LAS VEGAS – An experienced Sin City gambler will tell you that if your number doesn’t hit when they spin the roulette wheel, the only way to recoup your losses is to try and try again.

In a Game 1 loss to the Golden Knights in their NHL playoff opener, the Minnesota Wild sent more than 40 shots toward the Vegas net, and only 20 of them actually made it to the goalie. Two of them – both off the stick of Matt Boldy – went in.

Satisfied with the effort, if not the result, in a 4-2 loss on Sunday, Wild coach John Hynes said the plan headed into the second contest in the series was more of the same, as shooting is the only way to score eventually.

“I think we had 71 shot attempts,” Hynes said. He was off by one, as the Wild had 27 shots blocked and another 23 that missed, added to the 20 that reached the Vegas goal. The coach noted that in a series which could go seven games, every shot that is blocked takes a toll on the opponent’s defense.

“You know going into a series that’s gonna happen,” he said. “But you block that many shots too, it could be a long series. It could be some ankles broken…You gotta keep triggering.”

All season, Hynes has talked about having a “shot mentality” and prior to Game 2 said that will be the approach throughout the playoffs. To the Wild players, that means an important balance of attacking offense and defensive responsibility.

“It’s big, especially for a player like me. I like to be around the net, so anytime someone is shooting the puck it’s probably going to go my way a little bit more,” said Wild forward Justin Brazeau. “A team like (Vegas) is pretty stingy and they pile into the D-zone and kind of make it hard to make the seam plays, so anytime we’re able to put pucks to the net and find rebounds, it’ll be big for us.”

Centers flipped at the start

There were no personnel changes during the Wild’s Tuesday morning skate at T-Mobile Arena, but one line change of note. Hynes swapped centers on the third and fourth lines, moving Ryan Hartman up to play between Marcus Foligno and Gustav Nyquist, and putting Marco Rossi in the fourth line center position between Yakov Trenin and Brazeau.

“He’s obviously a guy who likes to have the puck, he’s got a lot of skill, so I think it’s big for us,” Brazeau said of the alignment with Rossi, who played in his first career playoff contest in Game 1. “We’re able to get in there and create 50-50 pucks and try to get pucks back for him, just kind of let him do his thing in the offensive zone, make sure we’re at the net. He’s a really skilled player so we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the little things for him.”

Rossi played all 82 regular season games and was second on the Wild offensively with 24 goals and 36 assists. Hynes reminded reporters after the morning skate that he’s not afraid to change lines in-game, but said he would give the new combos a try, at least early on.

“I think we’ll take a look at that coming into the game and see where it goes,” he said. “Just a little tweak and see what it looks like.”

Suspension is well-timed

Wild defenseman Zeev Buium played with his older brother Shai in the 2023-24 season at Denver, where the pair won a NCAA title. Shai, 22, played defense this season in the Detroit Red Wings’ system for their AHL team, the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Griffins. Due to his commitments there, it looked like Shai would not be able to see his brother’s NHL debut, until some well-timed discipline.

On Friday, not long after the Wild arrived in Vegas for the playoffs, Shai left the bench during an altercation as Grand Rapids was playing Rockford, and the AHL suspended the elder Buium for one game. With him unable to play in their Saturday game versus Texas, the Griffins gave Shai permission to go to Nevada for Game 1. He flew into Las Vegas on Sunday, watched Zeev’s debut with his family, then took an overnight flight back to Michigan to rejoin the Griffins.

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