Wild Fall Into Lightning's Trap As Penalties Prove Costly

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild (12-3-4) appeared to be in control Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning (11-3-2), jumping out to a 3-1 lead before things began to unravel.

What started as another promising performance from Minnesota quickly turned into a frustrating 4-3 overtime loss filled with penalties, extracurricular activity and missed opportunities.

The Lightning managed to get under the Wild's skin, particularly with their interactions involving Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes. Tampa Bay defenseman J.J. Moser was at the center of some of the controversy, and Minnesota ultimately found itself playing a game that favored the Lightning.

Wild forward Blake Coleman acknowledged that Tampa Bay's tactics worked against Minnesota.

"That’s the game they’re trying to play, those aren’t trade-offs that benefit us, benefits the other team," Coleman said. "You’d like to think they’d be aware of that and call the game accordingly."

Nick Foligno, who returned to the lineup alongside his younger brother Marcus, shared a similar perspective.

"They obviously put those guys in for a reason against us tonight," Foligno said. "It's just disappointing because we had such a great start, and you come away with one point when you feel like you probably should have had two. But you play into their hand a little bit with power plays, and it's a team that can bite you."

Foligno was particularly frustrated with how the officials handled the situation involving Minnesota's top players.

"Yeah, that's where you just wish the ref would do his job in a sense of understanding who the player is and why," Foligno said. "He keeps being around our guys, and maybe we've got to do a better job of being around their guys, right? That's on us, too."

It has been a theme for what seems like a long time. Wild usually fall into this trap by other teams and never give it back to any other team's star players.

"Maybe we needed to put them on notice that we're going to go after some of their guys like they did to us," Foligno said. "So it's the game within the game. I don't like that the ref felt he had to prove a point in that moment, but it's the call he made."

Wild coach John Hynes also made it clear he disagreed with some of the officiating.

When asked whether he disagreed with the penalties called against Minnesota, Hynes offered a brief response.

"Yeah, certainly. I would agree with you on that," Hynes said.

Hynes was also asked whether referee Jean Hebert provided an explanation regarding Moser's antics.

"No," Hynes said.

Hynes made sure to let Hebert know he was not happy with him all night. Before the puck dropped in the third period, Hynes had a breif chat with the veteran referee.

Ultimately, the penalties proved costly against a Lightning team with an experienced and dangerous power play. Tampa Bay scored three times with the man advantage, including the overtime winner, while Minnesota struggled to stay out of the penalty box.

Marcus Foligno acknowledged how difficult it can be to defend Tampa Bay when its power play gets opportunities.

"Yeah, tough game. Just you get the flow out of it and that team’s really good," Marcus Foligno said. "They want the flow of it, as well, but they thrive, that power play it’s been connected for 10, 7-plus years. Those guys know how to feed off each other."

Despite the frustration, Hynes wasn't disappointed with his team's effort.

"I thought the effort was great," Hynes said. "You know, it was a highly contested battle. Kind of a heavyweight fight tonight. I think two teams have played really hard. I liked our compete level and how we worked and things like that."

Minnesota was playing on the second night of a back-to-back, while Tampa Bay entered the matchup rested. As the game progressed, fatigue appeared to become a factor.

"I think you could see some mental mistakes that probably we wouldn't normally make," Nick Foligno said. "But our team competes, man. It's fun to watch, fun to be part of."

Calvin Pickard made several important saves to keep Minnesota in the game, but Tampa Bay erased the two-goal deficit and eventually secured the overtime victory.

The Wild still collected a point, extending their point streak to eight games with a 6-0-2 record during that stretch.

But Saturday's loss was a reminder that even when Minnesota plays well enough to win, getting caught up in the opposition's tactics can prove costly.

Against a team as dangerous and experienced as Tampa Bay, the Wild found that out the hard way.

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