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Everyone’s ripping Vanek again

Minnesota Wild v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Two

CHICAGO, IL - MAY 03: Thomas Vanek #26 of the Minnesota Wild gets called for goal tender interference with this play against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center on May 1, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Hey, remember that game Thomas Vanek played for Montreal in last year’s Eastern Conference Final? The one where everyone teed off on him?

Because we’re getting a bit of deja vu.

With Minnesota trailing its series with Chicago, 3-0, a headline in the StarTribune reads: “Vanek’s vanishing act a glaring flaw for Wild.”

And, of course, there have been the tweets...

Vanek has no goals in nine playoff games -- obviously not the production the Wild were hoping for when they signed him to a three-year, $19.5 million contract.

“Scoring goals is a big part of winning games and he’s a game breaker,” said GM Chuck Fletcher after convincing the former Gophers star to come home.

Tonight, with the Wild facing elimination, Vanek, the “game breaker,” will skate on the third line with Kyle Brodziak and Nino Niederreiter.

“I’d like to see that line be effective below the top of the circles,” coach Mike Yeo said, per NHL.com. “It’s not a team that has given us a lot of free ice from the top of the circles out, so how we play below the top of the circles, how we get down low, how we move our feet down there, is going to be important.”