Another 2-1 defeat for the Wild, their second straight 2-1 loss and 3rd in their last four games. Oh, and the other game in those last four is a 4-0 shutout defeat to San Jose.
There is no silver lining in last night's OT loss even with the gained point in the standings.
I like being the positive voice for the Wild and in life in general, but this Wild team is like a mediocre rerun that keeps getting shoved down our throats despite the poor ratings.
If there was something that gives the fans a glimpse of the future or some youth that gets the fan base excited and this is just part of the process.
The problem is that all we get is the statistics of how the Wild have been in similar positions in recent seasons and have made the playoffs or how Bruce Boudreau's Anaheim Ducks teams figured out how to compete when his teams struggled to score goals by playing strong defense.
My comment to all of that is what happened once all of these previous incarnations of Wild and Boudreau teams once the playoffs started? They were each met with early exits from the real NHL party.
It was no secret that this Wild lineup was "good not great" to begin with. So why not look at some of the youth within the organization as the answer to getting this current Wild squad back into the playoff picture?
The old school game of nurturing players works to a degree, but today's game in the NHL is driven by youth and skill.
Let's see what some infusion of Iowa Wild youth can do. Justin Kloos just set an Iowa Wild record with 6 points and Louie Belpedio scored the game winning goal in Friday's Iowa Wild 8-7 victory over Stockton.
The Christmas break is a good time for the Wild players to get away from the rink and take time with family to re-energize. For Wild management it is a time to assess what can be done to give Bruce Boudreau something better to work with.