3 Takeaways From the Wild’s Loss to the Blues

“I don’t know. The first period wasn’t great; we were just fine. In the second period, we played our game. I don’t know, I guess in a game like this, I’d say we reacted more than we were kind of proactive, and I think the position we’re in right now in the middle of March, we gotta be proactive and start playing our game, taking it to teams. I don’t know if we’re gripping the stick too tight tonight or what, but we’re going to need to be better than that,” said Middleton about the game’s storyline. 

Wild’s Shining Penalty Kill Gets Overshadowed

Although the team struggled offensively and defensively at 5-on-5, the Wild’s penalty kill continued to be strong as they killed off both penalties they took. Zach Bogosian was one of the players that made this happen, as every time he got the puck, he cleared it out. There was one play where multiple players fanned on the puck, and as soon as he got it, he lifted it and sent it down. He did have some struggles, including a turnover, but he kept at it and was one of the few players who stood out more than the rest despite the few mistakes. 

“Obviously, you can say a lot of really good things about the players that we have out, but that’s our reality, right? So that’s not something that we can sit around and dwell and hang our heads on. We have 20 guys every night in the lineup that have to get the job done, it’s the time of year where games are ramping up, you’re playing against tight checking teams, a lot of playoff teams, a lot of teams fighting to get in the playoffs. Every game matters, we have to make sure that we’re putting our best effort forward and make sure we’re finishing the season strong here,” said Bogosian about the guys that are out and how the team is struggling with important games coming up. 

Wild Continue Homestand 

The Wild have very few off days in March, but luckily or unluckily, they are at home for most of them. Their loss to the Blues was game four of a seven-game homestand, and they’ll be right back at it on Monday, Mar. 17, against the Los Angeles Kings and former Wild forward Kevin Fiala. Hopefully, the Wild can shake this scoring slump and get back in the win column over the Kings.