Minnesota Wild: Not Time to Panic…Time to Execute
One of the constants in first quarter of this season for the Minnesota Wild was that no matter how bad it got on the road the friendly confines of the Xcel Center would pick the team and make all right in the world again. Lately that seems not to be the case.
The Wild have seen their last three home games go very wrong and two against division opponents to boot, and all of this after a road trip that saw the Wild go 1-2-1. Mike Yeo’s meeting before practice the other day was meant to stop the team from “moping” and not bringing intensity into practice is causing one to wonder if it’s time for panic mode in the Twin Cities.
It certainly is not time for panic, but there it is time for urgency. With a red-hot Dallas team continuing to dominate the division and pull further and further away, the Wild need all the points they can get to keep pace. Falling behind now can mean having a tough time getting into the playoffs later. As I see it there’s a few things that can be done to right the ship.
Players on the Wild need to know that being in the line-up is based on performance, not on talent. Mathew Dumba is struggling and while I’m not for giving up on him in any shape or fashion it might be best to send a message and have him sit a game or two.
As I’ve written before Darcy Kuemper falls into this category. He did stop 40 shots against the Stars the other night, but he gave up 3 goals in the third period which really led to the loss in the end. Let Niklas Backstrom get some time in net instead, who knows he might just motivate Kuemper to play better.
I think Mike Yeo needs to look to his player leadership more. Parise and Suter can get most of the motivational work done. They have proven in the past that they have their pulse on the team. Last year’s turnaround was mostly due to them and the urgency they placed on the team. Right now if I’m Mike Yeo I should do the small things like change defensive pairings, but he should really be looking to the players to motivate the team.
Can you declare this skid over after a strong win against the Blackhawks? The Wild went into the United Center and stuck it to their arch rival in their arena. The Wild decided to execute their game plan and played great defensively winning a 2-1 contest. With goals from Pominville and Suter the fans and coaches should be confident that the people who need to step up did. It’s a long way from declaring the skid over with, but it’s a start in the right direction.
It’s going to take a huge effort on the part of the whole team but it can be done to build on the momentum of the win last night. They can make this an isolated win or start a winning streak that will carry the team into a good place come playoff time. Most though the Wild need to remember it’s not time to panic…it’s time to execute!