GDT: Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks GDT 3/18/13

[mezcal]

Heater should be on the fourth line, he is useless and -11

Bouchard/Zucker have been good and deserve spots.

I think Hackett should start this one just because Backs has let in 7 in his last 2, It's like they are afraid to put Hackett in.

 

[Laredo]

Channel listing for anyone wondering what channel FSN+ is on.

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/common/medialib/270/685997.png

 

[Syan Ruter]

What's with the pessimistic attitudes? Party on!

Blowout-victory, 7-3, with goals from Parise x2, Koivu, Brodz, Seto, Suter & Clutterbuck. Bet on it.
oh, and Backstrom lets in a few easy ones, duh.

 

[Wildfan10*]

The Wild have been rolling lately, there is no reason that shouldn't continue. Wild win 4-3.

 

[Blizzard6411]

5-2 Wild

Parise
Koivu
Zucker
Cullen
Konopka (he has to get a point some time right?)

Suter=5 assists

One of the Canucks goals will bounce off the back of Suters head into Brodins knee and then off Suters ankle.

 

[Beegoalie]

Spurgeon could shoot the puck right into the goal and some morons would still blame Backs for letting in a soft one. the majority of goals he's let in in the last 10 games have been weird. bank shots off defensemen, tips, strange bounces off the end boards. I think he needs a break too but as with Harding, way too many people underestimate the talent gap between Backs and our backup. Fatigue will play a factor though...You got nerves on one end or fatigue on the other as possible problems and you have to figure out which one is the least poisonous vs your opponent that night.

I agree with a lot of this and 99% of your posts Ryn so don't take offense here but I wouldn't go as far to say as there is a talent difference..there is a clear experience and track record difference. But Hackett and Kuemper are both talented goalies..


Sure its an extremely small sample size and clearly one that would need to get more games to be a legit argument but who's to say Kuemper or Hackett aren't the real deal? Or at least respectable successors to Backstrom if not better than him right now in the small time we've seen either.

Look at the stats this year.

Backstrom: 21 games 2.40 and .911
Kuemper: 4 games 2.22 and .924

And Backstrom/Hackett last season:
Backstrom: 46 games 2.43 and .919
Hackett: 12 games 2.38 and .921

Who is to say that if we used Keumper and Hackett the rest of the season that there numbers won't actually be better than Backstroms?

I would argue Backstrom has slowed down since he came to Minnesota and after he got his big contract however...

Trust me I am no advocate for getting rid of Backstrom or anything as you clearly need a veteran goalie like him with his experience and track record but I thought it was curious taking a look at the numbers behind it.

Maybe there is no gap at all and in time with more playing time to show their talent either Keumper or Hackett send Backstrom packing...

 

[Kaptain]

Spurgeon could shoot the puck right into the goal and some morons would still blame Backs for letting in a soft one. the majority of goals he's let in in the last 10 games have been weird. bank shots off defensemen, tips, strange bounces off the end boards. I think he needs a break too but as with Harding, way too many people underestimate the talent gap between Backs and our backup. Fatigue will play a factor though...You got nerves on one end or fatigue on the other as possible problems and you have to figure out which one is the least poisonous vs your opponent that night.

This. Backs needs a break, though. It just sucks that we have such an important game tonight at a time that Backs is clearly worn out. Everyone knows that Yeo isn't going to start Hackett in a game this important, but Backs just seems tired. He needs a rest. I fear that Backs may get pulled tonight, but even if he doesn't I hope to see Hackett next game.

 

[GopherState]

9 PM Division start time on the alternate channel? Yeah, not going to miss you Vancouver.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

9 PM Division start time on the alternate channel? Yeah, not going to miss you Vancouver.

You'll miss me, GS, admit it.

The Canucks haven't really played a good game of hockey since our win against the Kings, IMO - that was our one real, solid, 60-minute effort of the season. Since then it's been more Hyde than Jekyll, that's for sure.

If the Canucks try to play this game the way they did against Detroit, you'll blow us out of the building.

That said, hoping some pride comes to their rescue tonight - a few Minnesota boys coming back into the lineup in the form of Schroeder, fresh off a recall from the farm, and Ballard, fresh out of being let out of Alain Vigneault's basement, which I hear bears a striking resemblance to the Governor's "workshop" from The Walking Dead/

 

[OpRedDawn*]

Channel listing for anyone wondering what channel FSN+ is on.

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/common/medialib/270/685997.png

all dem channels listed and my provider isn't on there

 

[rynryn]

we'll see. before Van's poor-play stretch here i was writing this one off as an acceptable loss. I figure Ducks, Canucks, Chicago, and St. Louis will beat us more often than not and everyone else the opposite.

 

[Avder]

Wild continue the offensive party.

Here's hoping for a Cloutier-esque goalie showing for Vancouver in our last divisional duel.

Man I miss that guy. He was so fun to watch get lit up.

Backstrom was shaky in his last start. I'm expecting a bounce back game for him and the D. (We've scored 11 in the last two games, but have given up 7, which is no bueno).

3-1 Wild. Goals by Seto, Cullen, and Spurgeon.

Backstrom only "bounces back" when he either gets the loss or gets pulled, so I'm not too optimistic that he will take this game as serious as he needs to.

I don't like the 4th line that way.

Rupp was doing well there, and we need to punish the Canucks to be successful IMO. Zucker will be fine, but I like to have more grit on the 4th.

What I think a lot of people need to remember is that our fourth line does a pretty damn good job getting in the opponents zone and hanging on to the puck. With Zucker on that line they now have some scoring touch. If PMB keeps playing like he has been, this could be our lineup for the forseeable future.

I really dont consider our fourth line a fourth line anymore. Our third line is the one thats the least visible overall. Hopefully what we saw in Saturday's game becomes a trend, even if it is dumb luck rebound goals off of Heater posts.

 

[rynryn]

our fourth line really hasn't been our worst line all year. they've looked good to great no matter who was stuck there.

 

[rynryn]

I agree with a lot of this and 99% of your posts Ryn so don't take offense here but I wouldn't go as far to say as there is a talent difference..there is a clear experience and track record difference. But Hackett and Kuemper are both talented goalies..


Sure its an extremely small sample size and clearly one that would need to get more games to be a legit argument but who's to say Kuemper or Hackett aren't the real deal? Or at least respectable successors to Backstrom if not better than him right now in the small time we've seen either.

Look at the stats this year.

Backstrom: 21 games 2.40 and .911
Kuemper: 4 games 2.22 and .924

And Backstrom/Hackett last season:
Backstrom: 46 games 2.43 and .919
Hackett: 12 games 2.38 and .921

Who is to say that if we used Keumper and Hackett the rest of the season that there numbers won't actually be better than Backstroms?

I would argue Backstrom has slowed down since he came to Minnesota and after he got his big contract however...

Trust me I am no advocate for getting rid of Backstrom or anything as you clearly need a veteran goalie like him with his experience and track record but I thought it was curious taking a look at the numbers behind it.

Maybe there is no gap at all and in time with more playing time to show their talent either Keumper or Hackett send Backstrom packing...

Its fine if people disagree Yes, quite possible Kuemper or Hackett will develop into a better goalie. I went over this more in depth before but basically I think Backs plays better when the team plays better in front of him. Duh, right? I mean that he is capable of so much more when the team is consistent, because he relies on knowing what's going on on the ice more than the young guys, and reads plays better. If we had continued to play as trashy in front of him as we did the first part of the season then I might actually want them to switch it up more, but the Wild are playing much better team-defense now, and Backs has an edge. Could call it experience instead of skill I suppose, but I think he's probably innately better at reading the ice than what we have otherwise. Reactions obviously not there, but as long as we keep taking care of rebounds and pushing screens aside he'll be better than Hackett or Kuemper 8/10 games.

these things tend to bite me so now he'll probably get pulled :/

 

[Dampland]

Wild haven't won in Vancouver since 1/31/2009*

Sadly, I don't expect this to change.

As someone already mentioned, I fully expect a freak goal in the Casucks favor at a critical time of the game. (broken stick dump in, that hits divit in the ice, changed direction by 70 degrees and ricochets off linesman's skate past backstrom)

Plus Backstrom will be tired and flopping like a fish out there.

Lastly I see 3 pipes (no goals) for the Wild tonight as well as 8 minor penalties to kill off.


Vancouver D-bags win 4-1, plus I expect a Wild player to get hurt due to an UNcalled penalty commited by Burrows or Hensen.

 

[jedisports]

Still have faith we get points tonight. I don't know how or what precisely is going to happen but we will leave there with 1 or 2 points, mark it down.

 

[Dampland]

So, Clutterbuck, who could play on the fourth line, stays on the third. Heatley, who hasn't been trying at all stays on the third. And our third line has been so dominant... I'll at least give Brodziak some credit that he tried pretty hard last game.

Then Zucker, a slightly undersized, slightly injury prone, just coming off an injury, gets thrown on the fourth line.

Well alright then.

Good thing you're not the coach then huh.

Sure makes sense to the vast majority of us. And if you think Heatley "hasn't been trying at all", then you really don't know anything about hockey other than reading the stat sheet.

 

[Dampland]

Channel listing for anyone wondering what channel FSN+ is on.

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/common/medialib/270/685997.png

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 

[bozak911]

#burnNordy

 

[Italian Spiderman]

Wild win 3-2! Don't stop the party

 

[Karl]

Stupid FSN North. They should put it to a vote on their website on which game gets put on FSN North + Oh well hopefully the shake this losing streak in Vancouver and bring home a win!

 

[NHL1674]

All I ask is that Yeo not make the same mistake twice and leave Backstrom in should he struggle early. Or if we see a situation like in Chicago where the goalie wasn't the main problem, but the team as a whole didn't show up and Backs couldn't stop the bleeding. You switch goalies to light a spark and send a message. Don't let the team dig an early hole that is too tough to climb out of. As we saw later in that Chicago game, they started making a game out of it. But it was the delayed reaction on Yeo's part that killed the chance of coming back. He waited 1-2 goals too long before doing something.

 

[tyratoku]

I don't get to watch the game. Apparently we don't get FSN+

Anyway, TSN wrote an article about tonight's game.

The first half:

Top spot in the Northwest Division is up for grabs this evening when the Vancouver Canucks play host to the Minnesota Wild.

Minnesota and Vancouver both have 32 points through 27 games, putting the clubs four points ahead of Edmonton in the division standings. Tonight marks the final of four regular-season meetings between the co-leaders this year.

The Canucks took the first two, including a 2-1 home victory on Feb. 12. That left the Wild winless in Vancouver since a 4-3 overtime win on Jan. 31, 2009.

Minnesota did best Vancouver for only the third time in the past 12 meetings overall with a 4-2 home win on March 10, getting a pair of goals and an assist from Zach Parise.

The Wild have won four of five and nine of their last 13 to catch the Canucks in the standings. Minnesota's 6-4 victory on Saturday in Colorado created the tie for first place as Vancouver lost to Detroit later that night.

 

[Sportsfan1]

Was hoping for Hackett today as I think Backs needs a rest...but...I could also see sitting him vs Detroit instead.

Backstrom has been bad.....bad.....bad in Detroit, no reason to start him there Wednesday, we'll see Hackett. So no problem starting him tonight, though he sure as heck better be ready.

Lines for tonight updated btw.

 

[jedisports]

I'm getting nervous. This feels like a playoff game to me.