GM Fletcher isn't interested in overreacting to Wild's woes
Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher has seen his team struggle to score and fall to the middle of the pack of the Central Division.
With the Wild (22-15-8) mustering just 15 goals during a 2-5-2 stretch, Fletcher told reporters that he's looking into ways to stop the bleeding - whether via trade or promoting a player from Iowa of the American Hockey League. Fletcher, however, was quick to note that sometimes the solution is found from within.
"The most likely scenario is going to be just to find a way to play better with the group we have and we play our way out of our little scoring slump and get back to the way we were scoring earlier in the year. If something makes sense, we'll do it. But usually the solution's in the room and not found on the outside."
The Wild haven't been finding anything of late, as they were shut out in consecutive contests over the weekend. Minnesota's 1-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday and 3-0 setback to the Nashville Predators the following night extended the club's losing skid to four games.
FINAL: Predators 3, Wild 0 The #MNWild have lost seven of nine games. They've scored 15 goals in those nine and two were on an empty net.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 17, 2016
Forwards Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter are just two of the many struggling to find their offensive rhythm. The former has just one goal - into an empty net, no less - in 26 games while the latter has tallied only twice in 29 contests.
Granlund: "Two games, no goals. The fact is you can’t win the hockey game if you don’t score. We all need to take a deep breath." #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) January 17, 2016
A punchless power play hasn't helped matters, either. The Wild are 0-for-21 with the man advantage during the last 10 games.
Minnesota looks to get back on track Wednesday when it plays the second contest of its four-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks (19-18-7).
