Wild must adjust in Game 2 against Blues after 'special teams killed us'
St. Louis scored twice on power play to win opener, Minnesota was 0-for-6
The Minnesota Wild have the scars to prove it after Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center on Monday, a 4-0 loss that turned on the effectiveness of St. Louis' power play and the struggles of Minnesota's penalty kill.
Teams that win Game 1 are 499-228 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, including 6-2 in the first round during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Game 2 will be played here Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSN, BSWIX, BSMW).
The Blues scored two power-play goals in Game 1 and forward David Perron finished his hat trick with a goal at 12:34 of the third period that came two seconds after a double minor to Wild forward Ryan Hartman expired. St. Louis finished 2-for-6 on the power play after going 3-for-9 against the Wild in three regular-season games, all wins. Minnesota went 0-for-6 with the man-advantage after a 1-for-9 performance in the season series.
"Special teams killed us, 5-on-5 we were real good," Wild coach Dean Evason said after an optional practice Tuesday. "Real good. In both zones, all three zones, 5-on-5. We just didn't play there. We were 4-on-4 a ton. I don't know the exact numbers. We were power play or penalty kill. And not a secret, they have not been good this year.
"So if we're going to have success, obviously, they have to get better. We are going to adjust. There's going to be adjustments made on both our special teams clearly to what they're doing, to what we didn't do to have success. But we have got to stay as much 5-on-5 as we can."
But the question is how much better can the Wild be on special teams, especially when it comes to killing penalties?
RELATED: [Complete Wild vs. Blues series coverage]
They have struggled on the kill all season, finishing at 76.1 percent, 25th in the NHL.
The Blues are lethal with the man-advantage (27.0 percent, second). They have nine players who scored at least 20 goals, and as a result can roll two devastatingly dangerous power-play units.
No team in the Blues history has been as effective.
"It's something maybe you reflect on maybe after the year, but there's been a lot of good players that have worn the Blue Note," said defenseman Torey Krug, one of the quarterbacks on the power play. "We just have great depth here and great competition. If one unit's not getting it done, the other one typically steps up and does. I think it just speaks to our depth."
That depth has spurred healthy competition among the Blues including forward Brayden Schenn, who scored seven power-play goals this season.
"We have two units that can kind of go and do different things, which obviously makes it a little bit difficult on [penalty killers]," Schenn said. "I think the good thing about our team and the pieces we have on the power play is it is competitive within our locker room. All 10 or 12 of us that are going on the power play want to hop over the boards first, but at the same time we are all supportive of each other and kind of have that inner competition to score."
It was the first unit that delivered in Game 1 led by Perron, who scored a team-best 11 power-play goals during the regular season.
"He understands the power play really well," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "He's been a really good power-play player for us since I've been here. He knows where to go. He knows where the puck's going to go. He knows where the rebounds are going go. He's really good at it."
And when he's not, it's a safe bet another Blues player will have that mojo. History suggests it, especially with the way the Blues can zip the puck around the attacking zone.
On the Blues' first power-play goal of the game, they passed the puck six times with each attacking player touching it at least once before Ryan O'Reilly fired a one-timer that goalie Wild Marc-Andre Fleury kicked out onto the stick of Perron, who scored at 6:15 of the first period.
After the goal, Evason grimaced and ruefully shook his head.
To avoid more of the same in Game 2, the Wild will have to stay out of the penalty box and play a more disciplined game.
"Obviously there's times when stuff happens but for us, as a team, 5-on-5 is where we play our best hockey," Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said. "I think we have to be better just playing hard between the whistles."
