In a 'prove it' game against Calgary, Wild's strong effort just not enough

Maybe the Wild should try a séance next.

Blunt criticism from the coach didn't work. A hard practice wasn't the answer. Being back home didn't stem the tide.

Heck, Ryan Hartman fought a guy twice his size hoping to fire up his teammates. Noble gesture, for sure, but that bout lasted roughly three seconds before Hartman was thrown to the ice in a touch of symbolism for the team's current predicament.

"When you go through things like this, it's not always easy to get out of it," veteran Marcus Foligno said. "You've got to get slapped in the mouth before moving on."

The Wild is wobbly right now.

The team's effort wasn't embarrassing again Tuesday in a rematch with the Calgary Flames, but the result was the same, another lopsided loss, 5-1, in a game that felt extra significant.

The Wild has lost four consecutive games and six of its past seven. Unlike Saturday's clunker in Calgary, the Wild brought competitive fight to the ice, which is little consolation because the scoreboard still showed a rout.

"We liked our response," Foligno said, "but it's still not good enough."

At least not against a team of Calgary's caliber.

Prodded by coach Dean Evason's stern massages since Saturday, the Wild took a penalty 24 seconds into the game, gave up a goal 48 seconds later and had to chase the entire game.

Evason used the word "embarrassed" repeatedly in the build-up to the rematch. This was a prove-it game for the Wild, a chance to redeem itself after being called out publicly by the head coach. Evason can only play the Mean Dean card so many times after all.

Effort wasn't the problem though. The Wild just didn't play well enough to win. Not even close.

The Flames are a big, rugged team with skill that looks built for the playoffs. The Wild is trying to re-discover its identity.

"There is no panic at all, just so you guys know," winger Kevin Fiala said before the game.

Maybe not panic, but concern is appropriate. The Wild has to pull itself out of this funk before it snowballs into much worse. And even if that happens, the Flames provided a glimpse of what will be in store in the playoffs. Is the Wild capable to getting to that level at its peak?

"That's real world, that's playoff hockey," Foligno said. "We're built for it, but we just have to bring it every night."

The Wild's history is littered with frustrating regular-season swoons, but this is a new cast of players, coaches and management.

Most teams experience lulls and lose their way a bit in the grind of an 82-game season. Good teams find their way out of those spells without too much disruption.

The schedule has been weird with makeup games crammed into a condensed time frame, but fatigue can't be held up as an excuse. Nobody is going to show sympathy.

General Manager Bill Guerin still has a few weeks before the trade deadline to decide if he wants to add pieces. Someone who can win a faceoff would be a welcomed addition because the Wild continues to struggle mightily in that area.

This slump creates doubt about the Wild, but it's hard to ignore the first-half success. That version looked fast and explosive and full of swagger, buoyed by strong performances against some of the NHL's elite teams.

That Wild version needs to reappear, and fast. If that's possible.

"It's not like we're asking them to do something out of character," Evason said.

Evason pointed the finger at himself and his coaching staff, too, saying they need to do a better job reinforcing physical play if that area starts to slip.

"Thirty-something games we've been great," Foligno said. "We've got to understand that this is gut-check time."

They need a win in the worst way to ease the tension. Calgary looks like a team in a different class. That's a different problem than being embarrassed by effort.