Wilderness Walk for 12-18-2010: Game Day Edition

by BReynolds on Dec 18, 2010 10:19 AM CST in Wilderness Walks

Ah, sleep. The sweet elixir should be a Greek Goddess with an altar at which I could worship. Just sayin.

We have hockey tonight, folks. Against Calgary, a team that is, sadly, above the Wild in the standings. It really is disappointing to see where the Wild are, holding company with some very bad hockey teams. That said, they are there, and you only end up there if your deserve it.

Maybe tonight is the night they run off a 20-game winning streak. Hey, the Twins signed a Japanese super star shortstop. Stranger things have happened. That's your daily dose of positive thinking. Now, head over to Facebook for the Question of the Day, and make sure you send in your "fact" based intelligence reports. We know our readers have more random information than we have received. Don't be afraid, we don't bite. Unless you want us to.

Wild News

Wild turns adversity into hot-button talking point | StarTribune.com - They did some talking on the ice before practice. I want to say that discussing the issue is a good thing, but the time for talk was a month ago. Make it happen.

Matt Cullen set to return to Wild after three-game absence - TwinCities.com - It will be good to have Cullen back. What type of impact will he make? No one knows.

Enemy News

Matchsticks and Gasoline - SBN home of the Flames. Good people, good writing. Good times.

KiPA' Korner

Hitting The Post: Panthers maul Buffalo; Hawks nip Wings - Wrapping up last night's action.

Off the Trail

A day for easing old hurts | The Columbus Dispatch - Excellent article about the meeting of a family and player sharing the same grief for far too long. You really should check this one out.

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Comments

Fantasy Goalies.

hello great hockey community of minny/st.paul. i just picked up theodore to support my 2nd fantasy goalie nik backstrom, since he hasn’t been playing too well (according to my fantasy stats anyhow, nothing personal…)

got some questions for you in this regards…

1. is nik actually playing bad at goal or is he not getting any support from his D?
2. who’s the twitter guy to follow about who gets the nod on a nightly basis?
3. has theodore seriously been a solid back-up in your hockey fan eyes, or is he getting the support the nik isn’t? (similar to what was going on up in NY earlier on in the season)

thanks and good luck against those dreadful flames. i’m always crossing my fingers for a wild shutout :).

by #17ToTheRafters on Dec 18, 2010 11:19 AM CST reply actions

I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1. It’s a bit of both actually, you can use Theo as an example, the D is no help at all, but Backs has gotta stop letting in the easy stuff. He lets in more when he loses
2. There are several I recommend @mnwild first of all, then @rstanzel the guy who runs the first one, and finally @russostrib guy knows everything and is the know it all of wild hockey ont witter
3. He’s been more solid, but with this D no goalie can be perfect.

According to my friends: I talk about hockey way too much.

by Jilliette on Dec 18, 2010 11:45 AM CST up reply actions

When i picked backstrom at draft time he was a lock for the #1 job. i thought, even with mediocre D this guy’s gonna get the sv% i’m looking for to back up henrik, if not the Ws.

i knew something was up when he got stuck at 9 and his other stats started dropping. hope he can turn it around quickly…an elite goalie can help a team win games they aren’t supposed to, and those are the big ones.

thanks for the info and insight. hope theodore delivers the goods in the meanwhile.

off to watch NYR v PHI.

by #17ToTheRafters on Dec 18, 2010 11:57 AM CST up reply actions

A good website to keep track of starting goalies is dailyfaceoff.com. That website is very reliable for goalie info.

Owner of The Haves & Havlats in the Hockey Wilderness League

by ADN on Dec 18, 2010 6:12 PM CST up reply actions

Answers

1. The team in front of him is crap. The defense and forwards are not clearing rebounds and are not clearing the zone. Only so much one man can do.

2. Follow @RussoStrib for the starters. Jillette is right @mnwild will announce it, as with @rstanzel. Usually Russo has it first. He’s the beat writer, and one of the best in the biz.

3. Theo is a solid backup and a very good goalie. He gives up fewer goals, but the team seems to gel in front of him better than for Bax. He also seems to face fewer second, third, and fourth shots.

SInce you are here,a nd you play fantasy hockey, you should check out SBNation’s fantasy hockey site… Fantasy Hockey Scouts. Geat people, great writers, great site. They will answer nearly any question you have.

Editor:Hockey Wilderness Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota Owner: Komissaari erämaa

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Dec 18, 2010 10:35 PM CST up reply actions

Maybe...

Teams like Calgary are wondering what they are doing hanging around the standings where teams like Minnesota are at?

This is not a good team, sorry kids. We had some potential—there were lots of “what ifs” and “maybes” that, if they would have gone our way, would have given this team a chance to compete. However, what we’ve learned here is that too many “what ifs” and “maybes” are not a way to enter an NHL season.

Time to rebuild.

by redheadzeb on Dec 18, 2010 3:50 PM CST reply actions