from Pat Borzi of the New York Times,
Four seasons of middling regular-season finishes and early playoff exits led Minnesota to hire Boudreau, 62, an offensive savant and one of the N.H.L.’s ultimate fixers, last May. His impact was immediate. Though historically light on natural goal-scorers, the Western Conference-leading Wild entered Wednesday tied for second in the N.H.L. with 198 goals and remain on track for their most successful season since entering the N.H.L. in the 2000-1 expansion. They began their five-day bye with more wins (39) than they had all last season (38).
Yet Boudreau, who won more than 400 games and eight division titles in nine seasons as the coach of Washington and Anaheim, stammered when asked if Hitchcock was right about experience. That’s unusual for the garrulous Boudreau, whose nickname, Gabby, is part of the title of his autobiography.
“I don’t know if I’m smart enough to know all those things,” Boudreau said recently while standing in a hallway at the Xcel Energy Center, dressed in faded jeans and a green Wild golf shirt.
He added: “I know what works for me. There’s not a formula. It’s just the way you think, and what you think would fix it. That’s just feel for the game, but experience is what makes you think that.”
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