Obviously the lesson from Saturday was not learned by the Wild as they took another late 3rd period penalty that led to the Rangers tying goal and OT was more of the same old Wild.
Leaving points on the table is never good and for a team like the Wild who have to dig out of the early season hole that they put hemselves into, it makes for a much tougher climb.
The 3 on 3 woes continue as Boudreau looks to find the right combinations that can A. win faceoffs B. control the puck and C. convert on scoring opportunities. That of course assumes D. that the Wild play man on man defense well enough to eliminate opposition grade A scoring chances.
All of those elements have been missing from the Wild's four extra frame contests this season and this the winless record in 3 on 3.
The bigger issue to me is the lack of shut down mode for the team that has one of the better defense units along with Boudreau's trusted vets how did two straight third period leads get away in the final few minutes?
Just maybe Boudreau's trusted vets are not as trustworthy as they once were?
That combined with a lack of discipline especially on Hartman's part last night taking a penalty that was clearly a lack of focus.
Hartman has been very good and he is prone to taking the bad penalty every now and then and last night it proved to be very costly.
On the positive side of the coin the Wild did get another point on the road and could make this a very successful 3-game trip with a win tonight in New Jersey.
Kaapo Kahkonen will make his long awaited NHL debut tonight in the Wild net.
The second half of a back to back to me often favors the team that played the night before and in this case there was no travel to speak of unless you consider the George Washington Bridge travel which of course can be a logistical challenge at times. So the combination of back to back and a rookie goalie playing in his first game expect the Wild to be on their game as far as playing smart and forcing the play to the walls whenever possible.
A winnable road game and four points from the trip will make Thanksgiving all that much sweeter in the State of Hockey.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!