DENVER (AP) — The Minnesota Wild left Denver in an 0-2 hole and amid an 0-for-5 power-play slump in the series.
It's not difficult for the Wild to zero in on what needs to turn around in the off days before the second-round series with Colorado resumes Saturday for Game 3 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Special teams,” Wild center Michael McCarron said.
The lack of power-play production has been a troubling trend of late for the Wild. They lead the postseason
with 30 opportunities on the man advantage, but have four goals to show for it.
“Hockey is hard right now, this time of year,” forward Matt Boldy explained. “We’ve got to keep going and find ways to put the puck in the net.”
In the regular season, the Wild were one of the top power-play units. But they were 4 of 25 in their six-game series win over Dallas and the troubles followed them to the Mile High City. Although they did have a short-handed tally in Game 1.
“Keep our frustration away and keep going with what we have,” captain Jared Spurgeon said. “Obviously, they’re a good team over there, and they’re going to make plays when we make mistakes, so we’ve got to limit those. We’ve had our chances as well. We’ve just got to regroup here.”
Minnesota is hoping a possible return of forward Joel Eriksson Ek may provide a spark. He didn’t make the trip to Denver as he recovers from a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin, who also stayed back with a lower-body injury, are scheduled to be re-evaluated before Game 3.
The penalty-kill hasn’t been up to par, either. The Wild are near the bottom in the playoff rankings, allowing 13 goals on 32 chances. Colorado is 3 of 7 on the power play in the series.
“We've got to figure it out ... We have opportunities to get some momentum for ourselves, but it’s going the other way,” Spurgeon said. “We’ve got to correct that and get on the same page there.”
Any corrections jump out?
“Make our reads,” McCarron explained. “They move the puck quick. We’ve just got to be more aware of where guys are on the ice on the (penalty kill). We’re doing a lot better with our clears. We’re up and out. They’re getting some grade-A looks, though. We have to clean it up.”
Another area of concern for the Wild is in the net. Jesper Wallstedt gave up eight goals in a 9-6 loss during Game 1. Minnesota made a change before Game 2 and inserted Filip Gustavsson. He surrendered four goals in a 5-2 loss in making his first start since April 13.
“I thought Gus gave us a chance to win,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “The difference in the game was the special teams. That’s basically what it comes down to.”
For the high-scoring Avalanche, they've proven to be just as comfortable playing a wide-open game as a tight one.
“We know that wasn’t our best,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said of Game 1. “We knew there were areas that we wanted to clean up. We studied them and then I thought we did a good job executing them. We were disciplined with the puck I thought we made good decisions.”
It's no secret to the Wild's recipe for success: Stay out of the penalty box. The Wild have an NHL-leading 21 goals in the playoffs when it’s even strength.
“The way we play the game, you can see when we’re playing 5-on-5 that we’re getting our looks and we’re getting in zone time that we sustain and (are) putting them under pressure,” Spurgeon said. “So we (have to) keep that up.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
