The Minnesota Wild finished their three-game homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 5, by hosting the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild’s lineup remained the same except for defenseman Jon Merrill joining the lineup and Declan Chisholm being the healthy scratch. In net, Filip Gustavsson was looking for his third consecutive win.
The game started out back and forth, with the Wild taking the lead in the second. Shortly after, Kirill Kaprizov was hit in the face with a puck and left for the rest of the period. That allowed the Kings to fight back with two unanswered goals and took a 2-1 lead into the third. The Wild couldn’t find a way to mount a comeback in the third and fell 5-1.
While it’s a disappointing loss, it’s also important to remember that this is only the second regulation loss for the Wild out of 12 games. It is still a very respectable record this early in the season. In this article, we’ll look at why the Wild struggled against the Kings and one bright spot they can hopefully build on going forward. We’ll start with their lack of spark.
Wild Have No Spark
At the very start of the season, the Wild jumped onto the ice in nearly every game and had a spark behind their play. They were beating everyone to the puck, and they had an unmatched energy that other teams struggled to compete against. However, against the Kings, that energy didn’t appear to be there. They had some jump in the first period, but when they couldn’t score, it seemed like their spark dropped.
When they lost Kaprizov for some time in the second period, their energy level dropped even more. It’s obvious a lot of their momentum boosts come when he’s on the ice, and they got a small one when he returned for the third period. However, it was too little too late, as all of their attempts to score were thwarted.
The Wild have to find a way to get that spark back and get a lead in the first, as they’ve been able to do for most of the season. When they’ve been able to do those things, they’ve been able to come out with the win.
Wild’s Special Teams Can’t Convert
The Wild started strong on the special teams, with some exceptions here and there, such as the occasional bad power play or penalty kill. However, these past two games, they’ve taken a hit in both the power play and penalty kill. They’ve allowed goals to be scored while shorthanded in back-to-back games now, and in the last game, it didn’t affect them too badly, but this game, it cost them the loss as that was the eventual game-winner.
The Wild had plenty of chances to get back in the game on the power play, but again, they couldn’t find a way to do so. They had four chances, and while they had some strong shots, nothing went in, and they went 0/4, while the Kings went 1/1.
While the Wild struggled on both the power play and penalty kill, there was one small bright spot: the Wild only went to the penalty box once, except the coincidental minors for roughing. They can build on that and should as they move forward following this loss.
Wild’s Defense Getting Involved
This season, the Wild have had a lot more involvement from their defense when it comes to playing offensively. Every member of their defense, even Chisholm, who was out against the Kings, has tallied at least a point this season. Zach Bogosian scored the game’s first goal for the Wild, which was also his first goal; plus, he’d already tallied two assists this season.
Some of this offensive success is due to their play style. The Wild’s defense used to hang back a lot more when it came to the offensive zone; they rarely went deeper than the blue line, and they hardly ever carried the puck past the top of the circles. This season, however, they’ve changed all of that. Jake Middleton and Brock Faber, especially, are carrying the puck a lot more and a lot farther, plus they’ve been willing to take more shots from a little closer in than the blue line.
Middleton alone had three shots on goal, and Faber was right behind with two. Even Jared Spurgeon was getting in on that action with three of his own. Plus, Jonas Brodin, who rarely goes away from his post on the blue line, jumped into the action deep in the offensive zone, and it nearly paid off. They’ve also been working on taking shots right off the faceoff if they win it rather than trying to make the pass.
Related: Insider Predicts Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov Will Recieve Monster Contract Extension
Even Jon Merrill, who struggled quite often last season, has done better. He’s being more aggressive on plays, and while he still makes the occasional mistake, it’s fewer and far between. He doesn’t play every night as he rotates with Chisholm, but his efforts have been noticeable this season.
Wild Head on Road
The Wild’s homestand was short and sweet as they ended with a 2-1-0 record and will now head on the road for a quick back-to-back against the San Jose Sharks, who just got Macklin Celebrini back, and then the Anaheim Ducks. They’ll face the Sharks on Thursday, Nov. 7, and then the Ducks on Friday, Nov. 8. Hopefully, the Wild can shake this off and return from their road trip with two more wins.
