Minnesota Wild vs Winnipeg Jets, Tuesday 4-2-19, 7:00pm, Xcel Energy Center

[Tomdog]

Wow that looked pathetic

[bbgarnett]

LOL what a fustercluck

[Tomdog]

Every other team in this conference is trying to get the wild in the playoffs.

[MNSOTA]

1 minute ago, Tomdog said:

Every other team in this conference is trying to get the wild in the playoffs.

 

Well then they're the dumb ones, because we won't be there.

[Oregonwildfan]

3 minutes ago, Tomdog said:

I have been watching a lot of eastern conference games lately and it doesn't look good for the western conference

Yeah its pretty loaded out east for sure. Calgary shouldnt scare anyone, not to say there not talented but id roll the dice as an 8 seed against them. Vegas, i still dont understand how they win. The central teams are pretty much good but not great. But the wild crapped the bed far to much to even make it. 

[MNSOTA]

Wow, I learned something new tonight. There's a "referee's crease" which is a half circle along the boards in front of the scorekeepers bench. A player or players can be assesses a game misconduct if they enter or linger in that crease during a stoppage when officials are conferring with each other or talking to the scorekeeper.

[EmptyShelf]

An end of year game with desperation.  Not surprised. 

 

The sad thing, is this is not just a down year.  It is a trend, and a harbinger of things to come.  They are still leaning too heavily on the old men in this game. Parise, Suter, Dubmyk, in spite of the fact that they are not going to make the playoffs (unless all peers go 0-Fer, which is unlikely).

 

 I just don’t like the chemistry of the team unless the young players are on the ice improving.  I have nothing more to see from 11, 20 and 40. Were we to limp into the playoffs, we would bow out without a win, complete with all the same cliches from 20, 11, and 40....so fatigued by them over these long years. 

[EmptyShelf]

2 minutes ago, MNSOTA said:

Wow, I learned something new tonight. There's a "referee's crease" which is a half circle along the boards in front of the scorekeepers bench. A player or players can be assesses a game misconduct if they enter or linger in that crease during a stoppage when officials are conferring with each other or talking to the scorekeeper.

That’s news to me, as well.  Never knew that....

[MNSOTA]

Just now, EmptyShelf said:

That’s news to me, as well.  Never knew that....

 

Well when you considering how rarely you actually get a view of the ice on FSN that shows that small patch of ice, it's not a shock.

[EmptyShelf]

Suter throws the puck to Spurgeon in his own end from 4 feet with a guy on him (and full ice to skate forward or make a different decision).  Jets get puck, but turn it over.  No harm.   However, this is a microcosm of the decline of Suter.  His decisions on both ends of the rink have fallen as fast as his skill level (unfortunately, his arrogance hasn’t).  Spurgeon bails him out constantly on these ‘hillbilly dumb’ decisions. 

[bbgarnett]

Foligno Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MNSOTA]

FOLIGNO!!!!!

[EmptyShelf]

Lou Ferrigno with a G

[EmptyShelf]

Old lady Suter - pick a guy to defend on a 2:1, don’t just stand there and melt the ice swinging your purse. 

[bbgarnett]

Wild Win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All to late though especially with Colorado now taking it to Edmonton, our season is officially done. I will watch to see hopefully Nico Sturm play the rest of the season.

 

 

[Bear]

Good win to little to late 

[CreaseAndAssist]

Parise and Wild Rout Winnipeg 5-1

 

Like Bear said...too late to play like this.  Although lets face, we clearly were facing the #3 goalie in Winnipeg's system tonight.  While it felt good to beat the Jets up one more time, this clearly was a throwaway game for them.  Looks like Colorado is going to win so this won't mean anything.  I thought the 4th line played really well and Eriksson Ek and Greenway are probably Minnesota's best forecheckers right now.  Watching Trouba walk four Wild players while shorthanded was pretty ugly.  Full game recap, and Wild prospect news too...enjoy!  

[lynxrattle]

It's always nice to win but Comrie was awful. Still, we need to win most of the time the other team is either weaker than us or not taking us seriously - and today we did exactly that. May the Jests play like they played today in the playoffs  

[Math]

Nothing is more beautiful than the useless.

[ClusterChuck]

13 hours ago, MNSOTA said:

Wow, I learned something new tonight. There's a "referee's crease" which is a half circle along the boards in front of the scorekeepers bench. A player or players can be assesses a game misconduct if they enter or linger in that crease during a stoppage when officials are conferring with each other or talking to the scorekeeper.

The one odd penalty we didn't get this season.  

Aside from having Comrie in net, I thought our guys played well as a team. They knew it was over even tho they had to say There's still a chance.

Take some positives from Greenway and Ek for next season.

[EJ0226]

Honestly, I find this win upsetting. All season they had the ability to control their destiny by just trying and putting in the effort. Majority of the time they didn't. Finally once the control is taken out of their hands they go out and put in a full effort, nice looking game. It's all for nothing. Frustrating.

 

I hate this season. Feels like a season of a team trying for maybe 25% of the time. This year is so open for anybody in the West to go to the cup. It was the perfect time for the Wild but due to their effort and lack of interest they don't even get a shot. And I hate hearing the excuses of we were down Dumba and Koivu. So what? Other teams lose key players all year. The Wild have played that card to much. All it shows is either you lack depth or can't develop players. Other teams are going to the playoffs in the same situation. Hell the Flyers are only 1 point behind us and they are on goalie # 8 for the season! They have a excuse to be at last place and they aren't.

[Jimtown guy]

5-0 against the Jets. 2-1 against Vegas winning both there. Shutting out the Bolts In Tampa and so on. Mind boggling 

[Alexandron]

4 hours ago, Jimtown guy said:

5-0 against the Jets. 2-1 against Vegas winning both there. Shutting out the Bolts In Tampa and so on. Mind boggling 

Agreed . Mind boggling. It was a frustrating depressing year. Western Conference was much weaker than Eastern Conference this year. We were able to beat 5 times out of 5 Winnipeg team, we were able to beat on their ice Tampa, Vegas, Washington, Calgary and etc. We had a real chance to be successful in a playoffs this year, but we were not able consistently to score those stupid goals. Embarrassing stats on home ice as well 9 shutouts against us made us none competitive especially when played against poor teams. No excuse for injuries at all – the other players should step up when the key players are out. That happened with any team during the season. The most toughest one are always on the top. Our team was walking on the razor’s edge and was not able to show their possible talent at the level of the WILD craziness. Here is an example of the talented art when the wild craziness transfers from the team to the fans, to the public. A heavy rock band ACDC performing a song “Thunderstruck”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

 

[EmptyShelf]

2 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Agreed . Mind boggling. It was a frustrating depressing year. Western Conference was much weaker than Eastern Conference this year. We were able to beat 5 times out of 5 Winnipeg team, we were able to beat on their ice Tampa, Vegas, Washington, Calgary and etc. We had a real chance to be successful in a playoffs this year, but we were not able consistently to score those stupid goals. Embarrassing stats on home ice as well 9 shutouts against us made us none competitive especially when played against poor teams. No excuse for injuries at all – the other players should step up when the key players are out. That happened with any team during the season. The most toughest one are always on the top. Our team was walking on the razor’s edge and was not able to show their possible talent at the level of the WILD craziness. Here is an example of the talented art when the wild craziness transfers from the team to the fans, to the public. A heavy rock band ACDC performing a song “Thunderstruck”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

 

So, I took a 1/2 day before responding to these results and posts with a renewed perspective.  You simply cannot be as breathtakingly inconsistent as the Wild unless several things are going on in concert.  These are my Top 4:  

 

1)  Role Confusion:  the constant line juggling could explain the complete up/down play from one game to the next, and player to player - there is NO full line continuity that survives more than a dozen games, and it shows when you can beat a Tampa one game, and take a dump versus Detroit over a week or month.  It just defies logic.

 

2)  Acute lack of leadership:  your leaders should keep all players on an even keel and focused - we clearly have lacked leadership FOREVER; both in the regular season and playoffs.  We gain NOTHING in this department from 9, 11, and 20.  Just because you get paid the most, shouldn't make you an automatic captain or alternate, when you lack all requisite requirements to be one - does the effort or play of 9, and 20 inspire others!?!?  How about the insubordination of 11 and 20 in hiring their own coach to show up at Team Ice with no authorization and 'show up' your head coach!?!?  Where is the Country Club when a teammate is drilled, or needs to be 'picked up' - yep, taking care to ensure that they get a cheap second assist, or exceed 30 minutes on the ice, or win a 'dishonest' face-off, or get a garbage 'chip in' goal.

 

3)  Inability to sustain Focus:  Dubnyk is a perfect example.  He can make the eye-opening save, followed by the squirt-level gaffe one minute apart - there just is no excuse for this unless a player is playing under stress too often, or there is just a lack of the mental will-power to stay on track game-to-game or over 60 minutes.  Some players can do this, and some can't.  It is up to the coaches to monitor the stress (how many crucial games in a row), the players to help mitigate it (particularly defense and back-checkers), and the player to know when they need break - no Super Hero's are necessary.

 

4)  Dysfunction/Disunity:  this is something that I really place a great deal of stock into with the Wild.  I don't think the locker room is healthy AT ALL.  I think the Country Club creates the impression that 'all is well,' as does the coach, but my sense is that there is a great deal of disgust by players like Foligno (and others that bring an 'honest days work' every game) - while some of your players coast and milk TOI, have excessive contracts, take days off, and have a mutual 'leg humping' relationship with the owner.  This does not 'wear well' on a real TEAM, and particularly with the 'gritty players'.

 

In short, these are my thoughts, and they have fairly easy resolutions that I (and many) have been barking about all year.  The C and As need to be pulled, CL and Fenton need to stay out of BB's ear with line-ups and TOI expectations, and CL needs to 'close the door' on all past relationships with 9, 11, and 20.  This IS a business, not a 'mutual admiration society.'  Besides, it is long past time that CL should be feeling like he is receiving NO REASONABLE RETURN on the $20M/year he is presently doling out for 9, 11, and 20 with no success beyond Rd 1 of playoffs (and some profit from tix sales and Warming House that is about to plummet - I am dropping my tix now that this season is over - I might reconsider if they bench the Country Club, pull the C and As, and sign Kaprisov)

[4Check]

I'm fascinated by the speculation about Leipold's meddling and apparent deference to his two on ice buddies.   And I'm especially interested in the Fenton/Boudreau relationship.   I sure wish Russo (or someone else) would pull back the curtain on the behind the scenes story.

IMO Boudreau or Russo would be the most interesting persons that could candidly reveal the "rest of the story".   My wild guess is that, whoever might write the definitive book on all things Wild, would not do so until they've cashed their last check.    Even then, I doubt it will ever happen.