Pominville offers Wild fans something to worry about

The goal Thomas Vanek scored Thursday night wasn't just a goal-scorer's goal. It was wizardry. If this was Salem in the 1600s, he'd still be burning. "World-class," Zach Parise called it.

Jason Zucker sent a bullet pass toward Vanek, who was posted up to the right of Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The puck arrived at shin height, as Vanek stood facing center ice. Vanek somehow deflected it off the shaft of his stick and at an oblique angle so it sailed up and into the goal, like a laser off a mirror.

The average hockey player couldn't make that play with a shovel and an empty net. Vanek made it look as easy as swiping right.

There was that icy magic, and throughout the Wild's 3-2 victory over winless Columbus on Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center, there was Ice King Mikko Koivu continuing his strong play, winning puck battles end to end.

Vanek can appear apathetic in any given game, and was horrid in the previous game at Anaheim. Koivu has regressed from franchise player to a captain most often referred to by his defenders as "responsible," which is both accurate and the kind of compliment that makes the recipient want to knock out a front tooth.

Vanek is scoring. Koivu is playing as if his long-troublesome ankle has been replaced by a hoverboard.

Who, then, should Wild fans worry about as winter approaches?

You can pick Devan Dubnyk, who looks a shade slower this season.

My pick: Jason Pominville.

The simplistic line of thinking on the Wild is that its young players must improve for the team to improve. Well, yes. But the old, expensive players have to deliver, too.

In his first full season with the Wild, Pominville scored 30 goals.

In his second full season, Pominville scored 18, for the worst full-season production of his career.

Pominville is playing alongside the creative Mikael Granlund and the productive Parise. He's on the first power-play unit, which has been dramatically improved this season. He's on the team because of his scoring history. And he has produced none of the Wild's 17 goals.

Pominville has scored 18 goals in his past 88 regular-season games.

"It's a hard one," Parise said. "Everyone's been through it. Every scorer goes through it. That's the reality of sports and the game. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and let it come to you.

"It's a tough one. And I'm not saying this is what he's doing, but suddenly, sometimes, you want to shoot everything, when maybe the play is to hold on to it, or to curl. Your mind-set becomes, 'Throw everything on net, throw everything on net.' You just have to keep going to the net.

"Something's going to bounce off of him, a rebound is going to bounce off of him, a power-play shot is going to hit him and go in, and then you're going to feel great and no one will remember."

When Vanek coasts or Koivu hits the goalie's chest pad, we notice. Too often, Pominville is invisible.

"I talked to those guys a little bit," Wild coach Mike Yeo said of the first line. "Just a little more sustained pressure, consistency as far as creating. A lot of times we're trying to create in the neutral zone, and it's breaking up plays. We just need game reps."

A lack of "game reps" shouldn't hurt veterans who have been together for years, but Pominville looks this season like he did last season.

Thursday, he had a well-intentioned deflection and another laserlike shot, but no goals. This is no longer a slump. Until he mimics Vanek's wizardry or Parise's production, this is a problem.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at MalePatternPodcasts.com. On Twitter: @SouhanStrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com