What's more motivating than playing with a parent in the crowd?
In new coach John Hynes' first game, Wild return to being tough to play against
The Wild made a good first impression on new coach John Hynes. They were stingy in their own zone and took advantage offensively when it mattered most.
November 29, 2023 at 1:37PM
Apparently playing for a brand-new coach.
The Blues brought their dads to Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday but didn't treat them to a win.
That went to the Wild, who nixed their season-long, seven-game losing streak by kicking off John Hynes' tenure behind the bench with a 3-1 victory.
"It's a new chapter for this team, for this organization," goaltender Filip Gustavsson said. "Of course, you want to play good in front of your new coach. So, that's also a little pressure to prove yourself."
Wild players made quite the first impression.
Not only did they ditch their rut, which coincided with Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods getting fired on Monday, but the team showed strides in key areas: The penalty kill was perfect (including on a four-minute St. Louis power play in the third period), and someone other than Joel Eriksson Ek scored.
Eriksson Ek did keep his goal streak going, extending it to three games, but Frederick Gaudreau snapped his 10-game drought and Matt Boldy capitalized for the first time in 11 games.
"The mindset today was, 'Let's play with an attitude where we're going to enjoy the process of the game and not worry about the end result,'" Hynes said. "And then the second one was we wanted to come away with an identity that we can build off."
Mission accomplished.
Out of all their wins this season, this was the most Wild-like. They were stingy in their own zone, took advantage offensively when it mattered most and were tough to play against.
Related Coverage
"We were faster with the puck," Hynes noted. "The speed off the puck was better, so the puck carrier was forced to move the puck quicker, so we get to a faster game."
That was one of the tweaks Hynes identified before puck drop and expect more changes to the Wild's style in the coming days.
Their first practice with Hynes at the helm is Wednesday before a trip to Nashville.
"It was a pleasure to coach the guys the way that they played tonight," said Hynes, who received a game puck from captain Jared Spurgeon after the win as did new assistant Patrick Dwyer. "It's nice to get the win, but they made it easy on the coach."
The 3-2 Pitch: With the Wild’s season fast approaching, Neal also tackled the difficult AL Central, the putrid Gophers run defense and a bold prediction for the Lynx and Twins.
