ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Bill Guerin still believes the Minnesota Wild can make a push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Minnesota (18-20-5), which had lost four in a row (0-3-1) prior to a 5-0 win against the New York Islanders on Monday, trails the Edmonton Oilers (23-15-1) by six points for the second wild card from the Western Conference.
“There's a lot of hockey left,” Minnesota’s general manager said before the win on Monday. “… This has been a bit of a crazy year. Bad start, coaching change, played great under John for the first 15 games, injuries to key players at the same time like I've never seen before.
“You’re right, it seems that we've lost our way a bit. But you know, hey look, there are some positives. …There's a lot of hockey to be played. So we're definitely not ready to wave the white flag or anything like that. We just want to get healthy and move forward and see what we can do.”
The Wild fired head coach Dean Evason on Nov. 27 after a 5-10-4 start. Evason was replaced by John Hynes, who led Minnesota on a four-game winning streak out the gate and an 11-4-0 record between Nov. 28 and Dec. 27.
However, Monday’s win was their first since Dec. 27, 6-3 against the Detroit Red Wings.
“I think the guys’ play hasn't been great results lately,” Guerin said. “I don't think they've been complete no-shows. The other night against Arizona (6-0 loss) was very disappointing, but we all have those nights, too.”
The Wild have also been marred by injuries to top players in the past month.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin returned Monday for first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on Dec. 18. Forward Kirill Kaprizov (upper body) and goalie Filip Gustavsson (lower body) each had missed seven games before returning against Arizona on Saturday. And captain Jared Spurgeon has missed a total of 27 games with a nagging lower-body injury. He has not played since Jan. 2 and was placed on long-term injured reserve Monday.
“You know me, I’m not one for excuses,” Guerin said. “I’m not. And I’m not going to put it all on the injuries. I just won’t. Even with the injuries, we need to play better. We need to be better. As a team, as individuals.
“I always say: nobody cares, nobody feels sorry for us. Nobody’s like, ‘but they’re sick and they’re injured.’ We have to be better. This is professional sports. That’s it. We need to be better. No matter what the circumstance.”
Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy are tied with a team-leading 15 goals, and rookie defenseman Brock Faber has asserted himself as a mainstay on the blue line, averaging nearly 30 minutes of ice time in the past few games during the absence of Brodin and Spurgeon.
Guerin says the Wild will need all hands on deck to make up the ground that has already been lost.
“If we’re going to make the playoffs, we need to be a lot better than we’ve been,” he said. “Our core guys, our big players have to be better and produce at more key times. Our special teams have to be better, and our role players have to contribute more than they have. I believe that they can. I believe that they will, or I’m hoping that they will.
“Like I said, I still believe in this group, and I know people are going to say I’m crazy, but I do and I think we’ve shown that when we are healthy and when we are doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we’re a good team. So we’re going to have to really put our minds to it and try to get it done.
“We do have a lot of hockey to be played, but we don't have time to waste. We don't have games to waste. …That's the reality of it.”
