Wild's Torchetti sends message, benches Zucker

MONTREAL – With games erasing off the calendar fast, John Torchetti is trying to lay down the law.

One day after players say he was the most pointed he has been with them to date, the Wild interim coach scratched second-line winger Jason Zucker against the Montreal Canadiens.

The move came two days after Torchetti said he would sit guys who didn't execute the game plan. It came one day after sets of defensemen and individual forward lines met with Torchetti or one of his assistants to watch specific video examples of where they weren't getting pucks deep during a loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

He wanted to use the "film" as evidence so instead of ranting and raving during a team meeting about the 25 or 30 turnovers the Wild committed, nobody could be thinking after the individual line or defense pair meetings, "Well, he ain't talking about me."

"We can't be learning any more lessons moving forward. We can't be giving up points," Torchetti said before Saturday's game.

"He was absolutely right. We had way too many turnovers along the blue line. As players, we know better," forward Nino Niederreiter said. "We know what's at stake."

Torchetti hasn't been happy with Zucker's two-way game. Zucker has one goal and two assists in his past 21 games, including three scoreless games since returning from a concussion.

Against Edmonton, he didn't get pucks deep, turned them over and wasn't available for defensemen on outlet passes.

Zucker was hardly the only one. Veteran Thomas Vanek also committed several turnovers.

Torchetti and Vanek have met.

"I tell him, there's times offensively he's looking to make that fine play through skates and sticks and there's times that I think the timing of the game, the puck management of the game that we should attack the net," Torchetti said. "He's got great hockey sense and he's got great vision and he tries to make that play sometimes, but there's a time and place I told him. I want him to make that play, but I also want him to make a right decision if it's a 1-1 game. We don't want it to deflect off skates and give them an odd-man rush."

Jordan Schroeder took Zucker's lineup spot. Torchetti said one reason he was recalled was to create more internal competition.

"You have to send your message," Torchetti said. "I sent another one [Saturday morning] talking about, 'we've got bodies now, and you have to play, and you have to earn your spot.' I've been here long enough. [General Manager] Chuck [Fletcher] told me to come in with an open mind. I just feel that we can play better, and we can play at a better level."

Schroeder had three shots in Saturday's game and now has one goal on 16 shots and no assists in 16 games for the Wild this season.

• In what has basically turned into a fourth-line scratch rotation, Chris Porter sat for the 10th time in the past 18 games. Also, defenseman Mike Reilly was scratched for the first time since his latest recall Feb. 9. He played 16 games in a row.

Nate Prosser played for the first time in five games.

• Veteran Jason Pominville (lower body), who had been working on his eighth 82-game season since 2006-07, missed his second game in a row.