CreaseAndAssist

Personally I blame Furman South for this loss...j/k Nashville Shuts Out the Wild, 4-0 Despite Greenlay and Carter's attempt to rationalize this loss but its another great example of how little finishing ability this team has. Parise might as well be on a milk carton. Suter was lost and then decided to add insult to injury with another gaffe on the blueline. I thought the goals were a bit soft that beat Stalock tonight. But still, the story was the Wild's inability to bury its chances and the Predators made them pay any time they got a prime chance. I have a full game recap and a prospect report too...(sigh).

Furman South was that gutless wonder who always said he'd kick your ass...but never did a damn thing. In other words...Alexandre Burrows.

Furman South...and his asshole dad.

Wait a sec..here's Furman South...here's your guy.

Furman South you say...here's your guy.

Wild vs. Predators Game Preview Minnesota Wild (3-6-0) 6pts 7th in the Central 2.33 Goals For Per Game (29th in the NHL) 3.56 Goals Against Per Game (27th in the NHL) 18.2% Power Play (20th in the NHL) 77.4% Penalty Kill (19th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #77 Brad Hunt ~ 4G 2A = 6pts 2. #12 Eric Staal ~ 2G 3A = 5pts 3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 4A = 5pts 4. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 3G 1A = 4pts 5. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 1G 3A = 4pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 19 PIM’s 2. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 8 PIM’s 3. #24 Matt Dumba ~ 6 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (2-5-0) 3.92GAA .880%SP 2. #32 Alex Stalock (1-1-0) 1.64GAA .942%SP 1SO Vs. Nashville Predators (5-3-1) 11pts 2nd in the Central 4.22 Goals For Per Game (1st in the NHL) 3.44 Goals Against Per Game (23rd in the NHL) 20% Power Play (15th in the NHL) 69% Penalty Kill (30th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #4 Ryan Ellis ~ 1G 11A = 12pts 2. #95 Matt Duchene ~ 2G 9A = 11pts 3. #59 Roman Josi ~ 4G 5A = 9pts 4. #33 Viktor Arvidsson ~ 5G 3A = 8pts 5. #9 Filip Forsberg ~ 5G 3A = 8pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #59 Roman Josi ~ 13 PIM’s 2. #5 Dan Hamhuis ~ 11 PIM’s 3. #51 Austin Watson ~ 7 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #35 Pekka Rinne (5-0-1) 2.31GAA .921%SP 2. #74 Juuse Saros (0-3-0) 4.74GAA .853%SP MNSOTA wrote up the game preview, I'll be on the post-gamer. The Wild looked terrible in the season opener against this club. But they've played much better as of late while the Preds have stumbled a bit. I think the Wild could make a game of this one, even with the people we have out. Stalock starts...enjoy and discuss!

No memorabilia. However I did see him fight when he was with the Houston Aeros before he ended up moving up to the big club. RIP indeed.

Eric Staal Strikes Twice as Wild Shut Down the Oilers, 3-0 Pretty solid effort by this club. One of the more complete efforts we've seen in years actually. The 4th line looked great and most of the lines were contributing and really helping Minnesota set the pace of play all game long. I thought Mayhew, Dumont and Soucy looked super comfortable this evening. Hopefully Dubnyk and Greenway are ok. I have a full game recap and an extended Iowa Wild report...enjoy!

Wild vs. Oilers Game Preview Minnesota Wild (2-6-0) 4pts 7th in the Central 2.25 Goals For Per Game (29th in the NHL) 4.00 Goals Against Per Game (31st in the NHL) 16.7% Power Play (21st in the NHL) 75.9% Penalty Kill (20th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #77 Brad Hunt ~ 3G 2A = 5pts 2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 4A = 5pts 3. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 3G 1A = 4pts 4. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 1G 3A = 4pts 5. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 1G 3A = 4pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 17 PIM’s 2. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 8 PIM’s 3. #24 Matt Dumba ~ 6 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (1-5-0) 4.18GAA .874%SP 2. #32 Alex Stalock (1-1-0) 2.07GAA .929%SP 1SO Vs. Edmonton Oilers (7-1-1) 15pts 1st in the Pacific 3.33 Goals For Per Game (9th in the NHL) 2.22 Goals Against Per Game (5th in the NHL) 38.5% Power Play (1st in the NHL) 90.3% Penalty Kill (3rd in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #97 Connor McDavid ~ 5G 12A = 17pts 2. #29 Leon Draisaitl ~ 6G 10A = 16pts 3. #18 James Neal ~ 9G 1A = 10pts 4. #77 Oscar Klefbom ~ 1G 8A = 9pts 5. #25 Darnell Nurse ~ 1G 6A = 7pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #74 Ethan Bear ~ 8 PIM’s 2. #25 Darnell Nurse ~ 6 PIM’s 3. #16 Jujhar Khaira ~ 4 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #41 Mike Smith (3-1-0) 2.51GAA .917%SP 2. #19 Mikko Koskinen (4-0-0) 2.21GAA .934%SP Are these two teams even in the same league? Statistically it is night and day, but can Minnesota re-focus itself and earn another home win before going back on the road? MNSOTA wrote up the game preview, I'll be on the post-gamer. Enjoy and discuss!

Wild Resilient in 4-3 Home Win Over Montreal Better effort, but against a team playing on the 2nd night of a back to back. I guess its a start. Brad Hunt is still the team's leading scorer. Finally a goal off the rush. I have a full game recap and a ton of prospect updates. Enjoy and discuss!

Not sure I'd call it cajones...I would have more respect if he called out his old linemates who amble around the ice.

I think its funny (and hypocritical) to call out Bruce Boudreau in this situation. The players control their effort and for the most part their preparation. To Zucker and any of the other Wild players right now...shut the $^ck up and do your job. Zucker has enough problems in his own game to keep him busy.

I would agree with this...

Normally stretch passes involve someone moving fast. The Wild are slow as hell...so you're 100% right @IllaZilla they're just throwing the puck away on attempts like that.

I would agree. If we're going to be bad, which seems likely, we might as well be as bad as we can be. By the way...Donato is playing center tonight and Rask is out with a lower body injury according to Russo.

That's a really good memorial...I am sure @Antti_Laxative could share plenty of memories as well. He's a bit before my time.

That'd be in Elk River. Personally, I think this is a reflection of both Fletcher and Fenton...but the most damning is still Fenton who squandered what little flexibility and moveable assets they had and got no future assets for most of them.

He knows its a tightrope. Especially with the culture of this Wild locker room. He probably wants to bench at least one of the vets, but he knows Leipold won't be too thrilled to see one of his big money players sitting in the pressbox.

Wild vs. Canadiens Game Preview Minnesota Wild (1-5-0) 2pts 7th in the Central 2.33 Goals For Per Game (26th in the NHL) 4.17 Goals Against Per Game (29th in the NHL) 15% Power Play (24th in the NHL) 77.3% Penalty Kill (19th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #77 Brad Hunt ~ 2G 2A = 4pts 2. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 1G 3A = 4pts 3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 3A = 4pts 4. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 0G 3A = 3pts 5. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 2G 0A = 2pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 10 PIM’s 2. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 8 PIM’s 3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 4 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (0-5-0) 4.44GAA .867%SP 2. #32 Alex Stalock (1-0-0) .71GAA .973%SP 1SO Vs. Montreal Canadiens (2-2-2) 6pts 7th in the Atlantic 3.50 Goals For Per Game (10th in the NHL) 3.83 Goals Against Per Game (28th in the NHL) 23.8% Power Play (12th in the NHL) 61.1% Penalty Kill (29th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #13 Max Domi ~ 3G 3A = 6pts 2. #11 Brendan Gallagher ~ 2G 4A = 6pts 3. #92 Jonathan Drouin ~ 2G 4A = 6pts 4. #90 Tomas Tatar ~ 2G 3A = 5pts 5. #40 Joel Armia ~ 3G 1A = 4pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #90 Tomas Tatar ~ 8 PIM’s 2. #8 Ben Chiarot ~ 4 PIM’s 3. #24 Phillip Danault ~ 4 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #31 Carey Price (2-2-1) 3.33GAA .896%SP 2. #37 Keith Kinkaid (0-0-1) 4.93GAA .872%SP I wrote up the game preview, @MNSOTA will be writing the post-gamer. This should be a team the Wild can match up against fairly well. I think Montreal has more speed than the Wild, but that's true of probably every team in the league these days. Will the younger players get more ice time and opportunity with the veterans struggling so much? I think we're getting closer to some kind of crossroads on that subject especially as the losses continue to pile up. Stalock gets the start...so we'll see if that gets the club to play with a little more fire. Leipold and Guerin will be at the game again..enjoy and discuss.

Sad news indeed. RIP in Danny Grant. He was originally a Montreal player right?

In the midst of the Wild's 4-game losing streak to start the season we had a power play that was in the Top 10. But overall...I think most of us would see Toronto's potential for power play scoring is probably greater than the Wild. My guess is the sample sizes are not equal.

I know Russo thinks this Luczyzcyn kid is one of the smartest people he's ever met. He might be. But a lot of people who are all in on the analytics and modeling way to track sports; they don't watch games. Why? The model tells them what they feel they need to know. If you're writing about all of the NHL's teams right now, why would you want to spend much time on the Minnesota Wild? I can't see why. Morbid curiosity?

Wild vs. Maple Leafs Game Preview Minnesota Wild (1-4-0) 2pts 7th in the Central 2.40 Goals For Per Game (22nd in the NHL) 4.20 Goals Against Per Game (29th in the NHL) 17.6% Power Play (20th in the NHL) 84.2% Penalty Kill (10th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #77 Brad Hunt ~ 2G 2A = 4pts 2. #46 Jared Spurgeon ~ 1G 2A = 3pts 3. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 1G 2A = 3pts 4. #17 Marcus Foligno ~ 0G 3A = 3pts 5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 2G 0A = 2pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 10 PIM’s 2. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 6 PIM’s 3. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 6 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Devan Dubnyk (0-4-0) 4.56GAA .862%SP 2. #32 Alex Stalock (1-0-0) .71GAA .973%SP 1SO Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2-1) 7pts 3rd in the Atlantic 4.00 Goals For Per Game (7th in the NHL) 3.50 Goals Against Per Game (21st in the NHL) 22.7% Power Play (15th in the NHL) 77.8% Penalty Kill (20th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #34 Auston Matthews ~ 6G 1A = 7pts 2. #16 Mitch Marner ~ 2G 4A = 6pts 3. #88 William Nylander ~ 2G 3A = 5pts 4. #65 Ilya Mikheyev ~ 2G 3A = 5pts 5. #91 John Tavares ~ 1G 4A = 5pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #18 Andreas Johnsson ~ 6 PIM’s 2. #94 Tyson Barrie ~ 6 PIM’s 3. #15 Alexander Kerfoot ~ 4 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #31 Frederik Andersen (3-2-0) 3.38GAA .886%SP 2. #30 Michael Hutchinson (0-0-1) 3.85GAA .894%SP I wrote up the game preview today, @MNSOTA will be on the post gamer. Winning over Ottawa is one thing, trying to get a victory over the Maple Leafs is a greater challenge. Can the Wild surprise us by at least getting a point or two from tonight's game? Enjoy and discuss!

Yet Bill Guerin is smart enough he has to sell hope to keep people buying tickets. If he said..we're hopeless. He'd be fired immediately even if he was being honest.

I will be surprised if we end up with over 80 points this season.