2021 Minnesota Wild In-Season Thread

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1-1 after the 1st period. Not a good start to the period. But then it got better after that.
 




It's over I'm afraid.

This will be hard to accept. A Minnesota professional franchise not making much movement in the playoffs.
 


GophersInIowa said:
How is this not a major? About as dirty as it gets.

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Just got back from the game. I have to be honest, biased for sure, but watching that replay over and over, it's far from a malicious hit. A case could be made that he was trying to get around Suter to go after the puck. People don't like Reaves, I get it. The league will probably look at it, if they do something or not, I'm fine with it either way. If it wasn't Reaves, I doubt many would be screaming that much.

Game was pretty lopsided outside of 6-7 minutes in the first and maybe a glimpse or two in the second. Having Max Pacioretty back for the VGK was a huge, huge boost obviously. Damn, was it nice to see him back on the ice.

Pretty brutal series physically, I would expect that to take at toll on the Knights for their series with the Avs. I think that will be one helluva series, I like the matchup for Vegas better than this one.

Good season for the Wild and some reason for optimism I would think. The rookie is obviously the real deal but damn there are some monster contracts on that Wild roster that are really going to hurt moving forward.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Just got back from the game. I have to be honest, biased for sure, but watching that replay over and over, it's far from a malicious hit. A case could be made that he was trying to get around Suter to go after the puck. People don't like Reaves, I get it. The league will probably look at it, if they do something or not, I'm fine with it either way. If it wasn't Reaves, I doubt many would be screaming that much.

Game was pretty lopsided outside of 6-7 minutes in the first and maybe a glimpse or two in the second. Having Max Pacioretty back for the VGK was a huge, huge boost obviously. Damn, was it nice to see him back on the ice.

Pretty brutal series physically, I would expect that to take at toll on the Knights for their series with the Avs. I think that will be one helluva series, I like the matchup for Vegas better than this one.

Good season for the Wild and some reason for optimism I would think. The rookie is obviously the real deal but damn there are some monster contracts on that Wild roster that are really going to hurt moving forward.
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It is a pretty weird case to make IMO considering he’s looking in Suter’s direction the whole time, Suter didn’t make any sudden change in his movement and Reaves didn’t do anything to actually try to get around Suter.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Just got back from the game. I have to be honest, biased for sure, but watching that replay over and over, it's far from a malicious hit. A case could be made that he was trying to get around Suter to go after the puck. People don't like Reaves, I get it. The league will probably look at it, if they do something or not, I'm fine with it either way. If it wasn't Reaves, I doubt many would be screaming that much.

Game was pretty lopsided outside of 6-7 minutes in the first and maybe a glimpse or two in the second. Having Max Pacioretty back for the VGK was a huge, huge boost obviously. Damn, was it nice to see him back on the ice.

Pretty brutal series physically, I would expect that to take at toll on the Knights for their series with the Avs. I think that will be one helluva series, I like the matchup for Vegas better than this one.

Good season for the Wild and some reason for optimism I would think. The rookie is obviously the real deal but damn there are some monster contracts on that Wild roster that are really going to hurt moving forward.
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And then he tried to hurt another player tonight. He’s a POS that should be suspended for awhile.
 

How screwed are the Wild by those deals to Suter and Parise? If they could be replaced with an actual all-star and money to lock-in existing players, the Wild would be extremely dangerous.
 



TruthSeeker said:
How screwed are the Wild by those deals to Suter and Parise? If they could be replaced with an actual all-star and money to lock-in existing players, the Wild would be extremely dangerous.
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Suter's deal is fine, Parise unfortunately hasn't aged very well.
 

Vegas is a really fun team to watch. Too bad the Wild had to match up with them immediately. Could have gone either way, but they are just a little better. I look for the Habs to step up the physicality in Game 2 as they were very tentative last night. Tons of speed on Vegas and it's really fun to watch Tuch - he's a talent. He sure would look good in a Wild jersey....
 

WOW! What a game tonight - Game 3, Vegas vs. Habs. Vegas dominant in shots on goal, but a massively huge gaffe by Fleury with 2 minutes remaining - and Vegas dominating - provides the Habs with a gimme goal to tie the game. Canadiens have the best chances in OT and score an absolutely gorgeous goal to take the 2-1 series lead - making moot getting screwed just prior on what should have been a 5 minute major penalty on Vegas. Quite a turn of events and lots of great hockey left in this series.
 

MAF has been outstanding this postseason, but that was an awful play last night and cost Vegas the game. And just seconds after Pierre McGuire was saying how great he’s been handling the puck.
 



This has just been the most baffling series. I find myself at times feeling sorry for Montreal, or at least for Carey Price, as the game is often times just Montreal trying to chase the Knights all over their defensive zone for the puck, and yet the series is 2-1 in favor of Montreal. VGK has controlled the play all over the ice for the most part.

Price has been light years better than any other player in the series, not close. As far as VGK opponents, both Minnesota and Colorado were considerably better than Montreal but holy shit, if there were ever a series that proved the age-old notion that a hot goalie can take you a long ways, this was it.

As far as MAF leaving the crease and making that catastrophic mistake, I can just hear the older woman who sits behind me at the VGK games having a stroke; she screams at him every time he leaves the crease.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
This has just been the most baffling series. I find myself at times feeling sorry for Montreal, or at least for Carey Price, as the game is often times just Montreal trying to chase the Knights all over their defensive zone for the puck, and yet the series is 2-1 in favor of Montreal. VGK has controlled the play all over the ice for the most part.

Price has been light years better than any other player in the series, not close. As far as VGK opponents, both Minnesota and Colorado were considerably better than Montreal but holy shit, if there were ever a series that proved the age-old notion that a hot goalie can take you a long ways, this was it.

As far as MAF leaving the crease and making that catastrophic mistake, I can just hear the older woman who sits behind me at the VGK games having a stroke; she screams at him every time he leaves the crease.
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Great analysis. Vegas is so quick, skilled and big, they are really hard to deal with. Their offensive zone passing is some of the best I've ever seen, which is why they get so many shots on goal - I don't know if the stats support this, but I am guessing they get a smaller percentage of shots blocked than most - either that or they simply have more shot attempts period.

I think there is some coached scheme at play here too - maybe Oh Gee can confirm this. I believe I see some set plays in their o-zone attack that I haven't really seen before. When a Vegas player gets control of the puck higher up with a bit of space (closer to the blue line than the net) - the player with the puck either a defensemen or forward on a button hook - in response, anyone else who has space - INCLUDING defensemen, bury their head and look for open space on one side of the net or the other - in the range of the faceoff circle depth, by the inner edge of the circles. Then the play is to shoot/pass the puck - sometimes blindly - to that space and look for a redirect, one timer or pass reception. The "set play" I'm talking about is that it really seems like a focus and that the passes/shots are many times done blindly and intentionally not on goal (which leads to less blocking of these attempts).

Oh Gee - any idea if I'm onto something or on something?
 

This would be so freakin' Minnesota - the Wild finally get a potential superstar, and now they're having trouble signing him to a new contract:

According to NHL Network's Kevin Weekes, contract talks between the Minnesota Wild and Kapril Kaprizov have "gone cold" as they work a new deal for next season.

Per the report, Kaprizov has returned to Russia where his old KHL team, CSKA Moscow, has made an effort to re-sign him. Kaprizov likely wouldn't make as much money returning to Russia but there would be the added benefit of playing for Russia in the Olympics in 2024, which does not include NHL players.

But Kaprizov's contract presents a unique situation. Kaprizov was eligible to jump to the NHL last season but had to sign a two-year entry-level deal instead of the typical three-year deal given to players younger than age 22.

With his contract expiring, the Wild need to sign Kaprizov to an extension as a restricted free agent. While the Wild appear willing to throw down the money for a new contract, The Athletic's Michael Russo reported earlier this week that the length of the deal could be the hold up.

According to Russo's report, the Wild want to sign Kaprizov to an eight-year contract but Kaprizov's camp wants a shorter deal to ensure an out before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
 

GopherJake said:
Great analysis. Vegas is so quick, skilled and big, they are really hard to deal with. Their offensive zone passing is some of the best I've ever seen, which is why they get so many shots on goal - I don't know if the stats support this, but I am guessing they get a smaller percentage of shots blocked than most - either that or they simply have more shot attempts period.

I think there is some coached scheme at play here too - maybe Oh Gee can confirm this. I believe I see some set plays in their o-zone attack that I haven't really seen before. When a Vegas player gets control of the puck higher up with a bit of space (closer to the blue line than the net) - the player with the puck either a defensemen or forward on a button hook - in response, anyone else who has space - INCLUDING defensemen, bury their head and look for open space on one side of the net or the other - in the range of the faceoff circle depth, by the inner edge of the circles. Then the play is to shoot/pass the puck - sometimes blindly - to that space and look for a redirect, one timer or pass reception. The "set play" I'm talking about is that it really seems like a focus and that the passes/shots are many times done blindly and intentionally not on goal (which leads to less blocking of these attempts).

Oh Gee - any idea if I'm onto something or on something?
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I think most of their play is personnel-specific to be honest; each line plays a little differently. The 2nd line, or line 1B (since until this year it was the #1 line since Day One) of Karlsson-Marchessault-Smith has played together so long, they know where each one is going. That's just one example, without going into detail for each line. Stephenson being out the last two games has been a rough go for the Knights; he's not a dangerous Center, and he's far from what most teams would call a #1 Center, but his speed and savvy and playing between Stone and Pacioretty makes him very very effective.

I think what separates the Knights is their defensemen, along with the grinding and productivity of the 3rd and 4th lines. The Knights blue-liners have been really really good in the playoffs, noticeably better than any of the teams they've played I think.

I think Mark Stone is easily, but subtly, one of the best players in the league. Watching him every night, the little plays he makes, the steals, the hockey IQ, the leadership; I wouldn't trade him for just about anyone in the league. He's a finalist for the Selke, and may not win it even though I think he easily should. The Knights did not have a Captain for their first 3 years in the league, and named him Captain to start this season. Holy shit has he proved them all right.

Long ways to go in this series, but dumping these last couple games was tough, last night especially. It's been maddening to watch Carey Price stymie the Knights again and again. It's not uncommon for the Knights to get 30-40+ shots on goal and not score a LOT (they did that against Minnesota) but Price is at a whole new level in the net. That scares me
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I think most of their play is personnel-specific to be honest; each line plays a little differently. The 2nd line, or line 1B (since until this year it was the #1 line since Day One) of Karlsson-Marchessault-Smith has played together so long, they know where each one is going. That's just one example, without going into detail for each line. Stephenson being out the last two games has been a rough go for the Knights; he's not a dangerous Center, and he's far from what most teams would call a #1 Center, but his speed and savvy and playing between Stone and Pacioretty makes him very very effective.

I think what separates the Knights is their defensemen, along with the grinding and productivity of the 3rd and 4th lines. The Knights blue-liners have been really really good in the playoffs, noticeably better than any of the teams they've played I think.

I think Mark Stone is easily, but subtly, one of the best players in the league. Watching him every night, the little plays he makes, the steals, the hockey IQ, the leadership; I wouldn't trade him for just about anyone in the league. He's a finalist for the Selke, and may not win it even though I think he easily should. The Knights did not have a Captain for their first 3 years in the league, and named him Captain to start this season. Holy shit has he proved them all right.

Long ways to go in this series, but dumping these last couple games was tough, last night especially. It's been maddening to watch Carey Price stymie the Knights again and again. It's not uncommon for the Knights to get 30-40+ shots on goal and not score a LOT (they did that against Minnesota) but Price is at a whole new level in the net. That scares me
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Really interesting post. Thanks for the breakdown of 1A & B. Yes, I agree, Stone is a load and agree on all the subtle, little things he does well. To your point on the D - Pietrangelo and Theodore are really solid players. I know Piet won the Cup with St Louis. Do you feel like his being added has lifted the entire corps? As far as Pacioretty - you were bemoaning his absence early in the Wild series. I can see why. He's got a super high hockey IQ and seems to be involved in a lot of scoring opportunities and dangerous plays (in terms of a threat to score).

And yeah, Price has been ridiculous. He's just very disciplined and staying the course on approach - be big, be in the line of fire, pads on the ice. He's not a stand on his head guy. Speaking of that, did I ever link this article about the change in goaltending? Super long, very interesting read:

www.theatlantic.com

Hockey Has a Gigantic-Goalie Problem

Never before in the NHL’s history has a tail so wagged the dog.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com
 

GopherJake said:
Really interesting post. Thanks for the breakdown of 1A & B. Yes, I agree, Stone is a load and agree on all the subtle, little things he does well. To your point on the D - Pietrangelo and Theodore are really solid players. I know Piet won the Cup with St Louis. Do you feel like his being added has lifted the entire corps? As far as Pacioretty - you were bemoaning his absence early in the Wild series. I can see why. He's got a super high hockey IQ and seems to be involved in a lot of scoring opportunities and dangerous plays (in terms of a threat to score).

And yeah, Price has been ridiculous. He's just very disciplined and staying the course on approach - be big, be in the line of fire, pads on the ice. He's not a stand on his head guy. Speaking of that, did I ever link this article about the change in goaltending? Super long, very interesting read:

www.theatlantic.com

Hockey Has a Gigantic-Goalie Problem

Never before in the NHL’s history has a tail so wagged the dog.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com
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Good article, thanks.

Knights going with Lehner in goal tonight. Wow. I'm not opposed to Fleury getting a break but DAMN, Lehner hasn't played in a while and his last outing was rough, but the Knights did hang him out to dry in Game 1 against Colorado. Lehner is really good, I have faith in him. At the end of the day, if the Knights don't start getting more pucks past Price, it doesn't matter who VGK puts in goal. Lehner will be solid tonight, I have no doubt.

Pietro has been amazing in the playoffs. They opened up the checkbook for him and I wasn't sure (and it took him most of the season to get it going), but he's been phenomenal, and I'm sure that presence in the locker room is priceless. Theodore is a very good offensive D-man, but the real unsung hero is Martinez, who also won a cup with the Kings; the guy led the NHL in blocked shots by a mile, has great puck savvy, will lay his body down in front of any shot; he has hardly practiced the entire playoffs because of how much of a beating he takes blocking pucks. At $4M/yr and a free agent this offseason, I would have thought that was VGK best chance to shed some salary but holy shit, I wonder if they can afford NOT to sign him, even though they have a couple of young D-men ready to play.

Not to get off on a tangent but the Knights have really set themselves up for the long term. They moved proactively on some long-term team friendly deals, but no deals that will be cap hell with players older than 37 (I think the Wild have a couple guys signed to big deals to age 40+?!). For example, Tuch at $4.75M for the next 4 years looks fantastic. Only multiple players regressing or massive long-term injuries could really slow down the franchise. And they will always be free agent destinations for players league-wide; great arena and fans, great winter weather, no state income tax, an owner that wants to win and isn't afraid to spend money. It's a great situation all around.

People bitch about the expansion draft favoring VGK so much but in all reality, they made a bunch of moves that paid off during that time. They could have easily swung and missed on most of those deals and been terrible. Basically, if they made 20 expansion draft moves (players selected, taking picks from people for taking other players and contracts, etc), they hit on 18/20. it's as simple as that. People forget that immediately after the expansion draft, they were picking VGK to be one of the worst expansion teams in history. Doesn't exactly back up the argument that the league had it geared for them to be great. By that rationale, Seattle should make a playoff run in their first year also, eh?

Too long, sorry. I'm a big fan, season ticket holder and like you said, they are a lot of fun to watch, especially at The Fortress. Even after inexplicably dumping these last two games, if they win tonight, they have home ice for a best 2 out of 3 series.

As I think about it, losing this series to Montreal would probably feel just about like the Vikings losing the NFC Champ game to the Falcons to end the 15-1 season. Disastrous, and unexpected.
 

Another really interesting post, @Oh Gee.

Last night's game was weird. Vegas looked tired for the entire game, but especially the first half. Lehner did well, but not superstar. He was bailed out once when way out of position, but overall solid. The key save was on Caufield's breakaway. They go up 2-0 there, it's over. Caufield made a great move, but, like the announcer said, got a little anxious and/or Lehner guarded against the 5 hole attempt. I think if Caufield waits a split second longer, he slides it through untouched? Anyway, boy he's a talented young skater - a sniper.

But Montreal wasn't what I would call dominant. Maybe they were a little tired too?

The game-tying goal was a head-scratcher. I am not sure how that thing made it through. Price was in seemingly ideal "gigantic goalie" position. I guess there was a little tiny crease there. I slowed it down and watched it over-and-over and I still don't see how it got through.

And the game winner? If you watch that play, you'll see the Canadien defensemen stumble into Price, not once, but twice. Credit Roy for incredible patience and a savvy play learned by screwing with goalies in practice. Seldom do you have that much time to fiddle with the puck that close to the net. I was surprised a Montreal D didn't throw his body across the net, but, they were stumbling over each other. All those unnecessary collisions cost them the goal and the game. Feels like Vegas stole one there.

Who starts in net in game 5????
 

GopherJake said:
Who starts in net in game 5????
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That's the million dollar question. I actually think Lehner's game matches up better against Montreal than maybe Fleury. Montreal doesn't have the high-flying, dynamic scorers and shooters like Colorado (or even MN probably), where you might need an athletic and flamboyant goalie moving all over the place. Lehner and Fleury couldn't be more different, and I think someone who plays position and is so big and takes good angles like him could be perfect against Montreal. Lehner is still a top 10 goalie in the league and would be the #1 goalie for probably 22-24 teams in the league. Forget about Game 1 against Colorado (when the players flat out said they hung him out to dry and they were gassed after the MN series), Lehner has been great all year; there's a reason they split the William Jennings trophy for lowest GAA on the season.

Another theory is that Fleury just doesn't play well in his home town of Montreal; either way, I think they start to split time more. If you buy that Fleury doesn't play well in Montreal, you'll see Fleury tomorrow night and Lehner in Game 6. For the record, I expect to see VGK's best game of the series tomorrow night.

I'll be there tomorrow night, I'm comfortable with either goalie. Fleury has obviously been the heart and soul of the team since the expansion draft, Day One, and is beloved by everyone in the building, but I'm a big Lehner fan also. They are in good shape, I hope Price starts to wear down a little bit!
 

Should have started Lehner. NOW who starts game 6? Has to be Lehner. But TV guys suggested it would probably be Fleury.

Wasn't able to watch first two periods closely - post-game at the bar with the softball team, watching at a distance. But it didn't look great. Vegas seemed gassed again. Woke up big time in the 3rd period. Great defensive play to just take enough steam off the shot on the Pacioretty pass across to save a goal that would have made it 3-2. That was pretty much the last gasp.
 

GopherJake said:
Should have started Lehner. NOW who starts game 6? Has to be Lehner. But TV guys suggested it would probably be Fleury.

Wasn't able to watch first two periods closely - post-game at the bar with the softball team, watching at a distance. But it didn't look great. Vegas seemed gassed again. Woke up big time in the 3rd period. Great defensive play to just take enough steam off the shot on the Pacioretty pass across to save a goal that would have made it 3-2. That was pretty much the last gasp.
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I just made it home a bit ago. One of the most frustrating and uneventful games I've ever seen. Sure, I'm a homer and this is a homer take but WTF; Montreal just mucks shit up, clutching, grabbing, holding, slashing, jamming up the neutral zone, etc. Drag the game down and keep it in the neutral zone, hope for mistakes to capitalize on, and they got a couple. Fleury wasn't great, but the defense hung him out to dry a few times. I still like Lehner as a matchup for this Montreal team.

Just one of the most boring and crappy games of hockey I've been to. I'm not sure I buy the tired angle, I attribute it more to Montreal's style of play. They have zero interest in getting into a game that goes up and down the ice. The 3rd period finally opened up and the play started to move up and down the ice a little bit but by then Montreal was content to just chuck it up the ice, dump and chase, ice it whenever they felt they needed to.

Yuck.
 


GopherVotary said:
With Danault dominating the draws, Habs don’t mind icing the puck.
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Very astute observation, to be sure. I don't recall VGK being great on the face-offs too much historically but it seemed this postseason they had been winning large percentages against Minnesota and Colorado, but Danault has been stealing the show in the draws, no doubt about it. For a team that lives on control, defense, slowing it down, that has helped Montreal in the series in a big way
 

The other series has been awfully entertaining also. Barzal played like a man possessed last night, and Beauvillier wins it in OT with a great steal and shot. Losing Kucherov took a bite out of Tampa’s attack (the amount of cross-checking teams get away with anymore is getting ridiculous); it’ll be key if he can play game 7. If the Isles survive the first ten minutes, they could very well pull this out.
 

GopherVotary said:
The other series has been awfully entertaining also. Barzal played like a man possessed last night, and Beauvillier wins it in OT with a great steal and shot. Losing Kucherov took a bite out of Tampa’s attack (the amount of cross-checking teams get away with anymore is getting ridiculous); it’ll be key if he can play game 7. If the Isles survive the first ten minutes, they could very well pull this out.
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Thanks for that, as I haven't been tracking that series nearly as closely. Partially out of (unfounded?) hatred for the success that Tampa has had.

Can you expand? Are there any local angles? Or players to watch?

And yes, cross-checking is a) painful on the receiving end, b) can result in several different types of injury, including very serious injuries and c) totally unfair and disruptive when done in front of the net. I would love to see a crackdown, including use of double-minors, even if there is no injury.
 

GopherJake said:
Thanks for that, as I haven't been tracking that series nearly as closely. Partially out of (unfounded?) hatred for the success that Tampa has had.

Can you expand? Are there any local angles? Or players to watch?

And yes, cross-checking is a) painful on the receiving end, b) can result in several different types of injury, including very serious injuries and c) totally unfair and disruptive when done in front of the net. I would love to see a crackdown, including use of double-minors, even if there is no injury.
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Brayden Point has been on fire for TB (great name for a goal scorer). One-time Mr. Hockey in Minnesota Ryan McDonagh is playing well for TB. As far as the Isles, former Wild player Clutterbuck has been hitting everyone in sight and in general being a great instigator, and Barzal has, at times, been the best player on the ice.

The sports world pretty much revolves around Tampa these days, between the Lightning, the Rays, and the Buccaneers/Brady Bunch.
 
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Sounds like Robin Lehner in goal tonight for VGK, which should surprise nobody. If the Knights win, they have to start Lehner at home in Game 7 I would think. First things first, they have to nail down the win tonight. GO KNIGHTS GO!!!
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Sounds like Robin Lehner in goal tonight for VGK, which should surprise nobody. If the Knights win, they have to start Lehner at home in Game 7 I would think. First things first, they have to nail down the win tonight. GO KNIGHTS GO!!!
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Marchessault nets two tonight (you heard it here first).
 

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