Wild look for answers after loss to Blackhawks

CHICAGO --The Minnesota Wild were just fine with their start against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, when they rattled off five shots on Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford before the game was even two minutes old.
But the finish wasn't there, be it in those first two minutes or for most of the game. The negative emotions took the place of positive results.

"You go through this during the course of the year, where you squeeze your stick so tight and guys are getting great chances and not getting results," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said
after a 4-1 loss at United Center
. "So quite frankly, I think they're getting frustrated."
The Wild were frustrated that their production struggled again. They were frustrated that they spent too much time in the penalty box (seven minors). They were frustrated that, after going on a four-game winning streak that bolstered their confidence and got them back in the Central Division race, they've since lost two in a row. Finding consistency has been an issue throughout the season and it showed again Sunday against the Blackhawks, who were going through confidence and scoring problems of their own not long ago.
As Boudreau said, the frustration with the lack of finish seems to be building for some. Center Mikko Koivu has gone 11 games without a point, and he hasn't scored since Oct. 28. Forward Nino Niederreiter has one goal in his past 11 games.
Then, there were the penalties; the Wild have taken 13 in their past two games. And while they killed off six power plays for the second consecutive game, the constant killing is an energy drain.

"Once again, we end up on the penalty kill quite a bit. Not only are they keeping it in our zone on the penalty kill, but we have guys killing, playing 5-on-4 and 5-on-5. It wears guys out," Wild goalie Alex Stalock said. "Another game where it was a heavy penalty kill game for us."
If there's been a positive constant for the Wild, it's been goaltending. Stalock has played well in the place of Devan Dubnyk, who was listed as week-to-week with a lower-body on Thursday. Stalock did his part again Sunday; two of the goals he gave up were to Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, who was all alone in the right circle for his first and was on a breakaway for his second.

As Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon said of Kane, "You can't leave a guy like that all alone."
Earlier this month, the Wild went on a four-game winning streak that began with a 3-2 overtime victory at the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 8. Stalock said they have to use their current road trip, which will take them to Ottawa, Florida and Tampa Bay, to get back on track.
"We were playing great at home obviously, but situations like this, I think the road's great," Stalock said. "We're away, it's just the guys. We can meet or whatever it's going to take, a skate, a meeting or just something fun to do. That whole streak, we went out to Pelican Hill [in California] and we had fun out there in Anaheim. We played great. So, I think it's just something like that: get together as guys and figure it out."
The Wild were starting to build momentum and confidence with their recent winning streak. They were feeling good about their game. But confidence is a fickle thing, and it's waning again.
"Like I said in between periods, I said, 'Frustration is the most useless emotion you can have. It does nothing but hurt ya,'" Boudreau said. "We've got to get away from the frustration and feeling bad for ourselves and start getting back to the way we can play."