The Minnesota Wild hosted the Nashville Predators in their final game before the NHL’s holiday break on Tuesday, Dec. 23. They had their whole lineup in place as Zach Bogosian returned from injury and looked to get back on the winning track after a rough loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, Dec. 21.
The Wild went back to Filip Gustavsson in the net, and the game started in their favor. The Predators fought back to tie it and stole the lead only for the Wild to answer back, and they went into the final period tied. They needed overtime to figure out a winner, and unfortunately for the Wild, it went in favor of the Predators. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways from the game, starting with how they’re not going to win every game.
Wild Can’t Win Them All
While it was disappointing to watch the Wild fall for the second consecutive game, their winning streak was only going to last for so long. Losing to the Avalanche wasn’t a complete surprise, as they’re the number one team in the league and have been the whole season. Losing to the Predators may be a bit harder to accept, as they’ve been a team that has struggled worse than the Wild this season, but they’re finding their way.
The Wild have played a lot of hockey over the past couple of months, as the whole league has with the condensed schedule, and it’s clear these players are ready for a few days off. The Wild did finally get their full roster back together after missing a good chunk of it due to injuries, but it wasn’t quite enough to get past the Predators.
Although they did lose, at least they lost in overtime, and while some may be tired of hearing that over the seasons, they did get a point, and in the end, that is what matters. Of course, two points are preferred, but one is better than none, and that counts when it comes to the postseason.
Wild’s Special Teams Struggles
Ultimately, what led to the Wild losing this game was their inability to stay out of the penalty box and their lack of scoring when they had several power plays. They only took four penalties, but it seemed like quite a few more, especially when they started to get frustrated. Luckily, they found a way to stay disciplined and didn’t let it escalate.
That was the main reason they were able to come back and tie the game rather than letting the Predators continue to score. Outside of the penalty issue, the Wild couldn’t find a way to get their power play on the right track after finding some success in previous games. Of course, they’re going to have an off night every now and then, but it could’ve helped them greatly if they’d gotten it going.
Again, it’s not the end of the world that both their penalty kill and power play struggled, especially so close to a holiday break, but they can’t let it become habit. When they return, they need to get their play back in order, or at least one of the two needs to be better, so they can either score goals or prevent them.
Wild’s Gustavsson Still Shining
Overall, the effort was there for the Wild; the Predators were just better, and that’s going to happen. Filip Gustavsson once again had a strong effort, and it may have been in a losing battle, but he kept making the saves and kept his team in it. Without his saves, they wouldn’t have been able to battle back to tie it or have a chance to win.
He did allow three goals, but two of them were while his team was shorthanded. The first one, he tried to have his leg down in time, but just missed, and the second one, he did have a clear line of sight for and likely wanted that one back, as he was a split second too late. The third and final goal in overtime was a tremendous passing play that could’ve beaten any goaltender.
Regardless of the goals scored against him, Gustavsson continued to play with his head up and made the strong saves that allowed his team to get a point in overtime. Hopefully, this game will be just an off night, and they’ll get back to it after the holiday break.
Related: Wild Still a Tier Below Other West Contenders, Even After Adding Hughes
One other bright note aside from Gustavsson’s play was the continued improvement of Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes. They are a strong pairing; they work well together; however, there have been some growing pains as expected, but in each game, they get better and better. It’s going to be fun to see how this pair continues to get better and what they can do for the team.
The Wild and every other team in the NHL will get a few days off to enjoy the holidays with their families before returning to resume the season. It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles the break after playing games so consistently; sometimes breaks can hinder teams, and sometimes they can help. Hopefully, the Wild can use this break to enjoy their time and get all healthy and rested before coming back and getting more wins on the season.
