Two days after watching his team record an impressive victory over the NHL-leading Washington Capitals, the Wild coach expected a repeat performance against the good, but not great, New Jersey Devils.

This would be the 11th and final home game for the Wild in March and a chance to keep the surging St. Louis Blues two points behind them in the wild card race. This version of the Wild — the one without superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and top center Joel Eriksson Ek — are not talented enough to win on talent alone.

That means they have no choice but to work as hard as they did against the Caps. Everyone seemed to realize this except for one important group: Hynes’ players.

Nico Hischier scored the first of his three goals only 29 seconds into the first period, Paul Cotter made it 2-0 at the 5:46 mark and the Devils never trailed in a 5-2 victory on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

That left the Wild 6-4-1 in the 11 home games and tied with the Blues with 87 points. The Wild are technically in the seventh wild card spot because they have a game in hand on St. Louis, but the Blues have won nine in a row and Vancouver is six points behind both teams and has played one game fewer than Minnesota.

Saturday’s effort will be ‘addressed’
No wonder Hynes’ ire was raised by his team offering so little in such an important game.

“I just thought from the drop of the puck we weren’t mentally, physically where we needed to be, and it lasted throughout the game,” Hynes said. “You guys kind of saw the same thing I saw. I’m not going to mince words on it, but we weren’t mentally ready to play, focused (on) the details we need (to be). I think the competitive level that’s required to win wasn’t there. We beat ourselves in so many different ways tonight. It will be addressed, and we’ll be ready for Monday.”

In the remaining 1 minute, 54 seconds of Hynes’ press conference, he was asked four more questions and either said, “It will be addressed,” or, “We’ll address it,” six times.

How will it be addressed?

Hynes, who has been canceling late-season practices to keep his team fresh, kept Sunday’s practice on the books before his team departed for New Jersey to play the Devils for a second consecutive time on Monday.

This is about as close to a meltdown as you’re going to get from Hynes.

Justin Brazeau on the ice against Buffalo on March 22, 2025. He was part of one of the Wild’s best lines against New Jersey this past Saturday. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The fact that the line of Yakov Trenin, Devin Shore and Justin Brazeau might have been the most consistent trio for the Wild was more of an indictment on the other lines than it was a reason to praise the hard-working but not-skilled fourth line.

There is no question that what once looked like it could be a special season has been derailed by the losses of several players at different points, most notably Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek. The two have started skating, but it’s unknown when either might return. Kaprizov has missed the past 24 games and 36 of the past 39. Eriksson Ek, the Wild’s best center, has missed the past 17 games and 18 of the past 19.

However, the Wild’s performance against Washington confirmed that with the necessary effort they can be very competitive. Players talked about that after the Washington win, opening the door for Hynes and everyone else to point out that the loss to the Devils was based more on a lack of effort than anything else.

Juggling lines in a feisty game
The Wild played pretty well in the second period, but they no-showed much of the first and were outscored 3-1 in a mostly lifeless third period. Goalie Filip Gustavsson has been outstanding of late, but at some point he needs help from his teammates.

Hynes juggled the first and third lines, moving Ryan Hartman to the top line to center Matt Boldy and Marcus Foligno. Marco Rossi was demoted to play with Gus Nyquist and Vinnie Hinostroza on the third line. Hinostroza had been so good against the Capitals that he started Saturday as the first-line right winger, but he didn’t stay there.

Hartman and Foligno accounted for the Wild’s two goals, so it wasn’t a surprise that Hynes moved them up from the third line. Boldy, who entered Saturday with three goals and seven points in his past six games, took a dumb slashing penalty with the Wild trailing 3-2 in the third period. Hischier scored 1:02 into the power play to give the Devils a two-goal lead.

In what had been an intense and feisty game, that was the exact type of penalty the Wild can’t take and the fact it came from one of their best players made it even more disturbing.

The Wild have eight games remaining, including a three-game road trip to play the Devils, Rangers and Islanders this week. The Blues’ phenomenal play since returning from the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off means they can’t be counted on to cool off and the Canucks and Flames remain dangerous. The Wild will play in Calgary on April 11 and Vancouver on April 12 in what could be huge games.

Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek might be back by then, but that can’t be counted on. Saturday proved that Hynes also can’t count on his team to show up when it matters most. Will his attempt to “address” this issue work? If it doesn’t, the Wild could be sitting outside of the playoff picture for a second consecutive season.

The post Fired-Up Hynes Addresses Wild Loss appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The reason?

Far too many forwards haven’t provided enough, especially with center Joel Eriksson Ek out the past 10 games because of a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek is the Wild’s best center and his loss is a big one, but that doesn’t mean everyone who isn’t on the first line has permission to disappear.

Yet, that’s what has happened.

Boldy’s slumping – again
The biggest disappointment is winger Matt Boldy, who had 11 goals and 22 points in the first 20 games of the season. Boldy is one of the Wild’s most important and dynamic players and has the ability to drive a line from the wing. But since his great start, he has two goals and eight points in 15 games and has had goalless stretches of six, three and five games.

Boldy has been playing on second line with Marcus Johansson on the other wing. Ryan Hartman was elevated to second line center after Marco Rossi was moved to the first line to replace the injured Eriksson Ek. Hartman’s struggles became such that he was recently demoted to third line right winger as Freddy Gaudreau was elevated to second line center.

During a four-game stretch earlier in December, Boldy took six minor penalties, getting called for a minor in four consecutive games. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Boldy, 23, has had these types of slumps before, but in his fourth season these extended droughts should be a thing of the past for a player who has been named to the U.S. team for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

When Boldy is going well, he plays an aggressive game, using his 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame to his advantage. When Boldy isn’t going well, he stops moving his feet and takes penalties because he’s reaching with his stick.

That’s been the Boldy we’ve seen far too much of in recent games, and that needs to change when the Wild come back from its break with a game on Friday night in Dallas. If Eriksson Ek has returned and Rossi is back to center the second line, that would be great, but Boldy’s lack of production can not be excused because another player is injured.

Hartman, and others, aren’t producing either
That gets us to Hartman and a cold spell that has turned frigid. Hartman hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 19 at St. Louis. He has no goals and two assists in his past 17 games and has only four goals and seven points in 30 games this season. Hartman, 30, was signed to a three-year, $12 million contract at the start of last season and is playing like a guy who belongs in the press box, only the Wild doesn’t have enough depth to put him there for a game or two.

Boldy and Hartman are only two who belong on the list of disappointments in a season that started out so well for the Wild. Winger Johansson, who somehow never gets demoted from the second line, has one goal and six points in 15 games. Gaudreau, who is an extremely hard worker but belongs in the bottom six, has two goals and three points in his past 16 games and no points since being promoted to the second line.

There are guys on the third line who could be providing more, but you probably get the point. The Wild have had some key guys out of the lineup, including Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jake Middleton, but if this team is going to make the playoffs it is imperative that others contribute.

Ryan Hartman, pictured here playing against the Chicago Blackhawks in a preseason game, only has four goals so far this season. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

It was a pleasant surprise that the Wild got such a good game out of its fourth line of Devin Shore, Ben Jones and Yakov Trenin against the Blackhawks. That line and the first line of Kirill Kaprizov, Rossi and Mats Zuccarello were the team’s best two units.

Two of the Wild’s four goals came from defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber, and Marcus Foligno’s goal into an empty net and was his first in 16 games.

Kaprizov’s 23 goals are tied for second in the NHL, but he can’t do it by himself. Rossi has five goals and eight points in 10 games since moving to the first line and Zuccarello has one goal and five points in six games since returning from a lower-body injury.

So how does Hynes get more production from all of his lines — especially the second one?

“I think this is a break at a key time for us and I give the players a lot of credit,” he said. “We’ve been going at max capacity and really dialed in from training camp until now and there’s been way more success than there has been failure. But I also think that guys have really pushed and guys have produced at certain times. It’s important for our group now to be able to get away from it for a few days, come off a win in a game that we played well and then now it’s come back and then we just reset and get moving forward. I think that’s something that everybody needs.”

If that isn’t the answer, the Wild’s fantastic start to the season could be for naught.

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