The Minnesota Wild may have lost Game 1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, April 20, but their overall effort was substantial. Every player in the lineup was doing the best they could, and although they had a great effort, it’s clear they can raise their game even more. If the Wild want to win this series, they are going to need help from everyone in the lineup.
Again, this isn’t a knock on any of the Wild players or their efforts, but they are going to need more from certain players on their roster to get through this series. They got a great effort from Filip Gustavsson in the net, and their top line led the way, but others can take another step up in their game, starting with Marco Rossi.
Rossi Can Find a Way
Rossi has done reasonably well all season, but like Matt Boldy, he can struggle with consistency, especially when it comes to point production. It wasn’t for lack of effort in Game 1, but from what Wild fans have seen from him this season, he can step up his game in terms of speed, puck movement, and overall confidence. While he plays well with almost anyone on the team, he’s done better when he’s with Kirill Kaprizov, Boldy, or Marcus Foligno.
He was with Foligno in Game 1, and he had a shot on goal plus three hits. Whenever he’s with Foligno, he throws his body around a bit more. While his physicality is excellent, the Wild need him to step up offensively and find a way through. He had 60 points during the regular season, and that included 24 goals. Hopefully, he can harness some of that and let it out during the postseason to help his team secure some wins.
Gaudreau Has Potential
Frédérick Gaudreau is one of those players who does his best work behind the scenes and goes unnoticed. He’s strong on the defense, but every so often, he scores, and usually it’s when his team needs a goal badly. He has a wicked shot that he should use more often, especially in this series against the Golden Knights.
The strongest part of Gaudreau’s game is something the Wild are going to rely a lot on in this series: the penalty kill. He’s one of their best when shorthanded, and although it wasn’t the greatest in Game 1, they have time to fix it. They revamped their penalty kill shortly before the end of the regular season, and it worked. Again, things didn’t go well in Game 1, but they had time to learn from their mistakes and fix them for Game 2.
The one thing they don’t want Gaudreau to do is try too hard to score; it has to come naturally as best as it can. He needs to keep playing his game, but throw some more shots on goal when he can, and hopefully something will go in eventually.
Trenin Has a Spark
Many may not like my inclusion of Yakov Trenin on this list, but he showed a lot of speed in Game 1 and had a shot on goal. His efforts in the offensive zone were strong, and he had eight hits behind Foglino’s team, leading 11. He has shown some spark off and on since the Wild brought him on, and although he’s appeared to be more trouble than offense, he has the potential to be an influence.
He may not be as involved as Rossi or Gaudreau, but fourth-line players can make an impact, and Trenin is also on the penalty kill alongside Gaudreau. The fourth line sets the tone for physicality, and while he was throwing his weight around, he also caused the Golden Knights to make a few errors because they don’t see him as a threat.
Trenin’s speed was what was most welcoming against the Golden Knights in Game 1, apart from his physicality. He was able to get around several opponents and helped his team play the high-energy game they had started and continued all night.
Wild Need More
The Wild had the most substantial effort of the season in Game 1 of the postseason, but it’s clear they have more to give. They had speed, puck movement, and they didn’t let the Golden Knights push them around. They have to focus on that and use it to have an even better effort in Game 2 and the rest of the series. Hopefully, these players can step up and contribute to their team and help them secure some wins.
