Wilderness Walk for 2-18-2012: Game Day Edition

Not having a computer at my disposal all day has led to some interesting moments the past few days. Knowing that all of you are still here chatting each other up and knocking the trolls around makes me proud to "know" you all. Keep up the good work on that front.

Looking at today's Walk, we find writers and fans searching for answers. Answers that aren't there, and so they seem to be building the answers in order to comfort themselves or others. Which is fine, and all well and good, but at some point, the acceptance phase has to kick in and the truth revealed, right? Whether the blame game results in a bulls-eye or not, it seems like a tiresome chore to continue to look for blame, does it not?

It makes perfect sense to do so. It is human nature to do so. Hell, the bitterly sarcastic side of me has all kinds of blame to pass around, and likely will in an attempt to laugh our way through the end of the season. Still, at some point, and some point soon, the realization is going to come that (as discussed previously here) the team just isn't good enough.

The team. Not one man in particular. The team.

Wild News

A small cast of characters at St. Thomas Academy | StarTribune.com - Optional practices. Nice touch.

Wild's second and third lines feel burden | StarTribune.com - Not sure the thrid line should, but the second line needs to produce. Now.

Chip Scoggins: Wild's Matt Kassian fights the good fight | StarTribune.com - Good kid. Adds the X factor. The X factor makes you stay in the NHL. He also pisses off Adrian Dater, which only makes him that much better.

Zulgad: Mixed messages from Mike Yeo have done him no favors - Minnesota Wild news | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities – Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) - Come on, Judd. You're starting to reach almost as much as Tom, now. The only message I see from Yeo is... play the fucking game. His players have quit. Is that on him, or them?

Hitting The Post: Wild A Special Kind of Bad - Yes, yes they are.

First Round Bust: The Romantic Notion of Mikko Koivu - How do we know what kind of leader Mikko Koivu is? None of us get to see how he interacts with the team. We only see how he interacts with media, which is not the same thing. How do we know he isn't kicking ass in the locker room? We don't. At all. The players seem to follow where he goes, which is the only true mark of a leader.

The Team of 18,001: Cold Hard Facts - Good read.

Enemy News

St. Louis Blues news, NHL hockey schedule, stats, forums, photos & video
- Newspaper news.

St. Louis Game Time - SBNation home to one of my favorites on the network.

Off the Trail

Love us or hate us - Winnipeg Free Press - I know which direction I am leaning.

Hitting The Post: Canucks Fans Worst In The NHL - Good read, but I have one word for Nick... Edmonton.