#Were going deeper game series

They raised their toughness by bringing in Ryan Reaves and added Marcus Johansson, Gus Nyquist, Oskar Sundqvist and John Klingberg before the trade deadline for scoring depth every acquisition enhanced their experience. The penalty kill that let them down improved, becoming one of the NHL's most aggressive units, and even the power play made strides. Louis, but it wasn't the only adjustment. 'So we figured out a way to grind out hockey games.'ĭefense replacing offense as the trademark of the Wild was the biggest change they made in reaction to last year's swoon in the playoffs against St. 'We didn't have the best goal scoring,' Evason said. That stinginess, from their blue line and goaltenders Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury, became their touchstone after a rocky start. They weren't as dynamic up front after they couldn't afford to re-sign Kevin Fiala and traded the 30-goal scorer last summer, but they didn't need a touchdown or the extra point to win now that they were better defensively. We've got a lot of work to do.' Different processĪs routine as this resolution has become, there was reason to believe this season would be different for the Wild. We didn't make that first step this year by getting through the first round. 'Obviously, this is not what we want,' coach Dean Evason said. That they so meticulously prepared for this obstacle, adapting their game from past mistakes, and still weren't good enough puts even more emphasis on how the Wild regroup. Broken record.'Ī 4-1 defeat by Dallas in Game 6 on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center sealed the familiar fate, but this dud isn't like the rest. 'We grind all the way to get to the playoffs, and we can't get out of the first round again. 'It's a brutal feeling,' alternate captain Marcus Foligno said. They haven't advanced to the second round since 2015.

#Were going deeper game series

One-goal wins.īut when the training wheels came off and the simulation turned into reality, their muscle memory was gone: The Wild froze, losing their seventh straight opening playoff series and getting bounced from Stanley Cup contention in six games for the second consecutive year.

They practiced playoff hockey for months, and they got pretty good at it. After the best season in franchise history frayed in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, the Wild tailored their style specifically for that challenge.