To watch the chemistry between the Minnesota Wild’s top line with Marco Rossi at center and Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the wings is a sight to behold. On Friday at Xcel Energy Center, you almost had to feel sorry for Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka in the first period, when those three rushed the offensive zone, firing passes back and forth seemingly at will until Zuccarello had a mostly empty net in which to score his first goal in more than a month.

But less than a minute later, the cheers had died down, the game was tied, and with nobody else scoring for the Wild, their losing streak hit a season-high three games. Kaprizov is a legitimate contender for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the most valuable player in the NHL. And the Wild’s top line is as good as almost any from Los Angeles to Long Island. But we’ve seen one-line teams try and fail again and again.

The lack of offensive production from the Wild’s second, third and fourth lines in the past few weeks has taken its place alongside injuries and penalty kill struggles as reasons for the December mini-slump. And the players on those recently-quiet three lines admit as much.

“Yeah, 5-on-5 we need more goals. I don’t think we’re getting a lot of production right now offensively from a lot of other individuals, including myself. We need to step up,” Wild winger Marcus Foligno said after the Friday loss to Utah. “It can’t just be a Kirill and Zuccy show. It’d be nice to get some more of that, but in other words we’re working hard. We’re doing the right things that eventually the dam will break, and that’s got to be the message to all the guys now.”

Of note, second-liners Marcus Johansson and Freddie Gaudreau have gone four games without a point. It has been five games without a point for third line center Marat Khusnutdinov. Third line winger Ryan Hartman is in a notable slump, having last recorded a point on Nov. 21 during a win in Edmonton when he had two assists. Still, Wild coach John Hynes is not hitting the panic button, noting that they outplayed their opponent for long stretches in the one-goal losses to Utah and Vegas, and the effort is strong even if the results are not showing recently.

“When you look at the looks we had tonight from multiple different players, the offense that we generated. Their goaltender played fantastic. He made some big saves,” Hynes said, tipping his cap to Vejmelka’s 28 saves. “It wasn’t like Rossi’s line was the only line that generated offense. We generated offense tonight, and we had multiple good looks from multiple lines and multiple people that didn’t go in for us tonight.”

Hynes, even in the midst of their hot start, often repeated the mantra that you’re never as good as you think you are when you’re winning, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you’re losing. He said those words again on Friday night, giving hints that the current slump by three-fourths of his forward lines are just something teams go through in an 82-game season. He added that if you’re going to run into a rough patch – and every team will at some point – having it happen two months into the season might be OK timing-wise.

“We’ve got to move on from it and keep growing and playing and this is a little bit of adversity that we’ve hit the first time this year, and you’re gonna go through it at certain times,” Hynes said, before the team boarded a late night plane to Utah on Friday. “I can tell you the worst times to go through adversity is at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year.”

Related Articles

Penalty kill struggles again doom Wild in third straight loss

Puck to the neck doesn’t sideline Wild D Brock Faber

For former Gophers star Logan Cooley, Utah is the newest hockey home

Lackluster late night for Wild as Panthers flex their muscle

Puck possession in focus as Wild seek penalty kill solutions