EDMONTON, ALBERTA - The Wild is a team that lives and dies with its special teams, which helps explain why the Wild is such a morbid road team.
Heading into tonight's game against the Oilers, the Wild, 4-9-1 away from Minnesota, is tied with Vancouver for having scored the NHL's second-fewest 5-on-5 goals (40). It has allowed 57, the 10th-most.
At home, the Wild has gotten away with poor 5-on-5 play because of a league-best 25.6 percent home success rate on the power play. But on the road, not only does the Wild rank 23rd at a 12.1 percent clip, it has had the third-fewest power-play chances (58).
So, the equation is obvious: Hardly getting power plays on the road + Not scoring on the few you are getting + Being lousy 5-on-5 = Deep, Deep Trouble.
"No question, it's a concern," leading scorer Brian Rolston said. "You've got to be able to establish things 5-on-5."
It all comes down to sustained pressure and winning one-on-one puck battles, something the Wild rarely does consistently away from the roar of the home crowd.
Take Tuesday's 5-2 loss at Calgary, for example.
• In Calgary's end (offensively), "We'd get that initial rush and maybe get one shot but nothing else," Rolston said. "Sustained pressure either creates goals or causes penalties for them and power plays for us."
• In the Wild's end (defensively), "Nobody supported," defenseman Kim Johnsson said. "At home, everybody's working the same way. On the road, everybody's working, but we're not working together."
That's the common denominator in most of the Wild's road losses this season, as well as last season when the Wild finished 28th with 121 5-on-5 goals.
"Support" was the message of the day from coach Jacques Lemaire.
After watching the film of Tuesday's loss again, Lemaire said, "There's no support, there's no team concept. ... I don't know, it seems like when we play a bad game, everyone chips in."
To a layman, hockey might seem like a sport where 10 players are skating chaotically, but the reality is each skater has a tactical job to do at every inch of the ice.
• Offensively, "As forwards, if one guy goes in to separate a player from the puck, the other two better be supporting, or you're not going to get a whole lot done," winger Mark Parrish said. "It's doing it as a whole, as a line, as a trio, not just one guy. Somebody has to be backing up, another has to be high ready to jump and pounce if there's a loose puck."
• Defensively, "When a guy gets pressure on the puck carrier, a second guy has to be there to take the pass away, especially in the corners," Johnsson said. "We're not doing that, which is killing us 5-on-5."
Winless on the road since Nov. 16, the Wild hopes tonight's the night it turns things around. Last season, the Wild won all four games in Edmonton.
"We're a different team at home, and it's about time we elevate our game on the road," Rolston said. "We have to expect to win on the road."
Etc.
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