Ownership change official; One more defenseman down?
Posted on April 10th, 2008 – 2:11 PMBy Michael Russo
It will be announced at 3 p.m. that Craig Leipold is officially the new owner of the Wild. Of the many other investors, Phil Falcone, 46, of Chisholm, will be the general partner.
Leipold owns 51 percent of the team. It’s believed Falcone owns upwards of 40 percent of the team.
While Leipold says it’s not true Falcone has an option to become majority owner in five years, Leipold said it wouldn’t shock him if at some time in Falcone’s life he is the majority owner of the Wild.
Leipold said it’s a huge priority to keep Doug Risebrough, who could be a candidate for the Toronto job this summer.
Things just got a whole lot worse for the Wild as it was revealed defenseman Martin Skoula has a ”sore leg.” He’s considered possible for tomorrow.
First of all, if Skoula doesn’t play and you don’t think that makes things a whole lot worse, you’re letting your dislike for Skoula blind you to reality.
It’s not known the severity of Skoula’s injury. Injuries are usually understated in the playoffs, and I don’t think they’d even tell us about Skoula unless there’s something serious going on. Take Mark Parrish, who is day-to-day with a head injury, according to the team.
We all know he has a concussion. We all know he’s not playing tomorrow.
If Skoula’s out, the Wild is in bigtime trouble. It’s that simple. If the defensemen for the rest of the series are Kim Johnsson, Brent Burns, Petteri Nummelin, Keith Carney, Sean Hill and Erik Reitz, who was officially recalled on an emergency basis today (doesn’t count toward one of the four callups), the Wild is in bigtime trouble.
Because, I don’t think Johnsson and Burns can play 60 minutes.
Last night’s game is prime example of why injuries to Kurtis Foster and Nick Schultz are so devastating.
Johnsson had to play 32-plus minutes. Burns had to play over 30. Skoula had to play almost 27. And Jacques has little confidence in Hill, proof by his ice time being less than Derek Boogaard’s 8:56.
Look at the 4-on-4 goal. Think Carney would have been out there? Skoula played a great regulation, but look at him in overtime. Two turnovers in his own zone, and then he couldn’t move on Sakic’s winner.
Fourteen guys practiced today, and they were led by the assistants. Of the heavy-hitters, only Brent Burns, Mikko Koivu and P-M Bouchard practiced.
Obviously, the Wild essentially called tomorrow’s Game 2 a “must-win.” You can’t go into Denver down 2-zip.
A lot of guys have to be better. I thought Pierre-Marc Bouchard played the type of game that gives the Wild skepticism that he’s a guy you can build around at a huge ticket.
He didn’t go into the trenches, I remember the one shift where he cuts between the circles and didn’t even consider shooting and instead passed to Mikko Koivu at a bad angle. And Koivu couldn’t get a shot off.
Pavol Demitra did not play well, and he got his wish of playing mostly wing. Marian Gaborik had one shot.
The Wild isn’t going to win if Gaborik gets one shot.
Brian Rolston played a strong game, slamming people on the forecheck, etc. He said it’s time for others to leave their “comfort level.”
Still, the Wild claim its confident and positive heading into tomorrow. It’ll be interesting to see how they play.
They played well enough to win and didn’t, so how does that affect their psyche? And Colorado knows they played poor enough to lose, and didn’t. And they’re slew of experienced players are saying they know they have to play better because they got away with one.
We’ll see how it goes. Heading down to Colorado’s room now.
179 Responses to "Ownership change official; One more defenseman down?"
Do you ever report any good news?
Yeah, this blog is getting ugly. Guys dropping like flies. Here’s hoping that Skoula is fine.
so, basically, thanks for the poop sandwich, Russo!
That last shot hit Skoula in the skate/foot area before going to Sakic, maybe that is what caused the injury (you know, the old foot bone connected to the ankle bone connected to the shin bone, etc., it’s all essentially a leg). Rammer, quick lesson to Voros on how to play D, Dampland and I have been pushing this for weeks!
Well, some of you may get your wish of moving a forward back to D. What about Harding? Can we suit him up to play D?
Mike, any update on how Parrish is feeling? He was really skating/working hard last night before the injury.
Well, guess we will see what happens first…The Wild golfing or the streets of St. Paul cleared of snow. If Skoula is out…my money won’t be on the Wild.
Bad news indeed, even if he’s only out for one game, the Wild can’t survive an entire series with their top three d-men playing that many minutes. JL needs to play Hill and Carney more, at home he should be able to pick his spots.
I agree about Demetra and gabby. They both looked tight, hopefully they will just have a better game.
Russo - is Reitz ehalthy now, I know he had a foot problem in Houston?
May not be good news, but it is accurate.
We have to do better on the PP if we expect to have a chance, and it looked pretty sorry last night. If Fedoruk is going to be the star of the game (and he earned it), we can’t expect a much better result.
PS and I am an optimist.
Hey it could be worse.
Well, ok, maybe it couldn’t. Because we’re all bemoaning losing MARTY!
Bar the doors Irene…I sense some firewagon hockey brewing. If only because we’ll be skating without our #2, #4 and #5 D men.
But, I guess if you are a foreward and unwilling to get ‘gritty’ no amount of push is going to get you a goal.
Demitra, Gaborik and PMB need to step it up.
[…] Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune, another member of the Wild’s defensive corp is nursing an injury: Things just got a whole lot worse for the Wild as it was revealed defenseman Martin Skoula has a […]
WTF is up with those?
Ok I want to know who pissed off the Hockey Gods? Someone here is guilty I want to know who it is!!! Maybe I fed too many trolls, maybe it’s all the ass-less chaps talk, maybe the Rosie references. Where can we get a Slovakian Chicken?
Can Voros or someone else drop back. I think Voros has the speed to handle the task. How about Foy or Pouilet?
I like their chances better than Reitz…
This would explain why Skoula looked slow in OT.
Thanks for the good news Russo. Maybe you want to change the prediction to Colorado in 5…just kidding.
The boys will rise up tomorrow and win…Schultz will make a remarkable recovery.
- First of all, a formal welcome to Mr. Craig Leipold and thanks again to the Nagle (sp?) family - I didn’t like the post lock out year but, on the whole, the previous ownership group did a great job.
PS - I am glad CL got a taste of what the X can bring in the SCP last night. One can only imagine what it would be like in early June with a big trophy in the house.
- On the last entry, build from within said:I really like what Simon brings along the wall, and down low in the offensive zone. Creating space and PUCK PROTECTION. His size and strength makes it very difficult for opponents separate him from the puck, allowing the Wild to hold the zone and cycle down low or take the puck to the net.
The Wild definately could have used more possession time last night when the Avs were not getting shots in the first. Here is a crazy line idea: Rolston back at C with PMB and Simon.
Goody: I’d like to know too.
Goody, Nick - click on the name.
NiNy & Goody: They’re spam posting from a bot of some sort. Usually site administrators make sure that sort of thing doesn’t get posted. Doesn’t say much for the Strib IT guys.
thanks ss6 and Bead. So I should just go back to ignoring them now?
i still say for all the non-shooting that PMD did, he was 2nd on team in shots with 4. He didn’t go down and blow up defenders but will he ever? and do we really want him to?
I would assume those posts are an attempt to drive traffic to that blog.
But if Gaborik, Demitra and PMB are going to disappear then it’s great that guys like Fedoruk are going to step up. I don’t care who scores, just that at the end of the game the Wild have tickled the twine more than the Avs.
Let me be the first to welcome Mike Ramsey back to the NHL, the wild need you on the ice. Should take some sting off the Schultz absence. And I hear he has a hockey playing daughter, she can fill in for Skoula 
Give Pouliot a shot. Play the kid
non-shooting that PMD did
who’s PMD? perhaps i meant PMB
I’d just like to officially state that I was wrong. When it was trade time, I was all for getting rid of a couple D-men. DR, you must have a crystal ball or something. I’d drop Voros back. Is it that hard to play D after being a forward? It’d be nice to let him provide some spark…
If no forward drops back, and reitz/skoula aren’t ready…. what happens? Shawn Belle?
Ok I want to know who pissed off the Hockey Gods?
wouldn’t be a certain someone with a chef daughter that has a pig for a boyfriend that didn’t buy playoff tickets because they thought the boys would easily get bounced in 1st round…
Begin rant:
I want the big guns to do their job. If none of them steps up, we don’t deserve to make it past this round. Yes, you need the plumbers and grinders to win the cup but you also need everyone pulling their weight. The top lines have to score. It might be harder to do so but thats why they’re top guys. They have the talent to produce under pressure.
End Rant: I think I’m out of Kool-aid.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again.
F*CK!
what happens? Shawn Belle?
there went my lunch all over my keyboard.
With the exception of the ownership part of this post, reading the update made me want to throw up a little bit in my mouth.
ss6 - Some could argue that we could find a few Slovakian Chickens on the ice last night.
Enough of the bad news, its the fricking SCP. Time to man up and do what ever it takes to get a W for the Wild tomorrow night. I’ve now stopped dringking the Kool-aid and have moved on to getting hooked up to an IV bag of it.
G*: Isn’t PMD short (haha) for Pierre (of) Mass Destruction?
Is it that hard to play D after being a forward?
I think you’d be suprised.
Pierre (of) Mass Destruction
i’ll take it
well at least now with the official ownership change, we can sign some big name talent since CL doesn’t pinch pennies.
voros to D - great idea - can’t be any worse then Hill or Carnes….at least Voros will friggin hit someone in the corner
d00shard sure seems to disappear in big games
Let the big boys lays some people out - we played awesome against Calgary last thursday night and had plenty of scoring chances with SIMON and BOOGAARD playing……would be fun to see a line with these two on it centered by…………..
Do we actually even have any set lines here for the WILD?
The Wild are in SERIOUS trouble! Not a good time to get hit with the injury bug.
As for throwing a forward at D its not that easy, Voros has a hard enough time skating forward let alone skating backwards while thinking.
Did Walz file his papers?
What are the guidelines for being playoff eligible?
I’m kidding…..sort of :/
I agree with you Mike. I dislike skoula very much, but another D goes down and unless we expect to get up 4 goals in the 1st, our D will be gassed when it counts.
Champions get there because the unexpected guy(s) step up. I think Fedoruk has shown that. This is part of the roller coaster. We are in trouble if we go down 3-0 in the series. Then changes will come after the season. Put your money on ROlston as the resign. Pay him and maybe let a few guys walk…unless ofcourse we win this whole thing.
There is no way somene like Voros who has never played D is going to be switched back. This is TERRIBLE news. I might be one of the few who actually likes Skoula, or at least the Skoula we have seen after he sat. For the most part he has been very solid. We saw the slow Carney last night and clearly Hill has trouble keeping up. I don’t care how much the forwards step up (and they sure need to) without Skoula and Schultz no way we win a series–and I would say that even if we had won last night.
Adam,
I like the idea. In this system, JL likes the center to stay “3rd man high” in the zone. So, that would put PMB and Si down low, with Roli in the high slot. Interesting.
Other line pairings?
It’s not about blowing up defenders with PMB. It’s just that he’s a bit too content with crossing the blue line with the puck then peeling off towards the boards. I think the Avs will give him that area of ice all night long, and to be honest I don’t really think that’s where he’s at his most effective, especially in the playoffs. I think what I’d like to see him do more is challenge their D by taking the puck at them and towards the net a bit more, or maybe crossing to the middle of the ice to shoot once he crosses into the zone.
But it wasn’t just him. Not too many players on the Wild seemed willing to take the puck to the net. Too many shots from the outside without anyone parked or going to the front. They kept trying to sneak passes into the scoring area between the dots, but that’s just a low percentage play. Pucks and bodies to the goal. Create some chaos and find a lose one to put in.
What has Houston got to offer us?
I think the team psyche should still be good. If it continues to go like this perhaps it will change.
For the McGovern bunch, as none of us apparently know who we are looking for I have a gray beard, glasses. When last seen by Mrs Iceman, he was wearing a green Wild baseball cap, bluejean shirt, with a black vest for a coat. Unless I get weathered in someplace I will be there.
How about Koivu back to D and Voros takes his spot on the checking line?
PMB is to Butch as
PMD is to Dutch?
LOL.
Not to sound negative, but of the trio PMB, Demo, Gabby, only Gabby is capable of being productive in the Playoffs. I am a fan of Demo, but I vividly remember every Playoffs he’s been in, and he always had been a zero factor….going back to his times in St. Louis. Both him and PMB are just those types of players that don’t stand a chance in the playoffs. Too small and too soft. I made my piece on Demo’s incompetence in playoffs long time ago, and I’m making my peace on PMB as well. However, every team wants players like Demo because he is the guy that will get you into playoffs in the first place (nothing more than that though). He’s got amazing skills and touch and he’s one of a kind playmaker. However, come playoff times, it’s the Fedoruks, Sauers, Holmstroms…that will win you SC, not Demitras or PMBs.
There is a reason why players play a certain position. At the NHL level, I kind of doubt it is because that is the position they like to play. More than likely, it is because it is the position they are naturally good at.
Moving someone back to D at this point is not a good idea.
bit too content with crossing the blue line with the puck then peeling off towards the boards.
he isn’t peeling there to just sit there with the puck but is looking for players streaking towards the net.
If there isn’t anyone streaking to pass to, he looks like an idiot. but perhaps it has become easy to defend.
one thing i find just a little ironic is the blog continously b!tches about the wild’s penchant for dumping the puck and we need to carry it into the zone. PMB carries it into the zone and the blog b!tches that he just peels and sits on the boards. tough group to satisfy.
in the end i can agree, if no one he is on ice with is working away from the puck to get open, then he needs to change is game. or the others need to work a little harder finding the seam.
How ’bout we all stop panicing about the D men and get some milk cartons printed up with:
Have you seen these NHL ‘players’?
Marian Gaborik, Captain, LW, MN Wild
Pavol Demitra, BFF, C-LW-RW-D-G, MN Wild
Last seen on 4/6/08.
Any information regarding their whereabouts should be sent to:
Jacques ‘Mad Scientist’ Lemaire
Mario ‘Smiley’ Tromblay
Michael ‘now on active roster’ Ramsey
LMAO @ “d00shard”
JL has one day to devise the most radical hockey formation since the neutral zone trap, the reverse pentagon defence. Using a single defenceman, two wingers up high and two forwards down low, his revolutionary system will save the league’s defence strapped clubs by only needing 3 or 4 roster spots on defencemen. Think he can have the boys figure this out by tomorrow night?
I am a fan of Demo, but I vividly remember every Playoffs he’s been in, and he always had been a zero factor….going back to his times in St. Louis
demo had 11 points in 10 playoff games in 01-02
6 points in 7 games in 02-03
4 pts in 6 games in his first playoff series in 96-97
9 pts in 13 games in 98-99
misko is giving them a get out of jail free card there….time for multimillionares (and futureones) to step up bro
put the bong down bro…..demitra needs to be a factor or he will be gone. “Demo” as you call him hasnt played well in the last week…..he needs to step it up and IS capable of it.
Douchard is capable of plenty more too - maybe first game butterflies for many of these guys?
L
let’s compare demo’s playoff numbers to OJ’s. hmm can’t seem to find numbers for OJ. i’ll keep looking.
That just made my day that Skoula the non factor idiot is hurt. Thats great news for fans. A orange cone has more defensive skills than him. Its very good news that hes out-just hope its for the rest of the playoffs.
Seems the Don has echoed what I said about Gabby and Demitra..kinda suprised about his assessment of butch though… I thought there was only a couple of times he should have shot instead of pass.
I have to admit: it took longer than I thought it would.
When it rains it pours I guess. Fitting with the weather outside too. Today pretty much sucks.
I knew the Hockey Gods were going to make us pay for that hideous wave that broke out a couple weeks ago.
Thanks Nick for your contribution to my headache today. The beer and apps were much appreciated.
It was definetly Good Marty last night. He had a strong game and we needed that to compensate for Schultzie. If Marty’s leg is serious, I don’t think I will be saying Reitz had a strong game and we needed that to compensate for Marty… Man, that just feels weird to say. I could be wrong and I don’t wanna be right.
KJ called me eloquent. Thanks KJ! Nobody has ever called me that before.
Dickie, G*, Dave, kj and anyone else that was there: I’m glad you had fun, I wish I had been able to join you and I was glad to do my part to, er, stimulate the economy.
If were going to survive our “D” problems, the “O” MUST STEP IT UP! Period. This next game Carney and Hill better be able to break out the chase lounges because the puck is in Colorado’s end so much.
I really don’t know what to think about this..I think Skoula is a huge opportunity cost but we are hemorrhaging D…hockey gods please have Schultzie heal extra fast..please
Green*…I will save you some time.
OJ = zero games played
PMB = zero games a factor
I kid…
Dickie…don’t sell yourself short, you’re a tremendous slouch… 
- G* see the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships for OJs post season stats.
- Seriously, as an OJ fan, I have come around on the Gabby extension thing and I now think CL is going to get this deal done. However, although Martin is probably done in Old Russoville, I did note that he and OJ were at odds again at the end of the year.
woodcock, I’m with you. I’ve been a Skoula fan since he was scratched as well. He has done a solid job of minute munching lately. I was disappointed with his overtime play, but just figured he was tired from the extra minutes. A leg injury would explain things.
I’m all for El Gato’s way of thinking. JL needs a new strategy. Maybe we just play free-wheeling open-iced hockey. Bring all forwards we’ve got up from Houston and hope for the best!
Attach the Net!!
Exhibit A:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cctN_UTtgD0
Exhibit B:
Russo: “I thought Pierre-Marc Bouchard played the type of game that gives the Wild skepticism that he’s a guy you can build around at a huge ticket.”
Exhibit C:
Said Risebrough: “We’d like him to shoot more. Attack the net more. The idea here is pretty simple: I don’t know a lot about baseball, but if you have a curve and a fastball and you throw one all the time, they’ll hit it. You need to mix it up. Staying outside, trying to make great plays, becomes a way they’ll check him.
“We’d like him to shoot more. Attack the net more. The idea here is pretty simple: I don’t know a lot about baseball, but if you have a curve and a fastball and you throw one all the time, they’ll hit it. You need to mix it up. Staying outside, trying to make great plays, becomes a way they’ll check him.”
Go get ‘em, Dutch!
Youuuuu caaaaaan do iiiiiiiiiit!
Wow! Unbelievable! This just got a whole lot harder for the Wild. If we were to pull this off — they deserve the SC.
I can’t be too harsh on Gaborik. They were on him and usually with 2 defenders. The other players need to take advantage of that.
I’ll be down by Gate D at the X tonight selling rope and will even throw in the noose tying pamphlet for all of you quitters who want to end it all.
Are you seriously saying that our season is now dependent on Bad Marty?
Is that seriously what you are all saying?
Seems to me you all watched a totally different game than I did last night. Or, you are just trying to outclever one another with your theories on why we didn’t win.
You want to know why we didn’t win? BECAUSE THEY SCORED MORE GOALS THAN US.
And none of them were soft goals, or bad goals. They were all bounce of the puck luck that didn’t go our way.
All in all, the team raced around the ice last night in a gear I didn’t know they had, and they just got some bad breaks. But to read you deranged despots, you would think the world were coming to an end. If you want to quit on this team, do it. But do it quietly, because I am growing tired of crackpot theories on how the Wild can improve their only flaw from last night, which, in my opinion, was simply bad luck.
I will now step off my soapbox and await the muffled grumbling of the uneducated masses.
“I hear this place is restricted, Wang, so don’t tell ‘em you’re Jewish, okay?”
The economy thanks you too NiNY. Man, my head feels like the outside looks.
The hockey Gods have taken their pound of flesh. Now we should be all good. Infact, I foresee a Theodore meltdown and an injury to a key Avs player in the near future.
I don’t know who is going to get hurt but odds favor a D man. Fridge was flying around out there like a cannon ball last night. Thought he was going to go right through the boards one time.
Yeah, I know the play he’s looking for when he’s peeling off like. He’s looking to make a thread-the-needle pass to Rolston or find a trailer coming up late on the play. I just don’t think that play is going to work very often in the playoffs because the checking is that much tighter. Like you say he ends up with the puck near the blue line looking at a bunch of white sweaters clogging up the middle, and nowhere to go with it but along the outside.
I just think he’s a bit too content to be “looking for someone” instead of trying to make the play himself, and it’s also become a bit too predictable as well IMO.
I’d like to see him try to be more aggressive a bit more often with the puck and force the D to have to stop him instead of being able to fall back and clog up the front. If he’s able to beat one guy or even just make a second guy pay a bit more attention just in case, then maybe Rolston finds that little bit of space he needs to get a good shot off. He’s got the hands and skates to take it at them, but he needs to find the aggressiveness to do so. He is one of the best on the Wild at carrying the puck into the zone under control, but once there, I’d just like to see him mix it up a bit more.
bfw, you should have linked to this goal of PMD beating Bobby Lou. Even better:
maybe we can claim hereditary rights to Leopold, since they’re not playing him anyway?
Risebrough should be more embarrassed now than he was with all the Simon PR fallout at the trade deadline. If this team doesn’t advance, it will be in large part due to Doug’s complacency. We needed to strengthen the team, if for no other reason than as insurance. We now see why that would have been a good idea. In each of Detroit’s last 3 Stanley Cup wins, they made a good move to shore up a weakness at the deadline, and the player acquired contributed to their success in winning the cup and in the next year. Not every move helped, but none hurt and the ones that hit made a difference in the outcome. Doug, you let us down badly!
NiNY - That’s the best idea yet!
all good point toivo. i don’t think the peel is useless but it being his one trick, makes is easy to defend. unless his mates do a better job at getting open which can’t be counted on.
NiNY,
Lol! Love it!
p.s. attach=attack (duh!)
toivo: agree, agree, agree. AND, don’t forget that his tremendous speed and agility CAN force defenseman to take a penalty. You’re point about drawing another defender to him and opening a seem cannot be understated.
Just have Simon move to D for the game….Just have him hit everyone!
Hormel - I would agree that the Simon pickup still doesn’t look good. But look at Fedoruk. Who on this blog or anywhere thought he would add up to much?
DR has more of a clue than the blogosphere.
Better said by BFW than myself.
Doug, you let us down badly
here here. dougie how could you not forseen the trouble the team would be in right now. for shame.
You know the scene in “One Crazy Summer” where Cassandra helps Hoops overcome his fear of the water by smooching on him on their boat before the big regatta to win the money and save her house from the evil Beckersteds?
That’s what Dutch needs now. We need to fly in some big, mean, hockey players to stand around in the slot area at one end of Parade and while some co-ed and Dutch make out amongst them.
seem = seam. (I better hang it up for today, sheesh!!)
Well said, G*. One trick pony = easy to defend.
Slow site. Even Bill and Karolyn Slowsky would be impatient.
I’m with you Bluto. If the Wild keep playing the same way the rest of this series they will move on to round 2. That said, Skoula was a part of what was good last night and I would like to keep that feature in the lineup.
Hope I don’t appear to be like a member of the uneducated masses? If so, I’m going to see if I can stop paying my loans back. So please let me know if I’m educated or uneducated.
The D is not the biggest concern at this point. We will send a forward back if Skoula cant play (which may help us), the biggest concern is getting gaborik shots, the avs did a great job of containing his breakouts and odd man rushes. he needs to b on the power play WAY more because he is our one guy that can snipe out a shot. Also demitra has to at least make a presence on the ice it was hard to notice him when he was on. so varos move back to d because he will hit someone and find ways for gaborik to have some open ice to get some shots off
I give you partial credit, Dickie.
You really seemed to get the spirit of the thing…
What PR fallout after the Simon trade?
So Hormel you said “if” the Wild don’t advance it will be due to DR’s complacency. So this being a 7 game series and only having played one game, where would DR stand if they do happen to advance?
Should the Wild advance would it be because DR was complacent?
mbrose, much as like Fedoruk, DR took a “gamble” and it paid off..he didn’t know todd would be as good a fit as he is, but I certainly am grateful.
Good Bluto, glad atleast some of that money was partially spent wisely.
Skoula Sucks….not a big Loss if Schultz and Foster were healthy. But I assume he is at least better than any AHL callup. But I may be proven wrong.
BDS, @2:51:
“With the exception of the ownership part of this post, reading the update made me want to throw up a little bit in my mouth.”
Was this a “Dodge Ball” reference? I love that line, frickin’ hilarious…and that chick is HOT, whatever her name is (a li’l help here, boys?)
seems to me we are back on this emphasis on the D hitting someone.
Hill hits people. Many times this year when he has, he has left his partner out to dry and they score. This is why Hill doesn’t play that much. He is more concerned with hitting people than his position and position is of the utmost importance in our system. not saying it is right or wrong but it is what it is.
so i hope we all know the consequence of the urge to just hit someone. it leave the hitter out of position that causes his partner to scramble which will leave someone open which will give them a good scoring chance.
phil - yeah, fair enough. But I think the idea that he picked up some guys with toughness and playoff experience is panning out to some degree. Fedoruk doesn’t seem to get rattled like the rest of the guys. And Simon seems to have that presence too.
The Avs have this in spades. It’s not everything, but it seems to help in the playoffs.
BTW, Mr. Blutarsky, I’ve got my tickets to games 2 and 5 and I’m planning on using them. I was there last night and that was playoff hockey. My bet is on the boys hanging tough, and if they keep giving games like that, I’ll be there every time.
SS6 from last thread, yes, I am very very proud of how my Boogie has been playing. It makes me smile every time he takes the ice. He’s been playing very well.
…And in the few moments that we have left, I’d like to talk right down to earth, in a languague that everyone here can easily understand:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=christine+taylor&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
L8r!!
GreenStar - your 2:48, that hurt. OUCH
What happened a week ago when everyone was cautiously applauding the Simon trade — when he showed some leadership?
What DR and the scouting staff should be blame for are the drafting and lack of depth in the farm club of D-men.
build - all I have to say is “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha”…..
You know what, I agree. Risebrough should have just signed Ovechkin, Crosby, Datsyuk, Pronger, Malkin, Iginla, Thornton, Lecavilier, Lindstrom, Gonchar and Zetterberg.
Then we would have the bench strength we need to get to the second round. What was he thinking by not signing them?
DR HAS TO GO!
But, on the positive side, at least he didn’t sign Neidermeyer.
Did Gabby and Demo dress last night? I didn’t see them out there…
Wow,
One loss in this series and all of you “fans” are trying to be the first one to jump off the band wagon so you don’t look foolish cheering for your home town team. I guarantee that San Jose fans aren’t complaining like you guys are and saying the season is over. Typical MN fans.
Yes it will be difficult to win with a few D-Men down but this series will be going 6-7 games. If you are going to be splitting the first two games, I’d rather win the second one anyways, have momentum going in to the travel days and get a boost on the road to bring home some major momentum for Game 5!
Fundamental hockey would have won for the Wild last night, all three goals scored by Col. were unlucky bounces that the Wild can still get.
Bring up Belle, go with Simon instead of Boogaard if you can only go with one.
Bring in Foy to replace Parrish–he always plays with a lot of engergy.
I don’t know if I can get a Slovakian Chicken or a Finnish Goat. Swedish meatballs can be gotten at Ikea so we are fine there… would some Canadian bacon and a case of Molson be a worthy substitution for the Hockey Gods?
OUCH
it only hurts for a little while…
would some Canadian bacon and a case of Molson be a worthy substitution for the Hockey Gods
if i am considered a hockey god, yes.
yeah band, Boogie was on, and I LIKED it! some good hits and he damn near scored a goal
You see, Knight63, that comment was funny, but not really “ha ha” funny.
You obviously heard someone who pretends to know about hockey use it, and then you raced right home after your shift at the fast food place ended to post it.
If you watched the game last night rather than just heard what was reported on the shot chart, I think you would see that Gabby and Demo were both out there last night, and while neither of them scored, they both played solid two-way hockey.
Complaining about DR is really splitting hairs. You can’t have everything you want or need.
It’s obvious that a loss of Skoula wouldn’t matter if we had Fozzie and Schultz. But we don’t have Fozzie or Schultz so it DOES matter. Sure, I would like better options available in Houston but it isn’t there. And I am sure it isn’t for lack of effort on DRs part.
So I didn’t get an answer, if the Wild advance does DR still suck?
Well, I am officially still optimistic but if anymore D-men go down, I will be sinking along with the Wild.
You obviously heard someone who pretends to know about hockey use it, and then you raced right home after your shift at the fast food place ended to post it.
i nominate for post of the year
When it comes to the situation on the blue line, I’m all Alfred E. Newman. I mean we’ve got a guy with 6 games of NHL experience (my guess: maybe 30 minutes total) and hasn’t played for the Aeros since early March waiting in the wings. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Reitzy! Not only that, since he hasn’t been with the Aeros for the last month, they won’t miss him for their playoff run. It’s win-win!
How can you blame the Wild management for not having enough depth on Defense? We carried 8 defensemen all season! How many do you need to have ready in Houston, when you have 2 sitting in the pressbox every night?
Who could predict that the team would lose 3 of its top 6 Defensemen after the trade deadline? Heck! They lost 1/3 of their top 6 after the end of the regular season!
Those are the breaks. Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield.
If a few players stop playing scared, we’ll be fine. PMB, Gabby, and Demitra were nowhere to be found. Nummelin looked like he was terrified all night. You’d have thought the puck was a hot potato, especially if there was a chance that someone might touch him.
What defines nowhere to be found?
Gabby played more defense (even if it was half-assed sweeping his stick hoping for an odd man rush) defense than I had seen him play ALL YEAR. I know fore-checking isn’t a stat that shows up in the paper the next day, but I was amazed at all the times I saw him making defensive moves.
If by nowhere to be found, you mean not on the scoreboard, then yes. He was MIA last night. PMB played tentative. Other than that, until I read this blog today, I thought we played really well last night. I guess now I know, the big contracts taking repeated shots on goal is the only way to measure success.
Good to know.
“Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You’re not being the ball Danny.”
Just another Caddyshack quote.
I am with you Danny. People are getting a little carried away. Personally, I was prepared to encounter more of a mass hysteria here. But it’s not so bad. The effect of the Kool Aid is holding strong it seems.
I do disagree with you on Nummi though. I think he played a good game and he didn’t appear to me to look terrified. Not from Section 114 anyways. But I did have about 10 beers in me so I could be wrong.
How can you blame the Wild management for not having enough depth on Defense?
Well… how about if I blame them for not having enough quality depth?
“How can you blame the Wild management for not having enough depth on Defense?”
How about I blame them for not having a storage shed full of Bobby Orr clones?
One loss in this series and all of you “fans” are trying to be the first one to jump off the band wagon so you don’t look foolish cheering for your home town team. I guarantee that San Jose fans aren’t complaining like you guys are and saying the season is over. Typical MN fans.
Who’s jumping off the bandwagon and saying the season is over? This is the Kool Aide Garden. The Whine and Cheese party is down the hall and to your left.
And as the resident Bay Area representative of the Kool Aide Kids, I want to know what’s backing that guarantee? Cash? Because if so, I’d like my refund now.
re: #4 clones.
That would be nice, but hardly realistic.
Danny, you got to admit that we have to do a better job at drafting d-men or trading for better d-men prospects. That is what I mean about lack of depth.
The only true D-men that they have drafted that is still in the NHL is Schultz. Burns was drafted as a forward, though he played D for part of his juniors. DR can get credit for Burns.
The other one is Lubomir Sekeras (sp?). Foster, DR signed as a free agent.
I agree that PMB and Demitra need to step it up. Gaborik was a non-factor because they shut him out. They had two people on him for most of the game. Could he have been better, of course, but he was severely limited. Its his other linemates that need to take advantage of the double team and create scoring chances.
“NiNy & Goody: They’re spam posting from a bot of some sort. Usually site administrators make sure that sort of thing doesn’t get posted. Doesn’t say much for the Strib IT guys.”
it CAN be from a link from a spam bot. It also can be from a link from a legit blog post, which is what that was above. And yes, the Star Tribune guys are the ones who would change how that appears.
Danny - that’s called a q-u-i-c-k r-e-l-e-a-s-e. Nummy is known for it and it created several good chances last night. The reason for it was to get the g-o-a-l-i-e to move side to side so the puck would go into the back of the net, hence a g-o-a-l….
Though Burns had mostly played F in juniors, I thought when he was drafted the plan from the get go was to make him a d-man?
Well Toivu, having everything you want is hardly realistic either.
Nummy played just fine. He moved the puck, got tripped in the last 4 minutes on a couple of nice moves but it wasn’t called–he was not a problem. The team played well. We lost. The bigger problem is if Skoula is out. We are already stretched. This breaks the rubber band.
OK, I really don’t think it has been as negative on this blog as some suggest. If you read just bits and pieces and take certain blog entries out of context I can full understand that this is how it can be percieved. Overall, after we got over the shock of loosing in OT, most of us credited the Wild with playing a very good game especially in the first period. It just turned a bit critical when we started to discuss what could improve for the second game, tomorrow night.
Does the Skoula injury make it easier for the Wild? Of course not and I think that is what many on here are pointing out.
I’m looking for a huge game by the boyz tomorrow night. It’s time for Gabby to not be in the game but BE the game. Time to show why he deserves to be paid like the superstar he can be.
Time to change the Kool-aid IV.
Off topic a little bit: Could someone tell me why we would want the 30th pick because we get the 30th and 31st?
I am taking this from Pio’s Walters’ bit about the sale and draft.
“If the season ended today, the Wild would pick No. 26 in June’s NHL draft. The highest they could pick, depending on the playoffs, is No. 22; the worst, which they would love, is No. 30.”
Sunshine - that’s becasue if we would have the 30th pick we all would be able to enjoy a nice little parade through St Paul sometime in early June.
Picks 22 thru 30 are decided on by your finish in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
I don’t care if he doesn’t play, I’m still on the Skoula bandwagon.
Time to goon it up.
You’ve seen those NHL Network Commercials with the coach right? What is that offense/defense one he does? Something like, “We’re gonna call our offense our defense and our defense our offense.”
“We couldn’t put the cat in the hat.”
Haha, hopefully he gets some votes for the Jack Adams award!
Bluto- Wheres the love? I’m crushed. Sorry, but I don’t work at Taco Bell and this is a free country so I disagree w/ your assessment of Demo and Gabby play last night. I don’t copy someone elses quotes. I have enough intelligence to form my own opinions. IMO they both were non-factors last night. Now, go finish your happy meal.
Open letter from CL to all Wild Fans.
http://wild.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=360032
Go Wild!!!
Is it bad that I’m already twitchy for tomorrow? It’s going to be a long long long long day at work. I really want to go to McGovern’s but the Mr still doesn’t know when he’ll be off work so if we make it, it won’t be till later like SS6. If we go I will be wearing a green Walz jersey, the Mr will most likely be wearing his red jersey. He doesn’t like to wear the white one because he always spills on himself when he does. He may be wearing a dark green hat with an old school looking player on the front as well. I should go make supper, taco’s tonight…… mmmmmm tacos!
Knight-
I am just saying that if you think Gabby was not a factor because of his lack of shots on goal, I don’t care for your opinion. It wasn’t meant to be a personal shot at you or anything. I was just suggesting that you really don’t understand the game all that well.
Hope that clears things up….
While I would normally LOVE the thought of seeing Martin Skoula off the Wild roster, right now quite frankly we can’t aford to have him gone for any length of time, what with Schultz and Foster still recuperating after both having operations in a 3-week period.
The Wild team of last night (the one with the mistakes) I do not think we will see again this series, unless (or until) even more severe injuries (to forwards) occurs.
I’m still exhausted from last night’s game, so tonight just may be a real early night for me. Four hours sleep does not make for a happy employee at work the next morning…especially when your ears are still ringing from all the noise last night!
The CL letter was cool.
Wild just need to repeat their Game 1 performance, and get a better effort at throwing both bodies and pucks at the net. They will be fine.
So, who had Philip Falcone as the mystery investor that Nanne had alluded to in the KFAN interview?
Boy, were we all waaay off, or what?
Target, you are right on target when saying they will be fine.
I would have thought more blame for the loss would be directed at the towel giveaway. We are 0fer I believe on gimmick giveaway nights. But I do have to admit that I like to see the white towels in action.
Mr. Blutarsky…
It is a commonly held opinion that when Mr. Gaborik is held off of the scoreboard (no matter how many odd man rushes breaks up by backchecking) the Wild do not win as often.
So, it would seem (to an uniformed fan like me) that when he is held to only one shot on goal and was a -1 on the scoresheet, it makes it easier for the opponent to defeat the Wild.
Considering the defensive job the Agedlanche did on him (and his BFF Demitra) it is only because of the elevation of other player’s games that the Wild were in the game at all.
He has been phenominal since he figured out how to carry the ‘C’. Demitra? Not so phenominal over the same period.
I am willing to chalk Gaborik’s absence from last night’s scoresheet up to nerves and the Aged’s committment to D.
I don’t think they’ll be able to duplicate that tomorrow night - which is why I believe the Wild win…because Gaborik is on the scoresheet…and not with a fighting major.
oops…uniformed should be uninformed…sheesh
Bluto- Not sure where you got the shots on goal thing as a basis for my take on Gabby/Demos performance last night. That had/has actually nothing to do with my opinion on them. Lots of other areas to base it on. PP,PK,forechecking, backchecking,physical, etc. But I’m sure being the great hockey mind you are, that you already know that and more. I pretty much concur w/ KJ’s takes as well. I have been encouraged w/ Gabbys play since donning the “C”-but not last nights performance. Hope to see the new and improved Gabby return tomorrow night. We need him now more than ever.
Man, I just remembered the predictions we made yesterday at the Russoville meet and greet. I can’t believe I didn’t predict that the Avs would get a penalty shot and Backs would actually make the save…
Missed a shot at greatness there.
I’m not sure you can put the L on Gabby. We played a great game and just didn’t get the bounce or were thwarted by Jose. They got some bounces and they got the ultimate bounce in OT.
Even though Gabby only had one shot I still think he had a good game. We outplayed them but got the L. Shat happens.
But I hope he gets a little more space tomorrow night.
I don’t think Demo has been that bad KJ. When he’s playing center he isn’t the same player as he is on wing. I wish he could play wing, but unfortunately DR didn’t foresee Walz retiring.
Speaking of Walz, that was a nice moment last night. I’m not hating on him for doing what he thought he had to do.
But I think we should approach Walz and see if he wants to play D. We should do that asap.
I was kidding with the Walz thing by the way…
KJ-
I agree with you to a point. Gabby needs to shoot for this team to win. But, last night, when they had him doubled up most of the game, so he was contributing in other ways. I again can’t say enough about the defense he put forth, and he was trying to create, he just never found the ice he needed.
Basically, I get all Simony on people who believe that Gabby not scoring in a game means he had a bad game.
And the fry guy was doing that.
Ugh. I think we are in big trouble here. I don’t even know what we’re going to do without Skoula OR Schultz.
Gabby, now would be a good time to have another 5 goal game.
Well ladies its time to hike up the skirts….
We need to do everything we can to disrupt the snowflakes. Skouba being gimpy puts in a place in a diffacult situation. He can only hope some treatment in the next 24 hrs can help but Carney and Hill deffitenly have to step up.
IMO I think Gabby can be pointless in a game and still be affective. However for that to work the other goal scorers (PMD or PMB, I am getting confused on which is right now) have to pump it up.
Now, I ma just gonna drop this bottle Everclear in this batch of Kool Aid and pass out for 24 hrs.
Which part about Walz, Dickie?
Correct me if I am wrong but I have been tuning in a bit to the Wings/preds game and there seem to be a significant number of empty seats at the Joe. could it be that playoff games don’t sell out in “hockeytown usa”?
DP: Red Wings have a number (apparently a very LARGE number) of season tickets bought by the ‘Big Three’ automakers. I’m sure they didn’t renew all their seats for the playoffs. Besides, why would you (if you’ve already seen them four times, and don’t really care to again) pay playoff prices for games against Nashville? Unless (and until) Anaheim comes a-calling, the Joe won’t sell out.
After that, you won’t get a seat at any price!
Boston College 6, UND 1 - I have seen ass kickings before but, wow. As a Gopher fan, all I can say is this - http://tnabacg.blogspot.com/search/label/demotivators - is as true today as it was when it was written.
We need to throw a walleye out der, git’em out of de freezer guys.
Having him play D ss6. When he did the “let’s play hockey” it was indeed touching.
This is just sickening! All the positivity from winning the division is gone. I on’t see how we can win this series and if we do how we have a shot vs the Sharks/Flames.
The Wild bandwagon is filling up fast. Talk radio is full of all the non-hockey types trying to hop on before it leaves without them.
They are full of comments that if employed would cause the tires to go flat immediately.
I still believe in this team but my faith has been shaken. I am optimistic that we can do something special here.
The Mr just finished watching the weather report. He says he’s Grumpy, I told him he didn’t look like Mark Parrish… thank you! Try the Finnish goat chops, I’ll be here all week….
I haven’t given up on my boys yet but they do seem to get the rottenest luck. I hope Skoula can go tomorrow, even if he doesn’t skate his usual amount of minutes. If they come out and skate hard they should be able to win.
I’ve pretty much got the Mr convinced we should go to McGovern’s. Any idea’s on how we will recognize each other? Shall we try for upstairs back room? Hmmmmm…. well I’ve got an early start tomorrow so off to bed for me.
I am wondering that too Bandgeek.
Down here from the northcountry, I will not have internet access to find out. Now that Greenstar won’t be wearing his “Blue Suede Shoes” there is no clue.
So, I don’t know if anyone is watching the calgary-SJ game, but I don’t understand the flames and how we can’t beat them.
On a separate note, they just took 3 penalties in a row, one while they were already on a 5-3. I think 6 or 7 in period two thus far. I would not want to be in that locker room at intermission.
Anybody notice Sakic had only one shot on goal last night? And, such a shot it was.
Any more injuries to the Wild and I am going to change my prediction. I cant see the Wild losing this series, but anymore injuries to the D and the Backstrom may have to work too hard if you know what I mean
I just cant envision the WIld losing this series even if they go down 3 games to 0
Hormel: your a weiner.
Greenstar: What playoff success has Demo had… Especially on that Blues team that was predicted to win the cup? NOTHING. We’ll see what he does tomorrow night…hopefully something. Same goes for Rolston although he played well last game. Time to step up… every team has injury issues. We are thin at D even before the 2 major injuries. If Hill is your depth you are in big trouble.
Tom..It would be impossible for us to play Calgary in the 2nd round. Which brings me to another pet peeve:
The guys who do the Wild program - and normally do an adequate job - put a Stanley Cup “bracket” in the program last night. As I’ve said before here, the SCP is not a “bracketed” tournament in the way we normally think of brackets. The teams are re-seeded after each round.
Last night someone in our section said they hoped we didn’t have to play Calgary, and I said I would be happy to play them, because it would mean we had won two rounds and were in the conference finals.
Then I had to explai how we couldn’t possibly play Calgary in the second round, and some other knucklehead pulled out his program and “showed” me that we would play the Sharks/Cows winner. I tried to tell him that the program was wrong, but I don’t think he believed me.
IF both the Wild and Calgary won in the first round (meaning San Jose is eliminated), the Wild would become either the #2 seed (behind Detroit) or the #1 seed (If Nashville beat Detroit).
If we were the #1 seed, we would play Nashville (the lowest remaining seed). If we were the #2 seed, we would play the Anaheim-Dallas winner, with Detroit playing Calgary.
It was irritating when Channel 5 showed that bracket on Sunday’s broadcast, it was more irritating that Dumb and Dumber didn’t correct it, and it’s really irritating that the Wild program staff would make the same stupid mistake. If you’re working for an NHL team, you should know better.
OK, so work was ridiculous today, so I’m about 10 hours late to posting this, but the 2:27 “spam” that NINY and Goody were referring to is what’s called a trackback; see here.
Nothing nefarious, just a note that’s dropped on there when someone else’s blog links to yours. A point could be made about link wh*ring, but that’s a whole other bag of glass.
I still don’t get.
Please append ‘it’ to the end of that previous post.
Mr. Blutarsky…
While I thought Gaborik’s game on Wed was ‘ok’, the Wild NEED him to break free and score - if they want to win the series. Sakic had one shot, and we know the result.
Dickie…
I think Demitra was a complete non-factor on Wed. If the Wild is to move past this round, he has to BECOME a factor.
I think PMB worked hard but played in a predictable fashon. Anyone that has studied him knows what he is going to do. Granted, if the Aged did not back-check hard and cut off the trailer we would be talking about PMB’s great game (2-3 helpers).
What the Wild must do tonight is win the little battles. Get that extra step. Pass more accurately. Go to the net harder. Even with our D situation the way it is, it still went to overtime and was there for the taking.
If Marty is out tonight, they have no choice but to insert Reitz (if they want 6 D men). I would dress an extra F (Simon) and put Voros in for Parrish. I’d spot Rolston on D every 6th shift or so. Then just rotate the 5 D men, always having either Johnsson or Burns on the ice at all times.
kj, it’s been pointed out before, but the Aves did a great job of shutting down 10+38. Not saying they shouldn’t work through it and make Colorado work harder to shut them down, but you can’t really blame them.
I also would not use Rolston on D. We need his offense and shots on goal. What I would do is play Johnsson and Burns on every other shift, and rotate the other d-men as their partners.
If Reitz or Skoula plays, use them sparingly.
If you dress only 5 defensemen, then roll 5 centers (38, 9, 25, 15, 67) and 4 wing pairs to keep the centers fresh and throw Colorado off on their matchups.
Or maybe play a Demo/Gaborik/Rolston line like against the Ducks last spring.
I don’t have time to read all teh posts from yesterday…work has been a b!tch.
But I did notice some PMB bashing, and I am not pleased. If you didn’t see the jump in his step you are blind. I think G* said it best when he said: “one thing i find just a little ironic is the blog continously b!tches about the wild’s penchant for dumping the puck and we need to carry it into the zone. PMB carries it into the zone and the blog b!tches that he just peels and sits on the boards. tough group to satisfy.” Let’s see what he can do tonight. Plus, Gabby needs to shoot more. The loss of Skooby Snack is really bad. I am not as optimistic about this series as I once was.
I am not as optimistic about this series as I once was.
okay, I was with you right up until here. But now it’s obvious this isn’t REALLY Austin, but someone posting AS Austin.
Don’t trust me that moving a F back to D is a bad idea? How about Pierre McGuire? Talking about Burns in the eastern fishwrap (sorry Russo).
McGuire said. “He’s so well coached. A lot of that ability shows how receptive he’s been to the coaching of Jacques and (Mike) Ramsey. Going from forward to defense is not an easy thing to do.”
NiNY, I may be overly optimistic at times… but this worries me. I can’t think how Hill or Carney or Reitz can cover the minutes that Marty had. It is troublesome. I hope we can take it to the Avs tonight for sure, but it’s going to be tough. Hopefully Reitz plays well.
no, that’s totally fair, Austin…I was just razzing ya
I know Nick.
I just had a really bad day at work yesterday, and I think it is carrying over into today. So I won’t be able to tolerate much PMB bashing.
Well at least Reitz will get some NHL playoff experience. And with the Wild being bounced from the playoffs later next week, he should be back in Houston ready to go!
Just a little tongue in cheek comment to try and brighten my mood.
This is not good news. Erik Reitz hasn’t seen a game since March 9th in the AHL and he is going to be thrust into the NHL playoffs with essentially zero practice/playing time with the Wild. Oh. My. God.
If he is over the ankle sprain he is a decent skater. But he will not be up to NHL playoff game speed and where will his conditioning be?
Good morning all,
Did I miss something? Is Skoula definitely out now?
AiH, you are not making me feel better!!
KJ, I realize that Gabby and Demo were bottled up pretty good on O the first game. I was referring to Demo’s game for the past couple months in my previous post.
Just wanted you to know how I was going about capturing the spirit of the thing.
Breakfast is served, ALREADY. It must be the playoffs…
Gotcha Dickie…
