The Wild's new system

by barbaragarn

From the Blackhawks preseason game on Sunday (Sept. 20): new coach Richards with new strategy. The D were going in more–not glued to the blue like we have played in our more defensive system under Lemaire. And the forecheck led up the center pretty consistently.

We were forechecking a LOT more, really aggressive right from the get-go. While I like the defensive strategy, it was fun to watch the team be more assertive. In previous years, it has been frustrating to watch the Wild struggle against the really aggressive teams. Under Richards’ new paradigm, I think we’re going to see a very high-scoring season (though doubtless a high number of goals against, as well).

So… last night’s game was up the center. Up the center. Up the center. The Blackhawks caught on and started applying some more pressure in the second; the Wild looked a little rattled and started passing the puck to where someone should have been. But of course they rallied and hooray for another shutout at home!

It will be interesting to see the Blues game this Thursday and compare to what we saw last night.

Also, is it just me or does the mascot have a mullet??