MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Friday, October 13, 2017

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MSF Daily: 10/13/17

Wild Pull Off Convincing…. Surprising WIN @ Blackhawks:

Wild fans were starting to get nervous entering the game on Thursday night vs. the Blackhawks. After losing their first two games and nearly whiffing on any points at all, nobody was expecting the Wild to go into Chicago and win, let alone dominate.

But, that is pretty much what happened. If it weren’t for Crawford standing on his head for the first 2 periods, the Wild might have had ten goals. Instead, they settled for five and beat the Blackhawks 5-2 on a night where Stewart had 2 more goals (4 goals in first 3 games) and Zucker also added 2 points with both a big goal and assist.

It wasn’t just the offense that brought their A-game tonight. Dubnyk was on point and finished the game with 36 saves, allowing just 2 goals. The 2nd goal came with less than a minute left in the game after things were already well in-hand.

The Wild were able to get all of this done without Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund. Friday will be full of conversations about how good this team might be if they can get healthy and build on chemistry. A loss would have led to a day full of whether or not this team will even make the playoffs, let alone compete for a cup.

Unfortunately, Friday will also be clouded with the new injuries the team suffered on Thursday. According to Bruce Boudreau, Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter are likely out for Saturday’s game vs Columbus. The Wild are now missing 4 of their best players for Saturday’s matchup.

What’s Next:

Wild (1-1-1) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (2-1-0)
Saturday, 7 PM
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul MN

Two Big 2018 Gopher Basketball Prospects on Campus Friday:

It is a BIG day for Gopher Basketball on Friday. Both of their top 2 remaining recruiting targets are going to be in town for a visit. Anthony Nelson is a Combo Guard out of New York. He is a long 6-4 and really looks to beat guys off the dribble. He is a lefty but looks to be comfortable going either direction. He would be a nice cherry on top of a great 2018 class. Nelson isn’t ranked by most outlets. It seems like he’s come on a little late… But he seems to be in the high 3 to low 4 star range.

Keyontae Johnson is a 4-star recruit out of Oak Hill, WV. He is an ATHLETE. He plays SF and would be really fun to watch next to Jarvis Johnson and Daniel Oturu. It would be one high-flying act at The Barn. Let’s hope the new Athlete’s Village does its job and lures these guys here. Things are looking up for Gopher Basketball.

Diggs and Bradford Still Not Practicing:

I don’t expect Sam Bradford back anytime soon and actually expect Bridgewater before Bradford so let’s leave Sam out of this. Stefon Diggs hurt his groin in last week’s game and never really looked like himself. That seems to be lingering because we are now to Friday and Diggs still hasn’t practiced. It might be a VERY underwhelming offense going against the Packers on Sunday with Cook, Bradford, and possibly Diggs out for the game.

Ron Gardenhire New Red Sox Manager?:

I have to credit Michael Rand with pointing this out to me since I don’t read the Boston Globe and I didn’t see the CBSSports piece he mentions either. Apparently, the Boston Red Sox are considering ex-Twins manager, Ron Gardenhire, to replace John Farrell as Manager.

If this really is true, it’s now clear why Falvine stuck with Molitor. Paul Molitor would probably be the coach of the Boston Red Sox if he would have been fired. The hardest part about envisioning Molitor leaving was thinking about who would replace him. Apparently, the managers on the open market are lacking a bit this season.

Twitter Pole: Who Plays QB for the Vikings in 2018-19

We are 100 Days Away from Hockey Day Minnesota:

Just like many college students, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in something I will never use. But at least I have a bunch of student loan debt to show for it.

I got that degree at St. Cloud State University and loved every second of being there. It has been awhile since we stepped foot on SCSU Campus but we will be there for Hockey Day. So get ready St. Cloud.

MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan

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