The Minnesota Wild made a crucial error in Game 2 of their series with the Colorado Avalanche, starting Filip Gustavsson over Jesper Wallstedt. But after overthinking the Wild’s goalie decision to fall behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series, John Hynes may be on the verge of another disastrous decision, keeping Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton on the same defensive pairing in Game 3.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo raised the guard of line heathens everywhere, noting that Middleton and Spurgeon remained on the same pairing during Friday’s practice. While Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber continued to be on the top line and Daemon Hunt and Jeff Petry remained on the second line, it’s the second defensive pairing that has bled chances during the series and could send the Wild to a 3-0 hole if Hynes doesn’t make an adjustment.
Wild seem to be sticking with disaster defensive pairing in Game 3
The evidence that the second pair hasn’t worked is in plain sight. According to Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News, Middleton has been on the ice for nine of the Avalanche’s 14 goals during the series while Spurgeon has been on the ice for eight of the 14. While Hynes may want to make a change, he may not have many options thanks to the Wild’s injury situation.
Jonas Brodin would be the ideal choice to slide back into the second pairing, allowing Middleton back into the third But he missed Friday’s practice and still hasn’t skated after suffering a lower body injury blocking a shot in against the Dallas Stars in the first round.
Zach Bogosian is another Wild defenseman that has been out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. While he missed Game 2 due to the injury, he skated with Matt Kiersted in the fourth pairing during Friday’s practice and could slide back into the third pairing and replace Petry.
Still, that doesn’t solve the issues with the second pairing. Perhaps Hynes trusts Spurgeon as the Wild’s captain to turn around the ship. He may also trust Middleton over Daemon Hunt due to his experience and doesn’t want to upset the chemistry between Hughes and Faber.Â
But down 2-0 in the series, it’s time for the Wild to take a good, hard look in the mirror. With Spurgeon and Middleton essentially dragging the blue line down, making a change has to be in consideration even if Hynes goes back to them later in the game. It’s possible that the pairing could also be on a short leash, but the Wild have almost reached a point where every lever needs to be pulled.
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