Wild's penalty-kill woes ('Not good enough') and a Filip Gustavsson update: Notes

ST.

PAUL The Minnesota Wild were midway through a penalty-kill, drill-heavy practice Tuesday when coach John Hynes stopped play and let the group have it.

He loudly and colorfully brought up the lack of intensity level, both on faceoffs and in board battles.

Its not good enough, he yelled.

The same thing is happening in the game.

Advertisement The Wilds porous penalty kill continues to struggle, sitting 30th in the league at 70.7 percent.

Theyve allowed six power-play goals in the past five games and 12 in the last 12.

This isnt a new problem; the unit has struggled for much of the last couple of seasons.

But with Minnesota having lost three of its last five games, and hosting the defending Cup champion Florida Panthers Wednesday night, theres been some urgency.

Were in situations where we pressure and its a corner containment and the other team comes out with the puck, Hynes said.

Its the faceoff intensity, the pressure intensity, how we pressure, pressuring together, staying on pressure.

All those little components.

We win a faceoff and the (defenseman) gets the puck behind the net and tries to rim it from behind the net.

(It stays) in.

Versus skating and wheeling, eyes up, and thats an automatic clear.

Weve got to continue to drill in on the details and what it takes to be a good penalty kill.

Its not just one issue with the penalty kill.

The inability to win a faceoff the team has won just 38.6 percent of draws short-handed has been a big culprit; the Vegas Golden Knights game-tying goal in the first period Sunday came from Marat Khusnutdinov and Brock Faber not winning a 50-50 battle off a faceoff.

But they are also often not getting the key save, with the Wild ranked 24th in save percentage at .832.

You can tell from this HockeyViz chart that Minnesota is giving up the most quality chances (in the brown/orange colors).

Were just trying to make sure teams dont get so comfortable setting up and were trying to get aggressive, veteran winger Marcus Foligno said.

A lot of great kills in this league dont give you time and space.

Off the draw, they ambush you and make you feel not confident with the puck.

When you give guys time and space and they can feel the puck and dust it off and look around, these guys are unbelievable for a reason.

Advertisement Just taking time away from guys is the biggest thing and being more hungry on pucks.

Weve been hurt lately by it and its something weve got to fix now or it can spiral.

During Tuesdays drills, the Wild focused on recovering after faceoffs, killing plays in the corners and getting quick clears.

The aggressive pressure, the connectivity of the group, the reads.

When Hynes called out the PK on Tuesday, it came after failed clears.

Case in point: on Dec.

10 in Utah, Clayton Keller s first power-play goal came a couple of passes after Jon Merrill s failed backhand clear from the corner.

Filip Gustavsson had made the initial save and steered it aside, but the turnover up the boards quickly ended up in their net.

It doesnt matter what structure you play, Hynes said.

You can play an aggressive diamond, you can play a tighter box.

You can play trap down pressure.

But when you look at what makes a good penalty kill, you have to be intense and good in the faceoff circle.

You have to be able to clear pucks when you have an opportunity to clear pucks.

There are details that go along with that.

We need to coach them better and they need to execute better.

It doesnt help, either, that the Wild are without two top penalty killers in Joel Eriksson Ek and Jake Middleton , the latter of whom is now on long-term injured reserve after getting hurt in Thursdays loss to the Edmonton Oilers .

Eriksson Ek has been out a couple of weeks now and you can see where the Wilds expected power-play goals against took a rise in the more recent stretch of games in this HockeyViz chart.

Every tick on the chart is a 10-game stretch.

When youre disconnected, thats when you get breakdowns, Foligno said.

You have to understand when its time to go (and pressure).

We were a little bit in between, we were good for a little while and then we got in between again.

Now weve got to hit the reset button and get back to quick-thinking hockey.

Advertisement Gustavsson, roster updates Gustavsson did not practice on Tuesday, but Hynes indicated he still believes its a short-term, lower-body injury.

So far, Hynes said.

Thats because Gustavsson continues to be evaluated, Hynes said.

Gustavsson was examined by doctors on Sunday, but Hynes said its normal for this type of thing to take multiple days before a clearer diagnosis and timeline.

He added that Gustavsson has been working out in the gym since the injury.

Weve got to take this day by day and Ill probably have some more information as each day passes, Hynes said.

As of now its minor, but theres still further evaluation for me to comment beyond (Wednesday).

Marc-Andre Fleury will start Wednesday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, with Jesper Wallstedt as backup.

In other Wild roster news, Yakov Trenin participated in Tuesdays practice, albeit in a yellow non-contact jersey.

Hynes said theyll know more after Wednesdays light morning skate whether he can play.

If not, Brendan Gaunce will likely draw in.

I thought he had a good camp, Hynes said.

One of those guys we talked about in the offseason he can play wing or center and he can win faceoffs.

Its good to see him.

Another experienced guy who has really picked up his game in Iowa.

Devin Shore cleared waivers Tuesday and will remain with the NHL club.

(Photo of Jared Spurgeon defending against Nicolas Roy : Nick Wosika / Imagn Images).

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