Wild moved among NHL’s elite with 13-game point streak, but laid an egg in Calgary

CALGARY, ALBERTA – What was more unusual than the Wild’s first regulation loss in 13 games?

The display that caused it.

“We got outplayed tonight,” coach John Hynes said after a listless 4-1 letdown to Calgary on Thursday that halted the Wild’s point streak at 12 games — two back of tying the franchise record.

“It was the first time in a while I’ve seen us get outcompeted, get outskated, get outexecuted,” Hynes continued. “It wasn’t a good night for us.”

Poor performances happen.

That the Wild fended off a dud as long as they did is admirable considering the circumstances: They went 10-0-2 without being at full strength and on the heels of an October so miserable that a drastic turnaround felt necessary to salvage their season.

They have the fourth-most points and eighth-best win percentage in the NHL as result of their surge.

“It’s a daily thing,” he said. “You gotta be ready to go, and tonight we weren’t, and that’s what happens. In this league, every night, it’s a hard night and tonight for whatever reason — we had a day off yesterday. Didn’t have bad travel [coming from Edmonton].

“No excuses for it tonight, that’s for sure.”

The first game after a long road trip tends to be tough for the home team, and Calgary appeared to be falling into that trap by taking three first-period penalties — including a high stick on rookie defenseman Zeev Buium that led to a four-minute power play.

But the Wild let the Flames off the hook.

Their power play struggled to make passes, let alone score goals. The Wild put just six shots on net during the eight minutes they outnumbered Calgary, with the top unit particularly out of sync; after going 0-for-2, Hynes actually started the second unit at the beginning of the four-minute chance.

“Faceoffs. Execution on entries. Puck battles. Willingness to shoot. Slowed it down. You name it,” Hynes said, rattling off all the issues with a power play that now hasn’t capitalized in its last four games.

And yet the Wild were 1-1 going into the third period after Calgary’s Jonathan Huberdeau and Yakov Trenin traded goals in the second.

Being neck-and-neck was in the Wild’s wheelhouse during their point streak: They went 5-0 in one-goal games and had just held off the Oilers 1-0 Tuesday night at the beginning of their road trip.

But the Wild that played the third period wasn’t like the lineup that previously prevailed; the Flames’ next two goals came off the rush, which the Wild had been limiting during their run. Calgary also capitalized with the Wild’s net empty.

They also got a sense of what it’s been like to face them while Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson were as locked-in as they have been.

“They had some key saves in key moments,” said veteran Mats Zuccarello, whose return from injury coincided with the Wild’s point streak. “Gotta find a way.”

Off nights are a reality.

But it’s why the Wild received this result that they need to make a one-off.

“We’ll draw on [the fact] we’ve been playing good hockey as of late,” defenseman Zach Bogosian said. “You don’t want them to happen, but these things happen. Games like this happen. Learn from it. Move on from it.

“We have two games left on this road trip. Can’t hang our heads. Get ready to work in Vancouver [Saturday], and get back to our game, get back in the win column.