The performance wasn't just a clunky encore to the Wild celebrating former captain Mikko Koivu by making him the first player in Wild history to have his No. 9 jersey retired.
Wild's 6-2 letdown vs. Nashville proves doubly harsh
Loss comes on the night Mikko Koivu's No. 9 was retired. It also adds pressure in the tight playoff race.
March 14, 2022 at 2:22AM
A 6-2 letdown to the Predators on Sunday in front of an announced 19,009 at Xcel Energy Center also cost the team valuable ground in the Central Division playoff race, a double whammy at the outset of a franchise-long nine-game homestand.
"Obviously, we didn't match what they brought," Wild coach Dean Evason said.
With the win, Nashville tied the Wild's 72 points; the Wild stays in third place only because it's played one fewer game than the Predators. These teams will face off two more times, both in Nashville. The top three seeds in the division automatically advance to the playoffs.
"These are games that we got to win," Jordan Greenway said. "These games that going down the stretch are going to matter."
The Predators were sharp enough to never trail, with Philip Tomasino delivering the final go-ahead goal in the second period and captain Roman Josi reinforcing that lead with his second of two goals early in the third period. Nashville added empty-net goals from Filip Forsberg (17 minutes, 42 seconds) and Nick Cousins (19:31).
Overall, Josi racked up four points, Forsberg also had a pair of goals and backup goalie David Rittich made 26 stops.
The Wild started chasing 8:24 into the first period when the Predators converted on their first shot, a deflection by Forsberg that eluded Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.
Before the period ended, the Wild pulled even on a goal-line shot from Matt Boldy at 13:03, the rookie's 12th goal of the season. Boldy has 14 points in his past 15 games.
The same script played out in the second, with the Wild falling behind again before catching up.
Josi broke the tie 8:44 into the period after he skated through the middle of the Wild's zone before unleashing a backhander behind Kahkonen. Then, at 11:10, Greenway scored off the rush to snap a 22-game goalless drought.
But Nashville answered back and quickly.
On the next shift, Tomasino pounced on a rebound at 12 minutes. Cousins' assist was his second of the game.
"We've got to find a way to just continue to keep our foot on the gas," Greenway said.
In the aftermath, the Wild went to the power play but the team fizzled and didn't even put a shot on net. For the first time in nine games, Kirill Kaprizov did not pick up a point, ending an eight-game point streak that tied the longest of his career.
"They did a good job of fronting pucks and just competing," Matt Dumba said.
As for the Predators, who blocked 29 shots, they capitalized once in three power plays and that goal by Josi 1:05 into the third period was the turning point — the first of three insurance goals.
"We've just got to find a way to kill them and find a way to score," Dumba said. "So, I'm sure we'll be working on them in practice."
The Wild power play finished 0-for-4, a familiar letdown.
And the trickle-down effect from these miscues is spilling into the standings.
"They were just a little more committed than we were tonight in this hockey game," Evason said. "When you do that, it's a close game. But they were able to push past it, and we didn't respond like we normally do."
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.
