Wild can’t match Blues’ desperation, as offense struggles again

Having won their first three meetings of the season versus the Blues, and opening up a double-digit standings lead in the division heading into Saturday’s game, for the Minnesota Wild this was a chance to put St. Louis in the rear-view mirror for the rest of the season.

Instead, the Blues opened up a commanding lead on the way to a 5-1 win, leaving town with some hope, and leaving the Wild with some questions.

Specifically, fans are still inquisitive about who is going to step up offensively for a Minnesota team where two of their most notable goal-scorers remain injured, and they have been held to one regulation goal in five of their past seven games.

On this night, it was defenseman Jake Middleton giving the sellout crowd its only chance to see the goal light illuminated behind the St. Louis net, and that came only after the visitors had built a three-goal lead.

Filip Gustavsson had 22 saves for the Wild, who fell to 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, while Jordan Kyrou had three goals for St. Louis.

Due in large part to the standings cushion they developed via a 18-4-4 start to the season, the Wild remain in a strong position to make the playoffs. But with offense at a premium and none of their forwards able to solve Blues goalie Joel Hofer, they clearly looked like the less-desperate team on Saturday.

The Blues got on the board first, with just their second shot of the game, as Brayden Schenn got loose at the top of the crease and shoveled a backhander past Gustavsson barely four minutes into the contest.

Minnesota survived the first period only down by a goal, despite getting out-shot and dominated in the defensive zone by a Blues team that came into the night with slim and dwindling chances of getting into the playoffs and played with a desperation reflective of that precarious position.

After the Wild made a strong push to start the second period, including a long-range shot by Zach Bogosian that clanked the right goalpost, the Blues turned the tables and doubled their lead when Jake Neighbours popped in the rebound of a shot that had been deflected by the Minnesota defense.

The Blues had stretched their lead to 3-0 on another rebound goal that Gustavsson was powerless to stop before the Wild finally had an answer on the scoreboard.

On a chaotic play in the Blues’ zone, their goalie tried to clear the puck, only to have Middleton pick it off at the blue line. With two St. Louis players colliding and leaving lots of open ice, Middleton took a stride toward the net and blasted a shot past the goalie for his eighth goal of the season.

The ray of light seemed to ignite the Wild, who killed a penalty, then ended the period trailing 3-1, but in possession of the momentum and on their first man advantage of the game. But Kyrou’s second goal of the game on a wraparound in the latter half of the third sent a wave of Wild fans headed for an early exit. Roughly half of them were still around to see Kyrou hit an empty net to complete the hat trick. There were clearly a few boos showered on the Wild as the final seconds ticked away.

Hofer had 18 saves for St. Louis, which is now 7-2-1 in its last 10 and is making a late playoff push under new head coach Jim Montgomery, who took over the Blues’ reins in late November.

Saturday’s game marked the 800th home sellout in Wild franchise history.

In addition to all the St. Patrick’s Day revelry in St. Paul on Monday, the Wild’s current homestand rolls along as they host the Los Angeles Kings in a 7 p.m. CT start that evening. The Kings have won the first two meetings of the season versus Minnesota, 5-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Nov. 5, and 4-1 in Los Angeles on Dec. 7.

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