Wild see positives in performance, but losses continue to mount for underachieving bunch
Coach John Hynes and his players feel they are getting close to breaking out of their early-season slump, but patience can only last for so long.
The Wild’s season-opening skid has gotten to the point where coach John Hynes and his players have begun seeing the upside in defeat. Such was the case after the Wild blew a third-period lead on Tuesday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
That dropped the Wild to 0-3 on their six-game homestand — that includes back-to-back overtime loses — and to 3-6-2 on the season.
“I thought the process to the game was a lot better, more indicative of how we can play and the type of game we need to be able to play to win,” said Hynes, whose team fell behind 2-0 in the first period. “I think when you get in a situation where you’re trying to find a way to win games that process is important. … We got more of that tonight.”
This isn’t what you want to hear from a coach only 11 games into a season, and the fact anyone was trying to put a happy face on a loss was instructive as to just how poor the Wild have played. I spent the first period jotting down the numbers of Wild players who have underachieved thus far.
It was extensive.
In fact, it’s easier to come up with the list of the guys who have shown up for every game. As far as the forward group goes, Matt Boldy might be the only player from the top three lines who qualifies. Things have gotten to the point where Marcus Johansson is now the first-line right winger and probably deserves to be.
The assumption at the end of last season was the Wild happily would allow Johansson to leave as a free agent, but his willingness to return on a one-year, $800,000 deal made him such a bargain that general manager Bill Guerin took him back.
Johansson scored his fifth goal of the season on Tuesday — it gave the Wild a 3-2 lead early in the third period — and tied Boldy for second on the team in goals. Johansson’s output might be considered a positive by some, but if the 35-year-old is one of your best players you are in big trouble.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with six goals after scoring five-on-five for the first time this season on Tuesday, but the star left winger hasn’t lived up to the expectations for a guy who will be making $17 million a season beginning in 2026-27. Kaprizov has five points in the past three games, but his careless turnover in overtime led to Kyle Connor’s wining goal for the Jets.
At least Kaprizov is producing points.