GDT Rangers vs. Wild

Havlat Belanger Sykora line looks great....and so does Mikko so far. Several small chances but nothing huge.

'it's the 3 musketeers..'

Greenlay: 'Where's the fourth?'

SYKORA!!!! 1-0

Lot of emotion after he scored that one

Having a fun conversation with yourself?

That was a great first period. I saw a lot of things tht I liked, but the 2 that stand out were that there were no bonehead plays. They seemed to be smart with the puck except for the one chance where the guy was stopped by Backs when Belanger got sucked into the corner leaving he Ranger wide open.

The second thing that stood out was the excellent covering for the defenseman by the forwards. I can remember both Clutts and Mittens doing a great job of backing them up, especially on the play where Schultz made a smart move to the net after carrying the puck up ice.

Oh yes it's riveting...

And I agree they looked great...passes were so much better than recent games...not much to complain about if anything at all.

Is there a free stream anywhere? I'm bored sitting here in STL...I guess I can listen to the radio feed...

I miss the sweet behind the back passes they were showcasing in other games.

Good deal. Thanks.

Random question:

How long are the teams gonna leave the "2009 Face Off" crap on the ice? I think we're well past that now..

And there's the breakdown we've been looking for...

The feed is killing me. Either that or the wireless connection (i'm guessing that)

All I heard was "Boogaard"......."And the Rangers score!"

YES!

Great pass wow

I give up on this feed.

I watch AHL action now. So far, so good.

Little embellishment by Lundqvist there.

Schultz and Burns are playing TERRIBLE hockey. Johnsson's injury is really hurting them back there, they just got lucky the Rangers were missing 3 regulars, including their star player. Havlat finally made A play, but still isn't doing nearly enough to have consistent success. I think I saw Kobasew play more defense than forward, busy covering for all the d-men. Nice to see Zanon lead the D in minutes out there tonight, hes the only consistent d-man on this team that is healthy, living up to his billing as an elite defensive d-man, by far Fletcher's greatest move since becoming GM of this team. Boogaard was up to his usual game, getting yet another - while bringing nothing but a few lucky hits(I have no clue how players fail to avoid him), why the fuck is Benny in the pressbox? How the hell can he have any confidence at this point, he plays well he gets scratched.....The fuck does Richards want out of him?

the team looked pretty solid tonight. Burns made some defensive mistakes, but damn did we have some good scoring chances. was a lot of fun being there tonight, the win was all the more sweet!

http://mvn.com/thestateofhockeynews/2009/10/30/no-gaborik-but-wild-use-strong-2nd-period-to-earn-3-2-home-victory-over-the-ny-rangers

Quote :

The State of Hockey News

No Gaborik, but Wild use strong 2nd period to earn 3-2 home victory over the NY Rangers

by Derek Felska on October 30, 2009

Last season, it was supposed to be the big payoff season for Marian Gaborik as he attempted to raise his value for what was likely going to be the most lucrative contract of his NHL career. We were told that Gaborik took the time to prepare himself properly to have a strong and healthy season. Yet before the season started, then Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough tendered one last big money offer for Gaborik. Gaborik and his agent decided to pass and at that point many wondered if it would be prudent to deal the sniper just in case he might get hurt. As Wild fans know all too well, we waited and sure enough he'd have another groin injury and opted for surgery. The result was Gaborik was out of sight but certainly not out of mind and the team did not move him by the trade deadline, thus dooming the franchise to watching their most valuable asset walk for absolutely nothing. Gaborik would return briefly when the season was virtually at a point of no return, but back long enough to tantalize with some quality points almost taunting Wild fans as they knew he was as good as gone when free agency opened that July 1st. Sure enough, that is precisely what happened, and for many fans (myself included) we were glad the drama was over and more annoyed the team failed to get anything for this quality player. It was ultimately that failure that led to the firing of Doug Risebrough, whether Wild majority owner Craig Leipold wishes to acknowledge that or not. The Trencin, Slovakia-native would sign with the big market New York Rangers and almost immediately the team's October 30th match up was a game that earned a circle on most Wild fans' schedules. The team recognized this and termed the contest a 'premium game' and mandated that fans looking to purchase single tickets purchase 'companion game' tickets to other games to help sellout some more of the home dates.

It is only fitting that October 30th comes around and Marian Gaborik manages to disappoint all over again by being out with a 'lower body injury' and thus will deprive Wild fans with a chance to see him play. For all of those fans who wished to vent their frustration, as well as relish the times the Wild would check and punish its former star are for not. So once again Gaborik, thanks...FOR NOTHING! Not only does Gaborik's injury rob those fans that specifically purchased those tickets to now feeling a bit cheated, but now they are likely stuck with additional home game tickets they didn't really care about in the first place. Needless to say, if your a ticket scalper, the news that Gaborik isn't playing might hurt your asking price just a tad not that this fan has any real sympathy for those people who exploit the fans' want to see their team play. So what matters now about this game? The Wild still desperately need a win, points, and will have to play far better than they did Wednesday when they lost to the only team more offensively anemic than themselves, the Nashville Predators. Tonight, they're facing the Rangers (albeit without their top scorer Marian Gaborik) who are the 3rd most offensively potent team in the league. The Wild must get quality play between the pipes and find a way to solve the stingy Rangers attack if they expect to come away with 2 points. So will the team put out a good effort or will this be another game where we hear the head coach complain about the team's lack of 'compete level'? (click on the link for the rest of the article)

Enjoy...Burns was better tonight, but Schultz looked like crap.

yeah there were a few times Schultz made some bad plays. he is normally a really good player so if he has a down game i am not going to be overly worried about him.

Shep looks like he is taking notes from Butch. Fly into the zone and try and make a pass. Just give the puck a shot on the net and let guys try and get some rebounds.

00Xtremeninja wrote:

yeah there were a few times Schultz made some bad plays. he is normally a really good player so if he has a down game i am not going to be overly worried about him.

Shep looks like he is taking notes from Butch. Fly into the zone and try and make a pass. Just give the puck a shot on the net and let guys try and get some rebounds.

Schultz is the same guy, with a different mindset. He has been terrible with the puck his entire career, yet for some reason the new regime is trying to convince him he can be an offensive threat.

was it just me or did i see a whole lotta TRAP in the third period last night?

Schultz will never be an offensive threat, he is simply a defensive defenseman.