Heading into a busy week of games, starting with a date Monday against the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the Minnesota Wild seem to be finding their groove.
The Wild, with four games in six days leading into the NHL’s Christmas break, have won three in a row, including a 2-1 shootout win Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps more telling, the team is 7-2-0 since John Hynes replaced Dean Evason as coach Nov. 27.
“We feel real comfortable,” Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno said. “A lot of confidence in our team, the way we’re playing in these tight games.”
Saturday was the Wild’s second straight shootout win.
“We’re just trying to play a fast game, trying to kill (opponents’ offensive) plays fast and create offense from that,” Minnesota forward Freddy Gaudreau said. “That’s kind of how it happened lately, those tight games, low-scoring games.
“But I think we can play all sort of styles.”
The game Monday could have an emotional sidebar. It could be Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s last appearance in uniform in Pittsburgh. He has not committed to playing beyond this season.
Fleury, 39, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Penguins, was with Pittsburgh for three Stanley Cups. With 548 career wins in 996 games, he appears to be a lock for the Hall of Fame.
In more than a decade with the Penguins, he became a favorite of fans and teammates with his record, his athletic style and his quirky personality.
Fleury and Filip Gustavsson have split time in the net this season. Gustavson played Saturday.
Hynes has not committed to starting Fleury in Pittsburgh. The Wild have back-to-back games coming up, including one Tuesday at Boston.
“I know that they’re going to split” those two games, Hynes said. “I don’t want to say (the breakdown for) the games yet.”
Pittsburgh seems likely to go with No. 1 goaltender Tristan Jarry against the Wild.
Jarry was pulled Saturday in one of Pittsburgh’s worst losses, and perhaps a low point of an inconsistent season. The Penguins were blasted 7-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road.
“You can’t just be satisfied putting your skates out there,” Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “I think it was consistent throughout the lineup – no one really did anything out there except be there.”
It was a scathing assessment of the team, and Karlsson was not alone.
“(We) have to have way more urgency. Way more urgency and desperation,” Penguins center Lars Eller said. “Skate without the puck. Do the things without the puck and play for each other. And not just hope that things are going to work out.
“Too much hope. Not enough action.”
Pittsburgh had won two in a row but seemed to backslide to the form that helped lead to a preceding four-game losing streak. Maybe more than backslide.
“I’ll certainly dissect it; I’m not sure yet how we’ll respond to it,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of the poor showing. “It’s a humbling experience. We didn’t perform to our expectations, and it’s disappointing.”
There could be at least one lineup change for both clubs Monday. Pittsburgh top-six winger Rickard Rakell, out since Nov. 19 because of an undisclosed injury, and Wild captain Jared Spurgeon, out two games because of a lower-body injury, could both return.
– Field Level Media
