Yes, I know the team got back on the winning track with a 3-0 victory last night in Los Angeles, scoring goals at even strength, shorthanded and with the man advantage. It was a great win, but let's set that aside for a bit.
It still doesn't change the fact that January has not been a kind month to the hometown boys so far; the record sits at 3-6-2. Strangely enough, that includes a 2-1 win in Dallas, historically a tough place for the Wild to play. It also includes a recent five-game losing streak to lowly teams like New Jersey, Buffalo and Winnipeg.
On a positive note, they were only one of two teams (Detroit was the other) that had not been shut out this season. Until Jan. 15 when the Wild lost 1-0 at home to Winnipeg. They followed that up the next night with another shutout loss to Nashville, this time 3-0.
That streak continued into the game in Anaheim, racking up a total of 127 minutes and 36 seconds without a goal. That's a lot of hockey without seeing that red light go off. And that one goal against the Ducks came from an unlikely source, Jarret Stoll, marking his first tally with the Wild.
The past few seasons, the Wild has run into this slump in the bleak midwinter. Last season, they acquired Devan Dubnyk to save the season and make an unbelievable run to the playoffs. I think most of us out there agree a season-saving trade like that is pretty rare.
This year, the Wild showed some signs of a slump near the end of November, as some said they reached their annual slump a little earlier than usual. It seems like that was just a preview of what was to come in January: A lack of scoring and an abysmal power play. One that went 0-for-25 before Zach Parise's goal Thursday night.
Here's the deal about slumps. No team goes through a season and plays perfectly every time out. Losing streaks, injury issues and even flu bugs or the mumps plague teams.
The Wild doesn't just lose a few games though. When they have trouble winning games, they really go all out. It's not a few losses to tough teams or tight 4-3 or 2-1 defeats. Often times, the effort just isn't there. Especially last season, I remember reading player comments after the game. That locker room seemed at a loss for how to come out of such struggles.
Is that normal for teams year in and year out? Could be. Because the truth is, I've only followed the Wild closely, not other teams. Bias opinion or not, I say the Wild seems to fall off the rails a little more than everybody else.
I think some of us were a little surprised when the Wild - on the second night of a back-to-back - shut out the Kings on the road. The way things were going, how could you not be? Plus, they scored three goals.
Obviously, Saturday's game against San Jose will be a good indicator as to whether they've really got their game back.
To answer my earlier question, yes, I do think this is the annual slump.
Now let's see how the team pulls itself out of it this time.
This was originally posted at WildXtra.com.
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