Ugh

The Wild weren't always a sieve like this. Last year they nearly led the NHL in goals against. Yet with the adjustments to the new system of Todd Richards, the defense has been... lacking. Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding are both good goaltenders. Both have career save percentages over ninety-percent, much better than the eighty five and seventy three (!) marks they've showed over the last two games. Sometimes numbers don't accurately reflect what actually happens during a game. This is a case of that. Save percentage is limited in that it doesn't take into account the quality of the chances those goals were scored on. If there's four-on-one (actually happened against the Wild on Tuesday), the goalie will be caught out of position trying to keep track of the different passes, any of which could result in an immediate shot. A goal scored in that situation affects save percentage just as much as a dribbling puck that slips through the pads.

That said, the Wild have shown resilience in coming back from the large deficits they're giving themselves. They managed to trim the deficit to just one goal, before their D failed them yet again, giving up an easy goal from Jarrot Stoll's centering pass to the wide-open Teddy Purcell, who put it home before Harding could make it to the far post. Harding did not have a chance, as Nick Schultz was unable to recover to the Wild's zone after getting too aggressive for the equalizer. That's the result of over extending in order to come back and win a game that should have been out of reach. The two goals the Wild gave up in the first three minutes and eighteen seconds? Those are the ones that can be avoided, as both involved deflections from King players that were unchecked in the crease (the area in which Josh Harding tries to prevent goals). This allows those King players to deflect shots, and it allows those players to get in Harding's way. Six foot dudes are hard to see through. The Wild defenders' job is to push those dudes out of the crease. They didn't. Hence, early deficit.

I'm interested to see how the Wild do when they score first, which in Jacques Lemaire's defense first system was a very important thing. This team is different, while still being very strong on special teams (both when they have a power play and when they're short-handed). It's the five-on-five play that's remained their weakness, just in a different way than last year. Last year the defenders and even the center would stay back to a fault, often giving up chances to score goals. This year the Wild have been able to create scoring opportunities... for both themselves and the opponent. Yet they're still learning, and they're going to click in a way that can generate chances for themselves while minimizing the ones they surrender. Don't give up on them yet.