Article: 3 Key Takeaways From Wild's Season-Ending Game 6 Loss to Golden Knights

[Thomas Williams]

View full article

[Protec]

Let me tell ya who didn't do squat when it really mattered. 

Fred, NoJo, Rossi, Nyquist, Zuccarello, the PP, and even Kaprizov wasn't himself this series. 

What do you notice about the playoffs? Big players step up. Happy to see Boldy, Hartman, Foligno, and the NA guys like Faber and even Spurgeon didn't get dummied out there. 

I don't care who thinks I'm racist against Euros, they're not the answer. 

Fire Judd the Euro-lover and ask why Johnston plays for the Stars and where's Wallstedt. Oh, poor guy got slighted because HOF'er MAF got another kick at the can, who gives a crud, what's Wally done? Feel bad for himself? Classic Euro...

I'm so sick and tired of the Wild's Owner and Twin Cities propaganda, it's not even funny. Carter, you need to go solo and admit the Wild need gutsy players like you were and quit kissing asses of who's payin ya. 

The Wild need to shift towards the teams who whip your ass each and every time. North American hockey players who get the job done when it matters. The ones who can win when the Refs put their whistles away or eff you over. 

That's all.

[AKwildkraken]

I was very worried about how this team would look after their end of the season trickle into the playoffs.  

In all honesty, I was happy that they looked like a playoff team in this series and actually had a chance to get passed the first round.  I was relieved that they didn't embarrass themselves, they showed up to play.  

I think fatigue caught up with Kaprizov in latter part of the series, which may be a result of being injured for half the season.  Same could be said about Ek.  

I really think this team isn't that far from being a contender.  Zeev will look better after 10 to 20 NHL games and I suspect Jiricek will be very interesting if his skating improves.  Ogren played well in Iowa and should be ready to contribute next year.  Yurov should be in the mix as well.  

I hope they can pick up a top 6 talent with size this summer, but I'm not overly excited about the free agent class.  We might have to get creative to find what we need.  This summer could get interesting.  

[Citizen Strife]

I went into this season with the expectation of being another year or two away.  Turns out I was right to feel that way.  The excuses are gone now.  Guerin cannot settle for "responsible" players holding spots in the lineup that should go to higher end talent.  The depth floor needs to be filled pronto, or other teams will fill it faster than they will.  Kap and Boldy proved high end offensive talent.  They just need to find 2-3 others to follow suit.  Maybe that's Rossi, Buium, or Yurov.  Maybe its not.  But the contracts Guerin HAD to take are now optional.  If he spends the money on keeping Gus or Rossi, that's one idea.  If he blows his load on Marner (god forbid he'd actually do that), then ok.  Trade?  Better be the right one.

The fanbase won't settle this time.  Leipold won't settle this time.  Progress has to be made.

[Fezig]

5 hours ago, Protec said:

and even Kaprizov wasn't himself this series

He had more turnovers than a pastry chef. 

Erickson Ek also had a hard time. He fanned on quite a few shots that he normally wouldn't miss. 

 

[ArizonaWildFan]

Just like the Wild's style of play, the outcome of this series was predictable. The Wild are a capable team as they demonstrated the whole series. However, they continue to refuse to adapt, adjust or change how they play the game and who they play until it's too late and the best opportunities pass them by.

Game 6 saw the first significant adjustment for the Wild when the blueliners became more offensively active. While the Wild outshot VGK for the first time in the series, that shot total increase came mostly from the points and low danger areas.

The Wild were fortunate to be playing against a less than sharp goalkeeper in games 1 through 5 and did not fully take advantage of that. Hill showed up in game 6 and what went in the first five games were not going in this time.

 

How did Eichel, Stone and Theodore go from nothing in the early games of the series to everything in the latter games while Kaprizov and Boldy went from Con Smythe favorites to afterthoughts? The Knight's big guns didn't get their legs back and the Wild's didn't run out of gas. It was coaching, style of play, adapting and adjusting.

Same old, same old. 2025-2026 regular season begins on October 7, only 23 more weeks until we get to start whining and complaining again!

 

[IllicitFive]

2 hours ago, ArizonaWildFan said:

Same old, same old. 2025-2026 regular season begins on October 7, only 23 more weeks until we get to start whining and complaining again!

Haha you think we will wait 23 weeks to complain?

[Pewterschmidt]

3 hours ago, Fezig said:

He had more turnovers than a pastry chef.

 

Edited 57 minutes ago by Pewterschmidt

[ArizonaWildFan]

I woke up this morning feeling eerily similar to the morning after my father passed away the night before. He was terminally ill and his days were numbered, like the Wild. He was suffering and trying to hang on and our family was suffering watching and supporting him; staying up late at night and being sleep deprived while he was constantly on our minds.

When the call came that the battle was over there was sadness, and relief, and gratitude. I was sad when game six and the season ended, I was relieved that the Wild's struggles and their fans emotional rollercoaster ride were finished, and I was grateful that we had the opportunity to enjoy both the highs and lows as a fan base with the team that we love.

R.I.P. 2024-2025 Minnesota Wild. It was a wild ride!

[OldDutchChip]

The good -

Boldy emergence towards the end of the season and in the PO - he wanted it and you can see it in his face at the end. He is not yet as dominant as Eichel - but next year - that is my expectation

Harty brought it. A+. Not sure what more we could realistically ask of him

Kap wasn’t himself towards the end but still pushed and pushed and tried

Trenin came out and delivered. Physicality and skill. He probably wouldn’t have looked out of place in our top 6

Gus was really good

MJ - if this was his last game/series w us then it was a great one

Foligno and Ek gave it their all and deserve to be listed here

 

The Bad-

Defense seemed to be always a step behind, and our savior Buium proved to be very very raw. Hope he comes to come abd be more polished to begin season.  Faber and Midds made mistakes that cost us. That happens but they offered very little to offset those mistakes. Spurge was the only one who gets a passing grade and Bogo

Braz wasn’t horrendous and thus avoids the next section, same for Zuccy 

The Ugly

Nyquist - not sure what needs to be said - James Sheppard would have been an upgrade over him

Rossi - this is the biggest one that hurt the team. He just did not care. The last game was it. Regardless of penalty - he was unplayable. His time needs to be done!

[IllicitFive]

2 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

The good -

Boldy emergence towards the end of the season and in the PO - he wanted it and you can see it in his face at the end. He is not yet as dominant as Eichel - but next year - that is my expectation

Harty brought it. A+. Not sure what more we could realistically ask of him

Kap wasn’t himself towards the end but still pushed and pushed and tried

Trenin came out and delivered. Physicality and skill. He probably wouldn’t have looked out of place in our top 6

Gus was really good

MJ - if this was his last game/series w us then it was a great one

Foligno and Ek gave it their all and deserve to be listed here

 

The Bad-

Defense seemed to be always a step behind, and our savior Buium proved to be very very raw. Hope he comes to come abd be more polished to begin season.  Faber and Midds made mistakes that cost us. That happens but they offered very little to offset those mistakes. Spurge was the only one who gets a passing grade and Bogo

Braz wasn’t horrendous and thus avoids the next section, same for Zuccy 

The Ugly

Nyquist - not sure what needs to be said - James Sheppard would have been an upgrade over him

Rossi - this is the biggest one that hurt the team. He just did not care. The last game was it. Regardless of penalty - he was unplayable. His time needs to be done!

Good breakdown here, I was just typing up something similar but you beat me to it. I have to wonder if Kap and Boldy missing so much time hurt their longevity. Hartzy, man, played like a man possessed. Bottle that up for next season, can be a game changer playing like that. Keeping that intensity up all year is impossible and should not be expected but he danced the line of getting under skin perfectly while not taking dumb penalties. Boldy emerging? Lets keep this version for as long as possible, looked like he found his big boy pants. With Trenin, for the hate he got most of the year I think we saw why he was brought in, playoff hockey and he made an impact. I don't think he has the skill to be top 6, doesn't have the hands or shot for it but is great on line 3 or 4. Braz, passible, I thought he got better as the series went on.

I don't hold much against Zeev, the jump from college to NHL, not to mention NHL playoffs is a major jump. There were flashes to give hope of him being a contributor next year, by playing more games the game should slow down and allow his skill to show up more. The rest of the D core, should see some turnover. Lose Bogo and Merril, add Zeev and Jiricek, should hopefully bring more speed and skill to the back end.

Rossi....... oh boy this is a tough conversation, I 100% see what you are saying but he also put up 60 points during the year shows he has the skill to play and belongs. This year over last year showed improvement and more willingness to go to the dirty areas. Growth is a real thing so I am more in the camp of lets get him on a bridge deal and see what happens. We have also had stark critisism of other players in the past, think Ek and Boldy, they were soft and couldn't do it until they could, just took some time. Center is still not a strong position for the Wild, they have some prospects but they will have to beat Rossi out to prove they are the answer. Or they get a free agent, though the class is quite old and not too exciting, I would go in on Sam Bennett myself.

[OldDutchChip]

5 minutes ago, IllicitFive said:

Good breakdown here, I was just typing up something similar but you beat me to it. I have to wonder if Kap and Boldy missing so much time hurt their longevity. Hartzy, man, played like a man possessed. Bottle that up for next season, can be a game changer playing like that. Keeping that intensity up all year is impossible and should not be expected but he danced the line of getting under skin perfectly while not taking dumb penalties. Boldy emerging? Lets keep this version for as long as possible, looked like he found his big boy pants. With Trenin, for the hate he got most of the year I think we saw why he was brought in, playoff hockey and he made an impact. I don't think he has the skill to be top 6, doesn't have the hands or shot for it but is great on line 3 or 4. Braz, passible, I thought he got better as the series went on.

I don't hold much against Zeev, the jump from college to NHL, not to mention NHL playoffs is a major jump. There were flashes to give hope of him being a contributor next year, by playing more games the game should slow down and allow his skill to show up more. The rest of the D core, should see some turnover. Lose Bogo and Merril, add Zeev and Jiricek, should hopefully bring more speed and skill to the back end.

Rossi....... oh boy this is a tough conversation, I 100% see what you are saying but he also put up 60 points during the year shows he has the skill to play and belongs. This year over last year showed improvement and more willingness to go to the dirty areas. Growth is a real thing so I am more in the camp of lets get him on a bridge deal and see what happens. We have also had stark critisism of other players in the past, think Ek and Boldy, they were soft and couldn't do it until they could, just took some time. Center is still not a strong position for the Wild, they have some prospects but they will have to beat Rossi out to prove they are the answer. Or they get a free agent, though the class is quite old and not too exciting, I would go in on Sam Bennett myself.

Agree with everything. Trenin and Harty are built for PO. And def Trenin is a bottom 6 player, it just felt this series he could really be plugged in anywhere and contribute

The only disagreement is Rossi. All players go through ups and down and PO is a different beast but this was different. He seemed disengaged, lazy, easy to play against - everyone gave it what they have, even Nyquist tried! Rossi failed to try - he played like he didn’t care. I’d be surprised if this goes unnoticed by not only management but players too. Hence I don’t see him back. Higher chance MJ is back then Rossi 🤣

[IllicitFive]

10 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Agree with everything. Trenin and Harty are built for PO. And def Trenin is a bottom 6 player, it just felt this series he could really be plugged in anywhere and contribute

The only disagreement is Rossi. All players go through ups and down and PO is a different beast but this was different. He seemed disengaged, lazy, easy to play against - everyone gave it what they have, even Nyquist tried! Rossi failed to try - he played like he didn’t care. I’d be surprised if this goes unnoticed by not only management but players too. Hence I don’t see him back. Higher chance MJ is back then Rossi 🤣

Totally understand that, now we get to play the fun game of wait and see. For how well MJ played down the stretch and in the PO, I hope he's not coming back, its time to start bringing in the kids and see if any of them can stick and contribute as well and seeing if there are any upgrades available in FA or trades. We have seen the MJ end of year run during a contract year before, "Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. ' Fool me—you can't get fooled again"

Edited 8 minutes ago by IllicitFive

[Pewterschmidt]

52 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

The good -

Boldy emergence towards the end of the season and in the PO - he wanted it and you can see it in his face at the end. He is not yet as dominant as Eichel - but next year - that is my expectation

Harty brought it. A+. Not sure what more we could realistically ask of him

Kap wasn’t himself towards the end but still pushed and pushed and tried

Trenin came out and delivered. Physicality and skill. He probably wouldn’t have looked out of place in our top 6

Gus was really good

MJ - if this was his last game/series w us then it was a great one

Foligno and Ek gave it their all and deserve to be listed here

 

The Bad-

Defense seemed to be always a step behind, and our savior Buium proved to be very very raw. Hope he comes to come abd be more polished to begin season.  Faber and Midds made mistakes that cost us. That happens but they offered very little to offset those mistakes. Spurge was the only one who gets a passing grade and Bogo

Braz wasn’t horrendous and thus avoids the next section, same for Zuccy 

The Ugly

Nyquist - not sure what needs to be said - James Sheppard would have been an upgrade over him

Rossi - this is the biggest one that hurt the team. He just did not care. The last game was it. Regardless of penalty - he was unplayable. His time needs to be done!

Very well said Protec sir.  Agree 100% on all.

The Rossi take is the spiciest and will get the most push back.

Your move Wild bill.  Don't be dumb this off-season. 

[Willy the poor boy]

Well, it was a very entertaining series. I never felt the Wild were out of it until roughly 3:20 left in the 3'rd in game 6, and then, a 1/2 minute later Hartzy breathed life right back into it and I was in the same mindset that they could pull this out for a game 7. The Wild def had there chances ttake this one.

No more excuses for Guerin, he knew this day was coming and he should have been planning for it all along. I don't see a lot of available money so it's gonna have to be through trades. I feel, through conversation, most of us felt without the ZP Suter contracts holding us back we'd get a difference maker in FA. I'll give BG the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't leaning that way, cause I don't think there's really any significant money even with the Cap Rise and everyone else will have that to play with also. 

AK mentioned this summer could get interesting. I think this summer HAS to interesting. Most of you know my feelings on Guerin, so you could guess my thoughts, when I see it I'll believe it.

[Mateo3xm]

10 hours ago, Protec said:

Let me tell ya who didn't do squat when it really mattered. 

Fred, NoJo, Rossi, Nyquist, Zuccarello, the PP, and even Kaprizov wasn't himself this series. 

What do you notice about the playoffs? Big players step up. Happy to see Boldy, Hartman, Foligno, and the NA guys like Faber and even Spurgeon didn't get dummied out there. 

I don't care who thinks I'm racist against Euros, they're not the answer. 

Fire Judd the Euro-lover and ask why Johnston plays for the Stars and where's Wallstedt. Oh, poor guy got slighted because HOF'er MAF got another kick at the can, who gives a crud, what's Wally done? Feel bad for himself? Classic Euro...

I'm so sick and tired of the Wild's Owner and Twin Cities propaganda, it's not even funny. Carter, you need to go solo and admit the Wild need gutsy players like you were and quit kissing asses of who's payin ya. 

The Wild need to shift towards the teams who whip your ass each and every time. North American hockey players who get the job done when it matters. The ones who can win when the Refs put their whistles away or eff you over. 

That's all.

Did you really have high expectations for the Wild in the playoffs this year??

Before last nights game, Kaprizov was tied for 2nd in playoff points. How was he not himself? The guy can't do it all. Rossi was playing on the 4th line with 10-12 min a night and still had a point every other game. This team does not have enough depth to make a deep run. I feel like most people knew this team wasn't going to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Was it you or someone else that was saying it was a good thing that we got Nyquist?