The Minnesota Wild dropped an important game at home 6-0, digging themselves into a hole of eight losses out of their last nine games. The Arizona Coyotes have several players with Minnesota ties, but the Wild couldn’t put any offense out against the Coyotes, who have been working their way up the standings.
Quick Recap
Final Score: 6-0 Coyotes
PIMS: 36 minutes combined, including two fights
Shots on goal: 33-38 Coyotes to Wild
Notable Moments: Dumba’s Return, Two Important Players Back from Injury, Coyotes Domination
Vibes Report: Started as a 7/10, but ended as a 2/10, Explanation below, but it might be obvious
The Arizona Coyotes have a few interesting ties to the Wild, including Matt Dumba and Nick Bjugtsad. They also have a few players with other Minnesota ties, like Logan Cooley, who played at the University of Minnesota for one season. But, instead of a highly contested battle against former teammates, this game had Minnesota rolling belly-up for a shutout loss against the Coyotes.
Before the game started, the Wild had a great chance at a win for the first time in a week. Kirill Kaprizov, the undisputed superstar, and Filip Gustavsson, the starting goaltender, were activated off of the Injured Reserve list today, marking their debut after 2+ weeks of healing time. Things were looking up after the Wild struggled to hold an NHL team together with injuries at all positions and levels of their club. Getting two important players back should’ve lit a spark in the Wild players, but somehow it did the opposite.
After just the first period, the Wild were down 3-0 against the Coyotes. Even though there were still 40 minutes to go, the Wild just couldn’t quite find the handle. The Yotes might’ve been a bottom-of-the-barrel team last year, but not this season. Connor Ingram had a very important shutout against a Central Division rival.
The Wild have played 9 games in the past 15 games, but now that they’re on the backend of the season, their schedule has lightened up. After a bunch of road games and tough opponents, the Wild’s schedule is supposed to be “easier” while also being more at-home games.
But the Minnesota Wild still lost 6-0. While they can still come back to find a spot in the eventual playoffs, they need to start putting up points. And now, rather than later.
The one good thing out of this game was that former Wild player, Minnesota Boy, and current Coyotes player Nick Bjugstad came away with a hat trick. He might not play for the Wild, but Minnesota fans can always support a Minnesota boy.
Vibes Recap
Tonight’s game started strong. Not only were they wearing their 78s (or former Reverse Retro) uniforms, but they had two very important players back in the lineup. Kirill Kaprizov had grown some facial hair while Filip Gustavsson had shaved his beard. New looks for everyone while they worked their way back into the lineup. But somehow, that didn’t help like it normally would.
Vibes dropped to a 2/10 once it became obvious that none of the Wild players came to score tonight. Tough to watch, even for a ride-or-die fan.
For more Minnesota Wild game recaps and vibe checks, listen to Her Wild Side Hockey Podcast. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
