After being in the comforts of home for the past two games, the Minnesota Wild headed out onto the road for a quick back-to-back with the first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, Dec. 18. They went down a goal early in the first period due to a slight breakdown in defense, but they worked hard to fight back.
They remained down 1-0 going into the second period, where things only got worse as the Wild refused to stay out of the penalty box. The Penguins scored not just one but two more goals to take a 3-0 lead. The Wild were in quite the predicament, being down three goals, but late in the second period, they managed to make a comeback. They scored not once but twice to get themselves back within one before time ran out in the second.
Having the momentum of back-to-back goals, they had the upper hand and tied the game just over five minutes into the third. However, that hard work was quickly dissolved after taking another penalty that led to the game-winning goal for Sidney Crosby on the power play. The Penguins took the win 4-3, and the Wild started their road trip out with a loss, just their third under head coach John Hynes. Penalties caused the majority of their problems, and that’s where we’ll begin.
Wild March to Penalty Box
Being nearly 30 games into the season, the Wild have already had their fair share of penalty issues and should know they must stay disciplined. It seemed like as soon as one of their players got out of the box against the Penguins, another went in. Their penalty kill did its best, but against the Penguins’ power play talent, it was bound at least one shot would go in, especially without one of their top penalty killers in Jonas Brodin.
The Wild had done such an excellent job on the penalty kill in their last game against the Vancouver Canucks that it looked like they might start a perfect streak again. What made things even worse was once they had found the ability to climb back into the game, Kirill Kaprizov took a penalty that led to a Penguins goal. Kaprizov of all players should know to stay out of the penalty box.
In total, they took seven penalties, but two of them were coincidentals, so they weren’t a man down for those. Regardless, they need to learn to play more disciplined and figure out how to stay out of the box. If they continue on this path, they will not get past the Boston Bruins later this evening.
Wild’s Defensive Breakdown
The Wild’s high number of penalties was one of the main issues in their loss, but the other was their defensive struggles outside of the penalty kill. The first goal was a massive defensive breakdown, starting with Alex Goligoski behind the net. He was battling for the puck and threw it out front right on the stick of a waiting Penguins player who was all alone and quickly put it past Filip Gustavsson.
Unfortunately for Goligoski, that was just the beginning of his misfortune for the night. He was also on the ice for the Penguins’ third goal, which resulted from a defensive miscalculation by Goligoski’s partner Zach Bogosian, where he missed blocking the pass across the ice. This caused Goligoski to scramble, and he couldn’t return to help his goaltender in time.
These things happen, but the Wild need to re-focus and get back to playing their style. They can’t allow players to sneak in behind their defense, leaving their goaltender completely exposed. If they can tighten up their defense, they’ll be much better off going forward.
Wild Prove They Can Come Back
Despite all their penalty and defensive problems, the Wild still found a way to dig deep and force a comeback. Even when things looked out of their control, they kept at it and found ways to score goals. They swung the momentum in their direction and nearly had it entirely if it wasn’t for the penalty that caused the final Penguins goal.
While it’s disappointing how the game ended, the Wild must remember that they didn’t give up. They kept their heads up and forged ahead, and they nearly tied it in the final minutes after the Penguins’ go-ahead goal. They will need to remember that when they play tough teams because this won’t be the only game they have to come from behind in, and knowing they can makes things easier.
Wild’s Next Opponent
The Wild won’t have time to overthink their loss as they’ll play again tonight, this time in Boston against the Bruins. Everyone knows how well the Bruins did last season until the playoffs, and this season, they’ve started strong again. Besides getting some wins under their belt, this will be the toughest test so far this season.
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Their defense will have to be better than it was against the Penguins, as they’ll have to stop the offensive powers of David Pastrňák, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, James van Riemsdyk, and Pavel Zacha. That’s not all either; the Wild’s offense will have to find a way past Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark.
The Wild know they have to step up their game if they hope to get past the Bruins, the question is will they be able to do it? If they can stay out of the penalty box, keep their defense in the correct position, and possibly get some success on the power play, they’ll stay with the Bruins and maybe sneak out a win.
