Great spurt doesn't change Wild's results

Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune

The Predators’ Jean-Pierre Dumont, right, backhanded a shot over the shoulder of Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom for a 1-0 lead Wednesday night.

Little offense was generated outside a three-goal, 107-second span of the second period.

By RACHEL BLOUNT, Star Tribune

Last update: October 29, 2009 - 3:31 PM

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NASHVILLE 4, WILD 3

Up next: 7 p.m. Friday vs. N.Y. Rangers

Xcel Energy Center • TV: Ch. 45 (830-AM)

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Of all the Wild's nine losses this season, Todd Richards said this one hurt the worst. And the sinking hearts of the coach's players seemed to indicate they felt the same way.

After the Wild scored three goals in 1 minute, 47 seconds to take the lead in the second period, Nashville rallied for a 4-3 victory to give the Wild its first loss this season at Xcel Energy Center. Jerred Smithson got the game-winner at 10:44 of the third when he knocked the puck away from Marek Zidlicky on a Wild power play and raced in for a shorthanded goal. Worst of all, Richards saw a troubling change in his team's mindset that signaled just how wounded it is.

Through much of the final two periods -- even after it had taken the lead -- the Wild retreated more than it advanced. The coach viewed that as evidence that his team is playing not to lose, rather than playing to win, a sentiment echoed in a somber locker room.

"As [the losing] goes on, it gets worse and worse, because your confidence dips and dips and dips," said wing Cal Clutterbuck, who tied the score 2-2 early in the second period. "You almost start believing [a loss] is going to happen. We've got to keep away from that mentality. We can't let that creep in here."

The Predators took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Jean-Pierre Dumont and Shea Weber before the Wild unleashed two minutes of head-spinning hockey. Brent Burns scored only three seconds into a power play, pulling the Wild within 2-1 at 31 seconds of the second period, then Clutterbuck finished a 3-on-2 to tie the score at the two-minute mark.

When Owen Nolan settled a pass with his skate and whipped the puck past Dan Ellis only 18 seconds later, the Wild had a 3-2 lead. But instead of gaining confidence, the team seemed to tense up.

The Wild managed only one shot in the final 17:42 of the second period as Richards saw them yielding ground time and again. "We were playing the game not to lose rather than playing the game to win," he said. "To me, that is a huge difference in mentality.

"What I saw us doing is just retreating. We weren't pursuing pucks. Their defensemen were allowed to pick up pucks and carry them out of the neutral zone and into our zone. As a group of five, we were just backing up into our own zone."

Nashville entered the game with the NHL's least productive offense, averaging 1.7 goals per game. The Predators had won only once in their past eight games, yet they displayed lots of energy and a strong opportunistic streak. They tied the score at 6:44 of the second on a shot that ricocheted off Zidlicky's skate, and the Wild could not counter after Smithson's shorthanded goal.

"Maybe our backbone is not very strong right now," Wild winger Antti Miettinen said. "It cracks easy if the opponent scores, but it shouldn't be like that. On the power play, we had the chance to score a goal or at least get some momentum, and they end up scoring the game-winner there. It's unforgivable."

Richards didn't expect to sleep very well, with so many answers yet to be found and tough games against the Rangers and Penguins coming up. At this point, Miettinen said, all they can do is keep striving.

"Tomorrow is another day to try to improve," he said. "Work is the only way we are going to get out of this."

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