The Minnesota Wild faced their first test at coming back from behind when they took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday evening, Oct. 24. They were still without Ryan Hartman and Jared Spurgeon. The game started the same way as the season’s first six games, with the Wild picking up the first goal. It was the top line getting things started, and they looked to be on their way to controlling the play once again.
However, the Lightning fought back in the second period and scored two unanswered goals to put the Wild on the trailing side for the first time all season. They struggled for a bit, trying to settle things down in their favor, but after a few minutes of chaotic play, the Wild calmed down and played their game again. It worked, as they scored late in the period to tie things at two.
The third opened with the Wild receiving a power play and scoring while on said power play. This time, they were able to protect the lead and extend it with an empty net goal by Kirill Kaprizov, his second of the night, to secure the team’s 4-2 victory. In this article, we’ll take a look at the keys to the Wild winning their fourth straight game, starting with their composure.
Wild Don’t Panic
One of the Wild’s biggest struggles in seasons past was their composure. If they were scored on or had something go against them, they’d struggle to keep their heads in it and get frustrated, like most teams do. However, it would alter their play, usually not in their favor. This season, it seems like the team has a whole new mentality thanks to head coach John Hynes, and they aren’t letting anything faze them.
They’ve been used to playing with a lead in all seven games, but for the first time, they had to figure out a way to come from behind, and they did. They were a little out of sorts right after the Lightning got their go-ahead goal, but the Wild fought through it and found their game again, leading them to another win.
No matter the situation, the Wild put their heads down, focused on their game, and just kept playing. As the FanDual Sports Network broadcast team of Anthony Lapanta and Ryan Carter have pointed out multiple times this season and against the Lightning, the Wild seem to have a business-like attitude. They come into the game with a mindset and do their business without getting bothered. They’ll have to keep this mentality all season if they want to continue to win games.
Wild Power Play & Faceoff Success
Everyone who’s watched the Wild this season has seen the success of their power play. They’ve scored a power-play goal in every game but one this season, and they continued that against the Lightning. Matt Boldy kept up his power-play success, this time with a goal after tallying an assist in their win over the Florida Panthers earlier in the week.
They’ve scored on 31.8 percent of their power plays, which has them fifth in the league. This is basically double what they did last season at this point. With seven games played last season, their power play was just 16 percent, and they were 3-3-1. It truly shows that success on the power play does matter and will help win games.
The same can be said about doing well in the faceoff circle, which is another area the Wild are doing better in. Their improvement on the faceoff dot hasn’t been as drastic as their power play, but it is still noticeable. They went from 45.4 percent of faceoffs won at this time last season to 50.7 percent won this season.
Again, it may not seem like a lot, but it has made a difference, and it’s part of the reason the Wild haven’t been scored on as much. They win the necessary faceoffs and keep the puck away from the opponent. Of course, there’s still room to be better, but that’s always, and they’re headed in the right direction.
Wild’s Fleury Steps Up
Filip Gustavsson quickly established himself as the Wild’s number-one goaltender this season, but Marc-André Fleury showed he’s not ready to hang it up just yet. He had a rough first start of the season in the Wild’s second game, a shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken. Against the Lightning, he stood tall for nearly every save, and while the two goals he let in he’ll want back, he still helped them secure the win.
Related: Keys to the Wild Extending Their Winning Ways
Even if he should’ve been able to stop both of those goals, there was a breakdown in defense in front of him that allowed the initial play to happen. Fleury made 23 saves and had a .920 save percentage that should help his first-game stats bounce back. After their win over the Lightning, Fleury looked more like himself, and hopefully, he’ll be able to help Gustavsson be a strong goaltending tandem for the Wild for the rest of this season.
Wild Head to Philly
The Wild will remain on the road for two more games, with the first against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, Oct. 26, at noon central time. The Flyers are currently struggling with just one win so far this season but the Wild will have to take them just as serious as any other team. They’ll need to keep doing what they have been doing, focus on their own play and hopefully they’ll come out with another win.