Where Are Minnesota's Greatest Defensive Breakdowns?

Every goal against the Minnesota Wild hurts to watch. The worst ones are garbage goals or results of misjudgment from Wild players. Some are such incredible plays that you must appreciate the other team's talent. 

I watched all 28 goals against in the past 10 Wild games where their opponents scored a goal to break down Minnesota’s recent breakdowns. I’ve categorized the goals into types and scenarios when I could. (Note: This does not include last night’s game against the New York Rangers.)

While some goals were off of rushes, there were 3 scenarios the Wild struggled to defend. 

They gave up two cross-ice goals

I put goals in this category when all the Wild players were bunched on one side, and the opposing team made a cross-ice pass in the Wild’s defensive zone and scored by catching them off guard. This type of GA was relatively rare, but the Wild should not leave an opponent wide open with no hope of getting in the shooting lane. 

Brett Pesce noticed this opening and took advantage of it for this goal. 

 Pesce took a great look here. The Wild haven’t just left Luke Hughes uncovered, they’ve left the entire left side of the ice uncovered. Hughes is able to walk in and take an undefended shot on net. 

They gave up four on the penalty kill 

Minnesota’s struggling penalty kill has been a common topic this season. All these goals resulted from a hole in the Wild’s defense, confirming the penalty kill is an area they must improve.

Their opponents scored five on drop passes

A drop pass is difficult to defend because of the separation it creates. Typically, a defenseman’s priority is the opposing player closest to the net, and they tend to skate backward to see the ice. After a drop pass, the defenseman suddenly needs to skate forward to defend a new player. While many teams try this, few are successful. 

The Buffalo Sabres and Rangers scored 4 out of these 5 goals, including the following goal by Buffalo forward JJ Peterka.

The drop pass above isn’t just a show of good talent and quick reflexes. It's a specific play that the Sabres have practiced countless times. You can tell because Rasmus Dahlin barely glances back as he passes to Owen Powers; he’s counting on Powers already being there. Powers slides it across to Peterka, who is also in place, and scores. 

Ten came on rebounds

Controlling rebounds is one of the Wild’s biggest weaknesses. 

Many of them look like Jack Eichel’s goal on March 25. All 5 Wild defenders are out front, trying to figure out where the initial shot on net went. Somehow, none of them prevent Mark Stone from chipping the puck to Eichel, who is able to shoot and score on Marc-Andre Fleury, who is already down. 

Minnesota shouldn’t be crowded in front, screening Fleury more than defending. Ideally, there would be a player on Eichel and a player actually lifting Stone’s stick rather than standing next to him.

11 were direct snipes 

Direct shots accounted for the biggest portion of Minnesota’s goals against. 8 were unscreened, and 3 were screened. If goalies can’t see the puck, saving it will be much more challenging. While 3 goals isn’t a lot, the Wild need to be better about picking up bodies out front because opponents can also score on tipped pucks, so this is an area Minnesota could focus on. 

The only way to save more unscreened, non-rebound shots is to have a better goalie or better defense that stops the shots in the first place. Since this is an area every team needs to improve, I don’t consider it something Minnesota needs to focus on. 

Three got tipped in 

Tips are not a weak spot for the Wild. One was a backdoor tip, and the other two were from out front. Backdoor tips occur when an opposing player is behind the goalie’s back and gets a pass from across, whereas players who tip out front are in the goalie’s line of vision. 

Tips from a shot out-front often redirect in an unpredictable way, making them difficult to block for players and goalies. Backdoor tips should never happen because Minnesota’s defensemen should be moving players out of that spot. That’s not a huge issue for them, but they could improve. 

In the video below, New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes forced a turnover, catching Minnesota’s defense off-guard during their March 31 matchup in Newark. Stefan Noesen picks it up and sends it to the far corner while Nico Hischier waits to tip it in. Devin Shore needed to get there quickly and pick up Hischier’s stick. 

During the Wild game against the Colorado Avalanche on March 11, Samuel Girard makes a spin move, backhands it from the blue line, and Joel Kiviranta tips it in. I’ve never seen someone take a backhand shot from the point in more than 15 years of playing and watching hockey, so the shot itself likely took the Wild by surprise. 

While Girard is starting to make this his signature move, according to the Avs broadcast, not many other defensemen are trying to take a backhand shot from the point. Minnesota does not need to be particularly worried over this scenario. 

One was a wrap-around

Wrap-around shots tend to be easy for defensemen and goalies to defend. The St. Louis Blues were the only team to score a wrap-around goal in the past 10 games.

During their March 15 matchup, Jordan Kyrou was moving exceptionally fast and wrapped around before Filip Gustavsson could move across. Jared Spurgeon should have stepped up on Kyrou earlier but probably expected Gustavsson to get there first and didn’t want to get in the way. 

Again, this situation isn’t going to happen a lot. The Wild could have stopped this goal, and most of the time, they will.

Three were scored on an empty net

Every coach knows they’re risking an empty-netter when they pull the goalie. Save for a chip in the ice redirecting a puck, any NHL player will score on an empty net if they have a half clear lane. They don’t usually reflect a team’s ability to defend their net. 

The Wild must shut down dynamic opposing players

There were 3 hat tricks against the Wild in this 11-game run, which is rare in the NHL. During the 2023-24 season, NHL players scored 115 hat tricks in the regular season, which is 1,312 games total. Hischier scored 3 goals for New Jersey when they played the Wild on March 29. Eichel scored his hat trick during Minnesota’s 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 25. Kyrou scored on March 15 during the Wild’s game against St. Louis. 

Hischier, Eichel, and Kyrou are undoubtedly top NHL talent, but Minnesota has difficulty shutting down key players. In lower levels of hockey, opponents may opt to leave weaker players uncovered in order to overwhelm star players, making it difficult for them to perform. In the NHL, there are literally zero skaters who do not pose a scoring threat on the ice, so this isn’t a good strategy. 

As every team fights for a playoff spot, other teams will exploit every opening the Wild gives them. For scenarios, Minnesota still needs to hone in on their penalty kill and avoid getting caught all on one side. The Wild struggle to defend drop passes, but only certain teams score that way often. 

The biggest improvement for Minnesota would be picking up sticks and moving bodies from out front, as well as corralling loose pucks. A greater effort here would help the Wild decrease the number of backdoor tips, screened shots, and rebounds, which account for a large portion of their goals against. Finally, Minnesota needs to figure out how to shut down star players without leaving other opponents wide open. Hopefully, the Wild will improve on these weaknesses as the playoffs approach.