Uff da, that was a tough one last night.
### This loss to the Avalanche stings, you betcha
Well, if you went to bed early last night, you probably made the right call, 'cause that third period against the Colorado Avalanche was a real Minnesota special, and not in the good way. The Minnesota Wild lost 5-2 on home ice, which, you know, just feels wrong at the Xcel Energy Center. We were looking pretty good there for a while, with Dmitry Yurov getting us on the board in the first period on the power play, and then Nico Sturm tying it up in the third. But then the wheels just kinda… fell off. Three unanswered goals from the Avalanche in the final stretch, including two in the last 33 seconds. Watching Nathan MacKinnon and Brandon Nelson put those last two in was like watching paint dry on a cold day, just slow and inevitable.
The Wild got outshot 34-21, which, for a team with our talent, is just not acceptable. We had our moments, sure, but a power play goal from Nathan Kadri for the Avalanche early in the second period really seemed to shift the momentum, and we just couldn't get it back. Our boys, even with the efforts from Brock Faber and Vladimir Tarasenko assisting Yurov's goal, just couldn't generate enough consistent offense. It's frustrating, you betcha, especially when you know what this team is capable of when they're firing on all cylinders. This kind of showing, particularly at home, it just makes you worry about what it means for youth hockey in this state, watching the pros struggle like that.
So, where does this leave us? We're still third in the Central Division at 46-24-12, which is good, but these kinds of losses against division rivals, especially at home in Minneapolis, they sting. We've been 6-4-0 in our last ten, which is alright, but we need to find that consistent winning streak again. We gotta tighten up defensively, especially in those late-game situations, if we want to make any noise in the playoffs. The mood in Minneapolis this morning is probably a bit grumbly, like when you're waiting for the 38 bus on a cold morning and it's late. We expect more, and we know our Wild can deliver it.
You betcha — Let's Play Hockey. This is Ingie Olsen-Carlson.
That crew on the morning show, they'll be chewing on this one like a good hotdish. Catch 'em live at mornings.live.