Minnesota Wild vs Chicago Blackhawks, Saturday 1-22-22, 8:00pm, Xcel Energy Center

[EmptyShelf]

Just now, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Chit...you beat me to the Moose Punch!

Gotta be 'fast on the trigger....'  Yours is purdy....Mine is pissed....More appropriate for when Moose fights. 

[Alexandron]

1 minute ago, EmptyShelf said:

They just find a way.....That's what teams that go far in the playoffs have......

That particular game was for me like a playoffs game. We never had a luck against Chicago in playoffs seasons. And we beat them tonight tough but nice. 

[EmptyShelf]

5 minutes ago, Tomdog said:

Pu-dreau had better be one of those players who scores like mad in the in the playoffs 

He literally misses the net constantly, turns the puck over, and slows the momentum of Fiala and Boldy.  It is time for Rossi or Sturm to center this line.

[Alexandron]

Just now, EmptyShelf said:

He literally misses the net constantly, turns the puck over, and slows the momentum of Fiala and Boldy.  It is time for Rossi or Sturm to center this line.

Agree. I was surprise to see him in OT with Goligoski and Fiala. I had feelings that they do not know what to do together. Slow and passing back and forth. 

[ClusterChuck]

For some reason the Wild Brass seem to like Gudreau. 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Just now, ClusterChuck said:

For some reason the Wild Brass seem to like Gudreau. 

 

Maybe they just want to make him the Nick Punto of hockey  

[ClusterChuck]

1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Maybe they just want to make him the Nick Punto of hockey  

Quality Nick punto reference 

[Alexandron]

In my opinion, still STAR#1 KAHKONEN who stopped 33 out of 36 shots during this game (smart decision for Evason to put him 2 games in a row against Hawks);

STAR#2 FOLIGNO ( Moose 1st time in his career GWG in OT);

STAR #3 KAPRIZOV ( 1 goal; most shots(8) during this game).

Edited January 23, 2022 by Alexandron

[Alexandron]

5 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

For some reason the Wild Brass seem to like Gudreau. 

I hope, gradually it will change their decision. I think Gaudreau is good as a center for the 4th line. He is pretty physical, defensively minded and experienced for this position. Duhaime and Dewar are very physical too to play together with Gaudreau. Sturm is enormously fast (I do not see any faster than Sturm for our team) and he is able to bring more speed for Fiala and Boldy line as well as more production too.

[Alexandron]

11 hours ago, lynxrattle said:

The Hawks were not battling the way I'm sure they could. I expect them to fight for the puck in this one. 4-3 OT win for the Wild. Boldy assists, Fiala scores.

And you are the winner again, by predicting exact score in our win!!!!! 

[CreaseAndAssist]

Marcus Foligno Delivers in OT in 4-3 Wild Victory Over Chicago

 

Exciting game, but it didn't need to be.  I don't understand why they're trying to set up Gaudreau to shoot on the power play.  He might be less dangerous shooting the puck than Ryan Suter.  Still, 5 out of a possible 6 points this week is pretty good.  I have game recap, an extended Iowa Wild report, prospect news and more.  Enjoy!  

[lynxrattle]

A really fun game to watch. Unnecessarily tight, but I guess it goes like this sometimes. I really like the hockey IQ on Boldy. Maybe he could do a Mikael Granlund position switch from center to winger to center when he gets accustomed to the game.

 

Goalies played well. I think in the end it was decided by Lankinen making two slight gaffes and Kähkönen only one (by not finding that puck in the scrum). We're going to need good goal tending and conservation of energy. The latter part of the season is going to absolutely crazy, games almost every other day.

[Alexandron]

43 minutes ago, lynxrattle said:

A really fun game to watch. Unnecessarily tight, but I guess it goes like this sometimes. I really like the hockey IQ on Boldy. Maybe he could do a Mikael Granlund position switch from center to winger to center when he gets accustomed to the game.

 

Goalies played well. I think in the end it was decided by Lankinen making two slight gaffes and Kähkönen only one (by not finding that puck in the scrum). We're going to need good goal tending and conservation of energy. The latter part of the season is going to absolutely crazy, games almost every other day.

Very very smart player. His IQ is pretty high and valuable for this team. He practically does not make any stupid mistakes during the game. An interesting fact, that Boldy played 10 games in Iowa and had 10 points there(4 goals;6 assists; +/- 0). Here he played 5 games so far and is having 4 points already (2 goals; 2 assists; +/- +6). Almost he has a point per game.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Alexandron

[lynxrattle]

2 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Very very smart player. His IQ is pretty high and valuable for this team. He practically does not make any stupid mistakes during the game. An interesting fact, that Boldy played 10 games in Iowa and had 10 points there(4 goals;6 assists; +/- 0). Here he played 5 games so far and is having 4 points already (2 goals; 2 assists; +/- +6). Almost he has a point per game.

Yeah, it's incredible. Rookies have blackouts. We have vets who have regular blackouts. Boldy has played like he's always played in the NHL.

[CreaseAndAssist]

I still wish he was a better skater, but he's certainly got that 6th sense of where teammates are where he needs to put the puck.  He also seems to know just the right kind of touch to put on the pass when he makes it; whether to send it with some zip or to make it retrievable for a player moving through traffic.  

 

I also wish he'd shoot the puck more too, his shot is hard and accurate and it seems to cause problems when he puts one on net.  

[lynxrattle]

Boldy does look quite slow. Like Granny, he seems to be able to compensate with the hockey sense and great passing. Granny was a lousy shooter, though. If Boldy shoots well, that will give him one another way of making the game and the puck move faster. Still, I sure hope Boldy gets some skating training - and is able to add at least some speed.

 

I'd expect the refs will allow a lot of interference, hooking and grabbing during the playoffs, adding to the importance of strength, grit and acceleration, and making speed a bit less important than during the cleaner play during the regular season. But it doesn't change the fact of hockey becoming more and more about skating speed and the overall playing speed. Fast puck movement, fast thinking, fast hands, fast feet, and fast fists, if need be.

[Jimtown guy]

So I understand the Wild are now 12 for 16 when pulling their goalie. That’s insane 

[lynxrattle]

If somebody had predicted a team will do that this season, I would have laughed it off as totally crazy.