ST. LOUIS – The answers — or lack thereof — are becoming concerning.
Wild coach Mike Yeo admits he is searching for them. General Manager Chuck Fletcher is expected to provide some Saturday during an interview with reporters.
And leaders such as Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are saying the same things after every Wild loss these days. Suter called the Wild a "very fragile team" and one that lacks confidence, and Parise responded to questions after a 4-2 defeat to the Rangers on Thursday in Manhattan after the Wild blew a 2-0 lead with a variety of "I don't know," "I'm not sure" and "I don't have an answer to that."
With the Wild, 1-8-1 in its past 10 and 3-9-3 in 2016, facing its latest pivotal game Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, there are a number of concerns:
Are players simply not responding to Yeo after hearing the same voice for five seasons? Has Fletcher simply built a team that hit its peak with consecutive Western Conference semifinal appearances and is incapable of getting over the hump? Were the youngsters who are largely not taking the next step overhyped? Are the veterans tired and worn down?
Struggling teams often make trades or coaching changes for a jolt; could players be waiting for something like that?
"That's not up to us," Parise said of the latter Thursday night. "They're the ones watching and they make those decisions. I've said it before. If we're sitting here wasting our time thinking about that, then we're jamming up our own heads and making it a lot harder on ourselves.
"You can't plan on that, you can't assume it's going to happen. Because what if it doesn't? Then we're just going to quit? We have to play better as a group and a group that's here right now."