3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 5-2 Loss to the Jets

The Minnesota Wild were right back on the road for the second half of their recent home/road back-to-back when they faced the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday evening, Oct. 13. It was the first back-to-back for the Wild, and it was pretty evident as the game wore on. They also got hit with another injury, as not only was Nico Sturm put on injured reserve after taking a puck to the right ear the night prior, but Jared Spurgeon was out with an upper body injury. 

The Wild did what they could with all the injuries and fatigue from being on the second half of a back-to-back, but they struggled all evening. The Jets got the first goal of the game, and although the Wild tied it, the Jets went ahead a second time. The Wild tied it a second time, but that’s when the Jets pulled away for the final time with three unanswered goals to take the win 5-2. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with the fatigue. 

Wild’s Fatigue Set In

84 games is a long season, and while back-to-backs always pose a challenge for every team, when there’s travel involved, it makes it even more difficult. The Jets had the jump on the Wild from the beginning, and although they did have some energy, it didn’t last. It was clear the longer the game went on, the harder it was for the Wild to keep up. 

They lost races to the puck, the defense struggled to keep the opposition to the outside, and overall they just looked tired. There was a lot of reaching for the puck and not moving the feet. They only took two penalties, and one of them did cost them, but typically tired teams get caught in the penalty box a bit more, so they did have that going for them.

“Yeah, I thought first period was really good, and then the second period I thought we just had some self-inflicted wounds, managing the puck wasn’t what it needed to be, and the dynamic of the game changed, and to me my big takeaway of that is how we have to manage the second period, much better than we did tonight,” said head coach John Hynes to the media on Wild.com when asked about the game. 

Wild’s Kaprizov Keeps Scoring

Many were expecting a lot out of Kirill Kaprizov this season, especially with his new contract going into effect, and so far he has lived up to his end of the deal. He didn’t score the Wild’s first goal of the season, but he did score in their first game, and that was just the start. He scored twice in their home opener, was skunked in the first game of their recent road trip, but then started what would become a four-game point streak, including two goals against the Jets.

He’s scored eight goals and assisted on three others for 11 points in seven games played. Those eight goals lead the NHL, and his 11 points lead the Wild, one ahead of Quinn Hughes, who has 10 points and the opposite stats with two goals and eight assists at the time of this article. While Kaprizov has been strong at even strength, he’s also helped the power play with its success. 

“Well, I think the three of them are playing to the level that they can play at. They’re all highly skilled players, highly talented players, but great work ethic; they play the game straight ahead, they’re very competitive on pucks, when they’re called upon to defend, they’re responsible in that way, so they’re playing in sync right now. The three of them are playing the way that they need to play to be highly successful guys,” said Hynes to the media on Wild.com when asked about the top line. 

Wild Are Fine, Not Time to Panic

The Wild are bound to lose games here and there, especially when put in a situation where they’re the traveling team on a back-to-back, and they played three games in the past four days while their opponent had the past three days off. They didn’t play horribly; there are things to fix, and they know that, but overall there was some effort, and they were fatigued. 

It was also Calvin Pickard’s regular season debut for the Wild, and although it wasn’t the best night for him or the team, it wasn’t all on his shoulders. The first goal was tipped through traffic; not much he could do. The second was more of a breakdown in defense, as was the third, but that was also on the penalty kill. The fourth goal is likely one he would want back as it beat him point blank glove side. The fifth and final goal of the game was a 2-on-1 that was equally on the defense and his shoulders. 

Regardless, one loss in this situation is not going to hurt the Wild. They have a lot of games left, and they’re going to win some and lose some. They’ve already shown they’re a capable team with strong special teams, scoring, and defense. Hopefully, as the season goes on, they’ll be able to build up a bit more stamina for when they have these back-to-backs and come back with a win.