By Nick
It's official: The Wild is for real.
Really, the B2B sweeps against the Habs and Rangers AND Stars and Blackhawks should be all we need to know. But there's a whole host of other statistics in support of their overall good-ness this season if those don't do it for you.
So, because we're Minnesota sports fans, why aren't we happier? Because Minnesota sports teams have provided us with a lifetime of failing despite the statistics and other empirical evidence.
Okay, fair enough, right? So let's focus on that: is this sustainable?
I'd say the offense is sustainable. They are getting contributions from so many different sources that, even if you assume some of them would fall off, it seems unlikely they all will. I'm prepared to say that Staal will continue to have a positive influence on Coyle, for example. I don't think Staal is just on a hot streak. And Parise is still working on getting up to plane. And Pommer might get hot. I know, I know. But, in a season filled with crazy shit so far, why not?
.940/1.78 seems like it can not be sustained. But he's not making crazy, acrobatic - desperate - saves. He's economical. He's not getting rattled. He's strong mentally. Nevertheless, last season, the best save percentage (at least 40 GP) in the league was .930 (Brian Elliott). Ben Bishop put up the best GAA, with a 2.06. Ironically, both of those guys are struggling this season. If Duby does continue this play for the rest of the season, we better hope that same fate doesn't await him next season. In 2014-2015 Price put up the best spct and GAA, with a .933 and 1.96, respectively. In other words, Duby can come back towards (if not entirely to) earth, stats-wise, and still continue to be the backbone of this team.
I think overall team defense is sustainable. Last night Dumba and Scandella were a hot mess for two periods, and then got it together. Even Suter had an off game (LA). In other words, they're not all playing out of their minds every night - which wouldn't be sustainable. This team is built on defensive buy-in, always has been. That hasn't changed under Boudreau. With the defensively-responsible forwards we have I don't see that attitude changing in the room - especially with all these Ws backing up that mindset.
Coaching is sustainable. It has to be. Before the seasons started we all wondered how Boudreau had managed all those division championships, and whether he'd be able to do it here. To me it seems the answer is that he is a premier in-game bench manager, and he is willing to alter his overall strategy depending on the make-up of the team and it's current macro trend.
Injuries frankly are not sustainable. The Wild is healthy right now. Teams just don't go extended periods of time without suffering some injuries. Odds are that our depth will again be tested before the season is out.
The bottom line for me is that there is no rational reason to doubt the Wild's ability to keep this going. Maybe not at a .726 pace, but enough to contend for the division title. Our collective psyche is really the biggest reason we don't think that's possible. That may be irrational, but it is definitely founded in historical context. Do we have the balls to set aside decades of disappointment and heartache to get behind this team, raise the expectations and let our hearts run free? I just don't know.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Sunday, January 15, 2017
The Game: This Week in the NHL 1/8/16-1/14/16
Standings Watch: The best
division last week was the Atlantic, who went a collective 14-10-2. There were five
games between the Atlantic and Central last week, with the Canadiens beating
the Jets and losing to the Wild, and the Bruins beating the Blues and losing to
the Predators, and the Wings beat the Stars and lost to the Hawks.
The Central was the second best division, at 12-10-1.
Then the Pacific, at 10-9-3. LA beat the Jets and Blues but lost to the
Stars, and the Jets also lost to the Coyotes but beat the Flames. Anaheim beat
Colorado (lol) and Dallas but lost to the Wild.
Oddly, last was the Metropolitan Division, who could be coming back to
earth, at 13-12-2. Only one game took place between the Metro and Central last
week, and that was the 6-0 thrashing that Washington gave Chicago.
The Big Drama of the week
was Andrew Shaw, who decided the best way to celebrate his return after missing
14 games was to go for a blind side hit on Jesper Fast of the Rangers.
It was a blindside hit that was well after the play, and exactly what
we don’t want in the game. Shaw is quickly turning into the new Matt Cooke. So
expect the Wild to sign him in 6 years and talk about how he’s a changed man.
When the two hottest teams
met, we knew one would have their streak ended. What’s fascinating is that since then, in
2017, the Wild are 4-0-1, while the Blue Jackets are 3-4-0. This really shows
off Minnesota’s resiliency.
Something else that shows of
Minnesota’s resiliency? The Wild are 10-5-1 when the opposition scores first.
That’s a 0.625 winning percentage, the best in the NHL. This speaks to the Wild’s
attitude when they’re down. I can’t remember a Wild team that could come back
the way this one does.
Take those two facts
together and you have a team that can be down in the micro sense and the macro,
and either way they don’t let mood swings affect them as they did in the past. And
considering the two big changes on the team are swapping Tomas Vanek for Eric
Staal and swapping Mike Yeo/John Torchetti for Bruce Boudreau, I think it’s
fair to put this on the coaching staff(s)
Even though the big streaks
have ended, the Capitals now want in, and have won 8 in a row. They’re hot on
the heels of the Jackets in the Metro, so that division is still in upheaval
and likely will be through the buzzer. If this keeps up, the Penguins or
Rangers could have to content themselves with a Wild Card spot.
Colorado is willing to
listen to offers? Even more interesting is that the Bruins are apparently eyeing Gabriel Landeskog. Enjoy that clown out east. But if that happens, I’d hate to play
against a Backes-Landeskog line. Keep your head up.
Couple Wild on the leader
boards around the league: Ryan Suter (+27), Jason Zucker (+25), and Jared Spurgeon
(+24) top the +/- leaderboard, with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund tied with
Michael Grabner (Rangers) tied in 4th place (+22). Matt Dumba is
just outside the top 10 at +19.
Want to guess who leads the
team in Missed shots? It’s not Pominville, although he is up there with 32.
Jason Zucker has missed the net 39 times in 41 games. By contrast, Chris Stewart
has only missed 12 times, also in 41 games.
It’s great to think of Luke
Kunin captaining USA to the WJC Gold. Know anyone else who captained team USA
in the WJCs? How about Jason Zucker? After winning gold in 2010 (Derek Stepan) and
silver in 2011 (John Ramage?), he captained team USA to 7th place in
2012. Zucker’s team also had John Gibson, Jacob Trouba, Jarred Tinordi, Nick
Bjugstad, J.T. Miller, Kyle Rau, Brandon Saad, and Charlie Coyle.
Wild speculation of the
week: Darcy Kuemper will be in someone else’s uniform next season.
Bits and Pieces Round:
- The Wild have taken the 5th fewest penalty minutes in the League.
- The Wild have taken 7 bench minors, 4th most in the NHL.
- One of the 4 teams to have taken fewer penalties than the Wild are the Blackhawks.
- The Wild have the fewest hits in the NHL.
- The Wild have the second best shooting percentage in the NHL (11.1% - Ranger at 11.6%)
Looking ahead:
- Three Central Division games this week: Big one is Wild in Chicago tonight.
- Also: Blackhawks-Avs and Blues-Jets.
- Nerd fight of the week: Stars-Sabres on Monday.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Pods:The 5MM - Feeling So Positive It's Disgusting
By Nick
Other than Bergy's audio issues, a fun romp through the current state of the Wild.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Other than Bergy's audio issues, a fun romp through the current state of the Wild.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
The Game: Wild 7, Habs 1 - Takeaways
By Nick
I just can't deny my feelings any more. I know, I know, I know, shut up.
But the statistical evidence is just overwhelming. You know all the numbers.
Okay, yes, the Habs were both tired and injury-depleted. We had the fortunes of the schedule aiding us. No doubt. But, look, in addition to the four B2Bs we've already had, we have nine more this season. Nine. We'll get ours.
You can't control who you're playing on a given night. Your job is to beat whichever team shows up. So, with that said, here are my takeaways from last night's game.
1) Should Stewy have put the Habs on the power play at the end? It cost Duby the shutty. Yes. The answer is yes. Period, the end. I have been begging for this team to not be soft for years. Especially when it comes to the goalie, and double-especially when that goalie is the Vezina and Jennings winner to this point, and maybe even gets some Hart consideration. Could the refs have obviated the skirmish by calling the guys bumping Duby? Yes. But even if they had, just sending the message that our goalie is off-limits is something I have been campaigning for from this team - so I'm not changing my tune now. Good on Stewy. And I'll fight anyone who disagrees with this.
B) My favorite part of the game was that the Wild didn't sit on their lead. Well, I guess you could say they sat on the 1-0 lead in the first. But they just kept coming. I said it on the ITC twitter account, but I like "keep attacking" Wild so much better than "sit back and hope you don't fuck up". Confidence, killer instinct, coaching, whatever is behind that, I'll take it.
3) We've all been saying Staal has helped Mikko this year by making him not have to shoulder all the burden of a top line center. It's plain to anyone who follows this team that Mikko has not been a pure #1 center maybe ever. He does a lot of things well, a couple things extremely well. But he has never scored enough to be a legit top line center. But, thinking about how this team did keep the pedal to the metal, and has bounced back, maybe Staal also really has helped by offering a new take on the leadership dynamic. We know he's stepping up in the room. And he has something that no one else in our leadership group (9, 11, 20, 29) has: a ring. I don't think we can overstate the impact of the Staal signing. Kudos to Fletcher on that one.
IV) This is irrelevant, but as long as I'm talking about awards prematurely, when the BJs were running their streak to an amazing 16 games, all the talk was that Tortorella would be an automatic for the Jack Adams if the season ended at the half-way point. But, since then, the BJs are 1-3. Since the Flyers completed their 10-game winning streak they are 3-6-2. Since the Wild lost to the BJs, they're 3-0-1. And those three wins are over San Jose, Anaheim and Montreal - so not like they're beating Arizona, Colorado and the Islanders. I wonder, now that we're at the actual mid-point, games-wise, if Bruce would sneak past Torts in Adams voting.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
I just can't deny my feelings any more. I know, I know, I know, shut up.
But the statistical evidence is just overwhelming. You know all the numbers.
Okay, yes, the Habs were both tired and injury-depleted. We had the fortunes of the schedule aiding us. No doubt. But, look, in addition to the four B2Bs we've already had, we have nine more this season. Nine. We'll get ours.
 |
| Ed Rooney knows how many times the Wild plays back-to-backs |
1) Should Stewy have put the Habs on the power play at the end? It cost Duby the shutty. Yes. The answer is yes. Period, the end. I have been begging for this team to not be soft for years. Especially when it comes to the goalie, and double-especially when that goalie is the Vezina and Jennings winner to this point, and maybe even gets some Hart consideration. Could the refs have obviated the skirmish by calling the guys bumping Duby? Yes. But even if they had, just sending the message that our goalie is off-limits is something I have been campaigning for from this team - so I'm not changing my tune now. Good on Stewy. And I'll fight anyone who disagrees with this.
B) My favorite part of the game was that the Wild didn't sit on their lead. Well, I guess you could say they sat on the 1-0 lead in the first. But they just kept coming. I said it on the ITC twitter account, but I like "keep attacking" Wild so much better than "sit back and hope you don't fuck up". Confidence, killer instinct, coaching, whatever is behind that, I'll take it.
3) We've all been saying Staal has helped Mikko this year by making him not have to shoulder all the burden of a top line center. It's plain to anyone who follows this team that Mikko has not been a pure #1 center maybe ever. He does a lot of things well, a couple things extremely well. But he has never scored enough to be a legit top line center. But, thinking about how this team did keep the pedal to the metal, and has bounced back, maybe Staal also really has helped by offering a new take on the leadership dynamic. We know he's stepping up in the room. And he has something that no one else in our leadership group (9, 11, 20, 29) has: a ring. I don't think we can overstate the impact of the Staal signing. Kudos to Fletcher on that one.
IV) This is irrelevant, but as long as I'm talking about awards prematurely, when the BJs were running their streak to an amazing 16 games, all the talk was that Tortorella would be an automatic for the Jack Adams if the season ended at the half-way point. But, since then, the BJs are 1-3. Since the Flyers completed their 10-game winning streak they are 3-6-2. Since the Wild lost to the BJs, they're 3-0-1. And those three wins are over San Jose, Anaheim and Montreal - so not like they're beating Arizona, Colorado and the Islanders. I wonder, now that we're at the actual mid-point, games-wise, if Bruce would sneak past Torts in Adams voting.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
The Game: One Stat Tells Story of Wild's Success
By Nick
No, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.
Yes, I still remember my own blog post from earlier this week talking about how hard it is to just accept that this team is good.
No, I'm not burning the candle at both ends here.
I got to thinking about Duby vs. Price tonight. And how that feels like the story - the best goalie in the league, versus the best goalie in the league this season. And you know what, maybe that is the story of tonight. But it's not the story of the Wild's success this season-to-date. Not by a long shot.
So, I looked into the stats that backed up my premise. Because there's another sub-narrative that comes into play if those stats actually do support the premise. Which they do. Let me explain.
My theory was that it's not defensive play that is the difference for the Wild relative to its historical performance. It's offense, and more specifically finishing. The first part is obvious to anyone who has paid attention to the Wild throughout its history. The Wild was born as a team that had to rely on defense because it didn't have enough offense to rely on that. The historical data back that up. I went to NHL.com and looked at the Wild's goals against/game ranking for each season since it was born.
Those rankings, in order from oldest to most recently completed season: 12th, 24th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 1st, 8th, 2nd, 21st, 16th, 13th, 15th, 7th, 6th, 9th. This year Duby and Kuemper (and the defense) have them ranked 2nd in the league in goals against/game. In fact, the average league ranking for GA/GM before this season was 9.87th. The Wild has had more completed seasons where its GA/GM ranking was in the single digits (9) than in the double digits (6). Taking nothing away from Duby, Kuemper, and the defense, the kind of defensive effort the Wild is producing this season is not special within the full context of the history of the Wild.
On the other hand, looking at the rankings for goals FOR/game, the Wild has traditionally struggled relative to the rest of the league. Those rankings, again GF/GM, in order from oldest to most recently completed season: 30th, 25th, 24th, 25th, 25th, 19th, 17th, 22nd, 20th, 26th, 30th, 22nd, 24th, 12th, 18th. This season to date, Staal, Coyle and the fellas have been scoring at a rate that ranks....4th-best in the league, as of this morning. You heard me right: 4th-best. As you can see, the Wild has never had a complete season where they finished in the top 10, let alone top 5.
Put another way, the average difference between the Wild's GF/GM and 15th place in the league, from inception through the 2015-2016 season, was -0.24 goals for/game. The Wild scored a quarter of a goal per game less than the median team over the first 15 seasons of its existence. The average difference between the Wild's GF/GM and the 1st place team in the league, for the first 15 seasons, was -0.88 goals per game.
This season, the Wild is scoring 0.41 more goals per game than the 15th-ranked team in the league, and -0.35 goals per game than the 1st place team in the league, as far as GF/GM. -0.35, if you hadn't already guessed is the lowest spread to the 1st place team that the Wild has ever had.
So, given that the Wild's defensive performance this season (as measured by GA/GM) is in line with their historical data, clearly the difference this season is that their offensive performance (as measured by GF/GM) is significantly better than their historical data.
But therein lies the rub.
A) We have been conditioned to expect the other skate to drop any time. Until this season is over, I'll be worried about regression.
2) The Wild's GF/GM performance is so much better than historical that it is practically screaming for regression before the season is over.
Well, to that end, I looked at the top 15 scorers on the roster this season, and compared their season-to-date points/game to their career pts/game. I was pleased with the result. The list includes, in order from most points to least (among the top 15): Staal, Coyle, Granlund, Koivu, Zucker, Niederreiter, Suter, Parise, Sprugeon, Dumba, Pominville, Brodin, Haula, Stewart, and Scandella (JEEK has one more point than Scandella, but he's no longer with the team, so...).
Those 15 players have played in a combined 551 man games this season, amassing 305 points, or 0.554 points/game. Those same 15 players, over their careers through the end of last season, had played in a combined 6,900 man games, amassing 4,057 points - OR - 0.588 points/game. That means that those 15 players have been producing at 0.034 fewer points/game than they had over their collective careers. Now, that's largely driven by Pominville, who is producing at 0.33 fewer points/game than his career rate, compounded by the fact that he's played in the 3rd-most games of the players on the list. But Parise (#4 in games played on the list) is also producing 0.147 fewer points/game than his career number. And, while Pominville's performance is now a couple seasons in the making, and thus appears to be trend line-able, it is harder to make the same case when it comes to Parise.
Believe it or not, Koivu is producing slightly lower than his career number (0.718 pts/gm this season, 0.729 pts/gm for his career through 2015-2016). Stewart and Scandella are also under their career numbers. Coyle is producing at the greatest spread to his career number (+0.374 pts/gm), so you hope he has turned a corner, but prepare for the possibilty that he regresses. But, countering that, Staal is only producing at 0.057 higher than his career number - which is more likely to be sustainable.
Among those 15 players, the top 7 players ranked by biggest spread to their career pts/gm are: Coyle, Zucker, Granlund, Niederreiter, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Dumba. That's very interesting, and one hopes at leat a couple of them HAVE turned a corner and will be able to sustain this improved scoring - assuming a couple others regress.
So there you have it. You can have all your advanced stats. They all have their uses. But you really only need one stat (and that of the non-advanced variety, to boot) to show you what is making a difference for the Wild this season.
The Minnesota Wild is scoring. Whodathunkit?
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
No, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.
Yes, I still remember my own blog post from earlier this week talking about how hard it is to just accept that this team is good.
No, I'm not burning the candle at both ends here.
I got to thinking about Duby vs. Price tonight. And how that feels like the story - the best goalie in the league, versus the best goalie in the league this season. And you know what, maybe that is the story of tonight. But it's not the story of the Wild's success this season-to-date. Not by a long shot.
So, I looked into the stats that backed up my premise. Because there's another sub-narrative that comes into play if those stats actually do support the premise. Which they do. Let me explain.
My theory was that it's not defensive play that is the difference for the Wild relative to its historical performance. It's offense, and more specifically finishing. The first part is obvious to anyone who has paid attention to the Wild throughout its history. The Wild was born as a team that had to rely on defense because it didn't have enough offense to rely on that. The historical data back that up. I went to NHL.com and looked at the Wild's goals against/game ranking for each season since it was born.
Those rankings, in order from oldest to most recently completed season: 12th, 24th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 1st, 8th, 2nd, 21st, 16th, 13th, 15th, 7th, 6th, 9th. This year Duby and Kuemper (and the defense) have them ranked 2nd in the league in goals against/game. In fact, the average league ranking for GA/GM before this season was 9.87th. The Wild has had more completed seasons where its GA/GM ranking was in the single digits (9) than in the double digits (6). Taking nothing away from Duby, Kuemper, and the defense, the kind of defensive effort the Wild is producing this season is not special within the full context of the history of the Wild.
On the other hand, looking at the rankings for goals FOR/game, the Wild has traditionally struggled relative to the rest of the league. Those rankings, again GF/GM, in order from oldest to most recently completed season: 30th, 25th, 24th, 25th, 25th, 19th, 17th, 22nd, 20th, 26th, 30th, 22nd, 24th, 12th, 18th. This season to date, Staal, Coyle and the fellas have been scoring at a rate that ranks....4th-best in the league, as of this morning. You heard me right: 4th-best. As you can see, the Wild has never had a complete season where they finished in the top 10, let alone top 5.
Put another way, the average difference between the Wild's GF/GM and 15th place in the league, from inception through the 2015-2016 season, was -0.24 goals for/game. The Wild scored a quarter of a goal per game less than the median team over the first 15 seasons of its existence. The average difference between the Wild's GF/GM and the 1st place team in the league, for the first 15 seasons, was -0.88 goals per game.
This season, the Wild is scoring 0.41 more goals per game than the 15th-ranked team in the league, and -0.35 goals per game than the 1st place team in the league, as far as GF/GM. -0.35, if you hadn't already guessed is the lowest spread to the 1st place team that the Wild has ever had.
So, given that the Wild's defensive performance this season (as measured by GA/GM) is in line with their historical data, clearly the difference this season is that their offensive performance (as measured by GF/GM) is significantly better than their historical data.
But therein lies the rub.
A) We have been conditioned to expect the other skate to drop any time. Until this season is over, I'll be worried about regression.
2) The Wild's GF/GM performance is so much better than historical that it is practically screaming for regression before the season is over.
Well, to that end, I looked at the top 15 scorers on the roster this season, and compared their season-to-date points/game to their career pts/game. I was pleased with the result. The list includes, in order from most points to least (among the top 15): Staal, Coyle, Granlund, Koivu, Zucker, Niederreiter, Suter, Parise, Sprugeon, Dumba, Pominville, Brodin, Haula, Stewart, and Scandella (JEEK has one more point than Scandella, but he's no longer with the team, so...).
Those 15 players have played in a combined 551 man games this season, amassing 305 points, or 0.554 points/game. Those same 15 players, over their careers through the end of last season, had played in a combined 6,900 man games, amassing 4,057 points - OR - 0.588 points/game. That means that those 15 players have been producing at 0.034 fewer points/game than they had over their collective careers. Now, that's largely driven by Pominville, who is producing at 0.33 fewer points/game than his career rate, compounded by the fact that he's played in the 3rd-most games of the players on the list. But Parise (#4 in games played on the list) is also producing 0.147 fewer points/game than his career number. And, while Pominville's performance is now a couple seasons in the making, and thus appears to be trend line-able, it is harder to make the same case when it comes to Parise.
Believe it or not, Koivu is producing slightly lower than his career number (0.718 pts/gm this season, 0.729 pts/gm for his career through 2015-2016). Stewart and Scandella are also under their career numbers. Coyle is producing at the greatest spread to his career number (+0.374 pts/gm), so you hope he has turned a corner, but prepare for the possibilty that he regresses. But, countering that, Staal is only producing at 0.057 higher than his career number - which is more likely to be sustainable.
Among those 15 players, the top 7 players ranked by biggest spread to their career pts/gm are: Coyle, Zucker, Granlund, Niederreiter, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Dumba. That's very interesting, and one hopes at leat a couple of them HAVE turned a corner and will be able to sustain this improved scoring - assuming a couple others regress.
So there you have it. You can have all your advanced stats. They all have their uses. But you really only need one stat (and that of the non-advanced variety, to boot) to show you what is making a difference for the Wild this season.
The Minnesota Wild is scoring. Whodathunkit?
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Hobby Lobby: What It Feels Like Getting Crushed In Beer League
By Nick
"We all have to go to work tomorrow." That's a common refrain heard during beer league games when one guy gets a little exuberant with the physical play. In other words, slow your roll, pal. Of course one of the great things about the game of hockey is that, should the malefactor fail to curtail his nefarious activities, behavior modification programs can be implemented by the opposition - and the on-ice officials.
Hey, hockey is a contact sport, and even in a no-checking league there is plenty of room for lawful contact between competing players. And that's one of the things I love about it. I don't want to watch hockey without contact. History aside, that's boring.
However, I'm nearly 42. I stopped playing goalie full-time a couple years back (just slowed down too much to be additive), so now I play wing. I'm sort of in the middle of my Monday night team, age-wise. I'm on the lower end of the talent spectrum.
Last night, playing one of our arch enemies, I got completely destroyed. I was skating across my blue line with the puck on a breakout, moved to skate around a guy (I honestly don't remember if it was one of my team mates or not), and out of no where an opposing player did the same thing but coming straight at me. Let's just say I took the worst of our collision. I should take a moment to say that I had no issue with the play. I don't think the other guy expected me to be where I was any more than I expected him to be where he was. No penalty was called on the play, and I wouldn't say one was warranted.
My teammates say I was knocked unconscious. I honestly don't recall that - which probably means I was. I remember getting hit, and I remember being face down on the ice, with my arms out in front of me. I remember seeing a yellow streak on my brand new shield and being pissed about that. I remember being annoyed by how loud my breathing sounded. I remember pain in my head, and in my back between my shoulder blades. It was almost like a systems checklist ran through my head. I remember consciously thinking I should move all my limbs and being happy when they responded, and then feeling stupid for worrying about that. I remember someone asking me if I was okay over and over again. I remember saying yes, eventually. I was not thinking "concussion." I was really just thinking about getting to the bench. If anything I was a little embarrassed to be the center of attention right then and there.
I made it to my feet, and wasn't too wobbly. I got to the bench and sat down. My head was definitely foggy. That's when I started thinking about concussions. My back was still hurting. And my head. No tingling. And I did feel a...disquiet in my stomach. It wasn't exactly nausea. It wasn't exactly pain. It was weird.
Maybe ten minutes later, with about four minutes left in the game, we had taken a couple penalties so our bench was both short and in disarray, lines-wise. We had two guys come off and one guy jump on, and there was a moment of indecision on the bench as no one else thought it was their turn to go. So, I thought I'd give it a try to see how I was doing. It was a stoppage. So I went. Got to the faceoff circle, we lost the draw, and the other team started down the ice toward our goal. I took about four hard strides to catch up to the play - and immediately felt like I was going to puke. So, I just glided to the bench. (One of our guys told me after the game that the ref was not happy that I'd come back out to play again. That he said he was going to tell me to get the fuck off the ice and stay off if I hadn't taken myself off.)
I've had a couple concussions throughout my life. In each case the recovery was pretty quick. I understand the risks, how the effects are cumulative. I saw a doc and things checked out as normal. I've always thought the term "mild concussion" was stupid. But the doc's point was that I'm not manifesting any serious symptoms at this point, but everything I've said points to a concussion. So, basically, we'll see. I don't feel nauseated, or woozy any more.
I'm sore, though. I'm taking the largest Aleve that I can find. I don't know how the pros can take that kind of abuse. Or football players? My God. No wonder the average NFL career is 3 seasons.
I suppose I do worry about the cumulative effects of multiple concussions. I'm not photophobic today, and I'm not getting worse. I know people can seem okay for a while and then the symptoms can come on. So I know I'm not out in the clear yet. But I'm not sweating this one at this point.
There wasn't a point where I was scared last night. More annoyed. It hurt, though. And it still does. I'll get over sore muscles. Sure beats paralysis or CTE.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
"We all have to go to work tomorrow." That's a common refrain heard during beer league games when one guy gets a little exuberant with the physical play. In other words, slow your roll, pal. Of course one of the great things about the game of hockey is that, should the malefactor fail to curtail his nefarious activities, behavior modification programs can be implemented by the opposition - and the on-ice officials.
Hey, hockey is a contact sport, and even in a no-checking league there is plenty of room for lawful contact between competing players. And that's one of the things I love about it. I don't want to watch hockey without contact. History aside, that's boring.
However, I'm nearly 42. I stopped playing goalie full-time a couple years back (just slowed down too much to be additive), so now I play wing. I'm sort of in the middle of my Monday night team, age-wise. I'm on the lower end of the talent spectrum.
Last night, playing one of our arch enemies, I got completely destroyed. I was skating across my blue line with the puck on a breakout, moved to skate around a guy (I honestly don't remember if it was one of my team mates or not), and out of no where an opposing player did the same thing but coming straight at me. Let's just say I took the worst of our collision. I should take a moment to say that I had no issue with the play. I don't think the other guy expected me to be where I was any more than I expected him to be where he was. No penalty was called on the play, and I wouldn't say one was warranted.
My teammates say I was knocked unconscious. I honestly don't recall that - which probably means I was. I remember getting hit, and I remember being face down on the ice, with my arms out in front of me. I remember seeing a yellow streak on my brand new shield and being pissed about that. I remember being annoyed by how loud my breathing sounded. I remember pain in my head, and in my back between my shoulder blades. It was almost like a systems checklist ran through my head. I remember consciously thinking I should move all my limbs and being happy when they responded, and then feeling stupid for worrying about that. I remember someone asking me if I was okay over and over again. I remember saying yes, eventually. I was not thinking "concussion." I was really just thinking about getting to the bench. If anything I was a little embarrassed to be the center of attention right then and there.
I made it to my feet, and wasn't too wobbly. I got to the bench and sat down. My head was definitely foggy. That's when I started thinking about concussions. My back was still hurting. And my head. No tingling. And I did feel a...disquiet in my stomach. It wasn't exactly nausea. It wasn't exactly pain. It was weird.
Maybe ten minutes later, with about four minutes left in the game, we had taken a couple penalties so our bench was both short and in disarray, lines-wise. We had two guys come off and one guy jump on, and there was a moment of indecision on the bench as no one else thought it was their turn to go. So, I thought I'd give it a try to see how I was doing. It was a stoppage. So I went. Got to the faceoff circle, we lost the draw, and the other team started down the ice toward our goal. I took about four hard strides to catch up to the play - and immediately felt like I was going to puke. So, I just glided to the bench. (One of our guys told me after the game that the ref was not happy that I'd come back out to play again. That he said he was going to tell me to get the fuck off the ice and stay off if I hadn't taken myself off.)
I've had a couple concussions throughout my life. In each case the recovery was pretty quick. I understand the risks, how the effects are cumulative. I saw a doc and things checked out as normal. I've always thought the term "mild concussion" was stupid. But the doc's point was that I'm not manifesting any serious symptoms at this point, but everything I've said points to a concussion. So, basically, we'll see. I don't feel nauseated, or woozy any more.
I'm sore, though. I'm taking the largest Aleve that I can find. I don't know how the pros can take that kind of abuse. Or football players? My God. No wonder the average NFL career is 3 seasons.
I suppose I do worry about the cumulative effects of multiple concussions. I'm not photophobic today, and I'm not getting worse. I know people can seem okay for a while and then the symptoms can come on. So I know I'm not out in the clear yet. But I'm not sweating this one at this point.
There wasn't a point where I was scared last night. More annoyed. It hurt, though. And it still does. I'll get over sore muscles. Sure beats paralysis or CTE.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Monday, January 9, 2017
The Game: Wild Quietly Good
By Nick
What do the Wild earning 5 of 6 points on the dreaded "Bermuda Triangle" trip through California, and the Spanish Inquisition have in common? No one expects either of them to happen.
But that's exactly what the Wild just did. And, more importantly, on the back of seeing their winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Bluejackets. And that's the piece that has me particularly interested. What does the 2-0-1 run through California mean? It certainly means the Wild is resiliant. And it might mean the Wild is....good.
At some point it becomes impossible to ignore or fare over the statistics. The ones that count, anyway.
The problem is that we've seen good first halves in the past. The Wild has salted away the best first half in team history this season, with two games to go before they hit 41. But, do you know which season they just usurped for best first half? Last season.
And that's the primary reason why we're not willing to let ourselves believe this team might be good. Because being good through game 39 hasn't amounted to much in our teams' past. Just like being 5-0 didn't mean squat this year. And it's not like we've got those championships (hell, that championship - singular - if we're looking back over the last 25 years) to fall back on. But we do have a heapin' helpin' of heartache and disappointment.
The numerical indications are there. And there's a different feeling to this group. There's a legit number one center, for starters. Absorbing that loss to Columbus and then doing what they just did in California is a statement. So why don't we feel better?
Like it or not, the Wild is going to need to produce the rest of the season, and into the playoffs to overcome the cumulative impact of prior seasons' iterations of the team.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
What do the Wild earning 5 of 6 points on the dreaded "Bermuda Triangle" trip through California, and the Spanish Inquisition have in common? No one expects either of them to happen.
But that's exactly what the Wild just did. And, more importantly, on the back of seeing their winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Bluejackets. And that's the piece that has me particularly interested. What does the 2-0-1 run through California mean? It certainly means the Wild is resiliant. And it might mean the Wild is....good.
At some point it becomes impossible to ignore or fare over the statistics. The ones that count, anyway.
- How about a +38 goals differential? That's not just riding the coattails of the 3-straight shutouts anymore. They had a +13 goals differential after the Dallas shutout on October 29th. And the Wild doesn't have a 10-0 (CBJ), or 10-1 (MTL) win padding their goals differential.
- How about being tied for most ROW in the West, and tied for third-best in the league?
- How about a 12-5-5 road record?
- How about having four players with at least 10 goals - second-most in the division? Chicago has five, St. Louis and Winnipeg also have four each. Nashville and Dallas have three each, and Colorado has two.
The problem is that we've seen good first halves in the past. The Wild has salted away the best first half in team history this season, with two games to go before they hit 41. But, do you know which season they just usurped for best first half? Last season.
And that's the primary reason why we're not willing to let ourselves believe this team might be good. Because being good through game 39 hasn't amounted to much in our teams' past. Just like being 5-0 didn't mean squat this year. And it's not like we've got those championships (hell, that championship - singular - if we're looking back over the last 25 years) to fall back on. But we do have a heapin' helpin' of heartache and disappointment.
The numerical indications are there. And there's a different feeling to this group. There's a legit number one center, for starters. Absorbing that loss to Columbus and then doing what they just did in California is a statement. So why don't we feel better?
Like it or not, the Wild is going to need to produce the rest of the season, and into the playoffs to overcome the cumulative impact of prior seasons' iterations of the team.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)