x

Already member? Login first!

Comments / New

Playoff Questions with Hockey Wilderness

Q: What Wild player should Hawks fans be most concerned about during this series?Who’s outstanding play could lead to the Wild upsetting the number 1 seed?

A: Frankly, the Wild aren’t going to be able to win games in this series with only one player having an outstanding game. It’s going to be a team effort. That said, if the top 2 defensive pairs have good games, it’s going to be tough for the Hawks to get pucks in the net. Again, it’ll be a team effort. If Backstrom has a solid series, he could give the Hawks some trouble as well.

Q. What facet of the game do you think the Wild are better than the Hawks at? How can the Wild use this to exploit the Blackhawks?

A: Uh, the Wild are so wildly (ha, ha, ha) inconsistent that there’s no telling what to expect. This can be frustrating for teams to accurately scout them, because you can never tell which players/line are going to get hot. This can make line match ups tough. Special teams is also an area that the Wild might be tough to handle. The Wild’s PK is pretty freaking good (Not the Hawks have a great PP though). The PP unit isn’t all that great, but they get the job done.

Q: If you could have picked your first round opponent for the Wild to face who would you have picked and why?

A: The Ducks or the Canucks. The Wild have had the Nucks number most of the season, and frankly their defense is pretty horrible. It would have been a good way for this division rivalry to end.

As far as the Ducks go, the Wild hadn’t won against them all season. But, watching the games it was clear that the Wild out-performed the Ducks in most areas. With the Ducks cooling off completely at the end of the season, the Wild would have had a pretty decent chance of besting them.

Q: Where is the biggest hole currently on the Wild?

A: Defense, in my opinion. The top pairing is a hockey fans wet dream, but the pairings beyond that leave something to be desired. Stoner would be an amazing 5th or 6th guy, and both Gilbert and Spurgeon have been pretty disappointing this season. The potential for both of them, but it’s just not clicking this season.

Q: How has Jason Pominville helped the Wild clinch a post-season spot?

A: GM Chuck Fletcher got a lot of flack for this trade, but I’ve been a fan of it from the beginning. He brings a veteran player mentality, plus puts a huge scoring threat on third line. We got word this afternoon that Pom-Pom won’t be in game one (Thanks a lot Dustin Brown.). He’ll be trouble for the Hawks once he’s back in the line-up

Q: Why couldn’t Minny and #lumbus sent Detroit off to the Eastern conference with their first missed playoffs in 21 years?

A: Minnesota could barely make the playoffs. Don’t ask for miracles damn it.

Q: Just for fun. When was the last time you saw Cam Barker?

A: I actually saw him play for the Texas Stars during the lockout. I think.

Talking Points