Smith: Wild’s mentality vs. The Avalanche got one of the more impressive wins of the season

On By Littum

DENVER — The lasting image of Saturday’s rumble in Nashville was the typically gracious Marc-Andre Fleury sprinting off the ice and using his stick to tomahawk the bench door on his way out.

You couldn’t blame the frustration of the future Hall of Famer, who was peppered with 38 shots and 19 high-danger chances in a 6-2 loss.

But on Monday? Midway through a matchup with the powerful Colorado Avalanche, Fleury had faced just five shots. He was bored. But proud.

“It felt weird — even a little cold,” Fleury said, smiling. “Like, ‘What’s going on?’ We’re too good right now.’”

The Wild’s 3-1 win over Colorado at Ball Arena was important for many reasons. It snapped a three-game losing skid in which Minnesota had been in danger of falling back into a wild card spot with another loss. It showed resiliency, with the Wild pulling away with two quick third-period goals after Nathan MacKinnon tied it up late in the second, bringing the building back to life.

They had lost eight of 15 games this season as they were tied after two periods (7-6-2). That included recent losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights.

“How many times is it now that we went into a third period (with a lead) and didn’t come away (with a win)?” defenseman Jake Middleton asked. “That was emphasized during the break. Let’s attack and come out on top this time.

“(We were) sick and tired of it. We just wanted to win. Tired of losing in the third period. Play 40 (minutes) hard and lose in the last 20. Sick and tired of it. Then it got to tonight.”

The win proved what this group can do when it plays a smart, structured game — even without three top players in Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon. It’s kind of like the Avalanche playing without MacKinnon, Devon Toews and Cale Makar.

“This was a total team effort,” Brock Faber said.

After Saturday’s thrashing in Nashville, coach John Hynes noted that his team didn’t get too low. They met as a team at their downtown Denver hotel. It wasn’t one of those rah-rah meetings or one where guys were pointing fingers.

“We talked about solutions,” Hynes said.

One of them played with a more attacking mentality. They knew that consistent forechecking and smart puck decisions would be crucial against an Avalanche team full of weapons. The best defense, they believed, was a good offense. And the Wild spent a good amount of time in the offensive zone. The forwards did a good job of backchecking, with only a few occasions when MacKinnon and company cruised unflinchingly into the zone.

The Wild gave up nine high-danger chances in all situations, compared to 19 Saturday in Nashville, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“We defend really well, we always have,” Middleton said. “But where we got stuck a little bit, we’re strictly defended in the defensive zone. Like you saw a five-man unit in the offensive zone defend from there.”

“When we play in their zone, it’s so much easier to defend,” Faber said. “To stay on top of them, it allows our (defensive players) to jump. When all your parts are clicking in the O-zone, it allows us ‘D’ to be so aggressive.”

Middleton got the Wild on the board midway through the first with a shot from the point. And David Jiricek – who had an impressive all-around game – almost gave them another at the end of the period. A clever back-to-back pass by Ryan Hartman as he fell went straight onto Jiricek’s stick at the back post. But Mackenzie Blackwood made a great save.

“Blackwood made all the crazy saves,” Fleury said. “It’s like, ‘Jeez, I need something.’ It’s fun to see the guys play so well. They gave us the best chance to win.”

The Wild had four power plays after taking a 1-0 lead and with saves MacKenzie made on Jiricek — and later Joel Eriksson Ek — it almost felt like they were playing with danger. You knew at some point the Avalanche’s top players were going to get going. MacKinnon came through in the final minute of the first with a highlight-reel goal, turning into a one-man zone before finishing a give-and-go with Samuel Girard.

“It’s inevitable,” Faber said. “He’s got to make his plays. He’s one of, if not the, best player in the world.”

It could have really turned the momentum. But Faber said they were calm and confident in the dressing room at the second break. Hynes mentioned that they need to continue to attack and keep applying pressure.

“If we continue in the right direction, we’re going to get some and it’s going to frustrate them,” Faber said. “That’s exactly what we did. We came out hot and hung in there.”

The go-ahead goal came just two minutes into the third. Jiricek made a great play coming off the boards to get a defender and dart into the slot, finding a trailing Yakov Trenin for a quick shot. Jiricek also had a 72 percent Corsi for performance, showing his game on both ends.

“Smart plays, making good reads on the blue line,” Middleton said. “Chip in on offense. He’s going to be a special player.”

Liam Ohgren also played his best game as a member of the Wild, dishing out two assists and shooting three shots in 9 minutes, 4 seconds of ice time.

“I thought (Ohgren) with his quickness, poise with the puck, his decision making, were factors tonight,” Hynes said. “He’s getting more opportunities and that’s what it takes sometimes with younger guys. It’s up and down, you play, you get sent back, you play, you get more comfortable. (Monday) I thought his identity as a player really came through.


Liam Ohgren and Brock Faber celebrate Faber’s goal in the third period, the only goal Ohgren didn’t get an assist on. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)

The Wild will have some decisions with Ohgren and Jiricek when Kaprizov, Spurgeon and Brodin return, though Hynes wasn’t sure they would be able to play Thursday against Utah. But it says a lot about the group that they’ve been able to come through with some big road wins without their superstar. The Wild are now 7-5 without Kaprizov, but that includes an overtime win at Dallas and back-to-back road wins at Washington and Carolina. Minnesota is now 4-10-1 against Western Conference playoff teams, although a number of recent games came without some of their top players.

This one against Colorado showed a level of mental toughness and maturity. How quickly they were able to put the Nashville loss to bed and focus on details that would give them a better chance on Monday.

“You’ve got to stay in it together and that’s what we talked about, ‘We’ve got to find solutions,’ Hynes said. “How we can play better and how we’re going to give ourselves a chance to to win tomorrow and that is what it is. You have to work together as coaches and players, and it is our job to come up with a plan and not just point fingers at it.

“We’re all about it. And then you have to count on those guys to understand it, accept it and then come out and execute it, and they certainly did.”

(Top photo by Marcus Foligno and Nathan MacKinnon: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)