You can't make this stuff up. This is what the Chicago Blackhawks had to say about playing the Minnesota Wild. As a life long Wild fan I think this is a pretty accurate description and it is becoming boring to me. I would recommend that if you're are having trouble sleeping at night, why not watch a replay of this game on DVR. It would put you right to sleep. If you like goal tending last night's game offered quite a few opportunities to see good goaltending. Last night Wild goaltender Josh Harding was nothing short of amazing as he stopped former Sioux Jonathan Toews close in. For the Blackhawks Jonathan Toews scored the only goal of the game for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Maybe it's time for Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold to rethink the Wild's team philosophy. Come on now! Maybe it's time to take a look inward and try to remake the Minnesota Wild into something more exciting, more appealing and a better on the ice product that the fans can be proud of.
Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith called the Minnesota Wild's style of play "patient." Coach Joel Quenneville said it was "well-disciplined." Winger Kris Versteeg went with a more basic description.
"It's boring to play against, and it's boring to watch," Versteeg said. "They really put you to sleep out there. They have five guys that basically just stand in front and just block shots.
"Playing against a team like that makes it pretty tough to really get any life in the building."
The boring approach worked just fine for the Wild in a 2-1 victory over the Hawks on Sunday night at the United Center. The defeat snapped the Hawks' four-game winning streak, and they lost for the fourth time in their last five home contests.
(Read the whole article here)
Here is what the Blackhawks hockey blogger Steve Rosenbloom had to say about the Minnesota Wild's style of play. It sounds a lot like Sioux Sports own Redwing_77.
More games for the Blackhawks against Minnesota’s old hockey team instead of the new one.
I hate the Wild. I hate the neutral-zone trap. I hate the way Jacques Lemaire has uglied up the game.
But I really hate that the Hawks had 800 shots, including almost two minutes of a 5-on-3, but couldn’t beat Josh Harding for three stinkin’ goals when three goals is a month’s output for the Wild.
I’m aggravated, but that’s all I really want to say. No sense ranting. The Hawks don’t play the Wild again this season. Thank goodness. We now return to hockey and leave the land of lobotomies behind.
I agree with the statements of the Hawks players but it's nothing new. The Wild play this way because they don't have the talent. I didn't hear too many complaints the last couple of years when they had more high-end guys like Rolston and Demitra. The only problem is the GM couldn't sign those guys and thought the answer was to bring in offensive defensemen. Good idea but you don't need 3 or 4 of those guys and leave your team with no talent up front.
ReplyDeleteJust another indictment on the GM and running this team into the ground. Time to clean house and trade Backstrom for the future. This team will not go anywhere this year, next, or the following year. So....freakin blow it up, new GM, new team, and move on.
Obviously, the hometown fans don't care about winning, they've filled the building since it opened so why would that change???
Is it that Minne-sota can't sign the guys or the WON'T sign the guys because they're a bunch of cheap wusses. I find it extremely hard to imagine that Minne-sota can't afford some scoring talent, or at least some high-powered defense that occasionally scores a goal or two.
ReplyDeleteArchie is right, this style of hockey has been going on in St Paul since the Wild franchise started in 2000. It's mostly a product of Lemaire's teaching philosophy, thus Riseborough keeps throwing in cheap players that buy into the defensive system. I agree that it sometimes is like watching paint dry. However, it can be very effective. Look at New Jersey the last 10 seasons: 3 Stanley Cups. Wisconsin bascially does the same thing at the college level under Mike Eaves, and they won a national title in 20
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