Minnesota Wild Franchise (NHL 22 PS4)

[JurassicPuck]

Quote: Originally Posted by SENS_AK27

Love your constant innovation with your Dynasty. It definitely has been fun to follow along. Awesome work!! Here's my predictions: Colorado over LA Minnesota over Jets Edmonton over Phoenix Vegas over Vancouver Tampa Bay over NY Rangers NY Islanders over Washington Pittsburgh over Florida Boston over Toronto (again...lol)

Appreciate it my guy! I'm trying to find a good balance between getting through seasons efficiently but also showing enough information to get readers interested. Will slowly but surely get a good system down.

Pittsburgh over Florida eh? Bold prediction but I do like it. Crosby and Malkin making one more run together would be nice to see.

And yeah I really just can't see the Leafs winning, especially with Matthews health in doubt. Their depth is horrific and relying on Petr Mrazek in net is risky at best.

Glad your enjoying the Franchise

[johnstone1987]

Love the details you put in this man!

[JurassicPuck]

Wild win it in Overtime, take Game 2 versus the Winnipeg Jets

Game 2 Recap and Rest of Playoffs Update

By Howard Hull | @Howard_Hull09 | Apr 20, 2023 | 22 Comments

Courtesy of an OT winner from Kirill the Thrill, the Minnesota Wild will head to Winnipeg with a 2 to 0 series lead. After winning game one in a tight contested 1-0 game, the Wild were able to take this one by another low score of 2-1. With just 3 goals allowed all series, it's clear what two players have been playing the best this series.

Daniil Tarasov and Connor Hellebucyk have duked it out this series with the younger and less experienced Tarasov taking the edge through two games. The Russian has allowed just one goal through 6 and a half periods of play which is interesting to see, considering how he ended the season on a poor note. Goaltending was supposed to be the Wild's weakness in this series, instead it's been it's strength. This is no knock on the American in the Jet's net who has been great in his own right and, had a few bounces gone the other way, could be up in this series instead of down.

The Wild squad will head to Winnipeg to try and make it a 3-0 lead while the Jets will look to get back into this series. So while those two teams look to continue or change how they're playing, let's take a look at how the other series are shaping up through two games

Western Conference

Colorado leads 2-0 over Los Angeles
Colorado being up two over the Kings was too be expected, what wasn't as expected is how well this LA team has been playing against the President's trophy winners.

After a 4-0 Avs win in Game 1 it looked like this series was going to be done and dusted after four games. Makar had 3 points and the Kings offense looked defeated after Varlamov let in two goals in rapid succession. However game two saw a much closer game where the Avalanche just came out with the win in regulation, a 4-3 win. Los Angeles was let down again by their goalie but showed a lot more fight and were at times running laps around a Colorado squad that found themselves struggling at times.

So while the Avalanche have the 2-0 series lead, the Kings could potentially make this series closer than many expected.

Arizona leads 2-0 over Edmonton
Easily the biggest surprise so far this playoffs, the Arizona Coyotes have a two to nothing series lead over the Pacific Division champion Edmonton Oilers. Both games have went to Overtime and both games have resulted in Coyote wins.

Game one saw Arizona put five goals past Mike Smith and the Oilers, the 5th being the OT winner and coming from offseason signing Colton Parayko on a laser from the point. Game two was much of the same with the Yotes coming out on top 4 to 3. This time the hero was former Devil and Czech native Pavel Zacha who buried a rebound past the outstretched glove of Smith.

Edmonton now have their backs against the wall, heading to Arizona to try and get back into this series. Mike Smith really needs to step up his game because allowing seven goals in two games is nowhere near good enough. Meanwhile the Coyotes will pray that they can continue this success and overthrow McDavid and the Oilers

Vegas leads 2-0 over Vancouver
A rematch of the 2020 second round where the Golden Knights were able to eliminate a pesky Vancouver squad in 7 games. The biggest reason that team made it to a game seven? Thatcher Demko.

That series has been similar to this one in the fact the Knights are somewhat dominating the Canucks in shots. The only difference is Demko hasn't been as good as he was three years ago. Game one saw the Knights win by the score of 2-1 with Pacioretty burying the GWG halfway through the third. Robin Lehner was forced to leave just over a minute into the contest after going down with an apparent injury. Laurent Brossoit was forced to come in where he would play a stellar game, stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced.

Luckily for the Golden Knights Lehner would be ready for Game 2 but it likely would not have mattered who they put in net. They would go on to win 8-3 in a dominating victory over the 'Nucks. It's just not been a good two games for Vancouver and at this point I doubt it will get better. Vegas looks like a lock to advance to round two.

Eastern Conference

New York leads 2-0 over Tampa Bay
The Rangers hold the 2-0 lead over the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup Champions in what has been two close, hard fought games. Adam Fox practically won the game singlehandedly for the Blueshirts in game one, scoring two goals including the game winner in Overtime. Meanwhile first overall pick in 2020 Alex Lafreniere had a breakout game in game two with two goals of his own en route to a 3-2 Rangers win.

The experienced Lightning team finds themselves in a hole they need to climb out of if they want to keep their chances of winning 3 Cups in 4 years alive. To do that they'll need to figure out how to beat the Russian Igor Shesterkin who has stood on his head this series. He's rocking a .940 SV%, stopping 63 of the 67 shots he's faced. While Vasilevskiy has been good in his own right he hasn't quite been on the same level as Igor.

Washington is tied 1-1 with New York
After a surprise win for the Capitals in Game 1 the Islanders bounced back and scored 6 goals on Vitek Vanecek for a Game 2 victory. It was in dominating fashion as well as they peppered the Czech goalie with high danger shots.

The Caps seems to be outmatched by a New York team that has a stacked team on paper. How can you compete with a trio of Bergeron, Barzal and Danault down the middle? Washington's offensive firepower will really need to step up their game in this series if they want to match up well with Barry Trotz and his defensive system.

Florida is tied 1-1 with Pittsburgh
The defending Stanley Cup champions after two games are tied at one a piece with the veteran and experienced Penguins squad. Another term that could be used would be old. Yet they have played very well in both games, winning the second one in OT from a Paul Stastny deflection.

The Panthers have their eyes set on repeating as Champions and the Penguins are trying to get one final cup for the duo of Crosby and Malkin before their game's really fall off. The question is who's will is stronger?

Toronto leads 2-0 over Boston
Despite being Matthews-less the Maple Leafs have been able to secure two wins over the Bruins. Just like the Arizona-Edmonton series, Toronto has had both their wins come in the form of Overtime.

Game 1 saw Timothy Liljegren score two goals, the bigger of the two coming in OT. It was a high scoring affair with the final score coming in at 5-4. After allowing 5 goals the Bruins decided to take out Linus Ullmark and go with Jeremy Swayman as the starter for game two. Despite the much better play from the American the B's would unfortunately lose in game two 2-1. This time the hero was Willie Nylander on a slick backhand goal over the right pad of Swayman.

With rumors that Matthews may be able to return for the series, Leafs fan's have to be salivating at the fact they could be seeing their first series win since 2004. They're also praying they aren't seeing the remake of what happened in 2021 when they lost to the Canadiens after being up 3 games to 1.

[JurassicPuck]

April 21st, 2023
WINNIPEG- The Wild now have the Winnipeg Jets with their back against the wall as they defeat their Central Division Rivals 3-2. The Wild have now won their third consecutive game against the Jets and will look to finish off the series when they return to the Canada Life Centre in two days for the Sunday night game.

Minnesota played another great game and didn't give the Winnipeg forwards much of anything in this one. Daniil Tarasov provided top-notch goaltending once again, which looks to have given this team some new found confidence. Everything is just clicking right now for the Wild and it's been great too see and fun to watch. Meanwhile the Jets are struggling to keep up with their opponent. Connor Hellebucyk has been great in net but his offense is letting him down. It's almost something he's become used too in the Playoffs.

Around the League

[JurassicPuck]

April 23rd, 2023
WINNIPEG- After just four games the Wild have sent the Jets to the links much earlier than many expected. Winnipeg will be the first team eliminated in the 2023 Playoffs which in turn makes Minnesota the first team to advance to Round 2.

This game was the highest scoring out of the four but was still a back and forth game. Both goalies had their worst game of the series and the Minnesota offense just outplayed the Winnipeg offense. Simple as that. Mats Zuccarello scored two in this one, the second being the dagger that came in the third period. He finishes this series tied as the Wild's leading point getter with 4 points. Villie Heinola's performance is worth mentioning, he scored a end-to-end rush goal that had the Winnipeg fans in awe. He also added a primary assist on the Jets third period goal. The 22 year old finishes tied as the highest scoring defenseman in this series with Alex Goligoski

It was a hard fought series despite the minimal number of games played. Every game played during this round was decided by a single goal. It showcased how tightly these two teams were matched up. The number of games in this series doesn't do justice to the Jets effort. They were in every game and competed hard. No one more then goaltender Connor Hellebucyk. He was the main reason Winnipeg had a chance to win every game they were in. He gave the team a reliable backbone in net and it was the offense that couldn't come through for him

Switching sides to Minnesota, the team has to be licking their chops after what they saw in these 4 games. Tarasov looked elite in net for the Wild and was easily the series MVP. He had a .918 SV% and a 2.36 GAA, along with registering a shutout in Game 1. Had Tarasov's play been even just a notch lower, this series would have looked a lot different. Credit should also be given to the Wild defense for keeping the shot totals and shot quality to a low level.

Around the League

[JurassicPuck]

NHL Game Recaps

April 24th, 2023



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[johnstone1987]

Really digging the Graphics how you make them?

[JurassicPuck]

2023 NHL Playoff Preview and Predictions: Round 2

By Vincent Barlow 1h Ago
__________________________________________________

The first round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs has come to an end with eight teams moving on to round two and another eight heading to the golf course to work on their swings. Round one was filled with excitement and shocking results and we're expecting even more from the elite eight that are still fighting for Lord Stanley.

Once again we'll go through some series previews, providing some insight into how they did in Round one and how we predict they'll do in their new series. Let's get right into it, shall we?

Colorado Avalanche (1) vs Minnesota Wild (2)
	VS
Colorado Avalanche (4-1)		Minnesota Wild (4-0)
Top Performers Nathan MacKinnon 5 Goals 2 Assists 4 PPG Daniil Tarasov .918 SV% 2.36 GAA 1 Shutout Cale Makar 6 Assists 27:19 ATOI Mats Zuccarello 3 Goals 1 Assist +5 2 GWG Mikko Rantanen 2 Goals 5 Assists 2 GWG Kirill Kaprizov 2 Goals 2 Assists +4 Injury Report Valeri Nichushkin Pulled Groin (Day-To-Day) No Injuries

Both of these teams made quick work of their round one opponents, Minnesota sweeping the Jets and Colorado gentleman's sweeping the Kings. It was expected these teams would meet in round two but that doesn't kill the hype for the series between these two skilled squads.

The Avs have been the best team in the regular season for two years in a row now. They definitely have the roster makeup to go all the way but it comes down too how they matchup with the opponents they face on the way. They have the star power to go against anyone in the NHL. It gives them a big advantage in this one. They arguably have three players (Mackinnon, Makar, Rantanen) better than the Wild's best player (Kaprizov). What the Wild have to their advantage is their depth. They have a killer third line with Rossi situated between Boldy and Necas. They were one of the bigger contributors in round one against Winnipeg. Colorado's top six may be better but the Wild's bottom six is miles ahead. Which one will result in more wins? We'll have to wait and find out.

While Minnesota's defensive core is nothing to scoff at, it's not even on the same planet as Colorado's, however not many are. The quartet of Makar, Toews, Girard and Byram is a ridiculous group of talent that is hard to matchup with. Clear advantage their for the Avs. Lastly in net we have Tarasov vs Francouz. Both were great for their teams in round one but both will have a much tougher test in round two. Francouz's 43 wins in the regular season are very hard to ignore, especially compared to the fact Tarasov only even play 37 regular season game's.

This will be one of the best series to watch in Round 2. I'm going to have to go with the Avs continuing their hunt for a Stanley Cup, taking out the Wild in 6 games in the process.

COL in 6 Games

Edmonton Oilers (1) vs Vegas Golden Knights (3)
	VS
Edmonton Oilers (4-3)		Vegas Golden Knights (4-3)
Top Performers Jesse Puljujarvi 5 Goals 8 Assists 25 Hits Nic Hague 8 Assists 12 Blocks +9 Connor McDavid 5 Goals 4 Assists Robin Lehner .933 SV% 1.96 GAA Leon Draisaitl 3 Goals 5 Assists 4 PPP William Karlsson 4 Goals 2 Assists 13 Takeaways Injury Report Cody Ceci MCL Sprain (2-3 Months) Alec Martinez Foot Injury (1-2 Weeks) Brayden McNabb Pulled Groin (Day-to-Day) Zach Whitecloud MCL Sprain (1-2 Months)

The fact we are even seeing Edmonton in round two after what transpired last round is incredible. It's just the 5th time a team has come back from being down 3-0 in NHL history. The most recent was back in 2014 when the eventual Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings won four straight against the San Jose Sharks. Could that be a good omen for what this Oilers team is in for?

An interesting storyline for this series is the battle of the 2015 Draft. Connor McDavid, the 1st overall pick, is going up against Jack Eichel, the 2nd overall pick. Who will come out of this one victorious? The Oilers have the offensive firepower that Vegas just can't match. What they do have is a lot more well-rounded roster that can roll four lines if needed, something Edmonton has struggled to do. Evan Bouchard is easily the best defenseman in this series but Shea Theodore is an experienced defenseman who can more than handle his own being the Golden Knights #1 D-Man.

The big make or break for this series is in net. The 41 year old Mike Smith is facing the 32 year old Robin Lehner. Smith started the Arizona series off terribly but would go on to turn it around and finish it with respectable numbers, a .914 SV% and a 2.53 GAA. Meanwhile Robin Lehner was impressive in net against Vancouver, finishing with a .933 SV% after 7 games. What is dangerous for Vegas and Lehner is the injury history that the Swede has been through. He already had a scare in game three and the next time he may not be so lucky.

As much as I think the Golden Knights are the better and well structured team, I just have the gut feeling that McDavid and this Oilers team are bound for more. Even if Vegas does pull it out in this one, it won't come easy for them if Connor has anything to do with it.

EDM in 7 Games

New York Islanders (2) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (WC2)
	VS
New York Islanders (4-1)		Tampa Bay Lightning (4-3)
Top Performers Patrice Bergeron 3 Goals 5 Assists 61% FO% 21:59 ATOI Andrei Vasilevskiy .930 SV% 2.21 GAA Brock Nelson 4 Goals 4 Assists Victor Hedman 2 Goals 5 Assists +5 28:22 ATOI Adam Pelech 2 Goals 2 Assists +7 25:16 ATOI Brayden Point 2 Goals 2 Assists 13 Takeaways 26:09 ATOI Injury Report No Injuries No Injuries

For the third time in the last four years, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders will face each other in the Playoffs. Besides last year, these two teams have competed against each other in a playoff series since 2020. In the past these matchups have come in the Conference Finals but this time it comes earlier, the Eastern Conference semi-finals. New York has a rough history facing Tampa in the playoffs, something that may not bode well for this rendition of the team. After 4 meetings between these two teams in 2004, 2016, 2020 and 2021 the Islanders have yet to win a playoff series. They've gone 7-16 in those 23 playoff games.

While the Isles may not have history on their side, they do have a lot going for them. They have two of the best defensive forwards in the NHL holding it down at the center position. Bergeron was a two-way monster in round one with 8 points in almost 22 minutes per game. Danault didn't contribute as much in the offensive zone but was stellar in locking down the best the Capitals had to offer.

Tampa Bay won't be a easy team to win four games against. They made that clear last series after being down 3-1 to the Rangers. What will be key for the Lightning is if their star forwards will be able to produce with the likes of Bergeron and Danault line matching them all game. Considering they were practically ghosts until Game 7 in round one doesn't bode well for them. The Islanders aren't the only ones with a Selke-level defensive forward. Former Moose Jaw Warrior Brayden Point was one of the best in the regular season and replicated it in round one with 13 takeaways and an insane 26 minutes of ice time per game. The OT game inflates that number but it's still something to take note of

We know what we're going to get in this matchup and it's going to be good defensive hockey. With the way the Islanders quickly disposed of the the Caps in 5 games and how they performed, if I'm a betting man I have the Long Island team coming out on top in 6 games

NYI in 6 Games

Toronto Maple Leafs (2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (WC1)
	VS
Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3)		Pittsburgh Penguins (4-3)
Top Performers Auston Matthews 4 Goals 3 Assists 61.9% FO% 23:05 ATOI Tristan Jarry .955 SV% 1.31 GAA 1 Shutout William Nylander 4 Goals 5 Assists +6 Evgeni Malkin 4 Goals 5 Assists Petr Mrazek .931 SV% 2.18 GAA 1 Shutout Jake Guentzel 6 Assists +5 Injury Report Jake Muzzin Concussion (1-2 Months) Brian Dumoulin Sore Shoulder (Day-to-Day) John Marino Hip Pointer (2-3 Weeks)

One of these teams just eliminated the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The other just made their first appearance past the first round since 2004, 19 years ago. Both have their eyes on a Stanley Cup, one to mark the end of an era and one to end a 54 year Stanley Cup drought.

We have to start with Tristan Jarry. In 5 games against the stacked Florida Panthers the Surrey B.C. native would allow just 8 goals in 5 games, resulting in a 1.31 GAA. The likes of Huberdeau, Giroux and Barkov just could not solve him, having just a combined 7 points. This Penguins team is not the best they've ever iced but with Jarry playing at this level a Stanley Cup is not out of reach. The fans, the management, the team would love nothing more than to get one last Stanley Cup for the duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. If it's going to happen, it needs to happen this year. Malkin was great against the Panthers as well, leading the team with 9 points and 4 goals.

Switching sides to the Maple Leafs however and you see how Auston Matthews is such a game changer and the best player in this series. Missing the first two games, Matthews would return and score 4 goals in 5 games. He's the catalyst for this Leafs team and he'll need to continue his output if Toronto wants to win this series. Nylander's performance also deserves mentioning considering he's usually the whipping boy for the fans. John Tavares had a very disappointing round one and no longer looks like the player we was when he arrived in Toronto. As Captain, he'll need to step up and play better to will this team to the Conference Finals

Both teams will have a top four defenseman out for likely the entire series. Jake Muzzin got into a game against the Bruins before his concussion symptoms returned after what people think was a Brad Marchand hit. John Marino will be out after suffering a hip pointer in Game 2 vs Florida.

Can Jarry replicate the insane performance he had in round one? I'm not so sure. Both Mrazek and Jarry are typically streaky goalies so it's tough to judge in this case. I'm going to have the Leafs advancing to the Conference Finals in 5 games.

TOR in 5 Games