Wild's Kevin Fiala on scoring slump: 'I just have to stick with it'

At this point, the math is not in his favor. Eight games into the Wild's season, winger Kevin Fiala has scored only one goal, a painfully slow start for a player expected to help power his team's offense.

Rather than dwell on that number, Fiala looked to a different one after Monday's practice at Tria Rink. The Wild has 74 games remaining, beginning with Tuesday's matchup against Ottawa at Xcel Energy Center. With the season still so young, Fiala said he has "no concern'' about his drought and is working to stay positive.

Wild coach Dean Evason gave Fiala some fresh linemates Monday, teaming him with center Joel Eriksson Ek and winger Marcus Foligno. As players whose goals typically come from battling in front of the net, they could help Fiala find a path out of his goal slump. Fiala aims to help himself, too, by not obsessing over his numbers.

"It's not like it's bothering me,'' said Fiala, whose 20 goals last season ranked second on the team. "Of course, I'm not very happy. But still, there's a lot to go. And if I look back through my games, I hit a couple posts and had some good passes that didn't go in.

"I feel I'm a goal scorer, and if I don't score goals in some games, it's getting a little bit in the head. But I feel like I've been long enough in the league to know that it can't. I just have to stick with it.''

Fiala's only goal this season came in the opener at Anaheim, on the power play. Since that game, he has put 20 shots on net without cashing in. His 24 shots on goal are fourth-most among the Wild.

Evason and Fiala both noted that goal scoring is a teamwide issue. The Wild is averaging 34.9 shots on goal, third-most in the NHL, but its 2.75 goals per game rank 19^th. While Evason isn't singling out Fiala, he did suggest the winger can make improvements.

"When you're a goal scorer and you're not scoring, you're not doing the right things,'' Evason said. "If you were, you'd score.''

While he tries to shake off his goal drought, Fiala is focusing on contributing in other areas. He is glad to be part of the penalty kill, finds satisfaction in playing well defensively and is striving to be a good teammate.

He's also taking a cue from his past, recognizing that he's been most productive when he isn't overthinking things.

"Right now, what I can do is just come here, have fun and work hard,'' Fiala said. "And hopefully, it turns.''

Monday's practice was the first for the Wild in nine days. Evason thought the team had "stalled out a little bit'' last week and hoped a good, brisk practice session would restore its spark.

The Wild had one practice scheduled last week, tucked in among five games and three days off, but it was canceled after two players tested positive for COVID-19. Monday's session focused on drills that gave all players plenty of repetitions at a high pace.

"We wanted to get our game going again, ignited again,'' Evason said. "We loved the way we competed today, the way we were going. We had a good day and felt good about ourselves.''

The session was particularly helpful for young forwards Connor Dewar and Adam Beckman, who had not practiced with the Wild since they were called up last week from Iowa. Evason praised their effort in a 4-1 loss to Colorado on Saturday and blamed a lack of practice time for an error they made on the first Avalanche goal.

"It's a mistake made from not being here, from not going through repetition of our neutral zone,'' he said. "We really like their energy. We like that they weren't intimidated by the surroundings, the situation, the environment. They'll be better [Tuesday against Ottawa].''

Defenseman Alex Goligoski, who has missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury, practiced Monday. With Goligoski initially expected to miss one to two weeks, Evason was happy to see him on the ice, but he wasn't sure about his status for Tuesday's game.

"We'll sit down with him after [practice] and see how it feels,'' Evason said. "But it's positive that he's going through the drills.''