Wild!!!

[Bear55]

Well we got the Blues tonight, they have looked really good so far. Wild will need to play their best game to beat them. Sounds like the 2nd and 3rd lines might get mixed up a bit, a good idea because they havn't done much so far.

Brodin looked pretty sharp in his NHL debut, especially for a 19 year old. Might as well lock him in the top 4 for the next 15 years.

[10,000 Casts]

it's going to be a long season if they don't figure out that they can't let a guy sit in front of the net....

[Bran32]

I'm a HUGE WILD fan but the Suter signing looks absolutely awful!!! Parise might be the best all around player in the league and is worth every penny!! The first line is great but something needs to change the rest of the way down, Seto and Cullen NEED to go for a D man or 2 and bring up the young kids Coyle and Zucker and let them learn and grow with Granlund as a line!! I know we are only five games in but you can see the problems with personal, especially on D, plain as day!! Sorry for the rant!

[10,000 Casts]

The top line has 10 of this seasons 13 goals.. I thought Cullen and Seto had their best game tonight but still far from where they need to be and can't seem to score. I would love to see them traded but it's early and they should keep getting better. I think our other problem is that our D is soft, they have put a premium on moving the puck and offensive Dmen that we forgot we need to be physical.

[schmitty3]

Yea, Suter hasn't impressed me at all this year. That last goal was on him first turning it over behind the net, and then not trying real hard to get in front of whoever it was in front that ended up scoring the goal. He has a couple other bad turnovers throughout the game too.

I'd disagree about getting rid of Cullen and Seto. Cullen has had a ton of scoring chances the last few games, but has just been snake bitten. He keeps getting himself in position a few of them are bound to go in. I just don't want to see them go too young if that makes sense. It's nice to have some of the veteran players to offset our young guys. Gotta remember it's only been 5 games, these guys need some time to start clicking.

[Bran32]

I guess my thinking is that cullen is for sure gone after this season and I believe seto is gone before the trade deadline why not let the young guns grow together like the oilers are!! They couldn't possibly get any less results from them and the experience could be invaluable going into next year

[BartmanMN]

Doh! Ryan Suter is -5 right now.

[Bear55]

I know we just gave Parise a truck load of money but I wonder if he should get a riase? Amazing combination of work ethic and skill.

After the first line this team is a train wreck right now, its a little early to panic but if they keep this up some of these guys might lose their jobs. No doubt Zucker has earned a shot.

Suter hasn't looked good but I'm not worried about him, he will come around. Brodin had another strong game.

[fishing tech]

Anyone else think Backstom hasn't looked as sharp as in the past? He seams to me to be slower/not as fast to react in some situations.

[PierBridge]

Quote:

Suter hasn't looked good but I'm not worried about him, he will come around.

Exactly!

Tough loss last night against one of if not the best teams in the league!

[Bryce]

Posting up a 4 spot against the Blues not all that bad. Their back up tender had 9 shutouts last year.

[OnAFly]

We need to figure out how to play in our zone. I'll agree about trading Cullen/Seto. Neither of them have been consistent for us in the past. I don't know if Cullen is just aging or what, but he slowed down bad in the last couple years.

Suter will figure it out. Bad situation for him with almost no camp, shortened season and new system/people. We don't exactly have another high caliber defenseman to put him with for support.

Parise is being the Parise-as-advertised, just awesome. He never stops moving his feet. I swear that's the #1 thing that bugs the dump out of me when I watch guys struggle. They stop moving their feet, it gets worse. Parise just doesn't stop and his stats are showing it. Now if only we could get a 2nd line that's worth a dam.

[Bear55]

Columbus tonight and Chicago tomorrow. Columbus has played some very good teams close, we better not mess around tonght.

[Musky Buck]

And for Mike Yeo ? I'm not sure why but my faith in him is kinda low, I was a bit perplexed we gave huge money to Suter, Shea Weber sure, I wasn't quite so sure with Suter however I rarely watched him ever play, time will tell, I think like most D partners it didn't hurt having a strong tough Weber giving the goalie clear looks night after night, that'll help your +/- Mr. Suter, but hey it's way too early, it will take this team longer to gel, but I have faith.

[RK]

I don't think there's much to worry about with Suter. New system, and he has the Nashville system ingrained in him from 7 years in the organization, so he's still in training camp more or less. Am excited to see him paired with Brodin tonight. I thought Brodin was great against St Louis. Remarkable poise for a kid in his 2nd game. He's going to be a good one.

DO worry about 2nd and 3rd lines though. Cullen looks slow and behind the play, especially in his own end. On the tying St Louis goal he basically went for a skate and let the point man take an uncontested shot. I know it was a bad line change and the winger wasn't there yet, but geez. Step out... One of his strengths used to be a 200 foot game, but right now...

Granlund will figure it out too. He's gotten pushed around a little but I kind of chalk that up to adjusting to the NHL game. Skill is still there. Actually like what I've seen from Seto although I wish he'd shoot more. But that whole line seems content to play on the perimeter, and you don't score much when you spend your whole shift in the O zone but never get more than 5 feet from the wall.

[BartmanMN]

I'm with Musky. I think Suter needs to be paired with a "big" who can manage the front of the net while he does his thing chasing guys and playing in the corners. We need to find the right combo soon.

[Guest]

I'd take Leddy over Suter any day. Koivu not playing that well...Parise is carrying Danny (what's our goalie's name again) Heatley and Koivu. IMO they should look at putting ZP with Seto & PMB to see if they can produce, put Brodziak up with Koivu & Heatley and let him dig some pucks out of the corner or help Heatley mop things up in front. They have to get more going than they have or they are in trouble....no time to waste this year!

[Bear55]

I don't think there's much to worry about with Suter. New system, and he has the Nashville system ingrained in him from 7 years in the organization, so he's still in training camp more or less. Am excited to see him paired with Brodin tonight. I thought Brodin was great against St Louis. Remarkable poise for a kid in his 2nd game. He's going to be a good one.

I'm excited to see this too, I almost typed a Brodin/Suter top pair after the St. Louis game but it seemed a bit early being his 2nd NHL game and all.

[OnAFly]

Brodin will play with Suter tonight. Suter will have to dig deep and remember how to clear the front of the net. A 180lb 19 year old isn't going to be real effective there (IMO).

I wouldn't touch the top line. The 2/3 liners need to figure out how to contribute. Get in front, shoot pucks, score dirty goals. So far they seen to be having trouble with all three. Also, they need to figure out that they can ship pucks into the corner and chase them down.

[Bear55]

I'd take Leddy over Suter any day.

Lets not get carried away here.

[archerystud]

Problem with the shortened season is that it hurts teams with a bunch of new players all trying to learn a new system.

Suter looks good skating/passing but I agree he needs a bigger partner. I've been more impressed with his puck moving ability and I was down on signing him.

I think the second line needs some grit. I'd move Clutterbuck up to the second and Cullen down to the third.

[Quackaddict9]

What do you guys expect? Typical Wild hockey...hope they pick up the W tonight!

[archerystud]

Wild Win.....

However, including PMB's goal tonight the Wild have a total of 4 goals which do NOT come from the top line.

I like the way Cullen works and his speed but he really needs to start burying some of his chances.

[schmitty3]

Some of these chances for Cullen are going to go in soon. It's not like he is putting bad shot on net. They have all been pretty good chances and the goalie has just made good saves. I don't see the dislike in him. He plays his heart out, and has been getting a LOT of chances lately.

[archerystud]

I won't argue that he doesn't play hard but he's got to bury the puck in the back of the net.

Maybe it's line combos but it is a concern about the lack of scoring on the other lines. Gilbert's goal was while the first line was on the ice (Miko got an assist). So in six games the other lines have 3 goals.

[10,000 Casts]

Yup, something needs to change when your 2nd line only has 1 goal and 1 assist in 6 games. Cullen and Seto both need to finish.

We have undefeated Chicago tonight and it's a back to back, a win tonight and a goal or 2 from that second line would be huge. If Brodin plays with Suter again tonight, he will have his hands full. Suter is -5 already.

[OnAFly]

+/- is misleading I think. Suter is also on the ice 1/2 the game.

[10,000 Casts]

Suter ranks 208 out or 218 Dmen for +/-, he is 5th in the league in minutes played per game. So ya, he pretty much plays half the game but for $8m a year, I will have extreme expectations.

On the bright side, the wild are leading their division and they are in the top 8 in the west so even tho we harp on them, they really aren't doing that bad at all.

[solbes]

Frustrating to see us struggle at times against Columbus at home. I'm very happy for a regulation win, but we have a long way to go. We're going to have to play far better tonight to have a shot.

First line should remain together all year unless there is an issue. 2nd and 3rd lines need to be reshuffled a bit to find the right mix. Dmen too, though I liked Brodin up there with Suter at times last night.

[OnAFly]

We need to stop taking 3+ penalties in the third to have any sort of chance tonight. Last night, listening to the game I could just see is spiraling out of control. You can't play 8 minutes of a the third period short handed and expect to win games on average.

When is Granlund going down to Houston?