A Mike Reilly slapshot went wide and then another was blocked.
But the Wild wasn't deterred.
And after captain Mikko Koivu's throw from along the half-wall made it to the crease, the puck kept bouncing around amid pressure from winger Mikael Granlund until winger Nino Niederreiter could bury it past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.
It was the quintessential reward for funneling pucks and bodies to the net, a blueprint worth mimicking on ensuing power plays, but the Wild couldn't sustain this rhythm throughout its next three tries with the man advantage — a slip-up that underscored an eventual 3-1 loss Saturday in Washington.
"Sometimes we just stop doing what gets us the right thing," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's sort of bothersome."
The game was emblematic of how the season has gone for the unit, which ranked 20th in the league at 18 percent after its 1-for-4 showing against the Capitals. There have been bright spots, such as the pair of goals in the thrilling comeback victory over the Predators last week, but also costly dry spells. In five of the team's eight regulation losses, the unit has been scoreless.
And since the personnel is mostly the same as the group that slotted in the top-10 in the NHL last season, the spotlight shifts to execution.
"Sometimes guys see openings and they get a little excited about it instead of doing what we're supposed to be doing — getting back to the basics that work for us," Boudreau said.
