but it still was fun to see in person. I looked around the ‘X’ after Burns scored in the third period; it looked like the playoff crowds for just a minute or two. Before that, there was total apathy last night. The place was just dead, as was the team they were watching.
The third period took care of that, didn’t it?
I’m not passing any judgement because I wholly believe that when you’re paying to be entertained, if you’re not, in fact, entertained you certainly don’t have to pretend you are…BUT…when the boys are not playing well (as they were in the first two periods last night) and the crowd is apathetic, to coin WRT’s word, is there ever a thought of trying to make some noise to try to get the boys into it?
Hey Kent - If you find out if the league is reviewing the Demitra hit on Pitkanen would you let us know please?
Thanks!
Finally we saw a team play with some heart in the 3rd. Whats amazing to me is that the players seem to be well aware that they are slacking, yet do little to change it most periods. Sure the agressive play into the zone is risky and will likley give up some break aways the other way, but when facing Det, Dal, SJ or other top teams, I just assume see us lose by 5 goals while putting up some chances vs. boxing into a pentagon within 4 feet of the crease and letting teams take 50 shots. I happened to watch Demo the most last night and previous two games. Seems to me he has stepped up his agressive play significantly. Tells me the real slacker on this team is Gabby. THAT pisses me off.
To WRT,
How do you know Gaborik is a head case? By his game performance? That’s ridiculous and a low blow. I love watching him play. From what I see he’s constantly covered, he has to work extra hard basically all game just to get open, and maybe he’s smart by using the last of his energy in the third period…maybe the opposing players are the one’s getting tired of covering him and that’s why he shines in the 3rd…
Why doesn’t anyone ever focus on the positives? Not good enough “news”? Inferiority complex? People might not think you know enough about the game…oh no you’re insecure… I think everyone that thinks they know more about the Wild, than the Wild Org. themselves, should get over themselves.
How about looking on the bright side…like did you see hills dive last night? Or Belangers nice pick to allow Demitra to pass the puck to Rolston for a goal?? and he didn’t even get a point…Players worth complementing and they didn’t get a point??? Well that’s just unheard of…yeah on this site.
Bouchard - On the PP, give the puck to him and he’ll get the play set up…opponents are smart enough to know not to pressure him because he’ll make them look stupid with his sick hands.
Burns - Rock Star, Inspector Gadget reach
Voros - The disturber
Parrish - Takes a beating and keeps on ticking
Rolstons Shot….All the players bring something
Coach Lemaire - Love his excitement when the Wild scores a key goal…LOVE IT!
They’re so many great things that go on in all the games I could write about it all day…How can there be so many great things in a game full of mistakes?? Well Russo wouldn’t know. and Kent?? Nah he doesn’t know either. It’s unfortunate for them.
Wild-Ry: so, wait, let me get this straight…”everyone that thinks they know more about the Wild, than the Wild Org. themselves, should get over themselves”…and yet you’re able to give us a laundry list of all the stuff that YOU caught that no one else did AND make blanket judgement calls on other people?
Wow…funny you mentioned “inferiority complex” because you seem to have a wonderfully developed Napleonic complex of your own.
Well said Wild-Ry, I couldn’t agree with you more about Butch. He has been getting a mad amount of assists lately. I don’t care if he occasionally skates himself into a corner, because he can usually skate himself out of the corner too. I like that you are looking on the positive side of things. Oh, and JL’s bunny hops were priceless.
Wild-Ry: as much as I will agree to disagree with you on most of what you said (i.e., no flame war here, please) I do agree with you that Gaborik, when he IS on his game, is one of the most electrifying players to watch. Having said that, he reaches behind himself too much for the puck at the opponent’s blue line.
Yes, I apppreciate Hill and what he is doing, when he’s allowed to do it. However, like every other defenseman, he has to keep one eye out for Martin Skoula and try to cover up his constant screw-ups.
Just because I point out things (as others have) here doesn’t mean I’m not focusing on the positives. Hardly. We got two points last night in a game which, after 40 minutes had been played, I thought we had NO chance at all of pulling this one out. That is the best positive of all.
Of course, that and watching JL’s ‘bunny hops’ on the bench after the Nummelin OT game winner! 
NiNY: During the commercial breaks the Jumbotron was imploring the crowd to get into it, especally after the 4th Edmonton goal late in the second period. A lot of the fans who were there were not the regulars; lots of families, people home for the holidays, etc., who don’t normally go to Wild games. Lots of hockey explaining going on…of course, as the team came back, the crowd came back into it also.
WRT: I fully understand it might be tougher to get up for a mid-season game against the Grease as well. I’m not the kind to go ape at games (unless someone’s standing in front of me on his cell phone trying to get on TV so his mommy can see him, or trying to get in/out of the row in the middle of a play) and am not saying the crowd at the X should be more this way or that. I’m not there so I can’t say.
Anyone notice Russo wrote “The Wild has not shown yet it’s good enough, and unless that fact is addressed…”
I wrote last night to NiNY last night I feel the Wild needs help and what would he do? Anyone else feel like me and agree with what Russo wrote?” If so, what to do about it?
Well, the return of Koivu will help, especially when he is back in game shape. We could then have 3 lines that can score instead of 2, like we did very early in the season. As well, he can help on the PK and just generally being responsible defensively. I think we do need more consistent goaltending. Yes, we have had some very good games but also some pretty inconsistent games. And, we need to avoid gaffes like Backstrom’s last night. But, we probably won’t have any real chance to get any help other than Koivu until late in the season when some teams give up. Not sure what I want then but a Parrish-type who can bang in close and get ugly goals would be nice. Maybe a Matthieu Schneider-like D who can score on the PP and from the point also.
Last nights game was another evidence of the roller coaster season the Wild is having. The constant changing of lines might help the team on a short term basis, but it is not good for the development of “line-chemistry”. The Wild definitely needs help to make this a successful season, Koivu will still needs weeks to get back in his early season shape. Moore is looking a lot better lately and will hopefully improve father down the road. On Monday Moore can show if he is capable to shut down one of the “BIG” guys - Thornton. Skoula on the other hand needs to get his act together asap. Well sooner or later the Wild will have to make a roster move which from my point of view will involve Foy and Foster…Nummelin is moving the puck way better than Foster and enhances the fast transition game, so the front-office better stops playing “let’s put Nummy on IR game” - Nummy looked more than happy after the game in the locker room.
NiNY: What aggravates me even more than mugging for the TV is people standing up during play, on their cell phone, waving to a friend/buddy/co-worker across the arena during play. This happens a lot especially during weeknight games (not so much on weekends) when groups from the office decide to attend a game.
Sit Down and Shut Up!! (’Cause no one else cares where you and your buddy are.)
Agreed on the cell phone nonsense.
WRT, that just makes me angry… much like that first game against Detroit when al the doofus fans kept jumping up to get on camera. Seriously, you think the novelty would wear off after doing it two or three times, but those a$$ clowns were doing it the entire game! People like that need to be put in a lineup at center ice and then throw Boogie out there to unleash some justice on their dumb a$ses.
Yeah, Gaborik is a stud.
Tell me ONE NHL team that has a REAL superstar (i.e. Sid, Datsuk, Ovie, St. Louis, etc) that would trade their guy for Gaborik straight up.
I didn’t think so.
When Gaborik is interested, he is good bordering on great. When he isn’t he is a bigger liability than DB.
Still, it was a big goal and helped to really fuel the comeback. But, others did the heavy lifting.
I agree with Russo and the record against the elite teams shows it…this team just hasn’t been good enough.
morning all. if i repeat anything said last night i apologize in advance.
first and most important, hooters has fat tire on tap. bonus for any UFC fans, they show the ppv’s and don’t charge a cover. I thoroughly enjoyed st pierre tapping out houghes as did my mythical bankroll.
what is going on with that guy we all love, aaron voros? starts on the top line, then is shifted to the 4th line and then basically benched in the 3rd again.
hill and skoula is not the defensive paring i want to see killing penalties.
i’m with number 2 and thought demitra, rolston and pmb were fantastic. i think gabby and belanger were darn good too.
the refs let the boys play in the 3rd. it was like old school playoff hockey.
i heard tarhaar’s seinfeld reference watching on the fly. i liked it.
hearing goldberg do UFC makes me really wish he was still doing wild games.
the old fart hartman and his sidekick interview nummi this morning and one of them asked him if it is still wierd playing against roloson as the other teams goalie. nummi never played with roloson.
when gabby is interested he is great, not bordering on great. he is a liability on the defensive side but then what star really isn’t? kovalchuk has 234 goals in 426 games as is a -67. in 02-03 he had 38 goals and was a -24. last year ovechkin had 46 goals and was -19. gaborik has 183 in 441 games and is +32.
Dice: I must have missed that last night…I think that if there isn’t a fire and brimstone leadership guy in the room, that would be the one move I’d make. Particularly if that guy could also play center (or at least win a draw in any zone).
It would be nice to get a bona fide top line guy, but I just don’t see the economics right now.
But I’d seriously consider a early-to-mid-thirties mensch type centerman who either has won a Cup or is really hungry to win his first.
WRT, et al: when these yahoos stand up like that, does anyone holler at them? If you so much as shift in your seat wrong during a Yankees game at The Stadium you’re going to be set upon by four rows worth of people behind you. It’s a little over the top, but it sure keeps the regulars in line and newbies don’t make that same mistake more than once.
G*: You’re sounding like a Fat Tire convert….good on ya.
Frankly, I was a little concerned for Voros’ kidneys the way he kept encountering the posts at ramming speed. Maybe he was spitting up blood on the bench so JL put him under observation?
If the rest of the boys can get themselves to the front of the net, then I would understand why he’d be relegated to spot duty. Bottom line I’d rather have Parrish’s butt/hands in front of the goalie instead of Voros’.
NiNY: Yeah, there are a bunch of us that yell at the offenders to sit down. If they don’t, then we get the ushers down there to get them in line. If they don’t, then it’s security. Most don’t get beyond round 1. The offenders get P.O.’d, but then they figure it out (or leave the area)…
Austin: Why would you waste DB on them? SRV would do nicely against 99% of these idi*ts…
i get some by me but it isn’t that bad. usually if you ask them to sit down they realize what they are doing and don’t do it again. its an easy way to tell who has the company tix. never would think to get ushers or security involved. there is someone in the row infront of me that insists on leaving his seat with 30 seconds left in the period to beat the rush. Doesn’t matter if play is going on or not. that annoys me more than the waivers. make 4 people get up to let him out.
had a pretty gal arrive fashionably late to the seat next to me last night and promptly took two calls from dudes minutes after arriving. i decided not to waste my talent on her. she only made it through 2 periods. too bad for her.
$7 for the big mug which must be at least 25 ounces. it ain’t that bad and its trendy. i’m all about trendy.
G*: those stats on the other young stars are very interesting…I’d like to know how the even strength goals net out. In other words, if you backed out the PPGs Kovalchuk scored, how many more (if any) was he on the ice FOR vs. AGAINST?
WRT: I’m a big proponent of a well-timed “SIT. YOUR. BUTT. DOWN!” Or (if they’re on the phone) “TELL YOUR MOM I SAID ‘HI’”.
I try to refrain from obscenities (you never know when kids are around, and I think you sound so much smarter if you don’t have to drop an F-bomb to get your point across - and I have to do everything I can to SOUND smarter!) but I will not hesitate to yell at someone. It’s a high percentage play since you know the other people he’s bugging are going to be on your side.
Green*…does that mean you wouldn’t trade Gaborik even up for Ovechekin?
+/- can be misleading. A ‘defensive’ system like the Wild can improve it, but theoretically subtract from your points. Conversely, you play wide open, you’ll give up goals too.
Again, all I am trying to point out is the real superstars in the NHL do NOT have the inconsistency that #10 has had. Throw in the injuries and honestly he does not approach their value.
It was a nice win…albeit against an inferior opponent. It would have been more valuable to see a comeback like that against Detroit. Or Dallas. Or SJ. Oh wait. That isn’t going to happen, is it?
didn’t say that kj now did i.
i know plus minus can be misleading but we are talking about players being a liability and it is the only objective stat we have. using our observances is biased since once we form an opinion of someone or something, we tend to only see things that support that opinion.
point is, sure, gaborik is inconsistent and looks like he only plays when he wants to play. he is stil a star in this league. he has 4, 30 goal seasons of his 6 in the league and he plays in an offensively challenged system. compared to st louis, who kj mentioned earlier, he has 4 in 7 seasons and only 13 this year. datsyuk, another star mentioned by kj, has 1, 30 goal season in 5 seasons. lacavalier has 4 in 8 seasons, all 75 games plus by the way.
crosby, ovechkin, are offensive talents above everyone else here.
I think if we some of these others for every minute or every game, we’d see that gaborik is not that much different. we don’t though, we only see the best they have to offer for the most part.
Man what a great comeback. I tape all the games I can with my DVR and watch them after work. I thought about turning it off because I had to get up for work at 5 a.m. and it was about midnight when they were down 4-1. Needless to say I woke up the house screaming as they tied the game and then won it. Tonight was the first night I felt like the team could accomplish some damage this year in the long run even though this happened against a week Edmonton team. If they can put together a team effort 75% of what they did tonight they could be a tough team come playoff time.
A WEAK Edmonton team even. Don’t mind my spelling error above.
kovalchuk scored 86 career power play goals and 3 short handed. so he has 148 even or short handed goals. i’d take that to mean he was on the ice for 215 opponent evenstrength or shorties. don’t know how many pp goals given up.
I think if we some of these others for every minute or every game
should read:
I think if we watch some of these others for every minute or every game
I honestly thought that most of the Wild played hard through the majority of the game, which is why we were able to make the amazing comeback. I was watching the game and said when it was 4-1 towards the end of the second, “We need a goal by the end of this period or it’s all over.” But I could tell that it was going to happen. Sure, there were some moments of absolute boneheadedness, and there were times when we couldn’t get the puck out of our zone, but the guys never really gave up on the game. I was very, very happy with the play of Johnsson and Nummi. Nummi’s play to keep the puck in the zone, where he caught the puck and fired a shot on the net, which set up the goal, was very awesome, as was Hill’s play, although that one I am glad it worked out, because if he had dove and missed the puck, that would have been a breakaway.
Three Wild defensemen score in the same game. I wonder how many times that has happened…
I agree with Russo and others that say the Wild has not shown it’s good enough yet. However, I don’t think it matters at the end of December. What does matter is staying within reach of the division title and the 3rd seed (maybe 2nd) that will go with it. Granted, the Vancouver has been piling up points for some time now after a bad start but the Wild are still in reach. To get the coveted division price I do think the Wild will have to add a player as well as be a lot more healthy in the final two months of the season. Here’s to a fun ride!
San Jose has been an impressive team for the past two years.
If they had made a serious cup run last spring I would not have been surprised.
Our guys will have their hands full tonight.
iceman…SJ is a very good team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them put 6 up on the Wild tonight.
But then again, given the Sybil-like qualities of our beloved team, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wild shut them out either.
I’ve been away from this blog for so long, I don’t know what to say…
smuggla…I bet you haven’t been away long enough to forget Fat Tire… 
talking about san jose…they have had a solid team the last few years but in each have fallen short of the finals. obviously they are missing some piece to get a cup…
point being, as adam alluded to, does it really matter right now, as long as the wild are competing for the division lead? who thought in 03 the wild had a team that could maybe play for the cup? we got in the playoffs and went to the finals.
its safer to predict failure since 15 of 16 playoff teams ultimately failure
Green*/Adam…
Very good insight and probably the perspective that DR and CO. are taking.
But…the disturbing part is a marked increase in goals against. And the poor results against the teams you will be facing come April/May.
I would rather see consistency and the ability to compete against teams ahead of the Wild in the standings.
As we found out last year, EVERY lost point matters.
Struggling for wins against celler-dwellers Phoenix and Edmonton does not impress me. Having a record of 6-10 against the other 7 teams currently in the West playoffs is more telling than anything. If the Wild want to show the West it is a team that will have to be dealt with come April, they will have to show it over the next 16 games, 10 of which are against teams currently in the West playoffs.
kj: Don’t tell that to the team! Every lost point? Skouba still owes us for last season’s giveaway’s!
The marked increase of goals against is directly related to defense. You cannot hope to win the divisoon when two of your top 4 defensemen (Johnsson, Skouba) are marshmallow-soft. Yeah, I know some of you have (or will) say ‘Skoula is number 3 in team hits’ (or something similar) but most of those are the ‘excuse me, I bumped into you, here’s the puck, go shoot on our goalie’ type…
San Jose will probably win tonight. On paper, they should (given our recent problems with decent teams) blow us out then go off into the night to party hearty…
…and remember, the blowout begins promptly at 6 PM Central (7 PM for NiNY, and 8:30 in Newfoundland!)
G*: That’s exactly right. By my count, Firday’s game in Nashville is the 41st of the season for the Wild. We’re not even half-way done with this thing.
For all 30 teams, the average number of games played to-date is 38.33, and the average number of points secured is 41.97. That equals 1.09 ppg and projects to 89.77 points on an 82-game schedule.
For the western conference, the numbers are:
38.27 GP
42.67 pts
1.11 ppg
91.43 projected points
The point here is that is looks like 90 points is going to be a good base number for the cutoff for getting into the playoffs.
The Wild have 46 points so far, and have garnered 1.21 ppg (28 GP). That puts us on pace for 99.26 pts over the whole season, and, more importantly, means we’re more than half-way to the low number of points we’d need to make the playoffs - with three games to go before the half-way point of the season.
In other words, we’re doing just fine.
*edit* the Wild have played 38 games, not 28.
We’re doing just fine to get into the playoffs but do we want the team to just get there or actually do something in April? Team has looked like yellow-bellied sows when they’ve played the West’s best. Team has to start making some kind of statement against Det/Dall/SJ. Will get 6 chances in the next 16 games to make those statements. Don’t need to neccessarily win 5 of 6, but they absolutely need to crank up the intensity in those games because they have been pathetic to this point against the West’s best.
Nice to see some perspective occasionally. We look like we are missing a piece or two but one will come back in the next few weeks–Koivu. Hopefully we can add another in the late season. Meanwhile I am more concerned that we show improvement over the next couple of months and that we get more consistency from the goalies. At the moment we are like many of the 3-10 or 11 teams in the West–contenders but seemingly short of a piece or two to make a real run. Smuggla–you don’t know what to say? Where is your Skoula rant or your rant that we are a bunch of pantywaists who don’t know how to hit? WRT is trying to fill that spot though.
Deep: first, could you refrain from using the phrase “yellow-bellied” please?
Second, what gave you the impression that this team could “actually do something in April”? It’s virtually the same team that got unceremoniously dumped on it’s collective pratt last April. Sure the core is a year older and wiser, but any expectation greater than “they should be a playoff team and they should put up a better fight than they did last year (ie maybe winning a couple games/a round)” is excessive IMO.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t expect them to improve, but the Wild has done nothing in its history to indicate that they are willing to improve any faster than one step at a time.
From where this team ended last year, the best team in the league over the final 30 games, to losing a series they could have won against Anaheim with a bounce here or there in 3 of the losses, to then this year not even competing against the West’s best, which doesn’t even include Anaheim, is a dissapointment. Hopefully the return of Koivu, probably on the 13th against the Yotes, will provide the same kind of spark that Gabby’s return did for us last year. But, they have to show they can compete with the heavyweights. Don’t really want to read quotes in tomorrow’s Strib that look like this: “The guys didn’t skate tonight”, or “they really took it to us”, or “we didn’t do a good job of playing with the puck.” The same tired comments we’ve heard after several embarrassing losses this season. Nothing wrong with coming out tonight and being the aggressor. Nothing wrong with controlling the puck, instead of flipping it into the offensive zone the nano-second you cross the red line. Nothing wrong with initiating a little contact with the other team.
predicting playoff success in december doesn’t make sense to me.
who here was predicting a run to the conference finals in 03?
who here thought edmonton would be in the finals a couple of years ago
or tampa bay would win it all?
that san jose would fail to reach the finals the last three seasons and the conference finals the last two?
if we can’t beat vancouver but are 2 points behind them in the division. who are they losing to? are they losing to the best or are they losing games they should be winning? losing games you should be winning is more of a problem if you ask me. vancouver can’t beat edmonton and have lost to LA twice, to go with losses to detroit and san jose as well.
I don’t disagree with anything in your 9:58 post, Deep. And I completely agree that when they play poorly they should get called out on it.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not playing to potential, on balance.
They haven’t really hung with ANY true heavyweights this season - even when Mikko was playing. One win against Vancouver, but that’s mitigated by two losses to them.
Bottom line is that the huge majority of our wins have come against so-called inferior opponents. Now, you have to win those games so it’s good that they are, but my point is that they have done nothing really that would lead us to believe they’re more than a first-or-maybe-second round speed bump to an actual contender this year.
Wild wins so far: CHI, CBJ, EDM, @ PHX, @ ANH, @ STL, COL, CGY, EDM, @ EDM, COL, @ NAS, PHX, STL, VAN, @ CBJ, @ ANH, @ LA, NAS, BYR, @ PHX, EDM
Wild losses so far: @ LA (SO), @ CGY, @ EDM (SO), @ COL, PIT, STL, @ COL, @ CGY, @ VAN, VAN, CBJ, PHI, @ DET, @ CBJ, @ SJ, DET, @ DAL
But they beat San Jose last year. They beat Detroit last year. They beat Dallas last year. They haven’t even been able to be classified as a Bantam team against those three teams this year. They were more than competitive with those teams last year; they won some of those games. This year, they’ve been green-bellied sows against the best and that’s disturbing because they were no where near thay way a year ago.
Nothing wrong with controlling the puck, instead of flipping it into the offensive zone the nano-second you cross the red line.
sometimes you have to take what is given to you. if san jose isn’t allowing you to carry the puck in, then you have to dump and win the battle in the corner. when you lose the battles on the forecheck, then it gets frustrating. I’d rather lose the puck behind their net than at center ice.
NiNY…thanks for making my argument for me…:)
Improving one step at a time also leaves room for regressing many steps at a time.
The cup certainly is not won in December or January. But, it can be lost. We KNEW going into this season that the majority of the Western Conference has improved. And we did virtually nothing to address that.
One step at a time…
Good point, GS - it is early to make those predictions. However, the signs aren’t good so far.
A lot of people (myself included) expect to lose big every time the Wild go up against one of the better teams, but maybe the Wild can do something to change that trend. Unless the players are already thinking like the fans. I think it the Wild comes to play tonight, they can beat these guys. But… if you want to crown them, then go ahead CROWN their ass!
Remember, it is many months before the Cup winner is annointed.
Lots can happen, there are holes but a team can grow and gel.
And, Moore is getting better, et all.
wallshot…don’t be taking the high road with us…
1 - 3 vs the shark last year
1 - 3 vs the red wings
1 - 2 - 1 vs dallas
I expect the Wild to win tonight. If I remember, the Wild have hostorically done well in Dec 31st games at the X.
Yes, but what exactly was that one step. Now you’re looking at Rolston/Demo and Schultz all up for money this summer. Certainly not going to be able to afford all three, which means someone or someones are gone. The current roster has proved that it can perform at a high level. Best team in the league over the final 30 games last year. That’s not a fluke. 3-5 games can be a fluke. Going 21-5-4 over the final 30 is proof the roster was capable.. No way that same roster had gotten so bad over one off season that it can’t compete with the Det/SJ and Dall, the way it did last year. Dall and SJ were within 3 pts of the Wild and Det was 11. Those three teams did NOT improve so dramatically over the summer to make the Wild look like a pickup team, which they have done to this point. The talent on the current roster is there. They’ve proved it. The problem comes from work-ethic and having a little heart. The Wild has clearly more talent on its roster than the Yotes, but Phoenix fires 50 shots at us. That’s simply a case of not playing with energy. Some of our high-priced talent should watch some game tape of young Voros. Maybe take a clue from the passion the kid shows. The Wild has the talent but it needs to find the passion/heart to compete.
We KNEW going into this season that the majority of the Western Conference has improved
this came up back when the wild were losing in canada. How did we know the majority of the west improved? colorado by signing wyatt smith?
Is anyone really surprised that the Wild struggle against the same teams the Wild struggled against last season after doing nothing to improve the team?
Some of our high-priced talent should watch some game tape of young Voros. Maybe take a clue from the passion the kid shows
maybe. Voros has also played himself off the top line to seeing few, if any, shifts in the 3rd period. so before we crown his arse…
I just read that Marcel Hossa took Petr Prucha’s spot in the lineup for the Rangers the other night. I wonder if he’s been getting scratched lately?
He’s got 6 points in 28 games so far, accoring to the Rags’ website.
He’s a RFA after this season, and is only making $780k this year.
I wonder if he’s tight with the WonderGroin Twins at all? I know he’s not his big brother, but maybe the proverbial fresh start would do wonders for him?
One thing, he is listed as a LW.
and to agree with Deep Breath…
The talent on the current roster is there.
Why they struggle against the better teams is a mystery.
tsn has a blurb on mccarty making a comeback in the IHL.
I’ll take 3-8-1 against the top-3 against 0-12 any day of the week and twice on Wednesday. Go back and look at some of the games aganist those teams. We weren’t getting dismantled to the point of embarassment as we have this year. This team and organization cannot be about “Well, we’re better off than Columbus, which came into the league at the same time, so that’s good.”
Who the hell cares if we’re better than one of the dregs of the league? Let’s raise the bar a tad higher, shall we? Why not, “Let’s play the kind of consistent hockey we did over the final 30 games of 2006-07. Let’s play that way when we face of the league’s elite.” Nothing wrong with raising expectations. The team that we’re watching to this point of the season is no where near the team that closed out 06-07 and the roster is almost identical. That’s not one-step at a time, well, we’re better than Columbus, progress. That’s regression and that’s a bad sign.
Maybe the Wild need to lure Neal Broten out of retirement. Or Dino Cicirelli…
we’ve played san jose once, detroit twice and dallas once yet we are 0 - 12 against them. nothing like giving the boys a chance…
Broten was pretty good in the 95 finals for JL’s devils
IMO, not sure Wild management had enough cap space to secure the type of player we seem to be dreaming of at the beginning of this year. This could easily be our best year to take a shot at the cup, since we can potentially lose, Demitra, Rolston and Shultz. You won’t be able to sign of player of Rolston’s ability at that price so we will have to get a lesser player. I think if we are able to pickup a player at the deadline and get Koivo back. We actually do have a descent shot. At the same time the Wild really need to start putting up a more consistent effort and work hard, especially against good teams. I think psychologically if you are losing to these teams badly it is going to give them the edge.
And let’s not start tossin’ Voros under the bus just yet. Here’s a kid who has languished in the minors and yet has worked his way onto the team and has played on what, every line the team has? He ahs been asked to be a grinder and he’s done that. He’s been asked to play with the “top” boys and he’s done that. Plus, he’s not afraid to stand in front of the net or even get into a scrape if he has to. I’ll take his passion and energy over some of the others’ indifference any time. Can’t fault him for making a mistake. If making a mistake is enough to get you the boot, then wy is Skooba still pulling down a paycheck? Whay has the tempermental Demetria and his “I don’t wanna play center” attitude not being openly shopped around the league? What’s he got, 6 goals, maybe 7. Not bad investment for the dollars. Please. This team needs to show heart to match the talent that is there.
Green:
Have you seen the Wild this year in the 4 games against the West’s best? What were outscored 21-5 and outshot 156-75 or some ridiculous number? I’ll give the Wild a chance as soon as they prove they are ready to stand up and make a legitimate effort to show they care about playing in late April, early May. Haven’t done that to this point. Hopefully I’m wrong. Maybe tonight the Wild come out and fire upwards of 2 dozen shots on net and they can pull out a 2-1 win. But, if we allow 40-50 shots, which has been the norm of late, and get handled 4 or 5-1, it won’t be a total surprise. A dissapointment, yes. A surprise, no.
What’s going on with Sheppard lately? 0 points in the last month (14 games). I know he’s just a rookie, yada yada, but he seemed to start out ok.
Green*
We KNEW going into this season that the majority of the Western Conference has improved
Colorado DID sign another guy named Smyth though.
Red Wings - Rafalski
St. Louis - Kariya, Tkchuck
Chicago - Kane, Toewes
CBJ - Peca
Colorado - Smyth, Hannan
Calgary - Aucoin, Sorich
Edmonton - Penner, Soyuray, Pitkanen
SJ - Roenick
Ducks - Schneider, Bertuzzi
LA - Handzus, Nagy, Calder, Stuart, Preissing
Most of those players are improving their team.
Oh yeah, and in that timeframe Shep has 2 shots on goal total.
Nope, nothing wrong with raising expectations, but just don’t be disappointed if they don’t meet them after you raise them too high.
Why does last season’s 30-game stretch mean more right now than this year’s 38-game stretch?
It doesn’t. They caught lightning in a bottle and kept it there - and, BTW, lets not forget that they still couldn’t pass Vancouver for the division even though the Nuks were in FIFTH place at the Christmas break. In other words, Vancouver finished every bit as strong as we did - until the playoffs started when they were exposed by a stronger, more complete team.
Belanger has done more for the Wild than Roenick has done for SJ and for what Rafalski has done for Detroilet. The Wild has the talent, they just need to play with more heart and more passion. That’s obvious when you look at the shots and goals allowed this team has to this point. Playing defense is hard work and requires a team effort. Something the Wild is not doing.
kj, you are forgetting someone:
Minnesota: Belanger, and of course…
STEVE KELLY!
Sheppard and Voros are good young players. Voros shouldn’t be on the first line. He should be a 3rd or checking line player. He was moved down because other more experienced players began playing with some intensity. Sheppard is doing fine. Probably playing a bit more than he should.
puckhead, if the Wild were to lose Demitra, Rolston and Schultz durning the offseason, wouldn’t the Wild just turn around and pick up three new guys (who might even be better) to fill the void?
(Also, something has to be done about the “slow down cowboy” bug)
There was no lightning in a bottle because they had it to start the season last year. It wasn’t a fluke. The team lost it’s edge when Gabby went down for 34 games and got it back when he came back. Talent is there, the heart and passion is not.
CBJ - Peca
surely you can’t be serious
LA and edmonton made some serious moves and it sure hasn’t gotten them very far. i notice the NW division leader, canucks, didn’t do anything.
calgary, st louis, sj didn’t do anything more than the wild did, IMHO. tkchuck and roenick should retire. kane and toews weren’t FA i don’t think so they didn’t make that move specifically to be better this year.
Smuggla, I don’t thinks so. Rolston probably should be making much more than what he is. We got a hell of deal on him. Good experienced d-men are getting expensive and Schultz is our most consistent IMO.
Deep Breath, are you saying some nights the Wild players seem more concerned about collecting their paycheck and less concerned about playing hockey?
If the team is going to part ways with one of the forwards, here’s hoping it’s Demo. His production is a joke and he’s done nothing but moan about having to play center. That’s the kind of “team guy” attitude that has this team in an inconsistent funk.
i agree with kj, it’s kings v. oilers in ther western finals. however, peca is on pace to score 6 goals this year!
Wallshot, I think Shep has been on the Checking line for awhile iirc… That may be why he has so few shots on goal? I think his defensive game has been improved greatly as of late. He is actually showing signs of being a high quality player. Hopefully he can find that scoring touch sometime soon though, that could do nothing but help the team.
As for all this negativity, I just can’t see getting all riled up about getting abused by the “best of the west” at this point. I know it’s disappointing to say he least, but the Wild still have a handful of chances to prove something against the likes of Detroit, SJ, and Dallas. I still believe that the team is extremely talented, and they can certainly hang with the best. Hopefully they actually show it soon… preferably tonight.
What if getting rid of Demo angers Gaby to the point where he puts out less effort? Did the Wild make a deal with the Slovikian Devil in this case so to speak?
Smugg–
I was at the BJs loss the day after Thanksgiving. I thought I had seen the lowest of the lows when Kuba was named to the All-Star team. Thankfully, the “effort” the Wild showed that day overtook Kuba’s All-Star game appearance as the lowest of the lows. Ish. I’ve been to funerals where the guest of honor has shown more life!
Austin brings up a great point. Past performance does not guarentee future results. Just because the Wild got beat by the best of the West in ‘07 doesn’t mean the Wild can’t beat them in ‘08.
The Cup will be ours.
(someday)
They probably did, and hopefully when Mikko comes back they can alter lines and keep Demo on the wing so he can freelance in the offensive zone all he wants. But if the final 40 games are the same as the first 40, I can’t see the Wild shelling out top dollar to keep Demo around.
Maybe the Wild needs to get more Russians and Swedes on their roster. We seem to be a little heavily weighted in Slovakians, and Finns. We have about the perfect amount of Canadians, maybe one too many Amaericans. Maybe that’ll fix things…
I was citing those FA signings as an example of the context of my statement that Green* picked apart:
We KNEW going into this season that the majority of the Western Conference has improved
There were more improvements other than Wyatt Smith.
Hindsight being what it is, Belanger is the BEST F/A signing from last offseason.
I’m just saying that when we find the Wild taking steps backward we will know the root cause.
Don’t get me wrong kj, I like Belanger, but how is he the best signing? He was a replacement for White and though I prefer him over White - production-wise they are almost identical.
root cause
and that root cause is what? i’m not following.
The wyatt smith remark was because someone last time, when i said after ryan smyth colorado didn’t do much, cited wyatt smith.
You pointed out who other teams in the West signed during the offseason, but let’s not forget the players they lost during the offseason. (isn’t it all just a shuffling of the deck anyways?)
Pardon my French, but you could have the players, but if they don’t put forth the work and the effort to win a Cup then you ain’t gonna win shit.
I don’t think that is French…
Deep: 100% agree our problem is an apparent lack of heart/sack that leads to a lack of consistency. I also roll that up into (a lack of)professionalism, frankly. Talent alone doesn’t win in the playoffs. You need unity and balls too. We’re lacking in both departments - same as we were last season.
Our average goals for (2.66) ranks 17th in the league. Our average goals against (2.68) ranks 13th in the league. The coaching staff seems more willing to let the offensive guys be offensive this season, which is good because our defense is still not a bigger problem than our lack of consistent offense is.
Oh, and I just ran down our season from the Christmas break on last year, and there are some interesting items.
Over our last 46 games we went 30-11-5. That’s a 0.652% winning percentage.
Over the last 20 games we went 15-2-3 (0.750%).
Over the last 30 games we went 22-5-3 (0.733%).
Over the final 41 games we went 27-9-5 (0.659%).
All extremely impressive.
But…
Did you realize that 26 of those last 43 games (56%) were against teams that did not qualify for the playoffs? Another 12 were against teams that lost in the first round. So 82.6% of our final 46 games were against teams that either didn’t make the playoffs or got bounced in the first round (like we did, obviously).
Over the last 20 games 12 of them (60%) were against non-playoffs teams.
Over the last 30 games 18 of them (60%) were against non-playoffs teams.
Over the last 41 games 24 of them (58.5%) were against non-playoff teams.
In fact, of those 46 final games, 5 were against teams that won one round, 2 were against teams that won two rounds and only 1 was against a team in the SCF (Anaheim).
Of those 26 games against non-playoffs teams we went 21-4-1 (0.807%). That’s great.
In the 20 games we played against teams that at least qualified for the playoffs we went 9-7-4 (0.562%). Hmm.
What’s the point here? The point is that the Wild’s performance this season versus either playoff-caliber or non-playoff-caliber opposition is about the same as it was last season. We beat up (for the most part) on lesser-opponents, and struggle more against equal or better opponents.
Again, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect improvement. We all do. But it also doesn’t mean they’re dramatically underperforming what they SHOULD be given the team’s makeup.
NiNY-Marcel Hossa is listed along with Pavol as Gaby’s other BFF in Hockey. Marian is listed as Pav’s. That is from their bio’s on Wild.com. It specifically lists Marcel Hossa, younger brother of Marian Hossa so it isn’t just a typo.
kgopher: that’s very interesting. Seriously…If we can’t afford Demo and Rolston and Schultz (etc, etc), I wonder if Marcel Hossa would be a nice poor man’s Demitra on this team?
It will be interesting to see how they com out tonight. Coming off an emotional win (albeit against a crappy team) they get a chance to atone the drubbing they got from San Jose. Can they step it up and show they can play with the best teams in the West? I think it will be a good barometer of where this team is at.
DP I agree. The Wild have been performing fairly well as of late. So this game against SJ will be a good indicator if some of the hard work we have been seeing will carry over into tougher games. While this is not the Wild’s last chance to prove themselves, it would be a hell of a place to start.
I think we for sure need to keep Schultz. He is one of our most consistent, steadiest, defense. He is also still relatively young. Can’t comment on any of the Hossa boys. I just don’t watch enough Eastern Conference to know.
I will go out on a limb and predict a Wild victory. Why? Well the Wild are a cool 5-0 when I watch the game online, so I’ll just hope that trend continues. 
Backstrom must stand tall in this game. Wild have to score first, for sure.
All -
Can’t we at least demand better than what we’ve been seeing? Why should we as fans not demand that the product put out on the ice improve?
Who else is sick of Gaborik and his half-hearted effort nights, Demitra playing strictly on the outside, Rolston playing differently (and not for the better, IMO) than last season, not to mention ‘Bad Marty’ on the blueline??
A little more consistency is what this team needs, and desperately. Play a 60-minute game, guys. We as fans would appreciate it, very much. You can’t turn it on and off (much as Gaborik would love to) night in and night out. It takes a 60-minute effort to beat the better teams in the NHL these days.
I know I’m ‘preaching to the choir’ with this, but c’mon, if they really cared in that locker room they’d find a way to do it…
WRT: So I’m green lighted for C-Bus on 2/2. Should be fun.
Austin–
I appreciate the fact you think the Wild will win, but we can’t base it on the team playing well of late. Took 2 periods off against a bad Edmonton team; allowed 50 shots agianst maybe the worst offensive team in the league prior to that; got dismantled in Dallas the game before that; got worse than dismantled against Detroit the game before that. Don’t get me wrong, I hope the Wild wins convincingly tonight, but if the team plays as it has the last 4, it will get schooled by the Sharks to the tune of 5 or 6-1.
I have a question for the group:
Do you think the player read this blog?
Do you think dumb and dumber read this blog?
I have my opinions on both, but I want to hear what everyone else thinks….
I’d be surprised if the players read the blog. I think, maybe, if something really outrageous is on the board say, regarding Skoula’s private-time habits with certain small, 4-legged creatures, then it may work it’s way into conversation through Russo. But in terms of what we, as bloggers, think about the team, players, etc, I doubt they care much. To be honest, I would hope they don’t care. We are all passionate and we know everything about what’s going on because that’s what makes us the fans we are. Once the management starts listening to the fans in terms of who to sign/trade/ etc, then it’s time to close up shop and start follwoing the NBA because at that point, it’s all over boys and girls.
smuggla: my GUESS is that a given guy might check it out specifically if someone tells him something was written (by Don Russo or #2, I doubt anything any of us says would get one of them over here) about him.
But I really have no idea. What are your opinions on the topic?
DP, are you trying to say that Martin Skoula has had sexual relations with farm animals?
I love this discussion! Glad I posted for opinions!
Here’s mine. Our best line has been Radio, SRV and Moore according to JL. To me, this is horrible. Especially as I don’t like SRV and Radio was near(?) release around Thanksgiving.
We’re short two forwards in my opinion. A center for Demo and Gabby. And an “impact winger” with some character.
Getting Koivu back may solve the Demo Gabby problem. But I like him better with Parrish and maybe Voros. Sheppard I feel is hitting his rookie hump. He’s played more than they expected, and may need a few games off. Otherwise, you can see is potential out there.
Foy and Boogey have played themselves into the pressbox. So if it we’re me, I’d waive Foy. No ofeense, nut what do we lose? Especially with wingers like Kalus, Irmen and Boo-pah down farming? Is Foy seriosly a better option than any of those 3?
As far as D go. F-ing Skoula. He must have something on somebody! Terrible. And Foster, any thoughts on why he’s been “watching” the past few games?
So. What to do? Are we really fine? It just doesn’t feel fine to me. I only wonder if there is someway to make a move to land another winger with some sack and talent?
I very much doubt that any the players read the blog. The FSN crew might read it for Russo’s practice updates, but I doubt they read the comments.
Sorry, spell check failed me miserably!
I think Foy is clearly on his way down once the team needs roster space.
My guess is that at one point every player on the Wild roster has it least checked out this blog. (They probably soon realize it’s best if they don’t bother getting too wrapped up with what the pee-ons think). I also would guess that the coaching staff encourages them to steer clear. I have to imagine from time to time, a player might chime in here and there (under the guise of an annonymus mioniker). I would think a player could learn something from reading here (that is if they’re not too busy reading the WSJ)…
As far as dumb and dumber go, I bet they read all the time. (They need to continue to get good material)…
I’m sure Russo could shed some light on this, but he wouldn’t. If he did share about players checking this out, the players wouldn’t think too highly of that I’m sure. (which is understandable)
Of course not. I’m just saying, that if something outrageous like that started floating around on the blog, that Russo or #2 may mention it in the lockerrom or otherwise to the player(s). Aside from that, I doubt they care what is being written on these blogs.
Not to nitpick GStar, but with competent refereeing, the record vs Dallas should have been 2-2.
Dice - I agree that Koivu should be with Parrish. Along with SRV, they were a strong 2 way line for the two weeks the Wild had all its players. However, with Moore finally emerging, JL will have an intersting decision as to how to use Koivu.
I guess I’d like to think when one of us has a great idea about how a particular guy can up his game and posts it on here, that information might somehow make it over to said player for what it’s worth.
(That is of course if the boys are in fact open to an idea that might help them improve…)
Who else is sick of Gaborik and his half-hearted effort nights, Demitra playing strictly on the outside, Rolston playing differently (and not for the better, IMO) than last season, not to mention ‘Bad Marty’ on the blueline??
gaborik’s half hearted nights happen less often than you think. gabby has points in 23 of 33 games played. including a stretch where 8 of 11 he scored 2 or more points.
where is demitra supposed to play?
smuggla: That’s a really big ‘IF’ as to improving…
NiNY: Good for you re: CBJ 2/2. Was thinking of that game, but I’d probably find my Wild stuff in a funeral pyhre if I did that game. Besides, I’ve heard my share of cannon fire for the season.
Contact me off-blog re: Nationwide. You have the e-mail address already…
GreenStar brings up a great point. Gaby is clearly our best player, for what he gets paid, we have have one hell of a player there for not a very expensive price tag…
Ga-by!, Ga-by!, Ga-by!
GreenStar: Where is Demitra supposed to play? How about supporting his linemates? How about once going across the front of the net to snare a rebound and put it in for an actual GOAL? If the puck is behind the goal line, go after it so Gaborik can stay in front for his pass?
Don’t tell me that’s not his job…
Sad but true WRT. Pass the WSJ…
Gaborik could be one of the best ever. COULD be. Not yet is, though. the Wild depend on him for offense, yet time after time he has to reach behind him for passes. Not Gaborik’s fault? Sometimes he takes off before the puck is in front of him. Yes, I know, it’s a timing play, but have better timing, will ya guys?
Smuggla @ 10:56 … it would show a big time lack of maturity if Gabby quit playing hard because of the team not retaining Demetra, true for any player.
Foster is watching because he isn’t very good–the worst of the D notwithstanding everyone’s hatred of Skoula. The hope was that he would provide a strong shot from the point but he hasn’t shown as much there as I think they had hoped and he is weak in the defensive zone. Foy is gone. My guess is that Kalus is likely to stay down until next year and then he should be ready. Maybe BennyP before then and Irmen is at best another one of our banging 4th line wings. The SRV-Moore-Radio line has been doing their job which is to hold down a good line. They are not expected to score, and unfortunately they sure haven’t.
When Demo plays Center, at least in the Wild’s system, the center does not go low behind the net. That’s the way it is in Lemaire’s system. Center stays high, or at least is supposed to, to help provide help going the other way. Demo has come out a couple of times and practically begged to not play center so he can go low/behind the net and not have to worry about getting back. Sux, but that’s his attitude.
I don’t have a problem with Gabby’s play. Get 5 goals one night and of course teams are going to pay a little more attention. It’s up to the guys around him on the ice to work to get him the puck and it’s Gabby’s job to use his speed to get to the open ice or create the open ice with his speed. No problem’s with Gabby’s effort to this point.
Did we know about Demo’s “attitude” about playing center when we signed him does anybody know?
And If so, then why didn’t we get more / better centers?
We thought we had Koivu and Walz for one thing. But, agreed we should have looked for one more.
No idea about his attitude prior to coming here, but it was disheartening to read his comments about not liking to play the position. Play the f-ing game for Gretzky’s sake, and help the team win.
Hoping that Koivu’s return provides a spark similar to what Gabby’s did a year ago for the final 30 games.
WRT…give it up, I have…someone has passed the koolaid around since it’s NYE and all…
smuggla…I read the WSJ every day. Also the NY Times. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to read the local papers or listen to talk radio ‘cuz I am too busy finding the high road.
We are what we are thanks to DR. The team is either half-full or half-empty. We’ll see whether they are built to go deep into the playoffs when the playoffs get here.
I think that rightly or wrongly, the Wild figures as follows on center:
1. Walz was defensively responsible to allow Gabby and Demo to freelance and fast enough to stay up with them.
2. Koivu would continue his improvement–and he was until his injury.
3. Belanger would be an improvement over White. Generally true although perhaps not as much as we would like.
4. Moore and Sheppard could battle it out for the 4th spot. Unfortunately because of Koivu’s injury and Walz’s retirement, Shep is being forced to play far more games than expected and as some have noted he may be hitting a wall. But who knows.
Pass what ever you have over here kj…
Belanger is a monumental improvement over White. He has been the Wild’s best centerman - since Koivu went down.
He has 25 points - White has 22. Belanger is a plus 6, White a -2.
Belanger (if rumor is correct) has FIRE. White puts out fires.
Can we afford a line not to score?
kj: You are ’spot on’ about Belanger. He is a quantum leap over Todd White. Just in demeanor alone. He’s got some spirit. That’s what we need now that Wes has departed for points unknown.
Keep the vodka out of the pre-game kool-aid, will ya? :p
Todd White, aside from neatly groomed hair on off days, was more or less non-descript a year ago. Belanger is a significant upgrade.
Skoula, on the other hand, is one of those players who will take the puck from behind his own net and somehow stumble over his own skates leading to an opponents’ goal which in turn will land him on the “Don’t let this happen to you” highlight clip featured on sports shows around the sporting world.
I’m betting the players don’t read the blog. Why? Very simple. It’s not because they can’t read, it’s because they hate to read.
Gump with the jab
anyone else hungry around here? Only kidding, #2, only kidding.
Everyone have a safe and fun NYE. I’ll be around during the game.
“Who own da Chief?”
koolaid, eh? thats original.
Go Wild, play with some heart tonight STARTING in the first period.
Agreed. Let’s not fall behind 3-0 midway through the second period only to mount a “furious” 3rd period rally that comes up just short in a 4-2 loss. Play with a bit of passion once the games begins, not only after falling behind by a deuce or trey. Nothing in the NHL handbook states the Wild cannot jump out to a 2-goal lead against one of the West’s top teams.
Originality not withstanding, it is descriptive in this case.
Root cause being the managment acquiring free agents and then missing the window of opportunity to do something with them…i.e. win the Cup.
Gump…they have no problem reading the WSJ. smuggla…have you seen a copy on the bench???
If the blog were on the WSJ website, the players would be all over it.
Seriously, I would like to think they have better things to do.
As far as Dumb, Dumber and Quasimodo, they could gain a lot of insight into the game that they are paid to know about and yet repeatedly sound inept when discussing.
D,D & Q are not quite sharp enough to find this blog, IMO. Sadly, I gave my tickets away for tonight’s tilt so I can attend a NYE gathering amongst neighbors/friends. Will most likely have to watch with the sound down because the 3-headed monster that handles our local telecasts will be enough to make me toss my 3rd round of meatballs, chicken wings or whatever finger-foods I’m enjoying at the time.
Deep - I like it - DDQ (no, not double disqualification). What would make me toss the Captain Diet up would be more on ice demos from Quasimodo. Just stay behind the desk, we don’t need to be treated to the excitment that is[b]Quasimodo on Ice[/b].
Everyone, have an above average new year’s eve, enjoy tonight’s game and don’t forget to tip your waitress.
I fear #2 has been kidnapped. . .
BNAG…
I was waiting with breathless anticipation for the re-enactment of the Rolston goal. Then, I realized that anxiety was caused by the need to um…well…’relieve’ myself.
I cannot believe the new lows that broadcast team is reaching.
We do know Boogie’s brother reads it occasionally because Ryan has put in his two cents (been a while but he has). I doubt the players or Dumb and Dumber do. If we are watching the game tonight at home I will probably chime in from my cell phone internet. If we are out and about I may not chime in tomorrow. I think we are going to try to go to the cities for the Hockey Unplugged thing with Backs and Hards on Wednesday (as long as we can find the place and get there early enough to get in).
Darby has come along nicely in his attempts since first coming on board. Got to give him some cudos. Marney has gotten better as well. Can’t wait for the Coyotes game on the 13th since it will be on NHL network (supposedly) so may not have to listen to DDQ. On second though, D & D may read this blog because every once in a while they come up with something that we have been saying for a while (or use a nickname that was originated here). Could just be coincidence though.
What nicknames would those be?
I think they got BBR line from us and they may be a couple others. I notice when they say them but I try to block them out of my head for the most part after the fact.
DB, in response to your 12:15 post… sorry I have been busy most of the day around the house. Anyway, When did I ever say that the Wild “would” win tonight? I didn’t. I was just saying that tonight would be a great night for them to prove that they can play with one of the top teams in the league right now. I am optimistic, especially since the Wild are coming off suce a great comback (even if it was against a low end team, but I am not convinced that they will win for sure.
I don’t know about that necessarily originating here. I’ve seen it all over the Wild message boards and heard it elsewhere as well. Now if they say “Wondergroin Twins”, “Rocky Dennis”, “Demi Moore”, “Groinorik” (although that’s ubiquitous too) or the whatever the heck that Groin Center was called, THEN maybe I’d buy it.
I only visit here so like I said probably just coincidence.
