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Forums :: Blog World :: Dan Wallace: Why Don't The Wild Perform Better When It Matters Most?
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Dan Wallace
Joined: 09.15.2005

May 12 @ 4:18 PM ET
Dan Wallace: Why Don't The Wild Perform Better When It Matters Most?
jfkst1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Clackety Clack
Joined: 02.09.2015

May 12 @ 6:10 PM ET
Because they have 15% of their cap in dead money contracts.
Minnyhock
Minnesota Wild
Joined: 06.26.2021

May 12 @ 6:48 PM ET
Deano isn’t Guerin’s guy so I don’t see him making it any farther than a year. Evason like Boudreau is a good regular season coach but not built for the playoffs. They both seem to follow a process that has led them to regular season success.

The playoffs are a different animal. Coaches have to make game to game, period to period and shift to shift adjustments. Evason struggles with that. The Wild had 2-1 leads in the playoffs the last two years then dropped three straight. Last year’s goalie fiasco and not adjusting to Blues adjustments. It was frustrating to watch the Blues switch to a better puck handling goalie and the Wild constantly dump the puck where Bennington could get it to help out their depleted defense. This year the bizarre goalie switch for Game 2 and horrible playoff special teams without a competent faceoff man and no ability to fix those issues.

MNHawksfan
Joined: 05.17.2015

May 12 @ 11:04 PM ET
I was actually thinking about this the other day. While I do agree that the coach has made some odd decisions and failed to make the proper adjustments and match ups, I believe the bigger reason may be not having a voice in the room. Spurgeon is a solid player and captain however he seems to lead more by example then voice. I believe teams need a voice. Someone all the players respect and will listen to. Someone to rally the troops. Spurgeon is similar to the previous captain. Mikko was a solid player and long time player but again, led by example. Seems the successful teams have some vocal leader or voice.
joegreif17
Location: Hockeyville, BC
Joined: 05.10.2009

May 15 @ 11:38 AM ET
There are a few reason but the coach is responsible for his players and I think DE was just totally outcoached. Starting Fleury in game two was the coach playing a hunch and losing big time. It was a no brainer to go with Gustavsson. The Stars can thank Foligno for the win as well and the coach has to reel this guy in. The Stars rely on the man advantage big time and Marcus put a nail in the coffin. Not all bad new though as the Stars are not far away from becoming a winner. Eriksson Ek would certainly have helped the special teams and just maybe Guerin can sit back and analyse what went wrong and address it. Dumba leaving will benefit the room and a healthy Kaprizov make next year exciting. I am not a Wild fan but my opinion is not biased.
joegreif17
Location: Hockeyville, BC
Joined: 05.10.2009

May 15 @ 11:44 AM ET
The voice in the room may be a problem I do not know but I do know that having M. Tkachuk in Florida is huge. Just look at what happened to Calgary with his departure, coincidence, not likely. His bro in Ottawa is going to be an elite leader as well. These kind of leaders are rarer than hens teeth. The Bruins are losing Bergeron but still have Marchand for a couple more but McAvoy will step up nicely. How many teams can say they have a Tkachuk type of leader? Not many.
Antilles
St Louis Blues
Joined: 10.17.2008

May 18 @ 5:23 PM ET
Dallas outscored Minnesota 14-8 in the regular season, with 64% of the goals.
Dallas outscored Minnesota 21-14 in the postseason, with 60% of the goals.

In the regular season, Dallas won 50% of the time with it not being close; and the other 50% were super close games that essentially were decided by a coin toss.
In the playoffs, Dallas won 50% of the time with it not being close, two of the other 3 were super close, and one game MN won with it not being close.

Wild are simply an above average team in a 32 team league, which makes them a below average team when it becomes a 16 team league. Teams like the Wild aren't stepping up in playoffs, because they've been performing at their maximum all year. Which wasn't good enough against Dallas in the regular season, so why would it have been in the post season?