Vladimir Tarasenko making an instant impact on Wild power play

WASHINGTON – If the puck doesn’t land on Zeev Buium’s stick when he’s quarterbacking the Wild power play, Buium believes there’s a good reason why … even if he isn’t sure exactly what it is.

“You know something is gonna happen,” the rookie defenseman said. “I trust those guys more than I trust myself.”

But the Wild aren’t just in sync: Their execution is on point, a 10-for-21 run turning the new-look power play into the Wild’s sharpest tool at their disposal four games into the season.

“I think we can even score more,” Vladimir Tarasenko said.

Besides Buium, Tarasenko is the other addition to the unit, posting up on the half-wall, and it’s as this conduit that he has made the most impact a week into his Wild tenure.

All four of the veteran winger’s points have been power-play assists, with Tarasenko factoring into three Kirill Kaprizov goals, and communication has been a constant. The unit, which also includes Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek, is talking on the bench and before faceoffs to figure out positioning and how to adapt to the way the opposition is defending them.

“They’re very smart guys,” Tarasenko said. “So, if you see open space, you just go there.”

“Things get magnified in the beginning of the season,” coach John Hynes said.

Case in point: The power play, but also the lack of production when the Wild have just as many skaters in action as the other team.

Only four have they capitalized at 5-on-5. But like on the power play, this is an area Tarasenko can help.

The longtime scorer is still awaiting his first goal with the Wild since coming over in a trade from the Red Wings, and the Wild planned to meet with Tarasenko for a video session.

During his best seasons, Tarasenko racked up well over 200 shots, and he came close to 300 when he had his 40 and 39-goal campaigns with St. Louis in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.

“It’s us trying to help him and show him areas where maybe he can use his shot a little bit more,” Hynes said. “If he gets three, four shots a night, I think that’s when he’s at his best and when I think he’s a real scoring threat.”

On his sixth team in three years, Tarasenko feels he is still learning the Wild’s style, but he is also thinking less on the ice and getting more comfortable each game.

“I’m having fun playing hockey now, which I missed before,” the 33-year-old said after practicing Thursday in Washington before the Wild’s road trip resumes Friday against the Capitals. “I’m having fun being around the guys. It’s a hardworking team. You pressure. You check. You always try to don’t win the game in the first 10 minutes. You just try to wear the team down.”

Although Hynes juggled the forwards before the Wild’s rally fell short in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at Dallas, Tarasenko is back with Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, and the scarce scoring at 5-on-5 isn’t indicative of the Wild’s attempts; they put another 41 pucks on net vs. the Stars.

The Wild are missing a playmaker in Mats Zuccarello; Zuccarello and Nico Sturm aren’t on the trip as they both recover from surgery, Zuccarello on a lower-body injury and Sturm on his back. The Wild also sent defenseman David Jiricek to the minors.