Before getting antsy or even really concerned about the Wild's first two games this season — a 4-2 loss at Detroit and a 5-4 shootout loss at Carolina that was salvaged Saturday only by a buzzer-beating Mikko Koivu goal — let's remember a couple of things:
• It took a while for the Wild to warm up last season. They were 11-8-4 after 23 games before taking off in the middle 40 games of the season.
• This is a veteran team. Per Hockey Reference, the Wild is actually one of the oldest teams in the NHL now in terms of who is contributing on the ice. Seven active regular skaters, plus Zach Parise, are all over 30. Even the players we think of as the Wild's young core — the 25-and-under guys — have played a lot of NHL games. When a team has that much experience, there can sometimes be a lack of urgency at the start of a season.
Let's see where things stand after 25 or 30 games.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
