Wild's pull-the-goalie strategy is about team success, Evason says, even when it doesn't work

EDMONTON, ALBERTA – No one in the NHL has been more effective with the goaltender on the bench for an extra attacker than the Wild.

The team leads the league in 6-on-5 goals, scoring its 14th last week in Winnipeg, which is already a franchise record.

But the setup isn't always a slam-dunk success, and the Wild addressed the situation Sunday morning after the team gave up two empty-net goals to Florida in a 6-2 loss on Friday at Xcel Energy Center — tallies that inflated individual statistics like plus-minus.

"Our group's great at being team-first," coach Dean Evason said. "But it's not a secret that players take stats into contracts when they're doing that. We just wanted to clarify that that's not how we are doing things. It's not how we do it as an organization.

"There was not an issue; nobody had come to us or anything like that. We just wanted to clarify that we're doing everything we can to try to have success."

Against Florida, the Wild sent goaltender Cam Talbot to the bench with 10 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the third period at the beginning of a Wild power play and the team responded with a 6-on-4 goal that cut the deficit to two. Talbot returned to the crease, left again with 7:20 to go and wasn't back between the pipes until after the Panthers dumped two pucks into vacant nets.

Evason said it's a situational feel that dictates when the goalie should exit the ice rather than a set time, and it's a strategy the Wild practices.

"It's about being hungry for the puck," center Joel Eriksson Ek said, "and being two guys near the puck the whole time so they don't really get a good chance to clear it or they don't have time to make a play out of the zone."

A day after he was ushered up from the minors to join the Wild, Calen Addison was in the lineup against the Oilers.

The defenseman was playing for the first time in 10 days after getting injured with Iowa in the American Hockey League. Addison filled out a pairing with Jon Merrill. Jordie Benn was scratched.

"No matter how the team's doing, good or bad or anything like that, I'm always trying to come in with the same mind-set, do the same things every day in practice and game and just give our team the best chance to win," said Addison, who had family in attendance at Rogers Place.

This latest opportunity for the 21-year-old comes after an impressive stint last month that included Addison tallying a goal and assist in a 5-1 win at Chicago on Jan. 21, the first multipoint game of his career. But he was out of the lineup the next night when captain Jared Spurgeon returned from injury, and Addison was eventually sent back to Iowa.

"Of course, it's tough," he said. "Everyone's human. Everyone wants to be the best and be at the best level they can be at all the time. Obviously, I'm a competitor. So, I obviously want to be here. But I'll do anything it takes to have the team win here and be successful."

Nick Bjugstad also suited up for the Wild on Sunday after a lengthy absence, brought on by a broken finger suffered in a Jan. 4 practice.

The winger skated on the fourth line with Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar, with Dewar taking over at center for Nico Sturm, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

"We talked to them personally," Evason said, referring to Sturm and Benn. "We had good chats with both. Both peeved off as you can imagine, but big part of our team — both of them — and they will be back in there at some point."

Since getting added from the AHL for the second time this season, Dewar has played in every Wild game since Jan. 6, carving a niche as a speedy checker on the fourth line and penalty kill.

"He's played the game the right way and deserves to stay in," said Evason, who praised Dewar's grit and "bite."