Wild want “shot mentality” to foil Vegas’ block party

LAS VEGAS An experienced Sin City gambler will tell you that if your number doesn t hit when they spin the roulette wheel the only way to recoup your losses is to try and try again In a Championship loss to the Golden Knights in their NHL playoff opener the Minnesota Wild sent more than shots toward the Vegas net and only of them literally made it to the goalie Two of them both off the stick of Matt Boldy went in Satisfied with the effort if not the end in a - loss on Sunday Wild coach John Hynes disclosed the plan headed into the second contest in the series was more of the same as shooting is the only way to outcome eventually I think we had shot attempts Hynes disclosed He was off by one as the Wild had shots blocked and another that missed added to the that reached the Vegas goal The coach noted that in a series which could go seven games every shot that is blocked takes a toll on the opponent s defense You know going into a series that s gonna happen he stated But you block that numerous shots too it could be a long series It could be selected ankles broken You gotta keep triggering All season Hynes has talked about having a shot mentality and prior to Tournament disclosed that will be the approach throughout the playoffs To the Wild players that means an major balance of attacking offense and defensive responsibility It s big especially for a contestant like me I like to be around the net so anytime someone is shooting the puck it s apparently going to go my way a little bit more declared Wild forward Justin Brazeau A unit like Vegas is pretty stingy and they pile into the D-zone and kind of make it hard to make the seam plays so anytime we re able to put pucks to the net and find rebounds it ll be big for us Centers flipped at the start There were no personnel changes during the Wild s Tuesday morning skate at T-Mobile Arena but one line change of note Hynes swapped centers on the third and fourth lines moving Ryan Hartman up to play between Marcus Foligno and Gustav Nyquist and putting Marco Rossi in the fourth line center position between Yakov Trenin and Brazeau He s obviously a guy who likes to have the puck he s got a lot of skill so I think it s big for us Brazeau reported of the alignment with Rossi who played in his first career playoff contest in Contest We re able to get in there and create - pucks and try to get pucks back for him just kind of let him do his thing in the offensive zone make sure we re at the net He s a really skilled sportsman so we ve got to make sure we re doing the little things for him Rossi played all regular season games and was second on the Wild offensively with goals and assists Hynes reminded reporters after the morning skate that he s not afraid to change lines in-game but commented he would give the new combos a try at least early on I think we ll take a look at that coming into the challenge and see where it goes he stated Just a little tweak and see what it looks like Suspension is well-timed Wild defenseman Zeev Buium played with his older brother Shai in the - season at Denver where the pair won a NCAA title Shai played defense this season in the Detroit Red Wings system for their AHL gang the Grand Rapids Mich Griffins Due to his commitments there it looked like Shai would not be able to see his brother s NHL debut until certain well-timed discipline On Friday not long after the Wild arrived in Vegas for the playoffs Shai left the bench during an altercation as Grand Rapids was playing Rockford and the AHL suspended the elder Buium for one competition With him unable to play in their Saturday challenge versus Texas the Griffins gave Shai permission to go to Nevada for Competition He flew into Las Vegas on Sunday watched Zeev s debut with his family then took an overnight flight back to Michigan to rejoin the Griffins Related Articles Wild Zeev Buium s NHL debut was a mix of poise and promise Wild forward Ryan Hartman didn t take the Knights Meeting bait More of same in postseason Wild drop Competition in Vegas NHL playoffs Vegas handles Wild in Contest Wild rely on Joel Eriksson Ek s intensity I wouldn t call him nice