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Mike Yeo Needs To Remedy Late Season Collapse by Wild |
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WildHBcommunity:Mike Yeo Needs To Remedy Late Season Collapse by Wild
Tonight the New York Rangers Visit the Excel Energy Center in Must Win for Wild
The New York Rangers 35 - 27 - 4 (74 points) will be the next opponent looking to take advantage of a Minnesota Wild 34 - 22 - 9 (77 points) squad that failed to finish and produce as losers of their last 3 games. Tonight the Wild will need to solve Rangers all world netminder Henrik Lundqvist which is a tough task especially given how well he has played out of the olympic freeze. Both teams are in the thick of the playoff push in their respective divisions. Both these teams added scorers at the deadline with Matthew Moulson coming to Minnesota and Martin St. Louis becoming a Ranger.
Mike Yeo Continues To Take Two Steps Back for Every Step Forward
The way this young Wild roster responded to injuries and adversity in the months of January and February you would think Mike Yeo would be a candidate for coach of the year in the NHL. Unfortunately you would also have to take in account December which again marked an epic collapse by this Yeo led squad after the best first two months of hockey in franchise history. As Wild fans know all too well from last season just because your currently in the playoffs, you are guaranteed nothing.
Just like last season, Yeo's team is playing themselves out of the playoff picture with losses in the last three games. Unless Yeo can get his team back on the rails tonight against the Rangers, we could be staring down the barrel of a repeat of last year's dramatic finish that required a win on the last day of the season to qualify for the post season. A repeat of that underwhelming performance down the stretch should surely signal the end for Yeo as the head coach here in Minnesota.
There is no question that this current roster provided by Owner Craig Leipold and General Manager Chuck Fletcher is the most talented in franchise history which will just compound their performance should they falter here in the last 2 months of the regular season. Players are responsible for performing and when they do not often coaches take the blame. Sometimes coaching is at fault and often times it is only part of the failure by a team to meet expectations. In the case of the 2013-14 Minnesota Wild I suspect Yeo's job is in the balance dependant on how this team finishes the regular season and represents itself in the playoffs.
It is definitely a case of alot of good with some bad in the case of Yeo's performance as Wild bench boss this year and on a whole. The greatest indictment of Yeo in my mind is failure to address needed adjustments or limit the damage done by under achieving players. Dany Heatley will be the greatest example of Yeo's detrimental avoidance of reality and failure to act in the best interest of team. Even now Heatley in the lineup with a player like Justin Fontaine as a healthy scratch could be making the difference between a win and a loss for this Wild team who needs to collect every possible point in their push to secure the 6th, 7th, or 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Again the players are responsible for performing well enough to attain NHL victories, but the coach is responsible for putting them in the situations that given them the best opportunity to succeed and produce results. Yeo not having Mikael Granlund on the top power play unit is yet another indictment on his decision making and strategic ability to diagnose his team. I could drum up many more examples but I think we all have a running tally of slights and missteps by Yeo since his taking over as the Wild bench boss.
Easily Yeo could get his team back on track and make a strong run in the Western Conference playoffs this year which is what everyone one of us fans in the State of Hockey wants to occur. There should be no more mister nice guy in Yeo though at this point as he has put himself directly between the cross hairs. Time to stop enabling Heatley and put him in the pressbox. Time to empower Granlund and help Koivu accept his changing role. Time to put pressure on Charlie Coyle to produce and be a difference maker or plug in Nino KnightRider Niederreiter or Justin Fontaine on that second line. Time to get Keith Ballard to play with a purpose and confidence or make him a permanent healthy scratch.
Mike Yeo Press Conference 3/13/2014
Individual Leaders
New York Rangers Minnesota Wild
Points: M. ST LOUIS (62),B. RICHARDS (45),M. ZUCCARELLO (45) J. POMINVILLE (45),Z. PARISE (42),M. MOULSON (40)
Goals: M. ST LOUIS (29),R. NASH (20),B. RICHARDS (16) J. POMINVILLE (24),Z. PARISE (22),M. MOULSON (18)
Assists: M. ST LOUIS (33),D. STEPAN (33),M. ZUCCARELLO (30) M. KOIVU (29),R. SUTER (29),M. GRANLUND (28)
PP Goals: M. ST LOUIS (9),B. POULIOT (6),D. BRASSARD (6) Z. PARISE (12),M. MOULSON (8),J. POMINVILLE (5)
SH Goals: R. MCDONAGH (3),D. MOORE (1),C. HAGELIN (1) M. COOKE (1),Z. PARISE (1),E. HAULA (1)
GW Goals: R. NASH (7),M. ST LOUIS (5),C. HAGELIN (4) J. POMINVILLE (5),Z. PARISE (4),M. COOKE (3)
3+ Goals: D. STEPAN(1),C. KREIDER(1) R. SUTER(1),J. FONTAINE(1)
PIM: D. DORSETT (105),D. CARCILLO (96),C. KREIDER (70) C. STONER (78),M. COOKE (52),C. MCCORMICK (45)
Shots: B. RICHARDS (210),R. NASH (195),M. ST LOUIS (181) Z. PARISE (193),J. POMINVILLE (179),M. MOULSON (142)
+/-: M. ST LOUIS (+11),C. KREIDER (+11),R. MCDONAGH (+7) M. SCANDELLA (+11),N. NIEDERREITER (+10),J. SPURGEON (+8)
Last Game –Wild 3 vs. EDM 4 (SO): Taylor Hall netted the shootout winner to lead Edmonton to a comeback victory Tuesday night in
Saint Paul. LW Matt Cooke played in his 1,000th NHL game, while LW Zach Parise netted a goal and assist in his 600th game. RW
Jason Pominville totaled a goal and assist, C Mikael Granlund tallied two assists and G Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves through
overtime and one stop in the shootout.
Next Games (all times Central)
3/15 vs. CBJ 7 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM
3/17 at BOS 6:30 p.m. –NBCSN, KFAN 100.3 FM
3/18 at NYI 6 p.m. –FSN, KFAN 100.3 FM
Current Wild Injuries
LW Jason Zucker (IR) –6 games (lower-body)
G Niklas Backstrom - 3 games
G Josh Harding (IR) –23 games (illness)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 176
Recent Transactions
3/5 –Acquired F Matt Moulson and F Cody McCormick from Buffalo in exchange for F Torrey Mitchell and second-round selections in
the 2014 and 2016 NHL Entry Drafts.
3/4 –Acquired G Ilya Bryzgalov from Edmonton in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Upcoming Milestones
C Mikko Koivu –435 career points (127-308=435) are two shy of tying Marian Gaborik (219-218=437) for most points in franchise
history
WILD vs. RANGERS
All-Time Wild Record: 5-9-1 (3-4-1 at Xcel Energy Center, 2-5-0 at New York)
2013-14: The Rangers won the first meeting between the two teams, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden (12/22)…RW Ja-son Pominville
scored the Wild’s lone goal and D Ryan Suter and C Mikael Granlund assisted...G Niklas Backstrom stopped 32- of-36 shots in the
loss…C Derick Brassard tallied two assists while LW Carl Hagelin, LW Chris Kreider, LW Benoit Pouliot and LW Mats Zuccarello
each netted a goal for the Rangers…G Cam Talbot made 24 saves.
WILD LEADERS: LW Dany Heatley owns 35 points (15-20=35) in 31 career games against the Rangers...LW Zach Parise has 34
points (14-20=34) in 44 contests...LW Matt Moulson owns 21 points (10-11=21) in 25 games…Pominville has 16 points (7- 9=16) in 29
games.
WILD GOALIES: G Ilya Bryzgalov is 2-8-0 with a 3.55 GAA and a .875 SV% in 10 starts against the Rangers…G Darcy Kuemper
has not faced New York.
RANGERS LEADERS: LW Rick Nash leads the Rangers with 27 points (13-14=27) in 33 games against the Wild...C Brad Rich-ards
owns 22 points (7-15=22) in 19 games.
RANGERS GOALIES: G Henrik Lundqvist is 3-3-0 with a 2.76 GAA and a .883 SV% in six starts…Talbot is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA
and a .960 SV% in one start.
CONNECTIONS: LW Mike Rupp skated in 68 games with the Rang-ers (2011-13) before being acquired by the Wild in exchange for C
Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri (2/4/13)...D Justin Falk was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round (110th overall) in the 2007 NHL
Entry Draft and skated in 110 games with the Wild (2009-13)...C Dominic Moore skated in 40 games with Minne-sota in parts of two
seasons (2006-08)...LW Benoit Pouliot was selected fourth overall by the Wild in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and appeared in 65 games
with Minnesota (2006-09)...C Derek Stepan (Hastings) and D Ryan McDonagh (St. Paul) are Min-nesota natives...Rangers Hockey
Consultant Doug Risebrough served as the Wild’s General Manager from 2000-09.
FAST FACT: Marian Gaborik scored five goals versus the Rangers at Xcel Energy Center (12/20/07), Minnesota’s only game with a
goal scorer netting more than three goals.
Courtesy of wild.com/pressbox and @mnwildPR
Just My Take,
Tony Dean
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