The Minnesota Wild took on the Washington Capitals to finish up their first back-to-back of the season. Their first game didn’t go well with a loss to the Flyers, but their game against the Capitals was a chance for redemption. They started on the right foot as they scored the first goal of the game for the first time since their win over the Montréal Canadiens over a week and a half ago.
While they began the game on the right foot, it didn’t take long to unravel. Just over seven minutes after they scored their first goal, the Capitals responded to tie it at one, and then again before the end of the period to take a 2-1 lead. At one point, the Capitals went ahead by two goals, but luckily for the Wild, they were offsides, and the goal was reversed.
The third period has been holding the scoring magic and energy for the Wild, and it happened against the Capitals as well. They got a huge goal to tie things up at two, and they continued to have chances but again couldn’t convert. They forced overtime and then a shootout that went into extra rounds. It took until round seven for someone to score, and unfortunately for the Wild, it was the Capitals who took the game 3-2.
Wild’s Defensive Struggles Continue
The Wild can’t seem to figure out how to play strong defense consistently without Jared Spurgeon in the lineup. They’ve shown some flashes of great defensive play, but it goes away just as quickly. Both of the Capitals goals were a result of broken-down defense. The first goal was a failed pinch attempt on the power play that the Capitals pounced on and took all the way down to the other end and snuck a shot just over Marc-André Fleury’s shoulder.
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With the second goal, the Wild fell for Alex Ovechkin’s signature move that he’s been doing the majority of his career. He set up in his area right near the faceoff dot to the left of the goaltender (when looking at the net) and moved lower until he was in the perfect spot to receive a pass and slide it across to his teammate. It was such a textbook play the Wild defense should’ve known to watch out for it, especially with Ovechkin.
The Wild’s defense has to be stronger, and they have to figure out how to stay in the right position. They can’t allow players to stand alone at the corners of the net or in the slot; if they do, they will continue to allow goals to be scored.
Wild’s Inoprotune Penalties & Special Teams
Taking a penalty is usually never a good thing unless it’s preventing a for sure goal. However, there are worse times than others to take a penalty, and the Wild have found that out lately. Against the Capitals, they took two penalties while in the offensive zone, which is likely the worst time to take a penalty, especially when within one goal like they were.
Unfortunately for Pat Maroon, both of those penalties were against him, and both were penalties that could’ve been avoided. Hopefully, this was a learning experience, and he will be more careful with his stick and interfering with others, especially when they have scoring chances in the offensive zone. For the second time in this article, the waved-off goal was lucky, this time for Maroon because he was the reason Ovechkin had the chance in the first place.
Related: Wild’s Slow Start & Turnovers Lead to Loss Against Flyers
The other issue for what feels like the 100th time in this short season is their special teams. Once again, they had plenty of chances on the man advantage to score but couldn’t convert. They had five opportunities and were thwarted on every single one. To make matters worse, the Capitals found a way to score while shorthanded and crushed the Wild’s power play even more.
Wild’s Bright Spots
The Wild may have lost, but they found a way to at least get a point this time around. They also had some players with some great play despite how it ended. The first, of course, was the legendary Fleury or “Flower,” as most refer to him, as he was in the net showing his stuff. He may have struggled a bit on the first goal that went over his shoulder, but the others were not on him. He was even more fantastic in the shootout until John Carlson ripped a nasty one that no one would’ve stopped.
The next bright spot on the Wild’s roster was one of the kids, Marco Rossi. He scored the game’s first goal and registered his third of the season. He has three goals plus an assist for four points in seven games. He wasn’t the only kid in the lineup either; defenseman Daemon Hunt made his NHL debut with the Wild. He didn’t play much in his first game, just over four minutes, but he registered one hit.
Evason on Rossi: “So good. He keeps getting better and better every game. He’s dictating to us that he’s going to play more.”
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 28, 2023
The final and possibly biggest bright spot was Ryan Hartman. He had a huge game against the Edmonton Oilers a few nights ago, and he continued that against the Capitals. He capitalized on a whiffed shot by the Capitals and off to the races he went. He’s had other breakaways this season and couldn’t convert, but this time, he had the confidence and made it count. He tied the game and gave his team the hope they needed to try and finish strong.
Wild Finish Road Trip
As quickly as it started, the Wild’s three-game road trip is nearly finished. They’ll play one more game on Sunday, Oct. 28, against the New Jersey Devils before they head home to face the Devils again for the second time in less than a week. Hopefully, they’ll be able to fix some of the issues they have defensively and find a way to be successful on special teams. If they can find a way to get their power play going, they’ll be able to win more games.
