lynxrattle

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhl-postpones-flames-panthers-avalanche-games-christmas/

No Panthers game...

It's the NHL. Any team can win any team. We won't get points for free, and that is what the team has now been doing for more or less 3 games.

Way too comfortable players on ice. I like to see how Evason deals with this. Personally I'd just kick whoever I could into AHL right now just to show them how ferocious the competition is. Anyone can show more compete than the bums we saw on ice in this one.

Talbot the exception of course. He had a huge game.

5  - 2 Wild win. The Sabres have been better and in the last game Luukkonen and Dahlin seemed quite good. I still think it's too early for these new talents in the Sabres. The Wild should be able to expose their weaknesses. 

1 hour ago, AlaskaFlyerFan said:

Amazon would collapse.  Whatever would we do? (Insert Ninja here)

Yeah, I know. The embargo would work two ways. Besides, Russia would not join an embargo against China, if they decided to invade Taiwan, and China would not embargo Russia over invading Ukraine. Any embargo could be negated by joint action. The goods would still flow between the two countries. The combination of nuclear weapons and China's economic significance makes the western world quite helpless against any aggression from either country.

What I would love to know is what is the statistical power in scoring through hitting someone's skates. You sometimes see those goals, but you very seldom feel that that was what they deliberately tried to do, score with a shot at the skates. As a European, soccer being such a predominant sport here it kind of feels natural that the goals could come from skate deflections too. No kicking motions of course, because the rules don't allow that. But would a deliberate skate deflection shot be statiscally efficient? Is it just a fluke goal or would it be one useable tool?

The one thing I know that skate deflection goals are dirty goals, which I absolutely love. Those are the goals that are needed in the playoffs. Come to think of it, seeing the Wild players control a soccer ball in their pre-game routines, I'm sure the players have the physical skills to do pretty magical stuff. They need to have the assistance and clearance from the coaching staff to do the mentally magical, creative stuff come PP time.

One way of forcing the situation out of balance, and forcing everyone out of their positions and moving, is simple: shooting. No-one can predict a rebound for sure. I think only Kaprizov, Zuccarello and Fiala should have free reins. The others should either have a set play to strive for, or the order to shoot every time there is a chance to bypass the blocking opponents.

They seem to infect the right opponents too. Aho is the best forward there, and Jarvis the most intriguing newcomer there.

If the players don't have creativity, then there needs to be a clear plan for them to follow. If there is creative players, let them run the PP and create.

The Wild has gained some respect and noticeablity in the media recently. Here's a big story that was published in Finland:

https://yle.fi/urheilu/3-12228455

Kahkonen interviewed. In condensation: 4 lines+6 defensemen rolling, scoring by committee, Ek-Foligno-Greenway a marvelous line, Kaprizov, Hartman's emergence, coach sharing responsibility to players, strong culture (and the inevitable and questionable Koivu link about him having been a major part in creating a workmanlike culture), weak PP playing possibly wrecking any potential playoffs success.

Nothing new really, but Kahkonen did praise "warriors" Kulikov and Merrill: good sticks, not a shot they will not try to block.

(Maybe the Wild can use the time missed due to Covid restrictions to practicing and inventing set PP plays. They really need a bag of tricks for that to work. Hartman has whiffed or missed shots recently, so we really need some new ideas there. Maybe they could plant Kaprizov to Gretzky's office. That was where he played PP for the Russian team in WJC 2016.)

32 minutes ago, Math said:

Now with the Flames and Canes having games postponed, the massive increase of players in Covid protocol and things turning into a joyful fecal matter flooding worldwide, my take is the NHL won't go.

It just won't work. The pandemic alone  makes it too difficult.

Damnit. Hope everyone's ok. Have to get my hockey watching some other team...

https://nhlrumors.com/2021-22-top-10-minnesota-wild-prospects/2021/12/13/

10 prospects with a lot of potential. Looking very good.

Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger had Foligno on their podcast. A lot of talk about the Wild's good start and lots more. Worth listening.

 https://rayanddregs.com/

3 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Svetlakov is playing in KHL for the CSKA club in Moscow for 7 seasons already. Even Kaprizov played with him for 2 seasons in that team. I do not know why the Wild did not tried him here, but should because he has a valuable experience from the best KHL team.

Probably the points from CSKA were too low to pique interest. But he did have a great junior tournament. Good shot, two goals, good skating. Maybe he got injured, maybe he just had that one great moment, then stopped developing. Only a few make it to the NHL. That is one added factor in WJC. One never knows who's going to be a success as an adults well.

It's the best international hockey there is. I just watched the 2016 final game again. Young Aho, Laine, Hintz, Kapanen, Puljujarvi, Kaprizov, Svechnikov, Provorov showing their skills with their teams in the final. Really standing out from their peers. Game tied in the last seconds, then won in OT.

The best player in those finals was a Minnesota draft pick Andrei Svetlakov, who for whatever reason never really made it, neither in the KHL nor North America.

WJC makes the break in the NHL bearable, even something to look forward.

The big team lost 2 in a row, Iowa has lost seven. Not good times, but good news from WJC: Lambos and O'Rourke play for Canada. We could have good use for them in the big team, given a few years. 

2 games lost in a row. Back to the drawing board time. Have a good night, all.

That's it then. 5 goals given is just too much.

Post

Where to get that jolt of extra energy...

Bailed out by Talbot

1 minute ago, Tomdog said:

We also need some players to fill in for games like tonight where players are definitly gassed.

Benn can only go for about 15 seconds

That would explain a lot about the way we have been playing now.

Just now, EmptyShelf said:

I have NO idea why Gaudreau gets so much TOI.  He is a bottom 3 at best.

Gaudreau is Evason's illegitimate son from a fling from a quarter of a decade ago