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Wild vs Rangers; Saturday 11/04/23; 7 p.m. CT; Xcel Energy Center Arena


Alexandron

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According to the Hockey News, Dean Evason will be playing "Blend the Lines" tonight, so we will see different players playing with different linemates than we have been seeing.
Everything from PP units (Zucc is rumored to be off of it...Rossi put in his place) to defense pairings will see revisions.

Will any of it work? That will remain to be seen.

True, the Rangers have been playing great as of late, however, they ARE missing some key pieces, and if the Wild are gonna get out of their funk, catching the Rangers missing Shesterkin, Fox, and Chytil, now, is the time to get things done.

Going back to the line changes, I read where Evason may roll out an all forward PP unit.
Not sure I like that very much...I mean, I can see why he'd try it, but any gaffes by any of the players, and they don't have a proper defenseman to fall back to prevent short handed chances.

Dakota Mermis wasn't mentioned as being on any PP unit, and while I don't feel he is a 'natural' PP guy, I think putting him in instead of using all forwards on the man advantage gives them a better chance at preventing shortie chances for the Rangers.
I've been pretty impressed with Mermis' shot and and quick passing ability.
Might be a case of "give him a chance on a PP unit and see"....maybe he can be a hidden gem PP specialist the Wild didn't know they had.

Can't hurt this miserable special teams group at any rate...

Go Wild!

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Blending lines huh? Hmmm.... I was hoping to see the Kap-Boldy-Rossi line again and let them play together for a while.
I'd rather steal a win from a hot team like the Rangers, Than play down to and lose to the Sharks giving them their 1st win. 😁

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13 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

Blending lines huh? Hmmm.... I was hoping to see the Kap-Boldy-Rossi line again and let them play together for a while.
I'd rather steal a win from a hot team like the Rangers, Than play down to and lose to the Sharks giving them their 1st win. 😁

 

Well, you know how that works....a HC will say something about his lines to the media (because they are EXPECTING something from him), and then, once the game starts, he will do what he needs to do...put together lines as needed, even if it goes against what he told the media earlier.

Case in point:
The TB-OTT game....Point and Kucherov were split up to 'spread the offense', as the Bolts are looking to spark things for themselves, and as he informed the media, but as soon as Ottawa took the lead, Coach Cooper puts Point and Kucherov BACK together...and lo and behold, those two click right away and tie the score.

So, yea.
Evason can say all he wants, but if stuff isn't working, he likely goes back to at least loading up one good line, and, as you said, just have them spend more time together to develop their chemistry.

The PP though....ugh....you know darn well SOMETHING needs to be done with that.
Putrid doesn't even begin to describe it...although I still say having five forwards isn't the way to go, but, hey, I'm not the coach.
I'm just like your garden variety podcaster or column writer who throws stuff at the wall to see if it sticks and gets me clicks.....I certainly hope I DON'T know more than the coach, otherwise, the Wild have real problems!😆

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1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Oh.
My.
Goodness.

I knew the Wild were struggling, but Gus and the team down 3-0 already???

Didn't see any of the goals against...is it the team, or is Gus just shatting the nets??

Deflection on 1st, But Gus missed the next 2 badly.

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'High n' Wide' Hartsy. 😅

2 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Because the team had been playing so bad, decided to bench Gus on my fantasy team.
Looking at his performance line...it is not just ugly...it is O-Gleeeee 😬

 

Good call. 😬

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LaPanta and Walz trying to chalk everything up to bad luck as usual.  This team can't afford to give up even soft goal.  Power play is all perimeter shots; a few guys sort of pass near the crease but no one really stays and battles there.  This team is real easy to defend and play against.  

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1 minute ago, wildstars95 said:

stay the course ...for the whole season and should snag at least  4 good draft picks in the summer Schitt's Creek gif. Dustin Milligan as Ted purses his lips and nods as he says, "That makes sense."

 

Yea, embracing the suck isn't such a bad idea.  Hopefully management doesn't try to do something stupid to fix it.  Although they did those stupid things just before the regular season started.  

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