Try watching the from about :15 -:30 where Bickel is throwing punches at Demers, while Daley is behind Demers, Bickel went out looking for a fight, the reason he got 2 misconducts was for going after a defenseless player. Just admit it, in this case he was the agressor, his late check into the goalie started it, and the Stars answered it. I am very surprised the Stars didn't get any calls for the end, when it was 2 on 1, but that is the end not the beginning.

Whatever man, good luck on your entire team being awarded the Lady Bing.
- tootooisapunk

So Bickel is a goon for going after a guy one on one, but it was a total hockey play when Daley held his arms down while Demers punched him twice in the face? Got it.

Stick to football, Texas

I don't see what all the fuss is about? If this keeps up we're going to have McDavid or Eichel.
- KxKodiak47

Even at this pace, is the Wild really worse than Edmonton or Buffalo?

How has Vanek played?

Agreed. This is so frustrating to watch because it's difficult to understand what parts are really not working and what parts are more a result of the other problems.

I think Fletcher hasn't made moves to this point because they really believe that with more solid goaltending the team would have more confidence that playing the system would actually get them results. Right now, even if they play near perfect, it's a 50-50 game. There is almost zero reward for playing their best. It can't be easy to give their very best game in and game out when that is the case.

And who knows what those trade calls are like at this point. Probably something like give me two good, young roster players for a middling goalie that might help you finish 19th in the league.

What might pull them out of this funk a little is when they are really out of playoff contention. We all know they are at this point, but mathematically they can sit there and say they still have a chance. Once it's more of a mathematical reality maybe we'll see guys play the system better and then it will be easier to determine if this is simply a goaltending problem or just as much a personnel problem.

This is the time to figure that out. It's time to identify the young guys that you really see as being critical to the core and then if there are guys who aren't cutting it, try moving them out. That is if Leipold doesn't just want to completely clean house.
- Chinaski

Bingo! Just like my job or your job or anyones job. Playing hockey is their job and if you're not getting satisfaction in your line of work, people tend to get lazy, unmotivated and apathetic. It's got to be maddening to skate and work their asses off in these games only to end up losing becaue of a soft goal or two given up by the goalie.

Peter Gibbons said it best on Office Space; "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care". Granted the argument can and will always be made that these guys are getting paid a ridiculous amount of money therefore the normal mood swings and down attitudes in relation to work shouldn't apply to them, but I'm sure it's not that much different.

As far as trades and key core guys. Trading for a goalie is a risky proposition at best. I don't like the idea of a trade for anyone except a bonafide number one with a proven track record. If Fletch wants to bring in new unproven blood, then the trade bait better be minimal.

As far as who would make decent dangle bait or guys who are expendable? Well decent dangles would be Pominville, Spurgeon, Coyle, Dumba, Nino, Granlund, or Koivu. Expendables would be pretty much anyone else not in the top 6 or top 4 d. Fontaine(although a nice cap player), Brodziak, Cooke, Haula.

I would say the only non-movables would be Parise, Zucker, Suter, and Brodin.(maybe Scandella)

How has Vanek played?
- Vukota

Great if he were a 2nd season 20 year old.

Great if he were a 2nd season 20 year old.
- MnGump

That bad huh? I still kind of miss him playing with JT. They had some great chemistry for a little while

That bad huh? I still kind of miss him playing with JT. They had some great chemistry for a little while
- Vukota

Was he a pass first winger with JT? He seems to be here. (frank)ing maddening.

Was he a pass first winger with JT? He seems to be here. (frank)ing maddening.
- Chinaski

At first he was then he started shooting more as the season went on. He drove me nuts at times when he would play lazy but he had great chemistry with JT & KO

At first he was then he started shooting more as the season went on. He drove me nuts at times when he would play lazy but he had great chemistry with JT & KO
- Vukota

I thought he would be good here as more of a trailing winger. Last year the Wild just had so many guys that were making things happen with speed. I never expected Vanek to come in here and be a speed guy or hard worker. I figured he would just be smart and find the open spaces to shoot quick off the pass or cleanup rebounds. Hasn't happened. But he just hasn't meshed well with anyone on this team either. It doesn't really help that the Wild have mostly played a perimeter game.

So here's the part of Yeo that really pisses me off. The stupid (frank)ing rationalizing away blame like he does. Everyone watching that game last night knows that the primary reason the Wild lost was because of Backstroms dog poop net minding.

Yet when asked about Backstroms play in his post game presser, he immediately defends that dog poop performance by saying the loss was not on any one player. He goes on to say that players start pressing to much and get caught out of position and compound one mistakes with many.

That's because they have to try to do something to (frank)ing score goals because they know at that point that any shot against them has a chance to go in. I say enough is enough with this Mr. Nice guy, politically correct diplomatically sound doosh bag act he likes to put on.

(frank)ing call it like it is. We lost tonight beacause our goal tending sucked and it created bigger problems because players are trying compensate and to do too (frank)ing much and get burned when caught out of position and inevitably give up and start gooning when Backstrom gives up his 3rd softie in a row off yet another fat rebound 5 seconds into a PK and less than 2 minutes after cutting the goal deficit to one only to go back down by 2. How about that. How about refresh us with the (frank)ing truth for once.

Devin (frank)ing Dubnyk! Awesome! He wasn't good enough for Edmonton, let's see if he can improve the WIld!

So here's the part of Yeo that really pisses me off. The stupid (frank)ing rationalizing away blame like he does. Everyone watching that game last night knows that the primary reason the Wild lost was because of Backstroms dog poop net minding.

Yet when asked about Backstroms play in his post game presser, he immediately defends that dog poop performance by saying the loss was not on any one player. He goes on to say that players start pressing to much and get caught out of position and compound one mistakes with many.

That's because they have to try to do something to (frank)ing score goals because they know at that point that any shot against them has a chance to go in. I say enough is enough with this Mr. Nice guy, politically correct diplomatically sound doosh bag act he likes to put on.

(frank)ing call it like it is. We lost tonight beacause our goal tending sucked and it created bigger problems because players are trying compensate and to do too (frank)ing much and get burned when caught out of position and inevitably give up and start gooning when Backstrom gives up his 3rd softie in a row off yet another fat rebound 5 seconds into a PK and less than 2 minutes after cutting the goal deficit to one only to go back down by 2. How about that. How about refresh us with the (frank)ing truth for once.
- MnGump

I get what he's saying, though. And he's in a precarious position because to call out and draw attention to the most important position in any sport can have mental drawbacks for the player. At the same time, though, if you can watch the play of the team in front of Backstrom last night and say they're playing Yeo's system properly, then more power to you. I fully admit I didn't watch the entire game last night - I literally got up and walked away because I was disgusted, but the previous three games against Chicago and Nashville show 100% what Yeo is saying. The players are trying to compensate and play differently because of lack of confidence in goaltending, and as a result they're actually making things worse by not playing the system or playing positionally sound. It seems weird in concept, that trying to help a goaltender can actually cause problems, but that's been the case. Now, the goal from the off-angle top-of-the-circle shot that goes in is 100% on Backstrom, but a lot of the other goals happen not because of poor goalie play, but players playing out of position.

In the past four starts, Backstrom hasn't let many softies in, most of them have been defensive breakdowns by the Wild. Every goalie is allowed a few softies, and I think that's Yeo's point.

Now on to Dubnyk...ugh. Thankfully it was only a 3rd rounder, and hopefully the shakeup wakes the team, but historically he is not a better goalie than Kuemper or Backstrom. I'm not a fan of this trade.

It may be on Yeo but it could be because he just really didn't trust Backstrom to give them a chance to win. Backstrom's reaction time looks noticeably slower to me and he also appears to be moving too much. When he was solid in goal I always thought he was great at limiting his movement to only what was needed. Now he looks to be overplaying it and moving too far out of position.

Where I think Yeo has some fault here is that he should be altering their defensive scheme to try to limit chances even more than they normally do. The team has to help Backstrom and Kuemper get out of this.
- Chinaski

I agree, Backstrom is playing differently than he has in the past. He was always the positionally-sound goaltender who didn't have to make spectacular saves because he was always in position and played the angle properly. This season he is over-committing. I'm not sure the exact reason, but I've seen this type of alteration in a goaltender before. Typically, it's on a team that's in a funk, because each player tries to do things extraordinary and as a result the system breaks down. That holds true to a goaltender, as well. He's trying to over-commit to the play to 100% make sure he stops the puck, but in doing so he's playing out of his system and positionally incorrect.

Maybe we can ask the league to pause our season so our goalies can reset and get their heads back