MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Wild players expressed deep regret and frustration following their performance in Monday’s Game 4 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche. Marcus Foligno described the team’s approach as stubbornly arrogant, deviating from the hard-nosed style that earned them a Game 3 victory.
“It’s a mental commitment to our game,” Foligno said Tuesday before the team flew to Denver for a decisive Game 5. “Too much east-west. Honestly, it was like brain fog. That’s not how we played Game 3, and it bites you. The game is there for us. We know our best is good enough, but we have to play it.”
The issue is twofold: when the Wild abandon their identity, it’s often their most skilled players — Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Mats Zuccarello — who fail to get pucks deep. Their attempts to create offense through fancy plays backfired Monday, as turnovers fueled Colorado’s aggressive forecheck. On a second-period power play, Boldy repeatedly tried to skate through the neutral zone, turning the puck over at the blue line three times, drawing groans from the home crowd.
Injuries to Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin loom large. Defensemen Jake Middleton and Daemon Hunt committed costly turnovers that led directly to third-period goals, including the winner after Nico Sturm tied it. With Yurov on the ice at five-on-five, the Wild had a 21-0 shot-attempt differential. Neither injured Swede made the trip to Denver.
“We miss them,” Foligno said. “You can see it. Over a series, it becomes a chess match. Having Ekker and Brodes changes a lot.”
Coach John Hynes, who noted Monday the Wild made a “conscious choice” to ignore the game plan, dismissed questions about line combinations Tuesday. “We got outcompeted. In Game 3, we were the harder team. Last night, they were. It’s about mindset and willingness to play hard enough to win.”
The Wild’s system thrives on getting pucks deep and grinding. Foligno pointed to the Florida Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cups as evidence. “You don’t skill your way to a championship. You do it the hard way. Sometimes you get comfortable, and that happens. But we’re excited for another crack at it.”
Bottom-six players like Sturm stepped up, but top-line stars need to do more. Boldy has one empty-net goal in the series; Kaprizov managed just one shot in Game 4 after dominating Game 3. “They’ve been unreal this playoffs,” Foligno said of Kaprizov and Boldy. “I know they want more production. It’s a matter of time. We saw it last year with Vegas and Eichel.”
Rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt rebounded from an eight-goal Game 1, stopping 29 of 32 shots in Game 4. “We’ve got to play better in front of him,” Hynes said. Special teams also need improvement: the No. 1 power play struggled to set up, and the penalty kill has allowed a goal in all 10 playoff games.
“There’s a great opportunity,” Hynes said. “We didn’t play with urgency. But we wake up today with a chance to fix it, get on a plane, and win a game. Wouldn’t you rather have that than sit all summer?”
Perhaps a historical note: the Avalanche haven’t closed out a series at home since 2008, winning their last eight series on the road.