Wild shore up defensive woes that bedeviled them during five-game losing streak

Not all wins feel the same, and neither do losses.

Just look at the Wild.

They have had some phew victories; remember the Nashville game last week when the Wild squeaked by on a Marcus Johansson goal that counted despite the net being dislodged?

On the flip side, the Wild haven’t deserved all their defeats, and falling 2-1 in overtime to San Jose on Tuesday at Grand Casino Arena is the latest outcome that doesn’t align with their output.

“We played a good game,” coach John Hynes said. “We played a game that we felt was going to give us a chance to win the game. But that’s how it goes some nights.”

This effort is asterisked because of progress that’s been percolating since the Wild snapped their season-worst five-game losing streak at the start of the month: After being flimsy defensively during a rough October, the Wild have been much sturdier around the front of their net, and that’s highlighted their 4-1-1 turnaround.

“That’s us,” veteran forward Marcus Foligno said. “We have to play that way in order to be good in this league and potentially make the playoffs. That’s our game. That’s our MO.”

While losing just once in regulation during their last six games, the Wild have averaged only two goals against, the third-best clip in the NHL over that span. During their first six games, the Wild were 27th (3.67). Their next six? A grim 30th at 4.17.

“We were a little loose there for a bit,” captain Jared Spurgeon said, “and were giving up easy chances for the other team.”

Now, not so much.

The Sharks are a top-10 offense in terms of total goals, and Macklin Celebrini’s 26 points are second in the league. Celebrini, who didn’t put a shot on net against the Wild, needed to make two stellar passes to spark San Jose’s rally from a 1-0 deficit on a Matt Boldy power-play goal; after slinging the puck over to Will Smith at the end of a mad-dash power play, Celebrini sprung Collin Graf for the game-winner in overtime by threading a pass through defenseman Jonas Brodin’s legs.

“If we play defensively like this and limit high-scoring teams like we did today, we’re going to get pucks to score and we’re going to win games,” goaltender Filip Gustavsson said. “A team like this, you need a little cushion because one power play or one chance and it can turn around on one goal. That’s what happened.”

Still, that doesn’t diminish what the Wild are doing to protect their crease.

“We’re playing with a defensive conscience,” Hynes said. “We’re putting ourselves in positions where we can defend and be in a good defensive posture. The details are strong. It’s something that we talked about as we move forward here is tighten up some areas. The guys have done a good job of that.”

Helping fuel this focus is the forecheck, the Wild’s pressure down low in the offensive zone not only lightening up the defense’s workload but also keeping the Wild in the structure that enables them to support each other when the puck goes the other way.

Consequently, the Wild aren’t as vulnerable.

“There were a lot of times where the defense was jumping by us,” Foligno said, “and they would get late hits, and we were letting guys through because we were late on the backcheck. So, things like that, being a little bit more aggressive and smarter in our play, and it’s contributed to our play as of late.”

Just because the Wild didn’t score enough to hold off the Sharks doesn’t mean they can’t.

In another game on a different night, this is exactly the strategy that should reward them at both ends of the rink.