What are some keys when fill-in players jump in and they need to mesh well in a hurry?

Well, I think number one, the number one key is our systems.

We can lean back.

We can fall back on our systems.

Those guys that are coming up, I mean, we have a deep organization.

Billy does a good job at having players ready to get called up at any given moment, any position, and we really lean on our positioning and our systems to give us a fallback on success.

Obviously, we have some key players out and some big vocal leadership, and everybody's just got to step up and do their job.

But like, like what's the teach here when it comes to battling personal frustration when you know something is eventually going to happen en masse, but it's just not happening? How do you push through that?

things.Consistency from Quinn to just, you know, points every game, obviously defensively as well

Yeah, I think, uh, Hughes is playing really well, as you said, on, on both sides of the puck, and that's ...

You know, it's, it, it's great to see.

I mean, he's such a talented player, and he's getting the points, but I think when you look at him from a defensive standpoint, there's, there's max effort there too.

He's ... battles at the net front, he closes hard in the D zone.

He's, you know, he's been responsible, so, you know, for him to play that way and be a top player, you know, that's what, that's what drives teams, when, when you have guys like him that play on both sides of the puck with, you know, the same amount of intensity and effort.

[upbeat music]

Obviously we're taking too many minors.

What's the key to success then when you get back on home ice against a Golden Knights team that's similar to Florida, very tough?

Yeah, I think it's just we're, we're excited to be home and, and be in front of our crowd, and like you said, it's a, it's a rare time, uh, early in the season that we're playing at home.

It's, uh, you always wanna protect home ice and, and play really hard, and I think in the past, the Wild have had some success against the, the, the Knights just by great forechecking.

And, and like I just said before, we were moving our feet in the O zone against Florida where I think we were a little stagnant in Buffalo and Tampa.

And if we can continue to do that, it's, it, it puts, puts a lot of pressure on teams.

Then by the third period, they wear down and, um, they don't have much left.

So if we can continue to do that, pound their D, um, bring a physical, physical aspect to our game tonight, um, I like our chances.

What's the mindset that has made the penalty kill so rock solid i- in this early season?

What's it like for you? Well,

that's nice of Bruno to say.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

No, he was, this has just been a great, it was a great place for me for such a long time.

And it helped me overcome tons of challenges I've had, both professionally and, you know, off the ice.

And I'm forever grateful to this organization.

And, you know, Tons of emotions always coming back here.

Do you talk about what you want to accomplish every night, or do you guys just kind of know what you need to do to go out there to set the

Last one from me, the potential upside of this organization and what makes this, what makes you feel the future is bright for what Bill Guerin is putting together here, including yourself moving forward.

Yeah, that's the thing, too.

I think moving forward, this team is in a great spot.

It's in a great window to... to compete for the Stanley cup.

Um, you know, it, I don't know about you guys, but, but watching hockey right now, it's kind of killing me wishing we were there and what could have been.

And, but I think we're in a, we're in a great window right now.

And that's why, you know, I did want to stay, um, as every, uh, elite athlete, uh, would, would say, uh, winning, winning the championship is probably their number one, uh, priority and, and what they want to get out of their professional career.

Where does that show up the most to you when you're around the team or around Billy or whatever? Where does that kind of show up for a player, I guess, to see that?

But, you know, to have a 3-0 lead and let it see it slip like that.

It stings for sure.

Haven't really even, hasn't gone through my head quite thoroughly yet.

It's a tough way to go for sure.

I think maybe it seemed like we were a little tired.

I don't know.

As a group, just going through – I know it was a big thing in the Minnesota sports world to get out of the first round.

Michael, will you consider a return or just what's kind of on your mind as you ponder your future this summer? Would you like to come back or will you consider the wild?

in the last couple of games?

Pretty good, I thought.

Last game, I think they got a jump off a draw that we won, and kind of a broken play, and even two games ago, too, McKinnon's goal was kind of a broken play, and unfortunate our guy kind of pushed the other guy.

I thought it was the other way around.

I thought he jammed our goalie, but looking back, yeah, our guy kind of buried Lanscock into our own goalie, so kind of a couple tough breaks, but I think overall, I like the way that our PK's going.

I think we're We're a lot more aggressive, a lot more black and white in where our details should be, and I think it's been good.

How much did they do differently, too? Do you still have a response from them, I guess, last game? Yeah,

I thought they were better.

Unfortunately, we just weren't able to, to

toTo stop their pressure, I think we let them go for two straight periods.

All their guys were f- really feeling it, and, um, when that happens, those guys get in a groove, and they found ways to score in the third, and, and we didn't.

Why, why do you think, uh, you know, after the Sturm goal, uh, that's three shifts in a row, as you mentioned, where they just hemmed you in?

Yeah, I'm not sure.

Um, I said it a couple, couple days ago.

Shifts after goals are the biggest shifts in the games, and, um, you wanna try to ride that momentum.

They had a g- I mean, they played good.

How did you approach this one? And I guess execution-wise, what did you like the most?

Yeah, I mean, we approached the game like just how we do every other game.

I think we had two solid games in Colorado that didn't go our way.

I think, obviously, the first game's an anomaly, and I thought we did a lot of really good things in game two.

We didn't come out with the result we wanted, but we knew we were coming in at home, and these fans are...

We were able to push us over the edge tonight, and I thought our special teams was, I said after game two, I did some media, and I said that that was the number one thing that would help us win game three, and that's what we did tonight.

Our special teams were great.

As you've gotten to know Wally, what stood out the most? I think

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't know.

Maybe that's just his thought process.

I think we said the same thing last series.

Like, you go down in a series, backs up against the wall, see what you're made of kind of thing.

I think...

Obviously, special teams, again, kind of creeping in and biting us a little bit.

Did you notice them adjust defensively, I guess, or what do you chalk up?

What is allowing the Wild, as a group, to just defend and keep the Stars really high end guys, uh, as much as you can under wraps?

Our goalie.

[laughs] Our goalie is unbelievable.

Uh, Wally's been doing a great job, and, um, our defensemen are finding sticks around the net to, to have Wally be able to see a clean shot.

And then I think, um, we've had an emphasis on getting in front of more pucks as forwards.

I think our wingers can still do even a better job blocking shots out high and not putting so much stress on, stress on our goalie and defensemen.

Um, but yeah, I think we did a better job.

What'd you see on the play? Um, boy, you just kind of shot out of a cannon there it looked like.

How was, as a kid, how did your journey start? You were in Michigan, right? So how did you get into hockey and how did the journey begin?

Yeah, for me, I think it was just my brother started playing roller.

probably when I was like three.

And then by the time I was six, he had gotten into ice hockey and just going to see him play.

And parents bringing me out on outdoor rinks in Michigan, kind of learning how to skate and whatnot.

I just wanted to follow my brother's footsteps, really.

So I started playing when I was six.

Yeah,