Crosby, Penguins scoring prowess to challenge Wild's stingy defense

As the Wild prepared to start a five-on-five drill at Monday's practice, coach Mike Yeo skated to center ice and offered a reminder.

"A huge key [Tuesday],'' he said, "is going to be the way we execute and the way we defend.''

In other words: Business as usual. The Wild enter Tuesday's home game against Pittsburgh as the best defensive team in the NHL, allowing league-lows of 1.8 goals and 22.9 shots per game. The Penguins, though, present the Wild with its stiffest challenge yet.

Three of the Penguins' forwards—Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist—are among the top six scorers in the league. Still, the Wild has shut down other top lines and individual stars this season, including the Colorado combo of Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog; the Dallas trio of Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin; and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos.

None of those players registered a point against a disciplined Wild defense. Several Wild players said they don't need any new twists to contain the Penguins' sharpshooters, just the same unified strategy carried out over 60 minutes.

"It's a collective effort,'' said defenseman Marco Scandella, tied with Ryan Suter for the team lead at plus-9. "The forwards back us up when we're jumping into the play offensively, and we're having great communication right now, moving the puck to get out of the defensive zone and using each other.

"It's a process. We've been building this for a couple of years now, and we're starting to learn each other's tendencies pretty good. Teams are starting to realize [the Wild's defensive prowess] when they come into our building.''

Yeo said he is "really anxious'' to see how the Wild fares against the league's highest-scoring team (4.10 goals per game). Its defensive plan begins with awareness of when the Penguins' stars are on the ice, then sticking close to them to take away their time and space to make plays.

Erik Haula, one of the team's top defensive forwards, pointed to the Wild's ability to force opponents to labor for every goal they get. Against players such as MacKinnon and Seguin, the forwards and defensemen worked in concert to limit odd-man rushes and easy goals.

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper appreciates how comfortable the Wild has been in its own zone, forcing turnovers and knowing when to apply pressure.

Forward Zach Parise — who knows firsthand what it feels like to be a scorer targeted for extra attention — said that keeping the puck away from its opponent has been the Wild's best defensive strategy this season. Barring that, the Wild will need to bottle up the Penguins' stars.

"The best thing against guys like that is to make them spend long shifts in their own zone,'' he said. "When you play on a scoring line, when you find yourself in your own zone the whole night, it gets really frustrating.''