The Minnesota Wild had quite a bit of success during the regular season last year but obviously, the postseason was a different story. However, as with every season, there are things that need to be fixed in order to be successful in the future.
These three things are just a few of the items the Minnesota Wild needs to focus on to be successful this season. The first is their shots on goal, the second is winning faceoffs, and finally being more aggressive, especially on special teams. We’ll start by investigating their shots on goal and move on from there.
Wild Need More Shots
The Wild are a team with a lot of offensive power but one of their biggest struggles is they don’t use that power efficiently. Of course, their main shot contributor is Kirill Kaprizov followed closely by Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek. There’s a slight drop off from third to fourth and then it goes down from there.
It’s expected Kaprizov would lead the Wild in shots since he’s their leading point producer. Boldy not being far behind isn’t surprising either as he’s been working hard to find his scoring touch. Eriksson Ek is a bit more unpredicted because he always seems more defensive-minded but he, like Boldy, has been pushing for more offense. While having these three be your top-shot producers is great, it’s not enough.
Firstly, these three can always take more shots in every situation but they can’t be the only ones. Players like Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno, Brandon Duhaime, and Frédérick Gaudreau all have to step up as well. These players have the capability to do more than they have been and it’s time they show it. The only way the Wild can score more goals is by taking more shots and they need to come from more than just three players.
Wild Have to Win Faceoffs
It’s no secret the Wild have struggled to win faceoffs, especially in the last few seasons. This has cost them goals on occasions, and most recently it hurt them in the postseason when they let in at least two goals on lost faceoffs. While the top centers in the NHL are winning over 50 percent of their faceoffs, none of the Wild’s top four centers could get to that number. They did have two get close in Eriksson Ek at 49.4 percent and Gaudreau at 49.3 percent.
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If they want more success this season, they need their centers to win faceoffs in every situation. While their five-on-five and penalty kill faceoff winning percentages have to get better, thankfully their power play percentage was the best of the three at 55.4 percent. Whatever they’re doing on the power play they have to transfer to the other areas of their game.
If every center the Wild have can improve their percentages, it would help their overall game tremendously. A faceoff doesn’t seem like a huge moment of the game in the grand scheme of things but every single one matters and can affect the direct outcome of the game. The Wild need every faceoff win they can get to be successful this coming season.
Wild Need More Aggressive Play
They have to be careful with this one, in terms of aggression they need it to force mistakes but not cause them to take penalties. Their biggest issues where they need a more pesky style of play are special teams, both penalty kill and power play. A team they could look at for an example is the Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights, who pushed the issue every chance they had. They were in the face of every team they played and it worked.
Related: 3 Lessons the Wild Can Learn From 2023 Stanley Cup Champions
The Wild have to try to play more of that style of hockey, while also keeping to their style of skating and moving the puck. If they can be more aggressive on special teams, they will do better overall. They’ll force the other team to make mistakes and on the penalty kill especially it can lead to more shorthanded goals, something the Wild did very well last season with 14 total.
Connor Dewar is one player who’s played a more aggressive style, mainly on the penalty kill, and they can use him as an example for other players to strive for. If more of the team can play like Dewar, they’ll have no issue being more aggressive and causing turnovers that could lead to goals that eventually lead to wins.
Wild’s Future Success
The Wild have plenty of things that will lead them to success, but if they can fix these three things as well, they’ll find a way to play even better. They have examples to look at and adjust their play to do what needs to be done. Hopefully, everyone can step up to take more shots, win more faceoffs, and play more aggressively. Doing those things will lead the Wild to hopefully more wins and overall a more successful season in 2023-24.
