TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 The Minnesota Wild rid the NHL playoffs of the "massive" favorite St. Louis Blues in just six games. I will admit, the Wild winning is an upset....but a mild one.At the start, I thought the Blues SHOULD be favored due to their playoff runs in seasons past and their division win this year.However, that favored status, IMO, was not a large one. Wild may have come in as a Wild Card team, but they are certainly better than that.I had Minnesota competing for the division during preseason and if perhaps Darcy Kuemper's play not falling off a cliff, maybe the Wild would have been there all year. They faltered badly, Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher took a chance on Dubnyk, he helped get the team out of the chasm they were in, helped get them into the post season, where Minnesota proceeded to show WHY I thought they should have been in the Central Division conversation all year. The team is certainly more than just Devan Dubnyk.It is Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Nino Niedderreiter, Matthew Dumba and the rest of the team who all worked as solid units to get things done. The Wild, through their fast transition game, skating speed, and tenacity in the offensive zone, many times made the Blues look like they were standing still.That was NO accident.Blues have their way of playing, Wild have theirs...in this case, Wild's proved superior. Bottom line. And moving into the next round, I also have Chicago as favorites over Minnesota...but again, not by much.I think the Wild are starting to reach a point where they are more than just "a little team that can"....they are legitimately good, and look to be for a long time if they can somehow keep the main cogs of their core together for the next few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Wild in 6 games, Tucker scores 2 OT goals in games #4 and #5 to give the Wild an insurmountable lead. Well, nailed that one, huh?? Off on the Zucker OT goals, but what the hey....a nice call on the winner and games it took...nice pat on the back for the jammster!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Amazing. So many threads about choking and chokers on hockey boards these days, and most of them are not about the Sharks! The blues. Oshie, Backes, Hitchcock, Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin, Nash, Boudreau, Miller, the Sedins, Does not help my confidence that upon google searching "Biggest hockey chokers", the Sharks came up 5 times in 10 on the first page haha. Stamkos has a 9 page one going on now. lol On the flipside, the "clutch" players Toews and Kane got their heads together an collectively screwed their own team, demanding dual max contracts for both or neither would sign by the looks of it. The other clutch players, the Kings stars, just showed the meaning of cup hangover by missing the playoffs completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 @J0e Th0rnton For all the great press and regualr season success, Hitch has one....count'em....*ONE* playoff series victory since he left Philly....=# overrated. #standbyyourman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 @J0e Th0rnton For all the great press and regualr season success, Hitch has one....count'em....*ONE* playoff series victory since he left Philly....=# overrated. #standbyyourman.Against the playoff choking sharks. I am pretty sure Joe Thornton was the only shark who did show up that series. Lead the team in goals, assists and +/- lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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