When the Wild resumes its season this week with a difficult 3-game trip starting in Brooklyn and Manhattan, information technology'll be trying to recover from losing grasp of a playoff spot for the first fourth dimension this season.

At least the Wild's month of Jan should halt the often-used mantra, "We're still in a good spot."

Remember all those recently used gaudy stats, like how the Wild had its best commencement half in history (52 points in 41 games) or how in the 82-game Devan Dubnyk era (what would amount to a total season), the Wild'southward 111 points were 3rd-best in the NHL over that span (one point fewer than the Rangers and Capitals)?

The Wild ruined all of that with 1 lousy stretch. The Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators, unlike the Wild, took care of business heading into the All-Star suspension.

The Avalanche won half-dozen of its final eight games. The Predators won five of their final half dozen, including a road sweep of the West's cellar-home four Canadian teams.

The Wild lost ten of 13 games (3-seven-3) in January. Information technology went 0-3-ii at home and one-6-i overall after an impressive win Jan. 9 in Dallas. Certain, the Wild has a game or 3 in hand on Nashville and Colorado, but games in hand are meaningless if y'all proceed losing at home to teams similar New Jersey, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Winnipeg.

The Wild, which hasn't won more three consecutive games this season, needs to get on a run. The adept news is the Wild was 7 points out of a playoff spot after last year'southward break and went on a 24-v-1 run starting with a western Canadian sweep en route to a half dozen-game winning streak and 9-game signal streak.

Add in the 23-x-7 second half of ii years ago, at that place is precedent that the Wild'southward DNA is simply that of a squad that needs to hit rock bottom to trigger a rapid rising.

Every bit tiresome as winter swoons are, this i seems more concerning and much more complicated to gear up than the others.

The past 2 years, injuries and goaltending woes caused the Wild's stumble. General Manager Chuck Fletcher reacted with back-to-back goaltender acquisitions of Ilya Bryzgalov and Dubnyk.

This season, the Wild'southward salubrious and goaltending has not been an outcome. The problem is with the exception of recently heated-up Charlie Coyle, the Wild'due south in a team-broad goal-scoring slump.

How do yous fix that with i trade?

The pressure is on Fletcher to find a solution. But since 2013, the Wild has traded a first-round pick, four 2d-round picks and ii third-round picks in deals preceding trade deadlines. The Wild doesn't own a second- or third-round option this June or a 2018 second-rounder.

This is why Fletcher says he prefers to make a "expert hockey deal" for a player who can contribute long-term, not short-term (i.e. a rental like Matt Moulson or Chris Stewart). This is also why Fletcher says the solution still has to exist in the room.

"Nosotros've got guys who take scored earlier," coach Mike Yeo said. "Information technology's in our control. … Every game that nosotros've lost during this whole stretch has been a winnable hockey game."

There is no doubt there'southward tension in the locker room. Some may even be questioning Yeo'south defense-first system. That comes when yous're non scoring and losses are mounting.

But the Wild dominated Arizona for 2 periods last Monday. The scoring chance advantage was off the charts. Was that the organisation or were players only not scoring?

And then, it's incumbent on everybody here to prove some accountability. Coaches must effigy out a style to put players in the best position to score even if it ways hurting some feelings. And players need to stop passing up shots, need to get-go burying some odd-man rushes, be stronger on pucks, start getting to the dingy areas once again and finish blaming everybody but themselves.

The Wild has had miraculous second halves the past two years. Eventually though, the Wild won't recover from continually doing this to itself.

Everybody involved better hope this isn't the year.

Analyze this

The co-founders of state of war-on-ice.com, hockey's premier analytics site and Wild consultants since last summer, were officially hired full-time by the squad this calendar week.

Andrew Thomas received a Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard in 2009 and a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT in 2004. Alexandra Mandrycky graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 2013.

They'll work with Ben Resnick, who got his chief'due south in economics at Penn in 2007 and has been the Wild's advanced stats guru the by four years.

"A lot of encephalon power in that location," assistant GM Brent Flahr said, laughing. "You become into the office and walk in the boardroom, and they've got secret codes and it's like they're splitting the atom in there sometimes."

NHL Curt Takes

Loud, Loui?

The Wild has reportedly inquired nigh pending Boston Bruins gratis agent Loui Eriksson, but unless the Wild can significantly unload money, this would about accept to be a rental-type trade for Eriksson, rumored to exist seeking in the $6 1000000 range annually.

The Wild probable couldn't beget that. Likewise, with the Bruins currently occupying the top wild-menu spot in the East, information technology's difficult to believe they'd trade their 2d-leading scorer this soon before the Feb. 29 merchandise borderline.

Let's practise it!

In the potential rental forward market, here'south my tiptop five: 1. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay; 2. Eriksson; 3. Mikkel Boedker, Arizona; 4. Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg; 5. Eric Staal, Carolina.

WILD'S WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday: 6 p.m. at N.Y. Islanders

Thursday: 6 p.one thousand. at N.Y. Rangers

Sabbatum: 7 p.grand. at St. Louis

FSN all three nights

Player to watch: Kyle Okposo, Islanders

As the Wild plays its first game in Brooklyn, it'll have to contend with this awaiting gratis amanuensis, former Gopher and Isles leading scorer (35 points in 45 games).

VOICES

"You don't play bad teams, you lot don't have easy points, it doesn't exist. And so when y'all accept a chance to win games, you've got to win games."

— Coach Mike Yeo on three crushing losses in the by iv games.