The Minnesota Wild have gotten off to a strong start this season, earning a point in five of their first six games with an overall record of 4-1-1. The latest mark in the win column came against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night when Minnesota used three first-period goals to cruise to a 4-2 victory.
But while the Wild’s offense has woken up with four goals in each of their past two games, the bigger story has been their penalty kill. Minnesota went 5-for-5 on the kill against Vegas on Monday night and they actually outshot the Golden Knights 6-5 on those opportunities. In addition, the Wild are first in the NHL, killing 21-of-22 penalties for a rate of 95.4 percent.
While it is only six games into the season, the Wild’s penalty kill looks much improved and it could be one thing that corrects a flaw that doomed their Stanley Cup chances one year ago.
The Wild are finally getting results from their penalty kill adjustments
The Wild’s penalty kill has been a topic of conversation for years and it has continued since John Hynes was hired early in the 2023-24 season. Since the beginning of that campaign, Minnesota ranks 28th in the NHL with a 76.2 percent kill rate and things become even worse in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 64.3 percent kill rate in 17 games.
That trend was a major factor during last year’s playoffs. After allowing 10 power play goals in their six-game series win over the Dallas Stars, the Wild were steamrolled by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round to the tune of eight power play goals in five games. Between both series, the Wild had a 60.5 percent kill rate and only the Edmonton Oilers, who were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round, had a lower penalty kill rate at 50.0 percent.
While those numbers are bad, they’re not indicative of what Hynes can do as a coach. Leading the United States Olympic team’s penalty kill as an assistant, Hynes’s scheme killed all 19 short-handed situations, helping it claim its first gold medal since 1980. The disciplined approach also was helped out by elite talent on that team, but is an example of what can be done under the right circumstances.
With that, the Wild made some key adjustments this offseason. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith, Hynes simplified the Wild’s penalty kill to eliminate “gray areas.” The new effort also takes advantage of their aggressiveness and pressures the puck handler into hurried decisions and turnovers.
Midseason trade acquisition Michael McCarron also had more input on the system once last season ended and gave it a positive review during training camp.
“It’s a completely different system,” McCarron said. “Last year, there was too much thinking, too much gray area. The power plays always have their best players on the ice and when there’s too much thinking on the penalty kill, I just didn’t think it was a really effective penalty kill last year.
“Being the new guy, I just tried to do the best I could, but obviously I voiced my concern for it. Now it’s a completely different penalty kill. It’s run completely different. It’s way more black and white.”
The Wild’s penalty kill has the personnel to match its new system
While adjusting the scheme has helped the Wild so far, it doesn’t matter if the players on the ice aren’t performing. The Wild did that by acquiring Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta in the trade that sent Jake Middleton to the Calgary Flames last summer and while Nick Foligno is currently injured, having a full season of him and McCarron has made the difference.
Jesper Wallstedt’s performance has also helped the penalty kill greatly. While he’ll have the night off for Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, he’s been outstanding as Filip Gustavsson continues to recover from offseason hip surgery, posting a .933 save percentage and 1.82 goals against average in six games including a .912 save percentage on high-danger chances and a .917 save percentage on mid-range chances according to NHL Edge.
Matt Boldy’s four shorthanded goals from last season also shows the Wild can turn defense into offense and it led to the suffocating performance against Vegas on Monday night where the Golden Knights struggled to gain momentum with the man advantage.
Of course, this comes with the caveat of a small sample size. But for now, the Wild’s changes are working and could make them a more dangerous team as the season rolls along.
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