The Wild have only two regulation losses over the last six weeks, Matt Boldy has stepped up to lead the offense in Kirill Kaprizov's absence and the team is battling for first place in the Central Division.
Wild are still fine-tuning their consistency heading into final stretch of season
With 10 games left, the Wild's play after an "uncharacteristic" loss to the Flyers could determine playoff seeding.
March 24, 2023 at 11:32PM
But the Wild aren't a finished product, not after their 5-4 shootout loss at Philadelphia on Thursday.
"We got away from what we have been doing," coach Dean Evason said. "There was a lot of uncharacteristic stuff."
Just 10 games are left in their regular season, beginning Saturday afternoon against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center, and how much the Wild fine-tune their play the rest of the way will set the tone — and the standings — ahead of the playoffs.
"We just want to be consistent," Evason said. "We've praised our group [for] knowing who we are and knowing how we play. They know we got away from it; they know that. Hopefully it's a one-off, and we get right back at it.
"But we want to be consistent each and every night. For the last little while, we have been with everything, including our effort, and that's never been questioned. We get some consistency the last 10, we'll be real happy."
A Friday morning meetup at Tria Rink in St. Paul provided the Wild with an opportunity to reset, both on the ice and during a video session.
John Klingberg didn't skate after the defenseman sat out Thursday with an upper-body injury, and he also won't be available against the Blackhawks.
Gustav Nyquist did practice with the team but didn't take contact or participate in battle drills. That'll be the next step for the forward, whom the Wild acquired before the trade deadline from Columbus despite Nyquist being out with a shoulder injury.
Their offense is also still missing Kaprizov, who remains sidelined with a lower-body issue, but Boldy has taken over as the team's sparkplug.
His eight goals over the seven games the Wild have played without Kaprizov are tied for the most in the NHL in that span.
"He hasn't cheated the game, either," Evason said. "So, that's the exciting part for us is that he's not blowing zones. He's not doing things uncharacteristic. He's just shooting it in the net. It's exciting for him and obviously for us."
What was atypical for the Wild in their lapse to the Flyers was their decision-making, a collection of poor reads, untimely pinches and turnovers.
"There were some mental mistakes out there," Frederick Gaudreau said.
Another eyesore was the power play, which registered just one shot while going 0-for-3.
Calen Addison, who manned the point on the first unit before Klingberg's arrival via trade earlier this month, is slated to draw in on Saturday to try to give the Wild a jolt.
Addison has been a healthy scratch for the past three games, and the plan is for him to sub in for Jon Merrill on the blue line. Filip Gustavsson is scheduled to start in net for the Wild, who sent Sammy Walker back to the minors on Friday.
"He's been a big part of the power play all year," Evason said of Addison. "Hopefully he'll step right in and give us a boost in that area."
While the Wild are tweaking their game, they'll also be defining their season.
Despite a slow start and a hiccup coming out of the All-Star break, the Wild are only one point back of Dallas for the top seed in the division and three points ahead of reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado.
"You don't end up at the top of the standings without winning a lot of hockey games and being a good team," Ryan Hartman said. "We've been able to do that. We've battled through some lows and were able to come out and put ourselves in a really good spot with 10 games remaining."
For the Wild, four points behind the league-leading Jets, this will be their most anticipated matchup against a division rival since they lost 2-1 to the Stars on Nov. 16.
