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WildHBcommunity: Some Truth Ahead of the Post Season #YeoKnowsBest Edition

April 6, 2015, 3:39 PM ET [114 Comments]
Tony Dean
Minnesota Wild Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
WildHBcommunity: Some Truth Ahead of the Post Season #YeoKnowsBest Edition



Winning Tonight Would be Huge Statement Given Playoff Ramifications

Be clear that there has never been a more important Minnesota Wild versus Winnipeg Jets in either franchises history(Since Expansion & Relocation obviously). Tonight is sure to be a war between these two wild card chasing clubs which is why I am so disappointed I wont be able to be in the building tonight.

The Wild failed in back to back home games versus the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings to take advantage of opportunities to come out on top and secure a playoff berth. It appeared the Wild lost some of their confidence and aggressiveness against those Eastern Conference opponents because they certainly didn't put together a 60 minute effort like had in their previous 10 games.



Tonight the Jets will be in survival moments from the opening puck drop and the Wild better be ready for a war from the outset. We have seen that this Jets team has graduated several young talented players that are gifted puck handlers in addition to supplementing them with niche veteran talents like the freshly returned to the lineup like Mathieu Perreault who contributed 3 assists in their 5-4 win Saturday versus Vancouver.

The Jets were aggressive near the trading deadline shipping out Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian for a return of Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, prospects, and picks. This Jets team is certainly right in the thick of the wildcard race and feels the pressure to come away with 6 points in their final 3 regular season games all of which will be on the road to earn the final wild card spot.

I will really being looking for a response game tonight from the Wild because they certainly dont want to hit the road on a three game skid to face all three teams in the Central Division already locked into the post season.

Anyone Else Feeling like Too Many Options for Mike Yeo is Going to be a Mess

I could certainly hedge my bets or better yet words and write some bubble gum puff piece about how lucky the Wild is to have sooooooo many talented guys at their disposal as they look to make a run at Lord Stanley's Cup. Instead I am going to say here what everything is thinking in the State of Hockey. Mike Yeo has earned two years in a row the opportunity to have doubters and critics like myself eat our words.



What I have learned from having to eat crow on Yeo is that this team takes ownership for not getting it done from Kaptain Koivu on down. As result Yeo has fallen on the sword and been the flash point for mockery and outrage, while behind closed doors his team has bought in completely to his system and leadership.

Now more than ever though, Yeo must avoid his stubborn nature to get cute and prove a point to no one by force feeding into the lineup players that has less potential and ability to affect the outcome just because they are "His" guys. When i say that i am speaking directly to Nate Prosser and Matt Cooke. Neither of these guys have played up to even their own standards this season and to default to them over the other option at his disposal would be a huge misstep by Yeo.

I have been really intrigued by Yeo's recent usage of Matthew Dumba paired with Ryan Suter in different situations. I really hope the evolution of this becomes the opportunity to pair the young dynamically gifted defenseman with the steady presence of the veteran leader of the defensive core. Suter does many things very well especially to limit the opportunities of opponents offensively but his actual offensive game and production leaves a lot to be desired and a paring with Dumba would certainly provide a boost to excitement and opportunity.



Selfishly I am pushing hard the idea of Suter/Dumba because I have believed even dating back to last season that Christian Folin's size/skill combination and mentality is such a perfect compliment to Jonas Brodin's game. I really see the best 6 defensemen Yeo could put on the ice during a playoff series is Suter/Dumba, Marco Scandella/Jared Spurgeon, and Brodin/Folin. Obviously the minutes and deployment would have to be more balanced and tweaked situationally but I refuse to believe the Wild is better team with Prosser or OUR guy Jordan Leopold in the lineup over the top 6 I listed above.



I worry less about the forward lines because that will be much more dependant on need and will obviously be fluid throughout the playoffs. I get very concerned as should all State of Hockey fans when Prosser plays as poorly as he did versus the Red Wings and Yeo comes out and pimps him to the media. If Yeo is trying to sell Prosser as a 3rd pair regular for the playoffs i am not buying and I hope you are not either.

The Power Play is an Abomination and There is No Excuse

There is zero justification for the Wild's power play being such a disadvantage for basically the entire season. It is easy to just throw shade at Andrew Brunette because he was brought in to fix it. This falls squarely on Yeo's shoulders and it's frankly embarrassing that with just three regular season games left the players are saying they need to practice the power play to try and figure it out.



Beyond practice what needs to occur is Yeo needs to put his big boy pants on make some long needed personnel changes to the top unit. Suter is just not effective on the top unit and Pominville should never play the point where he struggles with his handle and often loses board battles and opportunities to keep the puck in the zone. Not to mention that Pominville just has not gotten his shot on the net or even off his stick most of the season on the man advantage.

Suter and Pominville are both very talented but for the betterment of the team Yeo needs to step up and give Scandella, Dumba, and Zucker an opportunity to mix in with the top unit. The reality is even shaking it up would be better than the status quo no matter the results. The Wild power play as it stands is no advantage at all and for Yeo to take no action it is truly the definition of insanity.



I will be unable to attend this week's Jeff Dubay #WildWednesdayShow Live from Bennett's Chop and Rail House so I reached out to a very talented and passionate writer Ben Remington to be my replacement. Ben writes for Wildxtra.com and should be a great addition this week for another great hockey conversation on West 7th Street. Please tune in!

Here is the show from 04/01/2015 we were joined by Jordan Leopold on Jeff Dubay #WildWednesdayShow from Bennett's Chop and Rail House










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Just My Take,
Tony Dean




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