Only 11 games into their season, the Minnesota Wild already find themselves answering questions about moral victories.
Minnesota will try to post the only kind of victory it is interested in — the kind that appears on the scoreboard — when it faces off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild are coming off back-to-back overtime losses, against the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. The fact that Minnesota earned one point in each contest offers some solace to a team that is slumping, but it does not change its players’ overall sour mood.
“Moral victories don’t mean much these days,” Wild defenseman Jake Middleton said. “But yeah, we thought we deserved a better fate (in our latest OT defeat).”
The Wild’s next test is to try to knock off the Penguins, who have earned at least one point in seven consecutive games, going 5-0-2.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. That contest started a four-game road trip for the Penguins, who will travel to face the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs after their game in Minnesota.
Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs said he and his teammates felt confident despite their most recent result as they turned their attention to facing the Wild.
“It’s not the greatest feeling to lose in a shootout,” Silovs said, “but I think getting (a) point is crucial.”
Silovs has split time along with Tristan Jarry in net for the Penguins this season. Silovs is 3-1-2 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in six games, and Jarry is 4-1-0 with a 2.62 GAA and a .916 save percentage in five games.
If Silovs starts on Thursday, it would be his first career outing vs. Minnesota.
Jarry has faced the Wild five times in his career. He is 4-0-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .913 save percentage in those contests.
Minnesota likely will counter with Filip Gustavsson, who is 2-5-1 with a 3.42 GAA and an .889 save percentage in eight games. He has faced Pittsburgh four times in his career, and he has posted a 1-3-0 record with a 4.04 GAA and a .873 save percentage.
Wild coach John Hynes said he wanted to see more of a north-south game plan from his players. He saw progress in the latest game, which offered him hope.
“From an offensive standpoint, it was direct,” Hynes said. “We were at the net. We were on the inside. I think when you look at how we scored goals and the other opportunities, that’s more indicative of what’s going to give you a chance to win more nights.”
Keep working, Hynes believes, and the wins will come.
“When you get in these little funks, sometimes you don’t just come right out of it,” he said. “There’s a process to get out of it. There’s a style of game. There’s a dig factor. There’s a diligence to your game that you need to have. Then you climb and you play well.”
