After a disappointing overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights that put their postseason hopes even further out of reach, the Wild remained home to play host to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, April 2. Things started well as both teams went back and forth until the Wild capitalized on their chance and took their first lead.
In the second, the Wild looked to be in control, at least at first, when they scored less than a minute in to take a two-goal lead. Things went decently until they went on the penalty kill, and the Senators scored to get within a goal, but the Wild held the lead through the rest of the period.
In the third, the momentum shifted to the Senators, who added their second power-play goal to tie the game. The Wild struggled a bit to get things going, but they scored one more goal to take the lead. They held it until the end of the game and secured the 3-2 win. The fourth line carried the team this time around, and that’s where we’ll begin.
Wild’s Fourth Line Steps Up
Normally, the first line carries the Wild through their games, but this time around, the fourth line stepped up. After the Wild’s busy trade deadline, which sent their original fourth line of Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar, and Pat Maroon away, the fourth line is now comprised of Mason Shaw, Vinni Lettieri, and Jake Lucchini.
After a devastating fourth ACL tear at the end of last season, Shaw returned to the lineup a month ago and it took a bit but he scored his first goal, which was the first goal in their win over the Senators. He hadn’t scored since March 21 of last season, over a year ago, so it was an essential goal for the team and himself. He’s a gritty player who has never given up, and his goal proved that.
The second goal wasn’t courtesy of the fourth line, but the game-winner was, and that came off the stick of Lettieri. He’s been a strong presence for the Wild before and after his injury, which caused him to miss a good chunk of the season—15 games—and it would’ve been more if not for the All-Star Break. He’s been back for a couple of months and got his first goal since Dec. 18.
Wild’s Penalty Kill Struggles
The Wild may have come away with the two points, but just barely, and their penalty kill was part of the reason they nearly lost. The Senators scored on two of the three power plays they received, and both goals were scored similarly. The Wild’s defense left the weak player open, and they had the net wide open on their side to shoot into.
If the Wild hope to win more games and somehow will themselves into the postseason, they must figure out how to consistently kill penalties. Their penalty kill was a disaster last postseason and has been one of their biggest problems this season. They’ll have a streak where it’s really good and then a streak where it’s really bad; they can’t find consistency.
The same can be said for their power play, although they’ve had more success on that end. However, they could’ve won the game if they had scored on their four power play opportunities, but again, they were skunked. The Wild must fix their special teams if they want to win more games.
Wild’s Fleury Strong & Bogosian a Surprise
The Wild may have squeaked by with a win, but someone who had a really good game was their goaltender, Marc-André Fleury. He kept them in the game once again, and although he let in the two shorthanded goals, he was left out to dry with his defense not able to help him when he was on the opposite side of the net. He still made 30 saves on 32 shots for a .938 save percentage, however, he wasn’t the only player who did well.
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Zach Bogosian had one of his best games of the season. He had an assist and was on the ice for the other two goals his team scored. He was also on the ice for over 21 minutes and had a single hit plus a blocked shot. He had a strong offensive and defensive overall game, and hopefully, this is just the start.
Wild Face Avalanche
The Wild’s homestand won’t get any easier as their next opponent always plays them tough, their divisional rival the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche are very alive in the postseason race and are fighting for the top spot in the division so they will be wanting to win as badly as the Wild. They’ll have to come out stronger than they did against the Senators or it could be a rough game.
The Wild have to put a stop to the Avalanche’s top scorers of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Casey Mittelstadt, and Jonathan Drouin. That’ll be an entire team effort as well as getting past either Alexandar Georgiev or Justus Annunen in net. They’ll need everyone to step up to get by the Avalanche, especially with Ryan Hartman out due to a suspension and Marcus Foligno out for the season after having surgery. The Wild will have their hands full and it’ll be interesting to see how they do against the Avalanche.