Wild searching for options, answers, after two games of deficient defense
There is not much about the Wild’s defense that is praise-worthy after allowing 14 goals — two of them empty-netters — in a pair of losses to open their second-round series with Colorado. The loss of veteran Jonas Brodin to an injury, and the on-ice struggles of veterans Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton during the two games in Denver have been costly. It’s all left the Minnesota coaches looking for options and answers during the rare three-day break before Game 3 on Saturday night in St.
Paul. While members of the Wild skated on Thursday morning at TRIA Rink, coach John Hynes did not have an updated timeline on Brodin and center Joel Eriksson Ek returning but said he is always optimistic. Brodin and Eriksson Ek haven’t skated since their injuries, suffered late in Round 1 with Dallas.
“But that wouldn’t determine whether they play or not,” Hynes said. Of the 14 goals allowed in 120 minutes of hockey so far in this series, Spurgeon has been on the ice for eight of them, and Middleton for nine. Following the 5-2 loss in Game 2, Spurgeon — the Wild captain — said a key was maintaining optimism that they’re not far off.
“We all care in here, but we can’t let that get to you. You got to go about it the right way,” he said. “The way we play the game, we just see when we’re playing 5-on-5, that we’re getting our looks, and we’re getting some zone time that we sustain and putting them under pressure.
So, we got to keep (frustration) out of here. ” The Wild were also missing veteran Zach Bogosian on the back end on Tuesday in Colorado, as he continues to battle the lower-body injury that caused the 35-year-old to miss half of the regular season. In his stead, Hynes has inserted Daemon Hunt into the lineup for the first two games of the Colorado series, and has liked what Hunt has offered so far.