It’s officially been two weeks since the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Now that the draft and free agency are over and things have calmed down, it’s time to look at what the Minnesota Wild can learn from the Panthers to improve their game.
The Wild have proven they can make it to the playoffs in past years, but they haven’t made it past the first round in quite a while. The Panthers found a way to make it past the first round and all the way, even when the Oilers fought back from three games down to tie up the series. In this article, we’ll look at three items the Wild can learn from the Panthers to implement into their game going forward. We’ll start with how their goaltender stepped up when they needed it most.
Wild Need Steady Goaltending
The Wild struggled with their goaltending last season, especially Filip Gustavsson. He was coming off a stellar season in 2022-23 and had just signed a big contract following that season. This past season, however, he hit a roadblock and couldn’t find a way out. He still managed to have 20 wins, but it wasn’t enough to secure a playoff spot for his team.
Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers, now a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, had a strong regular season with 36 wins and kept it going in the postseason. His team played 24 games in the postseason, and he was in for all of them, including the 16 it took for his team to win it all. Even when it looked like his strong streak had ended when the Oilers stormed back with three straight wins, he found a way to dig deep and get that final win.
The Wild need that kind of determination in Gustavsson if he is still on the roster this season. There haven’t been any big rumors regarding his status, so it looks like he’ll be in a Wild jersey in October. Their other goaltender, Marc-André Fleury, is a stable, consistent goaltender, but he’ll be turning 40 during the season and can’t keep taking the full load of a starting goaltender. They need Gustavsson to find the goaltender he was two seasons ago and be the starter they expected like Bobrovsky did for the Panthers. If that happens, they have a strong chance at a playoff run.
Wild Need Consistent Special Teams
The Wild’s special teams were a problem all last season and contributed to the losses that kept them from the postseason. Their power play did okay, finishing 10th in the NHL, but it needed more consistency. Their penalty kill was where things were bad. They finished the season in 30th place with a 74.5 percent, which is one of the worst percentages they’ve had in their existence.
The Panthers’ power play was slightly better than the Wild’s during the regular season, but it dropped slightly in the postseason. However, their penalty kill was strong during the regular season and the playoffs. The Wild need to watch videos of how the Panthers kill off penalties, take notes, and incorporate that into their game. They have to find a way to be better on the penalty kill, or they’ll continue to lose games and miss out on the postseason.
The Panthers had a simple but effective penalty kill. They blocked the shot, took possession, and immediately threw it out of the zone. They also cycled smoothly, and players weren’t out of position. The Wild do block shots, but they often try to do too much when getting it out of the zone instead of just shooting it out. They did add a new coach, Jack Capuano, who will hopefully help in this area and get their penalty kill moving in the right direction.
Wild Need Faceoff Wins
Most of these issues have been consistent problems for the past few seasons, but the Wild need to address them and learn if they want to improve, which means figuring out how to win faceoffs. Just like their penalty kill, their faceoff losses have contributed to their losses and could’ve had different outcomes if they’d won their faceoffs.
The Panthers found a way to win faceoffs during both the regular season and the postseason, which improved their game. Winning faceoffs means possession and goals, which the Wild need more of. They have capable centers, but they all have trouble winning faceoffs for some reason. Joel Eriksson Ek has improved each season, but he and his fellow centers must continue to improve.
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That change could help fix everything else outside of goaltending, but it would also help a little bit there. If the Wild win more faceoffs, fewer shots will get to their goaltender because they’ll have possession. They’ll also be able to get the puck out of the zone faster again since they’ll have possession. It would be huge if they could get their centers to win faceoffs.
Wild Need These Changes
The Panthers did what had to be done to win it all, and the Wild need to pay attention to the little things that made all the difference. That means winning faceoffs, improving their penalty kill, and getting their goaltending more consistent. Hopefully, they watched the Stanley Cup Final and took notes so they can come back better than ever this coming season.
