The Minnesota Wild had a quick back-to-back California road trip against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Their first game against the Ducks didn’t open with the fastest of starts, but in the second period, the Wild got things rolling and didn’t stop. They took the 4-0 win and looked to get another victory when they took on the Kings the next night, March 20.
Unfortunately for the Wild, they looked like the Ducks the night before, while the Kings were all offense. They couldn’t get anything going in the first and seemed to just be hanging on as the Kings jumped out to a three-goal lead. In the second period, they had a little more momentum, but the Kings shut that down very quickly with three more goals to extend their lead to 6-0. No more goals were added in the third despite many attempts, and the game ended 6-0. Many may look to blame the goaltender, but Marc-André Fleury started the week out well, and this was more on his team having no spark, which is where we’ll start.
Wild Have No Spark
It’s possible the Wild used all of their energy the night before when they scored four goals against the Ducks, but they were more than flat against the Kings. They lacked any spark or excitement to do anything in a very important game for their postseason hopes. They did have some chances but couldn’t get any to go in despite head coach John Hynes making all kinds of changes to try to create a spark.
Part of that spark disappeared thanks to some very unlucky bounces off skates and sticks; however, they had to find a way to motivate themselves. Every team has bad bounces, and while three in a game is a lot for any team to deal with, they were only a fraction of why the Wild lost.
After that first bad bounce, the Wild had to shrug it off and tell themselves they could still do it, but instead, they started to fall apart. They allowed frustration to take over, and when that happened, the Wild couldn’t find it in themselves to turn it around. In the third period, they did have tiny glimpses of hope as they got shots on goal, but again, they couldn’t get a spark going.
Wild’s Special Teams Invisible
The Wild had chances on the power play but were stumped, unlike the night before, when they got one power-play goal. They had two chances to try to get themselves back into this game with power plays but couldn’t convert. They had shots, but again, they didn’t have the energy to force anything while up a man, either.
They couldn’t keep themselves out of the penalty box, which helped the Kings, who scored on two of their four power-play chances. The Wild’s penalty kill went 50 percent, which is not postseason-worthy, and this can’t continue to happen if they hope to climb the standings. Even before all the misconducts, the Wild were taking too many penalties and putting themselves in bad situations with their struggling penalty kill and already being down a few goals.
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They were back to their bad habit on the penalty kill of leaving one player near the net wide open rather than boxing everyone out. The Wild have had some success on the penalty kill, but for some reason, they can’t do it consistently, and it’s costing them.
Wild’s Defensive Failures
Outside of their lack of enthusiasm and struggles on special teams, the Wild’s main reason for their loss was their defensive mishaps. According to the stat sheet, they only had three giveaways, but it seemed like a lot more, especially when those turned into goals for the Kings. The first goal of the game was scored on a pass that the Kings picked off, and Fleury wasn’t ready for the deflection.
One of their goals really couldn’t be helped. Dakota Mermis did what he could defensively by diving to cut off the pass, and the puck miraculously deflected off him into the net. That’s one of those goals where it’s hard to blame the defenseman. He did what he was supposed to do, but his defensive partner was out of position, and that’s what hurt them.
The Wild were missing Jonas Brodin due to an injury suffered against the Ducks the night before, and it was obvious they were missing him. They were also without Joel Eriksson Ek, who has yet to return from his injury. It’s clear they were missing both of these players who provide a lot of defense, but they have to persevere. The best teams get through their adversities, and the Wild have to do the same.
Wild’s Next Opponent
The Wild have to learn from their mistakes quickly and put this game behind them because their next game is just as important. They’ll be looking for redemption as they take on the St. Louis Blues. They may still be without Eriksson Ek and Brodin, so they’ll have to figure out how to tighten up their defense.
They’ll again need to watch out for Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, and Torey Krug. What’ll be more interesting is which goaltender the Wild choose to put in and if the Blues will go with Jordan Binnington once again or if Joel Hofer will get the start.
Every team has a bad game, and while the Wild’s is at a horrible time, it was bound to happen. They have to refocus and find that spark again to take down the Blues. It’ll help that they’ll be at home in front of a loud crowd, hopefully getting them going again.