Alex Bader
The Minnesota Wild are licking their wounds after what was their fourth consecutive loss to the Dallas Starts Monday night by a score of 7-4. It was an ugly game from the Wild and a scary one for fans.
With the Winter Classic 11 days away, things are looking bleak for Minnesota; the Wild are on a four-game skid, Eriksson Ek was injured in the game, Talbot looked awful, Spurgeon injured again, Greenway missed the game due to injury, and the mojo that once was oozing over on this Wild team looked to be nowhere in sight.
The league is experiencing a snowball of Covid-19 cases that has seen almost every team have games postponed until after the holiday break (over 120 players and staff have tested positive and are in covid protocols currently).
Greenway missed last night's game but is expected to be in the lineup for the Winter Classic.
Spurgeon's status for the league's biggest game of the year is already unknown and he is in jeopardy of missing the game, now Ek is in jeopardy as well.
Ek is arguably the Wild's best center and he is irreplaceable in the lineup. It would be a huge loss if he is unable to go for the Classic. He was taken down by Hakanpaa, Ek lost his edge and Hakanpaa finished his check with Ek in a dangerous position near the boards. It was a dirty hit and should have resulted in a penalty but the refs didn't see it that way.
"It's frustrating", said Dean Evason after the game. " It's frustrating that a guy gets hurt on a play that's obviously an illegal play."
Evason also mentioned that Ek's injury does not look good and that he will be further evaluated when the team gets back to Minnesota.
That leaves fans with the question of, who will fill in his role? Fans are calling for Marco Rossi to get the call up from Iowa and I would say that this is a possibility. Not sure how big of a possibility, but if Ek is ruled out for the Winter Classic I can see them bringing in Rossi to help give us strength, skill and speed down the middle. The Wild don't have many other options for a center, especially to fill Ek's spot. If they don't bring up Rossi I can see them riding with Hartman, Rask, Sturm, and Gaudreau at center.
Talbot was brutally bad last night and let's hope that it was just a fluke game and not a precursor of things to come. He let in soft goals that he normally swallows. He will need to be much better if the Wild are to turn this skid around and get back on track.
The Wild had to deal with several schedule changes over the last week. Three of their five games before the holiday break were postponed due to Covid outbreaks on other teams. If their game next Monday after the break gets postponed, then the Wild will have a 12-day break before the Winter Classic with only two games played since Dec. 12.
That could be great or it could be horrible.
On one hand, the break could give guys like Ek, Spurgeon, and Greenway a chance to get healthy for the Classic. It could give guys the rest that they need.
On the other hand not playing a game in almost two weeks and entering on a four-game losing streak does not necessarily give the Wild any sort of advantage, instead, their legs and play could be rusty and we could witness a replay of what happened last night.
The league doest not have a contingency plan for Winter Classic, so it is important for the Wild and Blues players to stay incredibly smart and safe during the next 11 days.
As a fan of the Minnesota Wild, I have been looking forward to the day the Wild hosted the Winter Classic and I cannot imagine what I would be feeling if it were to be canceled. Maybe all of Minnesota should just stay home for the next 11 days so that we can all enjoy this game! For real, I am holding my breath in hopes that the game still goes on and that we have a strong roster to win the game.
The Wild need to get their mojo back and they need to get back to how they were playing when they went on the eight-game win streak. They have gone back to their old ways of dumping the puck in and chasing. They are committing lousy turnovers and have had no sense of urgency these last two games against Buffalo and Dallas.
The Wild still sit in first place in the Central Division with 40 points, but the Predators, who have won seven straight, are now just one point behind them. The Wild, Knights, and Ducks are tied for first place in the Western Conference, however, the Wild has two games in hand on the ducks and one game in hand on Vegas.
What's Next: Maybe?
Minnesota Wild (19-9-2 40pts) At Winnipeg jets (14-11-5 33pts) Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. Puck Drop at 9:00 p. m. central time
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