The Wild haven’t been at full strength for a month now, and it’s starting to show in their results.
After a valiant run while missing multiple key players, the Wild were upstaged 3-1 by the Flames on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center to drop a third straight game with their most patchwork lineup to date.
This is their longest losing streak of coach John Hynes’ tenure, which stands at 11-6.
Calgary held off the Wild with a two-goal first period, including a last-minute tally from Jonathan Huberdeau, an empty-netter by Blake Coleman and 28 saves from goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Pat Maroon scored for the Wild, his first goal in 15 games, and Marc-Andre Fleury (30 saves) remained at 550 career victories — one shy of tying Patrick Roy for second place in NHL history.
But Fleury will keep getting a chance to match and then surpass Roy because Filip Gustavsson will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Also sidelined week-to-week is Kirill Kaprizov (upper-body injury). He and Gustavsson were hurt last Saturday at Winnipeg, but they aren’t even the most recent additions to the Wild’s injury list.
Marcus Foligno didn’t suit up on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury.
The Wild also placed Vinni Lettieri on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, creating a roster spot to recall Sammy Walker from the minors and get to the 12-forward minimum vs. Calgary.
Factor in the ongoing recoveries of Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello from their respective upper-body injuries, and the Wild were at their most depleted of the season, missing five regulars and a frequent call-up in Lettieri.
While they admirably weathered the beginning of these absences, going 7-1 since their first game without Brodin before the three-game slump, these holes in the lineup are looking tougher for the Wild to overcome.
Case in point: their start against the Flames.
Calgary was sharper and was rewarded for it, with Andrew Mangiapane deflecting in a Rasmus Andersson shot 11:40 into the first period.
But what really stung the Wild was their deficit doubling before the first adjourned: with 24 seconds left in the period, Huberdeau caught an Elias Lindholm pass in stride while crashing the net and tucked the puck behind Fleury.
The Wild finally answered back at 9:28 of the second when Maroon buried a Nic Petan rebound off a shot initially set up by Maroon. Later in the period, Alex Goligoski came close to delivering the equalizer when his shot rang off the post.
But overall, the Wild lacked the execution needed to polish off a comeback and snap their skid.
Their power play went 0-for-3, with two of those chances in the third before Coleman’s empty-net goal with 57 seconds left. The Flames were 0-for-1 in their first win in three games against the Wild this season.