By Tom Schreier -
Remember that fleeting moment last year when the Minnesota Wild were up 2-1 on the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs?
The Wild stole Game 2, 5-2, in Vegas and returned to St. Paul with home-ice advantage. Minnesota took Game 3, 5-2, at the X. Visions of escaping the first round for the first time since 2014-15 danced in people’s heads.
However, Shea Theodore notched a power-play goal to open the scoring in Game 4. Nicolas Roy tacked on another with the man advantage. It was the difference in a 4-3 game.
That trend continued in the next two games. William Karlsson kicked off Game 5 with a shorthanded goal, negating Kirill Kaprizov’s power play tally minutes later and providing the difference in a 3-2 contest. Theodore’s power play goal put Vegas up early in Game 6 and was the difference in the clinching game.
Everyone was left to wonder why the Wild traded a second-rounder for Gustav Nyquist. The 35-year-old, who had 9 goals in 57 games for the Nashville Predators before the trade, didn’t record a point in the playoffs. Memorably, though, he jumped offside on what would have been Ryan Hartman’s game-winning goal in Game 5.
Bill Guerin’s blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes has covered for many roster-building blemishes. Trading a second-round pick for Nyquist, whose most significant playoff impact was sending the Wild into Game 6 down 3-2, is chief among them. So is trading assets he could use to acquire a scoring forward for David Jiricek, who has no points and 12 penalty minutes in 18 games this year.
Hughes’ masterful breakouts are distracting everyone from Minnesota’s 76.5% penalty kill rate. The San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Montreal Canadiens kill penalties more effectively.
Meanwhile, the Wild score 22.4% of the time with the man advantage, ninth in the league. They’re 2.2 percentage points away from the Detroit Red Wings (24.6%), who are fifth. However, they’re also only 2.2 percentage points higher than the Nashville Predators (20.2%), who are 15th.
Still, the Wild’s power play has declined significantly since early in the season.
Minnesota scored on 4 of 8 opportunities in their second game of the year against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They went 3 for 6 in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings and 2 for 4 against the Dallas Stars in Game 4. That’s 50% for those of you keeping score at home.
However, the Wild haven’t had three power-play goals in a game since Game 3 vs. the Kings, despite multiple opportunities to run up the score with an extra man on the ice. They went 0 for 7 against the Anaheim Ducks on November 15, 1 for 5 in Chicago 11 days later, and 0 for 5 against the Calgary Flames on December 4.
The Wild are 3 for 14 (21.4%) in their last three games. They haven’t scored two power-play goals in a game since December 14, the first game Hughes played for Minnesota. They’re 7 of 27 (25.9%) on the power play since then.
Beyond the numbers, the power play just looks bad. For anyone who’s seen the Wild’s power play, it’s no mystery that they aren’t scoring on it.
Minnesota has Kirill Kaprizov on a $136 million extension. Matt Boldy has come alive, and Marcus Johansson is defying age. The Wild have Quinn freaking Hughes, and yet, they can’t score with an extra professional hockey player on the ice.
The Wild need to add another forward so they’re not banking on Johansson, 35, and Mats Zuccarello, 38, in top-six roles. Despite what Guerin would lead you to believe, players decline as they get older. Just ask Gustav Nyquist. That’s why teams value second-round picks, which the Wild could use to draft a young player with upside or trade for a forward in his prime this year.
Still, will adding a forward alone fix the power play? Does a power play unit that will probably end up around league average make up for a penalty kill that’s bottom-third in the league?
Minnesota must have an answer to those questions, and soon. Because, as we saw in the playoffs last year, special teams are vital to playoff success. The Wild could hang with Vegas 5-on-5; the power play and penalty kill were difference makers.
Special teams were a problem last year, and the Wild haven’t fixed them this season. And if they can’t win in the playoffs this year, what makes anyone think Quinn Hughes will stick around after his contract is up next season?
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