Wild continue to find ways to win in 9-3 stretch under John Hynes

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild have completely turned their season around since John Hynes’ arrival.

The Wild — who had a disastrous 5-10-4 start under Dean Evason — have gone 9-3 under Hynes and are four points behind the Arizona Coyotes in the second wild card spot with a game in hand. What’s been remarkable about the Wild’s turnaround is the fact that they’ve dealt with several injuries to their most important players.

Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin have missed the past five and six games, respectively, with Brodin on long-term injured reserve since Dec. 13. Mats Zuccarello has missed the past three games and was placed on injured reserve. Ryan Hartman will miss his second straight game when the Wild host the Boston Bruins Saturday night.

The Wild’s past two wins over the Bruins and Canadiens — without Spurgeon, Brodin, Zuccarello and Hartman — could very well be the victories they look back on later in the season. 

Unlike earlier this season when the Wild faltered, they’re finding ways to win right now amid adversity.

“That’s the thing, we’ve got a lot of guys out — a lot of quality guys out, too,” Marcus Foligno said. “It’s not easy. This is a hurt lineup. But at the same time, this is the character we have. We’re deep and we have character guys that want to play the right way, and John has us with the right message and identity. To win games like this without the star players, it’s huge for us. So, it’s a big character win.”

Added rookie Brock Faber: “We're playing some good hockey, and again we're learning as we go.”

Players are stepping up, from the bottom of the lineup to the top. Kirill Kaprizov looks like himself again, scoring the overtime winner in the past two games. Matt Boldy, who had one goal in his first 12 games, has scored eight goals in his past 12 and has found his game, too.

And Faber and Marco Rossi continue to thrive in their rookie seasons and are making early cases for the Calder Trophy. “The fact that they're such impact players is a big reason why we have been able to get up and running,” coach John Hynes said of Faber and Rossi. “Those guys are having good years for sure.”

The Wild are also flourishing and finding ways to win in tight scoring games as of late. The Wild’s past five games, where they’ve gone 4-1, have been 1-goal margins. “I just think our focus level, our poise and confidence in the tight games,” Hynes said, “has looked good.”

Everything's coming together for the Wild right now. Actually, it has been for a while. The Wild have been a completely different hockey team under Hynes.

For starters, the Wild’s five-on-five play has significantly improved. Under Hynes, they’ve outscored the opposition 26-15 — the third best goal share league-wide during this stretch — and have the sixth best expected goal share at 53 percent. 

It’s helped that they’ve played a faster style and have improved their starts.

“Just the way we’re playing,” Foligno said of why the team’s had faster, better starts. “Coming out of the zone, the breakouts, we’re not getting stuck in our zone as much. I think it’s giving guys some more confidence with the puck, and it’s getting easy, from that standpoint, to get confidence early. 

“We know that when it’s there, make a play, and when it’s not, we’ve got to be direct and get it behind them. We’re not trying to force plays like we did before.  …  It’s been night and day.”

As for the Wild’s special teams, the penalty kill has gone 36-for-44 while the power play has gone 7-for-31 under Hynes. The penalty kill, specifically, has pulled a 360 after being the league’s worst under Evason and Bob Woods.

The Wild have also flipped the script defensively after uncharacteristic defensive woes to start the season. Under Hynes, at five-on-five, the Wild have allowed a league-low 2.13 expected goals against per 60 and their 1.58 goals against per 60 rate ranks second. 

And they’re not just back to being one of the league’s best defensive clubs. The Wild are getting timely, game-saving stops from their netminders. The Wild’s .940 save percentage under Hynes is the third-highest league-wide.

That begins with Filip Gustavsson, who has turned his season around with a .936 save percentage and seven wins in nine starts since the coaching change on Nov. 27. The result of the Wild’s improved play is a 9-3 record under Hynes.

“The character in this room is showing right now, and it’s fun,” Foligno said. “Obviously, it’s nice to get rewarded. 

“But guys are just working their tails off, and we’re getting timely goals and big wins right now.”

Added Zach Bogosian: “It’s a pack mentality in here.”

All data via Natural Stat Trick