2013/2014 Minnesota Wild News and Notes - New Division and New Expectations

[Engebretson]

Still waiting for some good news on Ballard. Every passing Russo blog with no mention of improvement makes me even more nervous.

 

[mezcal]

Still waiting for some good news on Ballard. Every passing Russo blog with no mention of improvement makes me even more nervous.

He has had past concussions. Yeo mentioned this yesterday that they are keeping him out precautionary because of his symptoms. Hope he will be back soon.

 

[OpRedDawn*]

So if Backstrom wasn't 100%, why was he our sole backup for those games? VERY risky to do, especially with Hards as the starter

 

[Dampland]

I don't miss Ballard in the least. I see no need to rush him back onto the ice.

 

[mezcal]

So if Backstrom wasn't 100%, why was he our sole backup for those games? VERY risky to do, especially with Hards as the starter

I was thinking that same thing. Not smart.

 

[BigT2002]

I don't miss Ballard in the least. I see no need to rush him back onto the ice.

The kids can't manage the minutes that BOTH Brodin and Ballard can do. Stoner/Prosser/Spurgeon doing 20 minutes a game scares me

 

[thestonedkoala]

So if Backstrom wasn't 100%, why was he our sole backup for those games? VERY risky to do, especially with Hards as the starter

Because Kuemper isn't ready and neither is Gus. Kuemper needs more time in the AHL. Gus just needs time to absorb the game. What good is it if Kuemper rides the bench?

 

[mezcal]

I'm extremely impressed with what our defense has been able to do. Very happy with them. I think the forward lines need a little tweaking though. In goal, let's hope that Harding is alright or that Backstrom turns on beast mode.

 

[OpRedDawn*]

Because Kuemper isn't ready and neither is Gus. Kuemper needs more time in the AHL. Gus just needs time to absorb the game. What good is it if Kuemper rides the bench?

Because as tonight showed, you're playing an often injured goaltender. You're backing him up with a non 100% goaltender.... It doesn't sound like Backs was 100% coming into the game tonight. So, if (when) hards gets injured, you're risking Backs moreso than usual. Longterm, I'd rather Gustafsson or Kuemper play over an injured Backs......

Imagine if Backs tweaked his previous injury tonight.... especially having to come into the game cold ... then, we're stuck with what, Kuemps / Gusts for our team?

 

[TaLoN]

Back was not quite 100%, but he was healthy enough to go if need be according to both him and the team. They were planning on getting him a start by the end of the week and it is working out that way.

Backs at 95% is better than either Kuemper or Gus right now.

All NHL players play through some level of injury... goaltenders aren't any different. If he wasn't good enough to go, he wouldn't even have been backup.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Because as tonight showed, you're playing an often injured goaltender. You're backing him up with a non 100% goaltender.... It doesn't sound like Backs was 100% coming into the game tonight. So, if (when) hards gets injured, you're risking Backs moreso than usual. Longterm, I'd rather Gustafsson or Kuemper play over an injured Backs......

So, what then? If Backstrom isn't 100%, do you wait until he's 100% and let Kuemper, who needs the reps to sit in the press box? Or throw an inexperience Gus out there? Both Gus and Kuemper need ice time and they will only get that in the AHL. Hell with Harding out, they might have to be forced to call up Kuemper now but it didn't make any sense to have Kuemper up here and then send him back down if Backstrom was at least 90-100% ready to go.

Imagine if Backs tweaked his previous injury tonight.... especially having to come into the game cold ... then, we're stuck with what, Kuemps / Gusts for our team?

And if Backstrom gets injured when he says 100%? We have zero depth in goal right now.

 

[MuckOG]

And if Backstrom gets injured when he says 100%? We have zero depth in goal right now.

So would any team when their starter and backup both get injured. How many teams carry three or more NHL ready goalies?

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

Yeah exactly. Except for maybe St. Louis.

 

[Lapa]

Anaheim and Chicago also come to mind.

 

[tyratoku]

I posted this in all the other relevant threads already, but hey, one more can't hurt:

Charlie Coyle practiced again today. He's also not going on trip, nor is Josh Harding or Jonas Brodin #mnwild

So that means none of these guys are playing on our one game road trip, but they're not ruled out against Chicago at home on Monday.

I also just realized that after Monday's game against Chicago, the Wild don't play again until Friday against Montreal. Those extra few days' rest could really help out the injured guys. That's awesome.

 

[Victorious Secret]

Almost as many days off as the Blues.

 

[tyratoku]

The Wild are ranked #14 in nhl.com power rankings:

14. Minnesota Wild (4-2-3) | Last week: 11

The Wild are not going to shoot 4.2 percent as a team at even strength this season. They're also not going to stay at 59.1 percent in Corsi-for percentage (for reference, the best mark in the past five seasons was Detroit in 2007-08 at 58.7 percent). And they don't have the most trustworthy goaltending situation, given Niklas Backstrom's injury history and Josh Harding's injury history and illness.

Minnesota has found something though. The Wild have had at least nine more shots on net than the opponent in seven of their 10 games. Regression to the mean is going to be a net positive for them, unlike the collapse two seasons ago.

MUST READ: After years of searching for more shots on goal, the Wild have found them … but are waiting for more of them to go in, writes Dan Myers.

Linked at the end of that is another article Wild finally getting shots, waiting for goals to follow

For much of its recent history, at least on the shot chart, the Minnesota Wild have been trying to do more with less.

Minnesota won its only Northwest Division title in 2007-08 despite finishing 26th in the NHL in shots on goal. Until recently that was a high-water mark.

The four seasons after that the Wild finished 30th in that category, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs each time and dismissing a pair of coaches over that span.

When current coach Mike Yeo took over prior to the 2011-12 season, he sought to turn the Wild into a team that moved the puck "north," scoring more goals while playing a structured, simple system designed to get pucks deep and using an aggressive forecheck to pressure teams into mistakes.

EDIT: For comparison, here are a few other power rankings by websites:
ESPN #19

Something is just not quite right for a Wild team that has just 19 goals. Their record is pretty indicative of what is right now a pretty mediocre outfit.

Fox Sports #22(And they think Trouba is ours? What?)

GOOD NEWS: Backup goaltender Josh Harding did an astonishing job spelling injured starter Niklas Backstrom.
BAD NEWS: Jacob Trouba crashed into the dasher boards head first when he missed a check.
BOTTOM LINE: A sputtering offense limited the Wild to three victories in their first nine games

TSN #13

The record isn't great, but the Wild are due for better results. They have great team puck possession numbers and have six of their next seven games at home.
Key Injuries: C Charlie Coyle (knee).

CBS Sports #15

At 3-3-3, the Wild aren't getting wins to prove it but they've been an excellent possession team. It will pay off sooner or later; they won't shoot 4.3 percent all season.

Bleacherreport #14

Why They're Here: It was a strange week for the Minnesota Wild. The team won only the first game of the four-game trip they made, but there is a decent argument to be made that the team should have gone three-for-four.

James Reimer stood on his head in Toronto, turning aside 36-of-37 shots in a game where the Wild allowed only 14 total but still lost 4-1. It was a similar story in Florida, where Tim Thomas made 30 saves as the Panthers took home a 2-1 shootout decision in a game where they only managed 22 shots.

By The Numbers: In all 5-on-5 situations, the NHL's top-five teams by shot attempts percentage is pretty impressive. It includes San Jose, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, but all four teams are behind the Wild. Minnesota has impressively built up a 367-257 edge in shot attempts at even-strength early in the season.

So...kind of all over the place. Obviously some of these are pretty old(2-3 games old), but you get the rough idea.

 

[OpRedDawn*]

I posted this in all the other relevant threads already, but hey, one more can't hurt:


So that means none of these guys are playing on our one game road trip, but they're not ruled out against Chicago at home on Monday.

I also just realized that after Monday's game against Chicago, the Wild don't play again until Friday against Montreal. Those extra few days' rest could really help out the injured guys. That's awesome.

That does work out well. Personally, I hope they sit out of both chicago games, get the extra time, and be ready for friday hopefully

 

[Generic User]

You know you're on the Wild board when...

 

[Victorious Secret]

You know you're on the Wild board when...

#Minnesota #InjuryPride

 

[Engebretson]

#Minnesota #InjuryPride

Gophers have #prideonice

Wild have #playersonice

 

[tomgilbertfan]

You know you're on the Wild board when...

To be fair that's only our #2 and #4 defender, and a second-liner. And our starting goalie.

 

[thestonedkoala]

So would any team when their starter and backup both get injured. How many teams carry three or more NHL ready goalies?

A) Most teams don't have two injury prone goaltenders starting for them
B) Off the top of my head:
Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey, St. Louis...

 

[Nharris31]

New line ups Parise-koivu-fontaine Nino-Granlund-pominville sens fans two favorite people
Heatley - brodziak - Cooke Veilluex-konopka-Mitchell

 

[Avder]

Well, at least he finally got Heatley off the 2nd line.

Now if only he can get around to splitting up Koivu and Parise.

I still maintain that Koivu would be best on the third line, given his defensive play. His apparent lack of offensive confidence should also lend to that.