Torchetti puts Wild through a hard practice after loss against Oilers

Before the Wild's practice Friday, coach John Torchetti had his team watch the film of Thursday's 2-1 loss to Edmonton at Xcel Energy Center.

That couldn't have been much fun.

And then the players hit the ice and were put through an extremely intense practice. It included battle drills, working with the puck, getting a presence in front of the net. And the intensity could be seen in at least a couple of high sticks and one shot that hit goalie Devan Dubnyk in his throat protector.

"It didn't feel good," Dubnyk said.

But then, neither did Thursday's listless loss. Which is why Torchetti had his team work on pretty much everything it didn't do Thursday.

"We didn't get pucks behind 'em, and that's a big disappointment for me," Torchetti said. "We wanted to get a little bit of battles going, then carry it over into the next game."

Friday in Montreal the Wild begins yet another crucial stretch in a season that has dwindled to 14 games. It is a stretch of three consecutive road games against non-playoff foes. The Wild is still outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in, two points behind eighth-place Colorado with a game in hand.

The good news: Dubnyk, who missed Thursday's game with an illness, is ready to play, though Torchetti didn't say who would start in goal Friday. And the Wild leaves town knowing the team is 5-2 on the road since Torchetti took over as coach.

The bad news: Jason Pominville will miss Friday's game because of a lower body injury, prompting the Wild to recall Jordan Schroeder from Iowa. Torchetti said he would be plugged into the lineup, likely replacing Justin Fontaine on a line with Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter.

And then there is the lingering disappointment with the way the Wild played Thursday while dropping to 2-8-3 at Xcel Energy Center since Dec. 28.

"I don't think we got what we wanted last night, the desperation to get pucks deep," Torchetti said. "That was the No. 1 thing we talked about. We got to watch the film, and everyone got to watch some of their shifts, their puck possession time, on the little details of puck support. And how much we've got to make sure we get pucks behind 'em and work the cycles better offensively."

The Wild will have a while before trying to figure out the mystery of Xcel Energy Center and hope their recent success on the road continues. After Montreal, the Wild plays at Ottawa on Tuesday and at New Jersey on Thursday.

Even in its two road losses under Torchetti — Philadelphia and Washington — the Wild played strong games. Perhaps the confidence recently gained on the road will carry over. But time is growing short. And the Avalanche has won two straight and three of four since losing to the Wild on March 1.