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Wild PK fell off a cliff in playoffs, but they have a plan

Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes led a long practice Tuesday at TRIA Rink, installing a new aggressive system to address the team's penalty kill struggles during last spring's postseason.
During the playoffs, Dallas scored 66% of its goals with a man advantage, while the penalty kill ranked 15th among 16 postseason teams, converting just 15 of 38 shorthanded chances.
Minnesota acquired veteran center Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta while re-signing Nick Foligno and Michael McCarron. Coleman, a penalty killer for 10 years, said, "You've gotta have a system in place, where you're making one or two reads, and then you trust your instincts."
Hynes emphasized aggressive trigger points during zone entries and possession plays. "We can continue to be aggressive on zone entries, and on shots and rebounds, but when we are in structure and they have possession," Hynes said.
The team will test these adjustments this weekend during final exhibition games, playing Wednesday in Dallas and Friday against the Stars at Grand Casino Arena before the regular season begins.

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Wild PK fell off a cliff in playoffs, but they have a plan

ST. PAUL — The penalty kill has been the Minnesota Wild’s bete noire for the past several years, among the NHL’s 10 worst units since before the 2020-21 COVID season. It was better last season — a perfectly average 16th in the 32-team league — but fell off a cliff again during the playoffs. While Minnesota won a first-round series for the first time in 10 years, its penalty kill was pilloried by Dallas and Colorado in the playoffs, a combined 15…

8 hours ago·Fargo, United States

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