Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber is feeling the weight of his workload.
The 22-year-old Wild blueliner has been logging some of the heaviest minutes in the NHL, and that has started to wear on him late in games, as he told Michael Russo of The Athletic on Friday.
"I felt like I could give a lot more if I was fresh," Faber said. "I felt like they were long shifts, and I’d say 90 percent of that’s on me for either not changing or taking too long of a shift or whatever it was.
"I don’t want to blame (mistakes) on being tired, but after being out on the ice for two minutes, it’s hard to be at your best."
Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, Faber’s average time on ice has climbed to 27:19, the second-highest in the league.
Over the full season, Faber ranks fifth league-wide in TOI per game (25:18) and third among players with at least 62 games played.
With the Wild dealing with multiple injuries on the blue line, Faber has been asked to quarterbacking the power play, leading the penalty kill, and matching up against top offensive threats every night.
Against the New York Rangers on Thursday, he logged 29:42—five minutes more than any of his teammates—and was on the ice for the overtime winner, with Braden Schneider getting easily past Faber before shooting on goal.
The Wild have struggled on offense in their last nine games, making defensive efforts even harder. Minnesota has been held to one or two goals in eight of them, going 3-5-1 in that span.
“That’s part of it,” Faber said. “The goals will come, and the game will open up.
“Yeah, it’s hard. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. But at the same time, I’m doing what I love."
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