Postgame: In 24 hours, two 3-2 losses by the Wild

Just a backbreaking road trip for the Wild. A pair of 3-2 losses, the latest coming Friday night in Washington, after a pair of decently played games.

"Just not enough," captain Mikko Koivu said. "I don't know. I thought we had a good game and played a good 60 minutes, but doesn't matter if we keep coming short."

It's often said, but when you're a team that cracks as often as the Wild, you have to play a perfect game. You have to play smart hockey.

So with 5:16 left, Nino Niederreiter needs to get that puck deep after taking it from Justin Williams at the defensive blue line, not get cute with it. But that turnover at the Caps blue line proved costly when 12 seconds later, Dmitry Orlov stick-handled around an aggressive Niederreiter and backhanded a cross-crease pass (or shot) from a sharp angle that tipped Jared Spurgeon's stick and slipped through a hole that Darcy Kuemper left open with 5:04 left.

This is not the first time a Niederreiter turnover late in a game cost the Wild the past two months. It happened in Brooklyn in the second period, it happened in Manhattan.

But bad goal at a bad time, and that's what happens when you're the Wild right now.

Niederreiter plays a mostly great game, one mistake and it's in his net. Darcy Kuemper plays a mostly good game and robs Alex Ovechkin in the second period to preserve a one-goal lead, and a weak goal goes in late to lead to defeat. The Wild, particularly the Ryan Carter-Koivu-Charlie Coyle line and defensemen Ryan Suter and Spurgeon, does a solid job shutting down Ovechkin at even-strength, and he scores the tying goal on a power play. Be super disciplined for two games in a row and only take one penalty in each game, and in both games you can't kill that single power play (read the gamer, but it was a tough call on Kuemper to begin with).

The Wild had one of its best first periods in weeks, outshot the Caps 12-3, drew three power plays because it was skating so well and first on every puck, get a Koivu power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead … and somehow a puck going well wide deflects in off Marco Scandella's stick 49 seconds into the second.

But a little more than four minutes later, Spurgeon won a board battle, Jason Pominville made a nice pass to Suter and Suter springs Niederreiter en route to a go-ahead breakaway goal.

Then, the Wild can't finish it off.

"Definitely frustrating," Niederreiter said of the losses on back-to-back nights. "We played some good hockey and we competed hard, but little things are making the difference. Yesterday we were inches away and today we were inches away."

The Wild still needs more complete efforts. Suter was on the ice for all six goals against on the road trip (and didn't talk with reporters after either game despite being requested), Spurgeon for five.

"We gave them that one power-play chance that we needed, and right now it's going in on one," Torchetti said, meaning the Wild played squeaky clean for two games in a row. "We've got to a better job and we've got to get that save when we need it there.:

Asked how the Wild turns the switch after having to be downtrodden following two decent games in a row with no points, he said, "That's what's happening right now, so we can't let it get us down. I loved our team game today. I thought we played a great road game, but we didn't get the result that we deserved.

"It's difficult, buy you've got to move on. That's the game of hockey."

Now the Wild returns to Minnesota and has to figure out a way to rebound. Two-game homestand coming up starting with Florida on Sunday inside an arena in which it hasn't won in nine games since Dec. 28.

This team could be in deep trouble. And as you'll read in my Sunday Insider, after talking with GM Chuck Fletcher, I wouldn't expect any big moves before Monday's 2 p.m. trade deadline.

Well, if you follow Twitter or watched the Caps telecast, you probably saw the former Capitals coach watched tonight's game from the press box here. According to Caps media, they think it's the first time he has watched a game (not coaching the Devils at least) here since he was Caps coach in 2014.

Apparently, he was in town talking to some kids and just took in the game. The Hall of Famer sat upstairs with the great Petr Bondra.