The Minnesota Wild always had a tough path to the Stanley Cup, as they had to make it past their Central Division rivals in the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. In the opening round, the Wild defeated the Stars in six games. Next up was the Avalanche, who won the President's Trophy for most points in a season. Colorado was always going to be a challenge for Minnesota, despite how well they've played this season.
Sure enough, the Wild were eliminated in five games by the Avalanche, following a 4-3 overtime loss on Wednesday. The Wild held a 3-0 lead after the first period, only to surrender four unanswered goals, including Brett Kulak's game-winner in overtime.
After the game, defenseman Brock Faber had some cutting comments after getting eliminated. Faber said that while the Wild could beat the Avalanche at "their absolute best," he said that Colorado was the better team most of the series.
Brock Faber didn't mince words after Wild's loss to Avs in Game 5
It's not simply what Faber said but how and when he said it that serve as a reminder of why he should be in top consideration to be the next team captain.
"They deserved to win this series, plain and simple," said Faber, h/t The Athletic's Michael Russo. "And, yeah, that's just where it just gets frustrating, right? Because when we are at our absolute best, I think we can beat this team. Just they were more consistent. I feel like they outplayed us most of the series, which that's just how it is, that's just plain and simple. You can't really hide or dance around the fact that they outplayed us, but like I said, that's where the frustration comes in. I feel like when we are at our best, we can beat that team. We just didn’t, and they deserved to win."
There are ways to react after a tough playoff loss and then there's this from Faber following what is arguably an even worse way to go out. Minnesota blew a three-goal lead and essentially Prince Oberyn'd themselves when it looked like the series was headed back to St. Paul.
It'll be hard to overlook Kirill Kaprizov as the next captain, but Faber's leadership throughout the season has been a marvel to witness. He's gotten better as a player -- taking steps toward superstardom next to Quinn Hughes -- and the way he's stepped up as a locker room leader is the type of stuff that deserves to follow Jared Spurgeon's run as captain.
You learn a lot about someone when they're knocked down, and Wild fans learned Faber is exactly the leader who can bring them out of this darkness.
Minnesota did have their fair share of disadvantages in this series. They were without one of their best defensemen in Jonas Brodin and top centers in Joel Eriksson Ek, both sidelined due to lower body injuries. Head coach John Hynes' decision to bench Jesper Wallstedt for Filip Gustavsson in Game 2 backfired, putting the team in a 0-2 series hole. Finally, there was the passive play in Game 5 after taking a 3-0 lead, putting up just seven shots on goal for the remainder of the game.
This will be a series that will stick with the Wild this offseason. Yes, the Wild did have the potential to give the Avalanche more of a fight than they did, but there is still work to be done to really build a team that can make it through the tough Central Division.
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