The Minnesota Wild were at home for their second straight preseason game on Sunday, Sept. 29, and this time, they played host to the Dallas Stars, and both teams suited up very few NHL veterans. Despite having a handful of NHL veterans in the roster including Fréddy Gaudreau, Marco Rossi, Marcus Johansson, Zach Bogosian, Jon Merrill and Jakub Lauko, the Wild started the game off rough.
The Stars started the scoring with a power-play goal six minutes into the first period, and from that point on, they controlled the game. The Wild had some good looks but couldn’t finish, which cost them. They ended the first period down 1-0, and the shots were 9-4 in favor of the Stars. The second started with the Wild killing off a penalty, and the Stars were still in control.
The Stars added to their lead with a goal 12 minutes into the second and deflated the little energy the Wild had found. However, the Wild did get a few strong looks but, again, couldn’t follow through. Rossi, Gaudreau, and Johansson had the best looks and continued to in the third.
The third looked to follow the same pattern as the first two periods. The Stars added a goal to their lead, but the Wild found a way to answer back not just once but twice to get back within one goal. However, the effort came with too little time left, and when they pulled their goaltender to try and tie it, the Stars threw it into the empty net and sealed the 4-2 win. In this article, we’ll look at how the game went, starting with how the Wild found their effort too late.
Wild’s Efforts Too Little Too Late
It was kind of an odd night, and the game started rough for Wild fans as it seemed the Stars controlled everything on both ends of the ice. The Wild’s roster, which was still heavily laden with prospects, did everything they could but struggled. They couldn’t get their systems down and seemed to chase the puck more than play it. At first, it looked like none of the prospects would stand out compared to the other evening against the Winnipeg Jets, but that changed late in the game.
It took until the third period for the team to finally come alive, and Rossi got things going with a shot that Gaudreau tipped in. However, just 24 seconds later, still riding the high from the first goal, Travis Boyd made a case for himself as he scored to put his team back within one. Those two goals woke both the team and the building itself up, and there was a new energy that wasn’t there before.
While the energy carried through the game’s final minutes, they ran out of time and waited too long to start scoring. Head coach John Hynes alluded to that in the postgame press conference.
“When you’re in training camp, you’re looking for guys to be able to play to their identity, and you’re looking for the team identity, and we didn’t have it from individual players or from the team, but we made a little push there in the third period, but overall that’s not what we wanted to accomplish in tonight’s game,” Hynes said about the overall performance of the team.
Wild Need to Watch Penalties
It seems like this has been a common theme with the Wild over the past few seasons, and it’s starting to creep up on them once again. Even in their win the other night over the Jets, they marched to the penalty box too many times. They did better against the Stars, but they need to cut their time in the box, plain and simple.
They found out the hard way against the Stars, who scored on the first power play they got. The Wild have been working on their penalty kill, but it’s still a work in progress. However, regardless of how strong their penalty kill may get they can’t keep putting it under stress or they’ll continue to lose games.
Hopefully this doesn’t turn into a bad habit and disappears when the regular season starts. Along with being in more control when it comes to penalties, they also have to be careful with retaliation because that gets them in trouble too.
Wild’s Veterans Look Strong
The Wild veterans in the lineup worked well together despite the score and created some chances. Rossi, in particular, stood out among the veterans as he was constantly working and giving it his all. He carried into the zone, led the play, and even set up the Wild’s power-play goal that Gaudreau tipped. He set the tone for his line; they were the hardest-working line, as they should be.
The veterans had to set an example for the youngsters in the lineup, and while the game was a struggle, the veterans did what they needed to do. They could’ve been better, but the players trying to play for a roster spot could’ve stepped up. The team as a whole could’ve been better, and the more veterans in the lineup, the better they should be.
Wild Host Blackhawks
The Wild will have one more home preseason game, which will be against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. CT. It’s hard to say if Connor Bedard will be in the lineup or not as they’re past the halfway point of the preseason and will be wanting to get the veterans into the lineup.
Related: Wild’s John Hynes Demands Intensity & Change in Training Camp
The Wild will have nearly their entire NHL roster suited up against the Blackhawks and it will be good to see what they can finally do as a whole. Hopefully, they’ll work together seamlessly, and it’ll be a good stepping stone to the regular season, where they’ll need to hit the ground running.
