The Minnesota Wild finished off their road back-to-back on Friday evening, Feb. 27, as they faced the Utah Mammoth. Their lineup was the same as the night prior, as they were still without Jonas Brodin. However, at the end of the second period, Joel Eriksson Ek took a stick to the face and did not return to the game.
Jesper Wallstedt was in the net, and it was a rough time for him as the Mammoth took an early lead and kept building it. The Wild tried to respond, but just didn’t have that extra effort in them as they fell 5-2. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways from this game, starting with the complete 180 for their energy level.
Wild Lack Energy
It’s pretty typical to see a team fatigued in the second half of a back-to-back, but the Wild really lacked any energy in their game against the Mammoth. They didn’t have the most complete game in their win over the Colorado Avalanche the night before, but they had energy.
Against the Mammoth, they struggled in races for the puck, board battles, and their overall game from start to finish. They had a few glimpses of their normal play, but it quickly disappeared. Even their fastest skaters had issues trying to keep up, and at times, they looked a little lost and unsure of what to do next.
Every team has games like this throughout the season, and while it’s not necessarily a fun game to watch, they happen. Every team has an off night, but what made this harder to watch was how they were able to beat the first-place Avalanche barely 24 hours earlier with not their best game either. Hopefully, this game is a one-and-done for the Wild, and they can get back to their normal play when they return home.
Wild Had Chances
Although they didn’t get as many shots as the Mammoth, the Wild had a lot of strong chances throughout the night despite the lack of energy. They had several point-blank opportunities that were missed, and they came up against a goaltender who was ready for nearly everything they threw at him in Karel Vejmelka.
They did have three chances on the man advantage, but only found a way to score on one of them. However, while they scored on the power play, they were also scored against while on one of those power plays, which was the Mammoth’s first goal of the game. That goal gave them momentum to keep putting goals up against the Wild.
Outside of the month of October, the Wild have been pretty good about bouncing back from tough games this season. While they did have their chances that didn’t go in, hopefully they’ll be able to make more go in when they take the ice in their next game.
Wild’s Bright Sides
Although the Wild didn’t have the greatest game, they did have a couple of bright spots that they can focus on going forward. The first was Kirill Kaprizov’s power play goal; the Wild had been successful on their man advantage the night prior against the Avalanche, and they kept it going against the Mammoth.
Having Kaprizov scoring and being successful on the power play are both strong points for the Wild, and they can hopefully rely on them going forward. The other strong area the Wild had was their blocked shots. The Wild’s defense is known for being solid, and although they lost, they showed that against the Mammoth with 19 blocked shots to the Mammoth’s eight.
If the Wild want to get back on the winning side of things, they’ll have to keep blocking shots as they have been, but there’s always room to step up. Every team that’s hoping to secure a playoff spot will be improving their play, and the Wild have to do the same, even if they have a pretty solid spot at this moment.
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While the Wild will have a day off before their next game, they won’t have much time to rest as they’ve just completed a back-to-back, have to travel home, and then play an early evening game on Sunday, Mar. 1, against the St. Louis Blues. Hopefully, the Wild will have an overall better effort, but keep their power play going strong and get back in the win column.
