The Wild overcame a two goal deficit and won a game in which they did not score the first goal of the game. Mikko Koivu broke his 24 game goalless drought and 11 game scoring slump, and the Wild opponent did not have more powerplay opportunities than they themselves had.
All good signs right?
Well for the most part yes. But the penalties were still an issue as the Wild gave the Senators four powerplay opportunities a trend that has now reach a streak of 14 games in which the Wild have allowed their opponent at least 3 man advantage opportunities and in none of these contests have the Wild had more powerplays than the opposition.
The old adage a win is a win, definitely applies with every Wild win this season. Right now this Wild team is a bit above average by sheer results alone. But that is ok, for now.
Nothing is won in December, so staying afloat and in the playoff race is good for now. The mission is clear though. This team must compete for the Stanley Cup, period end of story.
So the fact that the team is where they are currently is not bad.
The fact that there is a lot of work to be done is also good, because there is no chance of the team resting on previous accomplishments as that luxury is not the case.
The NHL season is a marathon, and as the parity becomes even greater, the final regular season standings will have little impact on playoff results, outside of the particular teams that get in.
So this year's Wild team is not as good as past Wild team's...for now.
That does not mean that they will continue to ride the current roller coaster. It just says that they have continuous work to do in order to get to where they want to be when the games really take on significant meaning.
We live in an instant gratification World, but that is not the real World and most certainly not the NHL by any stretch of the imagination. The team that will hoist the big silver chalice in June will be the one that is playing the best in April, May, and June.
So the Wild have their work cut out for them as does every other team in the league. It is December, and the calendar is about to turn to 2018. The games will start to become a lot more hotly contested. Lessons learned from the first half of the season will serve as foundation for how the team will perform in the second half of the season and beyond.
A work in progress is what it is. Every team in the NHL has been weakened by the addition of Vegas. That is a fact, that cannot be overlooked. All too often we simply assess what we see on a nightly basis from the Wild, and fail to recognize what is happening around the league to see that their is no truly dominant team.
So an off day today in Florida for the boys then back to work tomorrow at practice then back to back games on Friday and Saturday against the Panthers and Lightning respectively, before the Christmas break.
Devan Dubnyk is joining the team in Florida and with Zach Parise practicing and traveling with the team it is only matter of time before the team is at full strength. That is something that has not happened yet this season either.
Yes their are issues that need to be recognized and that are being addressed, both on and off the ice, but all in due time.
A work in progress...
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