Wild Seek Victory Before Taking NHL All-Star Break
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The figure skaters are gone and the Minnesota Wild finally have their home ice back.
They face Arizona Monday night in their final game before the NHL All-Star Break. As David McCoy reports, the way things have been going lately, it's a bigger game than you might think.
With one game to go before a big long break, Mike Yeo is asking for focus.
"Every coach and every GM in the league is concerned about that right now," Yeo said.
The bigger concern, though, is all the losing lately. They're once again in a classic Wild mid-season slide, losing nine of their last 12, letting Colorado pass them in the standings and with Nashville now nipping at their heels, just two points behind them for the last wild card spot.
So does it frustrate Yeo that they're in this spot again, in a losing streak that always seems inevitable in January?
"Yes and no. I guess where I really want to grow and where I really want to get past and show that we're a better team is in the playoffs. And so we have to get to the playoffs and we do have a tendency sometimes to make things a little more difficult on ourselves than we wish that we did," Yeo said. "But again, this is another opportunity to fight through some adversity, to build as a team, to get through hard times and those are things you have to do in the playoffs."
After Monday night's game, the Wild won't even practice again until Feb. 1. So if there's anything to be said for gaining some positive momentum, tonight's the night.
"We could either try to point to some positives with a good result tonight, or certainly could kind of steer back toward some negatives," Yeo said.
