Wild head coach John Hynes even admitted it as well, there are certain players that need to step up.

ST. PAUL - The Wild have gotten great contributions from their fourth line recently along with their first line but there are some players in between that need to step it up and Wild head coach John Hynes admitted that as well. 

The Wild recently signed forward Mason Shaw and burned his AHL deal. But it could be a bit before Shaw plays as Hynes noted the Wild's fourth line has been playing well over the last stretch of games. 

As is the first line. Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kirill Kaprizov have combined for seven goals and 17 points in the last three games. Marco Rossi has a goal in his last three games and has been playing well with Mats Zuccarello on his wing but Marcus Johansson who plays on the other side, hasn't done much. 

Johansson, 33, hasn't recorded an assist in his last 18 games and has only four goals in that span along with a minus-14 rating. But Hynes believes Johansson has been fine. 

"I think Joe's been pretty effective for us," Hynes said on Johansson. "I think with every player there's ups and downs at certain times. But I think his skating for the most part stands out basically every game and I think he's responsible defensively. I liked that line as well, Rossi with Joe and Zucc [Zuccarello]. I think his puck pursuit and his play are there, he's getting some scoring chances. So I think Joe has been an effective player for us."

I think Johansson's play isn't something to really worry about if he is getting third-line ice time but he's being relied upon to play over 18 minutes a night in his last five games. Johansson has always been a streaky player but if he is going to continue to get this amount of ice time, he needs to turn it around a bit especially if this team wants to make the playoffs, which seems to be the goal.

Freddy Gaudreau on the other hand needs to step it up as well. Gaudreau is currently playing right wing on a line with Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime. Hartman has two goals and five points in his last 12 games and recently signed a three-year $12 million extension which kicks in next season. 

In Gaudreau's last 16 games, he has recorded zero goals and one assist and has been a minus-7.

“I see with Freddy a very smart, useful player. He can play in a lot of different situations,” Hynes said on the struggling Gaudreau. “I think that with Freddy and his line, particularly last game (in Arizona), there needs to be more pace and speed and skating and working, not just Freddy as an individual, but the line that he’s on, there’s got to be more drive to the game."

With Shaw recently signing and being brought back to the Wild, he is going to play. It is just a matter of when. Since Johansson got a vote of confidence from Hynes, Gaudreau, Hartman, or Duhaime seem like the players who could be scratched for Shaw to return. Since the fourth line has been good.

Gaudreau, 30, is playing in year one of a five-year deal he signed last season when he had 19 goals and 38 points in 82 games. This season he has recorded three goals and ten points in 41 games and has been a minus-12 along with having the worst WAR and GAR on the Wild according to Evolving Hockey. WAR and GAR are metrics that attempt to assign a total value to each player, which represents how much that player contributed to their team in a single number. 

The 6-foot forward is on pace for five goals and 17 points in 70 games and is projected to finish the year as a minus-20. 

Not only did he have 19 goals and 38 points last season but Gaudreau recorded 14 goals and 44 points in 76 games the previous season. His five-year $10.5 million contract he signed with the Wild on April 13th of 2023 looked to be a steal. But now Gaudreau is on pace for a pretty pedestrian season.

“Now, when you have a smart player and skilled player and a guy who can score, it’s, ‘OK, why is this not getting to the level that he or we would want it to get to?’ And that’s something we’ll spend some time with those guys after here and go through some shifts," Hynes said. "We need that group to be a little bit better, Freddy included. But how can we help those guys visually? And what’s the clear expectation of what we need from you? I believe those guys are capable of doing it. We’ve just got to get them doing it regularly.”

Hynes got the best out of Boldy who, before he got here, had one goal in 12 games now has 18 goals and 32 points in 34 games under Hynes. He got the best out of the goaltending tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson so who's to think he won't get the best out of guys like Gaudreau and Johansson? 

The Wild need that to happen or they will be in danger of missing the playoffs or better yet, another first-round exit.

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