3 Takeaways From the Wild’s Loss to the Canucks – The Hockey Writers –

The Minnesota Wild took on the Vancouver Canucks in game three of their four-game road trip on Saturday evening, Dec. 6. They had a boost to their lineup as Danila Yurov returned from injury, while they still missed Marco Rossi, Vinnie Hinostroza, and their muscle in Marcus Foligno. It was Jesper Wallstedt’s turn back in the net, and things seemed to start off well with a goal in the first. 

The Wild couldn’t hold it, however, as the Canucks stormed back with three straight goals after having one called off due to a kicking motion. The Wild tried to answer back with a goal late in the third, but it wasn’t enough as the Canucks took the win 4-2. In this article, we’ll look at why the game turned, starting with the Wild’s physicality. 

Wild Need More Physicality

Normally, the Wild do pretty well in the physicality department, and they were only outhit by five against the Canucks, but they could’ve done more. They were outmuscled in their board battles, and they struggled to keep up with the Canucks. Even the physical side that wasn’t considered a big hit, they couldn’t quite do like the board battles or the simple check to steal the puck.  

Again, the Wild’s recent success had very little to do with the hitting side of their game, but it was still there. It worked into their game without being too hidden or too visible. A nice, strong hit here and there was just what they needed to keep things going, and they struggled to make that happen against the Canucks. 

Yakov Trenin, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Typically, that’s something Foligno has done in the past, but with his injury, that duty has fallen to other players like Yakov Trenin, Jake Middleton, and fourth-liner Tyler Pitlick. They’ve done what they can over this recent stretch, but it’s definitely not the same without Foligno. The Wild have to find a way to get some more physicality against teams that thrive on that play so they can continue to compete. 

Wild Drop Their Play 

This was the second straight regulation loss the Wild have suffered, and it was a similar story in both games. They played strong at times but couldn’t hold, and their mistakes got the best of them as they have at times all season. The biggest reason they couldn’t get anything going was that they didn’t stick to their game plan; instead, they started trying to play the way their opponent did. 

They weren’t as controlled with the puck, they took more penalties, and they had a hard time staying disciplined. They fell back into old habits of passing too many times, and the list can go on and on. While their game wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t what was expected of the Wild, and they clearly were playing more to the Canucks game than their own. 

Although they did have a lot of chances that didn’t go in, they also gave the Canucks way too many chances, and they did capitalize. Everyone knew the Wild’s winning streak would come to an end at some point, but it wasn’t expected to be like this. They need to focus on their own game and let it work for them instead of playing to their opponent’s level. 

Wild’s Ups & Downs

The Wild had quite a bit more struggles than successes against the Canucks, and that goes for their work in the faceoff dot as well. This is what led to the Canucks getting at least one of their goals, and the Wild have to find a way to be better. They won just 36.7 percent of their faceoffs, and that is not good enough. They have capable players, but for some reason can’t figure out how to get those wins. 

While their faceoffs were not impressive, their special teams were back on the good side of things. They scored a power play goal, something they’ve struggled to do for some time, and their penalty kill was 100 percent as well. So, although they lost and it was a rough loss at that, they still had some bright spots they can build off of. 

Related: Minnesota Wild’s 3 Stars for November

The Wild had just found their groove, it seemed, when it came to faceoff wins leading to goals, but it didn’t last long. They’ll have to get back to winning faceoffs if they want to score goals and win games. They’ve proven they can do it; they just need to find their way back. 

It was bound to happen; the Wild couldn’t go on winning games forever, but these types of losses are the ones that seem to hurt the most. It’s against a team that is struggling and, in theory, should be a team the Wild can beat, but they find a way to dig deep, and the Wild can’t answer back. Hopefully, this was just a quick two-game slump, and the Wild can bounce back and get into the win column once again.