#-1: Wild (Last Week: -2). Don't let the hype over Kirill Kaprizov before the season began blind you to the somewhat precarious position the Wild find themselves in right now. Yep, they went 3-0 this Week, and the different ways they won -- they came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to defeat Chicago in Overtime at the X (thus finishing off a home-and-home sweep), quadrupled guest Montreal, then came back from 2-0 down to beat the Rangers at Madison Square Garden the night they retired Henrik Lundqvist's number -- portends a resilient team that doesn't shut down just because their A Game is taken away from them. But they still remain in fourth place in the Central Division. They're still relatively safe for at least a Wild Card spot, and they have several Games in hand compared to the clubs they're chasing. But how the Year plays out largely hinges on how they play in the rescheduled Games next Month, and like I've said, if that gauntlet goes sideways on them, maybe this club will be fighting for their playoff lives.
Those rescheduled Games come after this screening Week, in which Minnesota plays only twice -- at the Islanders tomorrow/Sunday night, then at Chicago (for the second time in less than two Weeks) Wednesday.
#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -3). The main obstacle this Year's team has is either making with or dethroning the current hegemony in the sport, which is manned by Wisconsin and Ohio St. This team enjoyed serendipity with their schedule as they play both powers on back-to-back weekends.
The good news: They completed a sweep of the top-ranked team in the nation last Saturday, outlasting Wisconsin at Ridder Arena, 4-3. The bad news: At Columbus last/Friday evening, the U. lost in Overtime to Ohio St. (which is either ranked second or third depending on which poll you're looking at), 2-1. They appear to have benefited a lot from the sweep of the Badgers, and they currently are behind only the Buckeyes in the PairWise, so I will say that their Win outweighs their Loss, and therefore I slot them this high.
One more (actually final) chance to improve their tournament CV against Ohio St. this/Saturday afternoon, and then it's the dregs from here on out; they host Bemidji St. for two starting Friday night. It'll soon be a case of not slipping up.
#-3: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -4). Got blitzed by Michigan in the second Game of a two-fer last Saturday, 4-1 at Mariucci. They then turned around and immolated Notre Dame in South Bend last/Friday evening, 5-1. Unfortunately, they appear to be slipping down the PairWise. They're now in tenth, and I believe that there have been a few teams in that spot at this time of the season that have gone on to slide out of NCAA Tournament consideration.
They finish up with the Fighting Irish this/Saturday evening before coming home for a two-Game series versus Michigan St. beginning Friday. The squad is currently playing without three of its players -- Ben Meyers, Brock Faber and Matthew Kneis -- as they were named as replacements for the U. S. Olympic Hockey Team that begin play next Week. (Ex-Gopher Aaron Ness also is a part of the squad.) How will their absences affect the U.?
#-4: Timberwolves (Last Week: -1). A 1-2 screening Week; outlasted the Trail Blazers in Portland Tuesday, 109-107 (I think this is the Game after which Anthony Edwards called himself "Black Jesus"), but then got thoroughly beaten at Golden State and Phoenix, the two best teams in the Western Conference (and possibly the NBA), on back-to-back nights. This is the second time in about ten Days the Timberwolves have played back-to-back road Games in cities that aren't that close. First was New York City to Atlanta, and this time it was San Francisco to Phoenix. Seriously, that's not fair, so I'm cutting the Wolves some slack here. Also, they right now are tied for eighth in the West, which puts them firmly in the Play-In rounds, so that's why I am putting these guys here, above two teams who finished .500 for the Week.
As for this Week, the Wolves host Utah and Denver, then visit Detroit.
#-5: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -5). Did I say in last Week's WMNSS that these guys are playing at Michigan in two Weeks? I don't know why I said that because they played the Wolverines last/Friday night in Ann Arbor. I guess I saw that their previous Dual was more than a Week from this one, and therefore I thought these grapplers were taking a Week off. Whoops.
The Wolverines are ranked fourth in the country, so I am a tad encouraged the U. only lost by a score of 20-14, and ... well, just to throw them a bone, that nice try puts them not at the bottom of the survey. Both teams had a pair of Major Decisions, including U. Heavyweight (and fuckin' grapplin' God) Gable Steveson. But the Wolverines won two more Decisions, and two Decisions equal six Points. Maybe 24th-ranked Gopher Jake Gilva could've gotten one more Takedown on 8th-ranked Wolverine Dylan Ragusin at 133?
That visit to Ann Arbor commences a three-Dual roadtrip. It continues Friday in Illinois.
#-6: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6). Broke a four-Game losing streak Saturday at The Barn by gutting out a 68-65 Win over a resurgent Rutgers outfit, but then got blown out at Williams Thursday by Ohio St., 75-64. One factor that you can point to in determining whether or not the Gophers can stay in a Game: Rebounding. They eked out that battle vs. the Scarlet Knights, 27-25, but they got blasted on the boards against the Buckeyes, 48-22. (Twenty of those were Offensive, resulting in 27 Second Chance Points for Ohio St.) They have no inside size, so Big Ten teams were going to eat them up on the down low. And any thoughts their hot start could translate into a surprise birth in the NCAA Tournament have just gone up in smoke.
At Wisconsin Sunday afternoon, then hosting Purdue Wednesday evening.
#-7: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -7). Showed some fight Sunday afternoon before falling in Michigan St., 74-71, but then got blown out at Purdue Thursday by 14. The club's losing streak now stands at four. Yeah, this is yet another lost season. Host Wisconsin and then at Indiana this Week.
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