A few days off for the Wild as they ponder a 1-2-1 homestand that has them still looking up at playoff position sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference.

Traditionally the Wild have struggled January and February and given the horrendous October the team had there is no room for any kind of swoon.

Combine that with the home heavy schedule if the Wild are going to make a move up the standings it must happen over the next six weeks. Much like the beginning of the season and the Wild end of the year is largely played outside of the State of Hockey.

The practice time needs a renewed focus on the penalty kill which has been atrocious to say the least. Typically a point of strength for the Wild this year the PK has been anything but that. The Wild PK has yielded five goals against in the last three home games including the game tying tally late in Sunday's shootout loss to the Flames.

The poor Wild penalty kill has directly resulted in standings points for two teams the Wild are battling for position with, the Jets and Flames. Three point games are something that the Wild cannot be part of if they intend on climbing up the Western Conference standings and putting some gap between themselves and the non-playoff bound squads.

The recent 4-5-1 leaves more questions than answers for Bill Guerin, Bruce Boudreau and the Minnesota Wild.

To say that it is just the PK would be an understatement as the powerplay has been anemic to say the least.

Special teams will separate the field in every category from making the playoffs to advancing to winning so getting that right will go a long way in deciding the Wild's fate.

In other Wild news, Kaapo Kahkonen has been recalled from Iowa on an emergency basis as it has been made public that Devan Dubnyk will again be away from the team as he attends to his wife's health concerns.

Kahkonen played very well in his first NHL action going 2-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .913 save percentage. I would expect to see the young Finn get some more time in the Wild net as the Wild assess their organizational goaltending situation, combined with the recent struggles of Alex Stalock.

Boudreau has done a fine job with this Wild team and his toughest challenge is at hand as he looks to bring them together through the doldrums of January and February in the NHL schedule.

Join the Discussion: » 3 Comments » Post New Comment

» Walker Up, Goligoski On LTIR

» Wild Look To Tighten Up The D Zone

» New Season Of Hope For Wild

» Kirill Gets The "A"

» Zuccarello Extended For 2 Years