Minnesota Wild: 2014-15 Turning Points

Jan 6, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save on San Jose Sharks forward

(12) during the third period at Xcel Energy Center. The Sharks defeated 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

January 13th: Wild lose 7-2 in Pittsburgh

The Wild continued to struggle towards the middle of January and were not winning enough games. It was becoming more apparent how large of a concern the team’s goaltending was. One of the best examples was a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in overtime at the Xcel Energy Center. The team had played well all night, and the game-winner was a pretty soft goal and Mike Yeo was not shy about his feelings on it after the game:

"“We’re not in a position where we can have anybody be below average. That always starts and ends with goaltending. I’m trying to be sensitive to (Kuemper’s) confidence, but that goal in overtime can’t go in.”"

That night was not the tipping point however. The Wild lost a couple more games, then got drubbed by the Penguins in Pittsburgh 7-2. That game was not Kuemper’s fault. It was Niklas Backstrom‘s turn to be insufficient that night. The game was less than two weeks after a similar beating, a 7-1 loss against the Dallas Stars. As it so happened, the Pittsburgh game was aforementioned twelfth loss in 14 games. After weeks of poor goalie play and much speculation, Fletcher made his move, which leads us to the biggest turning point of all…

Next: Fletcher Trades for Dubnyk