The Minnesota Wild dropped their seventh in a row with their latest loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 26. The Wild are comfortably sitting at 29th in the NHL with the second-fewest wins this season despite all efforts to stop the bleeding and turn their season around. They have failed to make any appreciable changes to their play, and while there have been periods of play where they have looked strong, there seems to be a much more deep-seated problem that does not look like it will work itself out without some intervention.
Same Old Same Old
The Wild followed their regular, poor script during the first period once again but thankfully a Red Wings penalty with just 25 seconds left and a powerplay goal from Joel Eriksson Ek allowed them to enter the first intermission tied at one. Despite the tied game, the Wild did not have a good period with yet another slow start, an initial weak powerplay, and yet another failed penalty kill to continue their season-long trends. No matter what lines the Wild try, different plays they create, or the mindset they try to instill in the locker room, it just isn’t working and the result is the team typically falling behind before they even have a chance to get into the game.
A better second period was highlighted with an extreme tilt in shots toward the Wild, but Dylan Larkin managed to score on just the Red Wings’ fourth shot of the period during a four-on-four. Another late power play for the Wild gave them a perfect opportunity to respond with a goal of their own, but their failure to do so sent them into the second intermission down by one.
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A third period full of frustration brought nothing for the free-falling Wild despite once again having more shots on goal than their opponents. They failed to close the two-goal gap, instead allowing it to increase to three goals with an empty-netter and as such continue to increase their chances of missing the playoffs for just the second time since 2013. There is no lack of heart on the team, it is obvious they feel the losses just as much as the fans, but their heart has not transferred into any better on-ice play.
Time to Look at the Coaching Staff
It feels more and more like a big shakeup is the only way to reset the team and allow them to attempt to turn the season around as fans, players, and management continue to get more frustrated as the losses continue to pile up and the playoffs become less of a possibility. The most aggravating part of this season is that the Wild are a good hockey team. Their roster has star talent, solid defensemen, good goaltending, and skilled rookies in Marco Rossi and Brock Faber, but none of that seems to matter as they are unable to put it together and turn it into some wins.
According to Natural Stat Trick the Wild controlled most of the game with 38 shots to the Red Wings 23, blocked more shots, and even had the better face-off percentage. Their five-on-five play was exceptional with over 85 percent of the game’s high-danger chances for (HDCF%) and they dwarfed the Red Wings’ 0.58 expected goals against (xGA) with their own 1.69 xGA, but none of that matters when they are historically bad at killing penalties and could only convert on one of five of the power play attempts.
The Wild have no room under the salary cap to make trades without moving what they consider to be core pieces, but what they can do is change some of the coaching staff. Although Dean Evason has been effective in his role as head coach and general manager Bill Guerin seems to agree with the overall style of play he employs, there is only so far a team can fall below their expectations before a change is needed. The entire coaching staff has been unable to effectively utilize their players on special teams to a degree that is bordering on laughable and directly costing the team precious games in the race to turn their season around.
Looking Ahead
With looking behind offering nothing but sadness, the Wild can only look forward in hopes that the next game may be the one that sets their season alight. A trio of inter-divisional opponents are in their sights this week as they take on the St. Louis Blues at home on Nov. 28, quickly fly down to take on the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30, and then hop back home to St. Paul to meet Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks for another Sunday matinee on Dec. 3. Three very winnable games that would go a long way in gaining some ground on the teams directly around them in the standings.
