Risk But No Reward - WILD WEDNESDAY

HockeyMinnesota WildWild
Written By Kelly Rivard

Risk But No Reward This Time 

Well, pulling your goalie in overtime doesn’t work every time. In Saturday’s game against Vegas, the Wild were up 1-0 in the third, but to no surprise blew their 7th third period lead at home since Dec. 31. With the game tied 1-1 in overtime, coach Hynes decided to pull Gustavsson with 1:53 to go in overtime, but it resulted in an empty net goal for Vegas and zero points for Minnesota.  

Going into that game, the Wild were nine points behind Vegas and eight points behind LA. I understand the Wild are desperate for two points, but I question the decision to pull Gus and risk the point. Overtime and shootouts are really 50/50 odds on who wins, so why not take the guaranteed point and hope they secure both.  

If the Wild had won in overtime or a shootout, they would be four points behind LA with a game still to be played against them this season. Instead, the Wild are six points behind LA with 81 points.  

LA has lost their last three games, whereas Vegas has won their last three. Vegas currently has 92 points, so the Wild’s only chance for a playoff spot is to catch LA. Yes, it is extremely unlikely but if the Wild were able to go 5-3 in their last eight games and LA went 2-5-1, that would put the Wild one point ahead of LA. Unfortunately, LA has a much easier schedule than the Wild as four of their remaining games are against San Jose twice, Anaheim and Chicago. The Wild also cannot tie LA as they beat the Wild twice this season and have the tiebreaker.  

Bottom line is Hynes and the Wild got lucky when they pulled the goalie against Nashville, but Vegas was prepared for it by having the right players on the ice and blocking all shooting lanes. The Wild did not have the patience to wait for a better opportunity when Zuccarello took a low-percentage shot that ended up on Marchessault’s stick and the rest is history.  

Hartman’s Rep Gets Him 

Also from the Vegas game, Ryan Hartman was suspended three games for throwing his stick in “the direction” of the official. With 37 seconds left in the third period, Hartman took a blatant high stick to the face that went uncalled. 

In response, Hartman was visibly upset and was breaking items behind the bench. After Vegas banked the empty netter, Hartman tossed his stick over the bench out of frustration. 

The main reason Hartman received a three-game suspension for this is because of his reputation. Hartman has been fined and suspended multiple times before, so the league is going to hand him tougher punishments for incidents like this. If Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby did this, I doubt they would be suspended and would probably only be fined. But players like Nazem Kadri, Tom Wilson and Hartman are going to be penalized much differently due to their history. 

I understand Hartman’s frustration because referees are never held accountable for poor officiating and players are supposed to just accept it. Hockey is an emotional game and players are going to react when officiating is not up to par, which has been a league-wide issue all year. 

And the ref was not in danger of Hartman’s stick. If anyone was almost speared, it was Matt Boldy. 

Bottom Six Need to Step Up 

In yesterday’s game against Ottawa, the Wild won 3-2 in regulation. Two of those goals came from the Wild’s fourth line, which is a rare feat for the Wild. Mason Shaw scored one, which is his first goal since he tore his ACL for the fourth time a year ago on Apr. 1. 

"Not many people believed he’d play in another NHL game, much less score a goal in the NHL,” Faber told the Athletic.  

Moving into the next season, the Wild must find a way to add more secondary scoring because it seems almost every goal is produced by the top line with Kaprizov, Ek and Boldy. This line leads the NHL for most goals per 60 minutes at an average of 4.76 goals, beating both Edmonton’s and Pittsburgh’s top line.  

The Wild only have four players that have 20 or more goals this season – Kaprizov, Ek, Boldy and Rossi. The only other player close to 20 goals is Hartman with 19. The team relies on players like Gaudreau, Johansson and Foligno to add secondary scoring, but they have been utter disappointments. Foligno can be excused because he has been hurt most of this season as he just underwent core surgery for the second year in a row and will now miss the rest of the season, but we cannot say the same for Gaudreau and Johansson. Since signing a five-year extension worth $10.5 million on Apr. 13, 2023, Gaudreau has been a complete bust. Last season, he scored 19 goals. This season he only has four.  

Remember Gustav Nyquist last season? Well, the Wild decided to keep Johansson over him mainly because they could not afford the extra $2 million Nyquist requested. Nyquist has 22 goals, 46 assists this season with Nashville whereas Johansson only has 10 goals, 18 assists. Cap hell strikes once again! 

Looking Forward 

The Wild’s next two matchups are at home against Colorado on Thursday and the Jets on Saturday. After that, the Wild go on the road for five of their last six games. Even though there is still a slight chance the Wild could slip into the playoffs, Foligno out for the season is the nail in the coffin for any possibility of playoff success. The Wild already lack size and grit in their lineup and without Foligno there really is only Hartman and Middleton for a physical presence. But hey, crazier things have happened in the NHL. 

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Kelly Rivard
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