NASHVILLE -- General manager Chuck Fletcher's preference would be to let the Minnesota Wild play their way out of a month-long slump before he seriously goes in search for outside help before the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 29.

The Wild went 3-7-3 with 23 goals in January. They dropped to one point behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They were in the first position with a seven-point cushion at the start of 2016.

"I think we're dealing with mainly a confidence issue," Fletcher said. "Hopefully the break will help. We have a lot of players who have scored in this league that just did not score last month."

The one stat Fletcher is focused on most is Minnesota's shooting percentage. It was 6.0 percent in January after being 9.6 percent through the first 36 games of the season. The decline happened despite the Wild averaging one more shot on goal per game (29.3-28.3) in January than they did in the first three months.

Here is the Jan. 27 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which will run every Wednesday in the Over the Boards blog during the 2015-16 NHL season. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Let's get to it:

Should the Boston Bruins trade Loui Eriksson for picks/prospects or package him for an NHL defenseman? -- @rayguarino

The only way I'd trade him is if the return includes a top-four defenseman in his mid-20s who is under contract through at least next season. I think the Bruins should be past the picks and prospects stage. They should be looking to add before the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 29, not subtract. If they can add a young, proven defenseman to make their blue line better, I think it would be OK to move Eriksson. Otherwise, I'd try to re-sign him. Boston's obvious need is defense, but Eriksson is a solid forward who I wouldn't just give away for picks and prospects regardless of the fact that he can be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

NEW YORK -- Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma has a unique way of telling if rookie center Jack Eichel is going to have his legs and his 'A' game on any given night.

He listens.

"[Eichel] can be engaged in the game vocally and that's really to me a big indicator of where he is on the ice," Bylsma said. "Doing it night in and night out is a challenge. Traveling and getting in at 5 in the morning is a challenge. It's a challenge for everybody, but a challenge for young guys that may not be accustomed to play this many games in this rapid succession. [Talking on the bench] translates into him skating. It translates into him using his feet."

NEW YORK -- Buffalo Sabres forward Matt Moulson has done just about everything in his power this season to make rookie center Jack Eichel feel comfortable, from guiding him on the ice to putting a roof over his head off it.

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma feels it's time for Eichel to return the favor to Moulson, which is the reason why he's putting the two of them on the same line with Zemgus Girgensons against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Moulson, who is letting Eichel live in his house this season, has no points in his previous 18 games and no goals in his previous 35. Girgensons returns to the lineup after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury.

"[Moulson] played with Jack earlier in the year and I think offered some support to Jack and been there for Jack on that line," Bylsma said. "Now, it's time for maybe Jack to be there for Matt, a guy he is obviously very familiar with and has spent a lot of time with. I think it may be time for Jack to pull Matt out of a long drought."

If he had the answer, the Toronto Maple Leafs would have already broken out of their scoring slump.

Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello doesn't have the answer, but he thinks he has an idea of why Toronto has scored eight goals in its past seven games (1-5-1) and what it need might need to do to break out of the slump, perhaps starting Saturday against the similarly slumping Montreal Canadiens at Air Canada Centre (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"We did lose our top scorer (James van Riemsdyk to a left foot injury) and certainly that has a bearing, but no excuse because we have to score by committee," Lamoriello said. "It has to be by a group. We have been getting opportunities to score, and we haven't scored."

NEWARK, N.J. -- If it weren't for perspective, Andrew Hammond might be a busted goalie right now for the Ottawa Senators.

"I think the best thing I've ever heard is when you're in the spotlight and you start looking at it, the light gets too bright and you can't even see anymore," Hammond said. "But when things aren't going well it feels like you're under a shadow and eventually the shadow will cover you up. Whether that's good or bad, you have to keep going and stay on an even keel."

Hammond's ability to stay on an even keel was tested late last season, when he turned into the model for all the unheralded goalies out there who just want a team to give them a chance.

He didn't get his first start of the season until Feb. 18 and yet he still won 20 games in 24 appearances (20-1-2), with a 1.79 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. The Senators rallied from a 14-point deficit to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Here is the Jan. 20 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which will run every Wednesday in the Over the Boards blog during the 2015-16 NHL season. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Let's get to it:

Will Patrick Kane win the Art Ross Trophy, the Rocket Richard Trophy, and the Hart Trophy? -- @HW06

Yes on the Art Ross and, if that happens, yes on the Hart, in my opinion. But I don't think he'll win the Rocket Richard because of Alex Ovechkin, who has 11 goals in his past 12 games. I expect Ovechkin to continue to tear it up and eventually pass Kane in the goal scoring department. But Kane is running away with the Art Ross Trophy at this point and, in my opinion, he'd be a landslide winner for the Hart Trophy. He has made a huge difference, especially with Marian Hossa not scoring at his normal rate until recently.

NEW YORK -- New York Rangers center Derick Brassard is expected to miss his first game of the season Tuesday because he is sick. Brassard arrived at Madison Square Garden in the morning but was sent home and likely won't play against the Vancouver Canucks (7 p.m. ET; SNP, MSG).

Kevin Hayes is expected to move into a top-six role as a center between Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello. Oscar Lindberg, who was playing left wing, will slide over to center the third line between Jesper Fast and Viktor Stalberg.

Brassard is tied for second on the Rangers with 31 points on 15 goals and 16 assists in 45 games.

As your goaltending goes, so goes your team. That's the truth for every team in the NHL, or really at any level of hockey. Get good goaltending, have a chance to win. Get average goaltending, and it will be a struggle.

The Nashville Predators have gotten average goaltending from all-star goalie Pekka Rinne since Oct. 31. As a result, they've tumbled down the standings after a 7-1-1 start and now find themselves one point out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference heading into their game Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks, who have won 11 in a row.

"I think Pekka is probably representative of our team," Nashville general manager David Poile said. "He could be a little bit more consistent."

Here is the Jan. 13 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag, which will run every Wednesday in the Over the Boards blog during the 2015-16 NHL season. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

Let's get to it:

Some have written that John Scott should bow out of the All-Star Game. Do NHL rules mandate a suspension if he doesn't go? -- @hanesup

By the rules, Scott would be just like any player voted in or selected to go in that he would be forced to sit one game before or after the All-Star break if he bows out. However, as the NHL does with all cases, it considers all the circumstances involved -- for Scott that would mean how he got selected for the All-Star Game in the first place. It was a fan vote that got him in. He didn't ask for any of this. He seemed somewhat embarrassed by it too. With that in mind, my feeling is it would be highly unlikely that the NHL would force him to sit out one game if he were to bow out in order to have a more deserving player take his spot. But that doesn't seem like it's going to happen. This very likely will be Scott's only chance to participate in All-Star Weekend and to play in an All-Star Game. He should go. He should enjoy himself. He should bring his family, take pictures, yuck it up, and enjoy every last second of it because it really is a dream come true.