MN Wild 2022 Playoffs

streakygopher wrote:

Fleury definitely not sharp tonight…flopping like a crappie on the dock…doesn’t pass the eye test.

Apparently that’s up for debate.

So much for home ice. This Blues team was a terrible draw for the wild.

Kryptonite.

Thirty-Four wrote:

Armadillo wrote:

Lots of Blues fans calling for Spurgeon to be suspended for the playoffs. Seems a bit dramatic, but what do I know?

I’m old school, so no, but that was a Marchand kind of douche move. 👎

A suspension is very warranted on that cheap ass move by Spurgeon. That is intent to injure. Maybe not the rest of the playoffs, but multiple games is deserved.

Look… I know many of you are not fond of Bonin21. But that was completely uncalled for by Chill Kessel.

I’m coming around to the dealing Spurgeon to keep Fiala idea.

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

Jupiter wrote:

Thirty-Four wrote:

Armadillo wrote:

Lots of Blues fans calling for Spurgeon to be suspended for the playoffs. Seems a bit dramatic, but what do I know?

I’m old school, so no, but that was a Marchand kind of douche move. 👎

A suspension is very warranted on that cheap ass move by Spurgeon. That is intent to injure. Maybe not the rest of the playoffs, but multiple games is deserved.

They seem to do kind of 1 playoff games = 3 regular season games for suspension so maybe he gets 1 game. But who knows with the NHL they have zero consistency.

streakygopher wrote:

Definitely a dick move but nowhere near brad Marchand. Weird to see him lose his cool there foe no apparent reason.

If he breaks his ankle or otherwise knocks him out of the series? Man, wake up. 👎

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 6 days ago by Jupiter.

I’ll say this as the resident Blues fan: The Blues had their doors blown off multiple times in 2019. They had refs hose them badly ( the hand pass game winner to go down 2-1 to San Jose, for instance), but the team battled and kept their composure. This series is a loooong way from decided.

Thirty-Four wrote:

streakygopher wrote:

Definitely a dick move but nowhere near brad Marchand. Weird to see him lose his cool there foe no apparent reason.

If he breaks his ankle or otherwise knocks him out of the series? Man, wake up. 👎

Agree 100%. The result could have been terrible. Spurgeon should be out at least 1 game. And Lord help us (and the game in general) if we’ve reached the point where a player has to sink to crossing “The Marchand Line” in order to be suspended.

Thirty-Four wrote:

I’ll say this as the resident Blues fan: The Blues had their doors blown off multiple times in 2019. They had refs hose them badly ( the hand pass game winner to go down 2-1 to San Jose, for instance), but the team battled and kept their composure. This series is a loooong way from decided.

For sure. Nobody can overreact to Game 1. The Wild played great 5 on 5 for the most part. Special teams were bad, and Husso got bailed by the pipe a couple times. I imagine tomorrow’s game will be much different. Stay out of the box, start Talbot, and keep grinding. Just because the Wild lost game 1 doesn’t mean this is “the same old wild” “MN sports in the playoffs always do this” blahblahblah.

Blues got a great win, but they can’t take too much pride in that either.

For the Wild to win the series they are going to have to prove they can stay out of the box. I don’t think they can.

Greyeagle wrote:

gopher hockey fan 7 wrote:

For sure. Nobody can overreact to Game 1.

Wanna bet?

Bingo. After all, this IS GPL we’re talking about. Overreacting is in our DNA.

Armadillo wrote:

Lots of Blues fans calling for Spurgeon to be suspended for the playoffs. Seems a bit dramatic, but what do I know?

He’ll get one game maybe… but the suspended for the playoffs is sounding like UND fan talk… until it’s one of their players and then it’s hard nose hockey.

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by bearpaw28.

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

No it wasn’t. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be chippy and emotional regardless of what the other team does.  The Wild absolutely dominated that game at even strength. Their failures to finish quality chances, and a horseshit PK is why they lost. Had nothing to do with some strategy to make the game emotional.

The idea that a team can just decide to not take penalties is also ridiculous. This is the NHL, the Wild are going to get penalized just as much as the Blues do regardless of which team is actually taking penalties.

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

• No it wasn’t. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be chippy and emotional regardless of what the other team does. The Wild absolutely dominated that game at even strength. Their failures to finish quality chances, and a horseshit PK is why they lost. Had nothing to do with some strategy to make the game emotional. The idea that a team can just decide to not take penalties is also ridiculous. This is the NHL, the Wild are going to get penalized just as much as the Blues do regardless of which team is actually taking penalties.

You’re 100% correct on emotions & the playoffs & yes it’s going to be chippy.. but players still need to control their emotions…case in point…BOTH Greenway penalties were DUMB plays & the Blues scored power play goals (on both). Yes, I realize the refs are gonna make calls on both teams to sorta even things up, but don’t make it easy for them to call one on you…like Greenway did…

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by bearpaw28.

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

No it wasn’t. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be chippy and emotional regardless of what the other team does. The Wild absolutely dominated that game at even strength. Their failures to finish quality chances, and a horseshit PK is why they lost. Had nothing to do with some strategy to make the game emotional. The idea that a team can just decide to not take penalties is also ridiculous. This is the NHL, the Wild are going to get penalized just as much as the Blues do regardless of which team is actually taking penalties.

We see it every year. There’s two seasons in the NHL. The Wild don’t make out too well in the second one.

I give the Blues a ton of credit, but the Wild failed to capitalize SIX TIMES on the power play and killed only one of three penalties. Fleury wasn’t going to save the day anyway, but he was not good.

That game could have gone in favor of the Wild had they hit the net instead of a pipe twice and finished on any one of the dozen goal mouth scrambles. It just didn’t fall for them last night, but it better tomorrow or they are probably done.

I get why Dean started tournament-tested Fleury, but in hindsight it was a mistake. Now Talbot will have a ton of pressure on his narrow shoulders in his start.

Jupiter wrote:

Thirty-Four wrote:

Armadillo wrote:

Lots of Blues fans calling for Spurgeon to be suspended for the playoffs. Seems a bit dramatic, but what do I know?

I’m old school, so no, but that was a Marchand kind of douche move.

A suspension is very warranted on that cheap ass move by Spurgeon. That is intent to injure. Maybe not the rest of the playoffs, but multiple games is deserved.

Does intending to give him a bruise equal intent to injure? I saw someone say he could have broken his ankle, which I highly doubt was possible. You need a pretty good tomahawk slash to even have a chance at breaking an ankle.

Was it cheap? Yes.

Was it a Marchand Move? Yes.

Does it warrant a suspension? I don’t know, but I think the fine is satisfactory for me.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by Eric Vegoe.

ScoobyDoo wrote:

Spurgeon was fined 5,000 dollars for attempting to injure another player.

Did either of Colorado’s cheap shots from Friday get fines or suspensions?  Those were worse than Spurgeons.

Last time I checked the Wild had more PPs. They weren’t goaded into anything. Also great to see bonin-lite posting again after a loss after being absent during their 19-2 run or whatever it was.

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

• No it wasn’t. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be chippy and emotional regardless of what the other team does. The Wild absolutely dominated that game at even strength. Their failures to finish quality chances, and a horseshit PK is why they lost. Had nothing to do with some strategy to make the game emotional. The idea that a team can just decide to not take penalties is also ridiculous. This is the NHL, the Wild are going to get penalized just as much as the Blues do regardless of which team is actually taking penalties.

You’re 100% correct on emotions & the playoffs & yes it’s going to be chippy.. but players still need to control their emotions…case in point…BOTH Greenway penalties were DUMB plays & the Blues scored power play goals (on both). Yes, I realize the refs are gonna make calls on both teams to sorta even things up, but don’t make it easy for them to call one on you…like Greenway did…

The 1st penalty on Greenway was literally 2 minutes for getting crosschecked in the throat by Tarasenko. And that was seconds after Schenn took a 30 foot run at Dumba and put his shoulder into Dumba’s jaw. After the whistle. Blaming the players for St Louis coming out of that with a PP is asinine. The 2nd penalty on Greenway could be considered a dumb penalty, but it’s also something that every player on the ice dis at least 3 times last night.

I think the ref was probably warning Greenway and finally just said the hell with it and gave him two for not laying off Tarasenko.

The part he blew was not calling Teresenko in the first place or Schenn for blowing up Dumba. The refs totally mismanaged that sequence and it set up a pretty choppy game.

gator wrote:

ScoobyDoo wrote:

Spurgeon was fined 5,000 dollars for attempting to injure another player.

A $5,000 fine for Spurgeon is like a $100 fine for someone making $110,000/year. Without a game suspension, I’m a little surprised that the fine was just $5,000.

That apparently is the maximum fine.

streakygopher wrote:

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

bearpaw28 wrote:

J22 wrote:

The 1st line not showing up at all is concerning. The rest of the team was pretty good at 5 on 5. Special teams continue to be a disaster

St Louis strategy was to make the game chippy, emotional & the Wild fell (too easily) into that trap, though they knew that wasn’t the type of game that favored them. That shows lack of discipline (as a team) plain & simple. And yes, the first line was a no show & special teams were Kramer like…look away, I’m hideous!

• No it wasn’t. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be chippy and emotional regardless of what the other team does. The Wild absolutely dominated that game at even strength. Their failures to finish quality chances, and a horseshit PK is why they lost. Had nothing to do with some strategy to make the game emotional. The idea that a team can just decide to not take penalties is also ridiculous. This is the NHL, the Wild are going to get penalized just as much as the Blues do regardless of which team is actually taking penalties.

You’re 100% correct on emotions & the playoffs & yes it’s going to be chippy.. but players still need to control their emotions…case in point…BOTH Greenway penalties were DUMB plays & the Blues scored power play goals (on both). Yes, I realize the refs are gonna make calls on both teams to sorta even things up, but don’t make it easy for them to call one on you…like Greenway did…

The 1st penalty on Greenway was literally 2 minutes for getting crosschecked in the throat by Tarasenko. And that was seconds after Schenn took a 30 foot run at Dumba and put his shoulder into Dumba’s jaw. After the whistle. Blaming the players for St Louis coming out of that with a PP is asinine. The 2nd penalty on Greenway could be considered a dumb penalty, but it’s also something that every player on the ice dis at least 3 times last night.

I think the ref was probably warning Greenway and finally just said the hell with it and gave him two for not laying off Tarasenko. The part he blew was not calling Teresenko in the first place or Schenn for blowing up Dumba. The refs totally mismanaged that sequence and it set up a pretty choppy game.

I agree with that breakdown, but that just adds to my point.  Stop blaming the players for terrible officiating.

Brodin made a great play to chase down Buchnevich and lift his stick before he could get a shot off. According to the official, that was a penalty.

I didn’t see quality shots on net by the Wild. Most were right into the goalies jersey logo.  As the game progressed the Wild shots were even worse which makes sense since futility was added in.  They need to get on the board in the first period before panic sets in.
It doesn’t matter who we play, when the defense is giving them room in our zone, and it was bad, Blues were free to pass across the front of our net back and forth. like toying with us.  The Wild D was giving the offense space to move, pass, and shoot. The Blues looked amazed they had so much room to twaddle around and have their way in our zone.  And on the Power play players have to be skating, moving to get open, make openings to pass and shoot. What are they standing around for?  Sum that up and it’s no surprise we lost.

ex_goldy wrote:

I didn’t see quality shots on net by the Wild. Most were right into the goalies jersey logo. As the game progressed the Wild shots were even worse which makes sense since futility was added in. They need to get on the board in the first period before panic sets in. It doesn’t matter who we play, when the defense is giving them room in our zone, and it was bad, Blues were free to pass across the front of our net back and forth. like toying with us. The Wild D was giving the offense space to move, pass, and shoot. The Blues looked amazed they had so much room to twaddle around and have their way in our zone. And on the Power play players have to be skating, moving to get open, make openings to pass and shoot. What are they standing around for? Sum that up and it’s no surprise we lost.

Are you referring to the Blues power play? Because offensively 5×5 they didn’t do a whole lot, to their credit they didn’t necessarily have to they built and earned a lead.

5×5 the shot attempts were 43 to 17, Wild. The Blues were hardly in the Wild zone & certainly weren’t toying around on the Wild.

Idontknow wrote:

ScoobyDoo wrote:

Idontknow wrote:

ScoobyDoo wrote:

Spurgeon was fined 5,000 dollars for attempting to injure another player.

Did either of Colorado’s cheap shots from Friday get fines or suspensions? Those were worse than Spurgeons.

The end result was worse or the intent was worse? There was no other intent in what Spurgeon did. None.

I think the Colorado players intent and potential for harm was much worse. 140 lb Spurgeon crosschecking a calf from a foot away is dumb (and worthy of a fine or suspension because it was clearly done to injure) but not like you’re really gonna do any serious damage. The Colorado hit on Foligno was brutal – could put a guy out for a year if it blows his knee up. The hit on Kulikov could easily cause all kind of serious injuries, including a concussion.

Yes, you’re correct. I apologize I was wrong.

Gopherguy05 wrote:

Flower back in net for Game 2 according to Evason. If I’m Talbot I’m not pleased.

As a Wild fan, I am not pleased.  What is Talbots recent record?

Bertogliat wrote:

Gopherguy05 wrote:

Flower back in net for Game 2 according to Evason. If I’m Talbot I’m not pleased.

As a Wild fan, I am not pleased. What is Talbots recent record?

In general I’m a big fan of Evason, but that would be a dumb move to put Fleury in goal again.  He’s looked below average since he’s been here. Head scratcher if that’s the case.

Let’s hope this does not become an example of Einstein’s definition of insanity….

Talbot was seen in a bar with Evason’s daughter?

Slap Shot wrote:

Talbot was seen in a bar with Evason’s daughter?

LOL Yeah, we definitely can use the levity after Mondays game! 👍

Wow. Coach playing a hunch.

After the Fleury flop fest on Monday, I’m rather surprised by this decision – to say the least.

Gopherguy05 wrote:

Flower back in net for Game 2 according to Evason. If I’m Talbot I’m not pleased.

Not sure that’s a good idea.  Hope it works out. Really hope the GM isn’t behind this decision.

I thought Talbot was playing tonight, I would have bet a lot on it. But they have some items to fix before you get to Fleury.

Goal one seemed like the one you would like back, he faced the first shot head on and kicked a rebound out that went right on the Blues stick. This one stinks because it sets the tone early and allows the Blues to start hunkering down which they do well.

Goal 2 was a massive D break down, Faulk unattended comes in to rip a shot, had so much time he purposely put it on for a tip, to unattended O’Reilly. Fleury actually made a nice save on the tip. O’Reilly was still unattended after, shot, tip and rebound. That was a massive failure at 5×5.

Goal 3 the Blues continued to cut the PK box like butter. Shot low off the toe after Fleury as to come all the way across, rebound right on a Blues stick across the other side.

If you give up chances like 2 & 3 continually, good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9krOejpdk

Goal 1 1:15

Goal 2 2:30

Goal 3 4:55

They need to close the gap on special teams asap.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by team2tank.

Can’t fault Fleury for O’Reilly being all alone in front of the net, but you can certainly fault him for overplaying the shot so badly that he’s completely out of his net. He was flailing around all night and you could count the number of calm,clean saves He made, On one hand.

Really hope Evason is right on this one.

streakygopher wrote:

J22 wrote:

Can’t fault Fleury for O’Reilly being all alone in front of the net, but you can certainly fault him for overplaying the shot so badly that he’s completely out of his net. He was flailing around all night and you could count the number of calm,clean saves He made, On one hand. Really hope Evason is right on this one.

Fleury at times reminds me of Brett Favre….high on talent but prone to fatal mistakes.

He looks exactly like Stalock did when he was here.