Down 2-0, Wild is searching for its soul

The problem with being the NHL team in the state of hockey is you can't fool anyone. The fans are too knowledgeable.

That's why there are suddenly tickets available at Xcel Energy Center for a playoff series against the most natural rival the Wild can have, the team that sneaked away in the night because of a sleazy owner, stealing a beloved franchise from its natural home.

That team's eventual replacement, the Wild, will play an important game on Monday night at the X, a game that could lead to a franchise overhaul if it is lost. The Wild trails the Dallas Stars 2-0 in the series. The Wild has lost seven consecutive games, managing just seven goals during that stretch. The ice has been tilted against this team for weeks, and no one seems to have a crampon.

The owner, Craig Leipold, put himself at risk financially by signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year contracts and now needs home playoff dates and home playoff victories to break even.

The coach, John Torchetti, briefly elevated the pulse of a frequently somnambulant team but now seems lost for answers, like a tarot card reader unsure whether to reveal the bad news he has unearthed.

The franchise player, Zach Parise, is coming off a terrible season on the ice and in the organization and now has a serious back injury with nine years remaining on his contract.

The longtime captain, Mikko Koivu, has scored two goals in his last 30 playoff games.

The youngsters so often offered as hope have faded. Charlie Coyle, the team's second-leading goal-scorer this season, has produced zero goals in his past 20 games. Jason Zucker has two goals in 33 games. Erik Haula suddenly looks like the Wild's most dangerous forward yet hasn't scored since March.

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All of this — the available tickets, the lack of leadership, the lack of scoring, the lack of talent — points to the general manager's office.

Chuck Fletcher has committed serious money to underachievers. He has overrated his youngsters. On his current roster, it's hard to tell the checking lines from the scoring lines.

One move has saved Fletcher to date — trading for goalie Devan Dubnyk last winter. Dubnyk saved that season and helped the Wild beat a more talented team in the playoffs before the team held its annual exit interview with the Blackhawks. If Fletcher hadn't scored a coup with Dubnyk, he might not have made it to this season.

There isn't much to like about this franchise right now. Monday night, the Wild can start to change that. A comeback series victory against a superior team would reveal grit that, if it exists, has been largely invisible of late, and a comeback series victory would require a victory Monday at the X.

The Wild has built-in excuses for losing. Parise, its top scorer and best player, is injured. So is Vanek, who, despite his flaws, is the most gifted offensive player on the roster.

Those injuries shouldn't obscure what this team is: not only an eighth seed, but a particularly mediocre eighth seed.

A victory Monday night might only delay the inevitable for Fletcher, Torchetti and a handful of players, but it is a delay they all should crave.