Postgame Hat Trick: Blues 4, Wild 3

On Wednesday night, the Wild lost 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Wild.com's Dan Myers provides three takeaways in the Postgame Hat Trick, presented by Associated Bank. Learn more on how to score up to $500 by opening a Wild Checking account.

1. Not again ...
For the second time in a month, the Wild saw a third-period lead against the Blues melt away.
After seeing St. Louis tie the game in the final minute of regulation and win it in the final seconds of overtime back on April 10, the Wild lost a two-goal lead in the final period on Wednesday night, only to see St. Louis again escape with the win, rattling off three unanswered goals, including the winner by Robert Thomas with 23 seconds left in regulation.
That loss was the last time Minnesota had tasted defeat before Wednesday, as the Wild rattled off seven consecutive wins after that loss.
The good news for the Wild is it won't have to wait long to get the sour taste out of its mouths ... these same clubs will connect for the second of back-to-back games Thursday night as the Wild continues its seven-game homestand.
2. That line needs a nickname.
The line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno was all over the place on Wednesday, as it has been for much of the past handful of games during this winning streak.
On this night, it provided much of the offense, with Foligno and Greenway assisting on Brodin's point shot, and Ek screening goaltender Jordan Binnington on the play.

Ek banged home a rebound 32 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0, then coach Dean Evason responded to the Blues' second-period power-play goal by tossing that line over the boards to try and regain momentum.
It worked, as Foligno rifled a shot under the crossbar 62 seconds after Hoffman's goal to push the lead back to 3-1.

That trio has been a constant force for the Wild this season when everyone has been healthy, and has developed such an identity that it might be time for a good nickname.
Who's got ideas? Tweet them to
@mnwildscribe
and see if anything resonates.
3. Penalties turn the tide.
The Wild didn't take many penalties on Wednesday night, which is good.
But Minnesota's penalty kill, which has been a strength of the team this season, struggled, allowing a pair of Hoffman goals that really sapped energy and momentum.
Minnesota was all over St. Louis in the second period, for example. The puck rarely left the offensive zone and Minnesota nearly pushed its lead to three goals when Kevin Fiala took an offensive zone interference penalty 180 feet from his own net.
Eight seconds later, Hoffman cut the lead in half.
Minnesota was able to recover in the second and re-establish its two goal lead into intermission, but it wasn't so lucky the second time.
Just over three minutes into the third, Matt Dumba was called for hooking, and 29 seconds into that power play, Hoffman scored again to make it 3-2.
This time, the Wild couldn't regain its mojo.
Less than four minutes after Hoffman's second goal, Jordan Kyrou took advantage of a turnover and slipped a puck through the wickets of Cam Talbot, tying the game at 3-3.