At the end of the second period on Saturday night, the Wild are up 3-2 against the blues. Even before that, the Blues challenge another Wild goal, which would have made the game 4-2 late in the Second. The refs overturned the goal, but the Wild still had momentum. That all changed in the third period, where it felt like the ice was tilted towards Dubnyk's end. The Blues had possession for almost the entirety of the Third. This was especially prominent during the last five minutes after the Blues tied it up at 3-3. I would say that we were lucky to even make it into overtime tied. When overtime came, knowing that the Wild were the worst team in OT last year did not help. Overtime felt precisely the same as the third period, where the Blues maintained possession. When we did end up maintaining possession, it was time for the famous Minnesota Wild strategy, "dump and chase," which led to St. Louis possession yet again. Approximately three minutes into OT, Ryan O'Reilly put the Wild to rest, giving them another loss.
Not being able to hold the lead has been very problematic for the 4-9-1 Wild this season. Most games look like this for the Wild: slow start, strong second period, opponent comes back and steals the game from us in the third period. So that brings the question: What are they doing wrong? To answer that question, the Wild are a very momentum-based team, which can be good or bad, but often it's the latter. If we get a lead, we lay back and focus too much on defense instead of offense. "The best defense is a good offense" This is a famous quote in both war and sports, and the Wild do not put it to use. If they're feeling comfortable, they will stop trying as hard on offense and let the defense and goaltending do the job, which puts way too much pressure on the team. Sooner or later, this strategy will cost us a goal at best, or the game, like it has multiple times this season.
Seeing the Wild in overtime last night brought yet another problem; The Wild are unable to play in overtime properly. Last year, the team had nine overtime losses. To be able to fix this issue thoroughly, the team would have to change drastically. The Wild are an old, slow team; this is already a big problem, but in overtime, it is crucially problematic. Speed and agility is the most significant factor in overtime as it is 3-on-3, leaving so much open space. Although acquiring more speed would require a considerable change, there are other ways to improve in overtime. Instead of playing the best players, play the fastest players. Yesterday night Bruce started the three players who had already played a vast amount that game and considering there is only a short break between regulation and OT, maybe playing the less fatigued players would help our overtime record. Knowing that the team is weak in OT, the goal should be not to force games into overtime. It all comes back to not allowing the comeback in the first place, as most games it is easily preventable.
Looking at the Wild this year, they must capitalize on the opportunities they have to have a chance to make the playoffs. That means no giving up leads, and although one point is helpful, the two points make a big difference late in the season; every point adds up.
Not being able to hold the lead has been very problematic for the 4-9-1 Wild this season. Most games look like this for the Wild: slow start, strong second period, opponent comes back and steals the game from us in the third period. So that brings the question: What are they doing wrong? To answer that question, the Wild are a very momentum-based team, which can be good or bad, but often it's the latter. If we get a lead, we lay back and focus too much on defense instead of offense. "The best defense is a good offense" This is a famous quote in both war and sports, and the Wild do not put it to use. If they're feeling comfortable, they will stop trying as hard on offense and let the defense and goaltending do the job, which puts way too much pressure on the team. Sooner or later, this strategy will cost us a goal at best, or the game, like it has multiple times this season.
Seeing the Wild in overtime last night brought yet another problem; The Wild are unable to play in overtime properly. Last year, the team had nine overtime losses. To be able to fix this issue thoroughly, the team would have to change drastically. The Wild are an old, slow team; this is already a big problem, but in overtime, it is crucially problematic. Speed and agility is the most significant factor in overtime as it is 3-on-3, leaving so much open space. Although acquiring more speed would require a considerable change, there are other ways to improve in overtime. Instead of playing the best players, play the fastest players. Yesterday night Bruce started the three players who had already played a vast amount that game and considering there is only a short break between regulation and OT, maybe playing the less fatigued players would help our overtime record. Knowing that the team is weak in OT, the goal should be not to force games into overtime. It all comes back to not allowing the comeback in the first place, as most games it is easily preventable.
Looking at the Wild this year, they must capitalize on the opportunities they have to have a chance to make the playoffs. That means no giving up leads, and although one point is helpful, the two points make a big difference late in the season; every point adds up.