The Minnesota Wild have had a strong start to the regular season with a record of 3-0-2, still without a regulation loss, the longest they’ve gone since 2008-09 when they had a record of 6-0-1. They’re looking to keep this streak alive as long as they can but in order to do that they’ll have to keep doing some things.
They need their goaltending to stay strong, which Filip Gustavsson has shown he’s more than capable of doing these last couple of weeks. He just needs to consistently ensure he can do so and keep his mental game strong. This article will examine the other things the Wild must maintain to win games. First, we’ll look at their time in the faceoff circle.
Wild’s Faceoff Percentage Steadily Declining
The Wild have been trying to figure out the faceoff circle since their inception in 2000, but this season, they started strong. In their first two games, they won 50 percent or more of their faceoffs, which has been hard to come by at times, so things were looking up, and they were producing because of it.
However, as their games have continued, their faceoff percentages have dropped, and it’s unclear why. They’ve still found ways to win faceoffs, but they can’t allow it to keep dropping in the lower 40 percent instead of 50. It may not have affected their play yet, but it will soon. Marco Rossi started strong and had a slight drop, but he has picked it back up and seems to improve each game.
That leaves Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Frédérick Gaudreau. Eriksson Ek has followed a similar path to Rossi. He dropped slightly after missing a few games but picked it back up and has been doing well. Hartman and Gaudreau, however, have been struggling, especially with consistency. These two need to figure out how to fix their game and do it fast to help their team continue to win games.
Wild Rely on Power Play
Out of five games played, the Wild scored on the power play in four out of the five for a 31.3 percent on-the-man advantage, which tied them as fourth-best in the NHL. That power play has made a difference in their game, and they’ve finally been showing what their power play should’ve been doing. They have some of the best talents on their number one power-play unit, but they struggled until they made some small changes.
The main change is their passing. Anyone who watched the Wild last season likely got fed up with how much passing the Wild would do on their power play. By the time they felt they had the perfect setup, so did the defense they were trying to score on. This season, they still make a lot of passes, but they move while they do so.
Their passes are quicker, and they move around to different positions as they do so, which makes the defense constantly guess where they’ll shoot from. That has left some of their players open to get shots on the goaltender, and it’s worked. Hopefully, they can keep up this style of play, as it’s gotten them the goals they’ve needed to win games.
Wild Need to Step Up Defense
The Wild’s defense has been solid, but it can always be better. They’ve blocked shots in every game, and while they started strong, they dropped and have slowly been getting better. They must keep improving because Gustavsson will need them to step up and help out sooner or later. He can’t make every save, and that’s where the blocked shots come in. If the shot doesn’t make it to the goaltender, it’s one less he has to stop.
It’s no surprise that Jake Middleton and Jonas Brodin are leading the way in blocked shots. Middleton led the team last season with 161 blocks. Brock Faber was right behind Middleton last season, but so far this season, Faber hasn’t been able to block as many shots. It’s also important to point out that Brodin missed a good chunk of last season. If he was healthy, he likely would’ve had more blocks.
Related: Minnesota Wild Undefeated in Regulation Thanks to 3 All-World Performances
The Wild’s new addition, Yakov Trenin, has stepped up to block shots and leads the Wild’s forwards. All of their defensemen have blocked shots, but they could use more from their forwards as well. There isn’t one player in particular who needs to do more, but if the majority of their forward core could step up and contribute one or two blocked shots per game, it would make a world of difference for their game.
Wild Can Continue to Win
The Wild have what it takes to continue to win games. They’ve had strong goaltending and offensive production, and their defense has been stepping up. However, they can’t allow these things to lapse, or they will start a downward trend. They need to keep their mental skills as strong as their physical ones and not allow frustration to creep in, even if things take a bad turn.
If they can continue to do all of these things plus have a strong mental game, they’ll continue to win games. They will eventually lose some games, as every team does, but if they can get to overtime, at least they’re still getting points, and that’s what matters. If they can get the extra point here and there compared to losing in regulation last season, especially against teams in their division, they’ll do better and make it to the postseason again.
