Wild hope Faber's 2-way play spark team against Avalanche

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Brock Faber's two-way game is as important to the Minnesota Wild right now as it has ever been with the hole they're in after losing the first two games to the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Second Round.

The good news for the Wild as they head home to play Game 3 at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN1, SN, TVAS, CBC) is the fact that Faber's two-way game has never been better than it is right now.

"He just looks like he's got so much confidence," Wild forward Marcus Johansson said. "He makes plays everywhere. He's smart and he plays hard. He's just an unbelievable player on both sides of the puck. It's fun to have him on our side when he's playing like he is now."

The way Faber is playing is completely different from how he played for three seasons at the University of Minnesota from 2020-23, and even from his days with the U.S. National Team Development Program prior to going to college.

Faber is rare in that he's a defenseman, now 23 years old, who has developed his offensive game at the NHL level without sacrificing the principles of his defensive game that got him this far.

"We talked after last season about things he can do better, moving the puck a little bit quicker, knowing what to do with the puck before he gets it, quicker in transition," Wild coach John Hynes said. "He worked on those things and then this year he stepped up again. I also think being able to play with a guy like Quinn (Hughes) has helped him just seeing how you can use your skating more effectively. It's been a steady progression, but it's only been a steady progression because of Brock's mindset and his willingness to not be satisfied."

Faber, whose defense partner is Hughes, has six points (three goals, three assists) in eight games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It all came in six games against the Dallas Stars in the first round, Minnesota's first playoff series win since 2015.

He has no points in two games against the Avalanche, but he's second on the Wild, first among their defensemen, with seven shots on goal in the series, giving him 24 in the playoffs, second among all NHL defensemen behind Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning (28).

Faber also had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and 173 shots on goal in 80 regular-season games, the most productive and efficient of his three full NHL seasons, building on his first two, when he combined for 76 points (18 goals, 58 assists) in 160 games.

"He's always had the skillset; I think sometimes it comes with opportunity," Hynes said. "At the National Team (Development) Program, there were probably some guys at that age that were more seasoned in that power-play position, and even Brock's mindset." 

Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators was one of them.

"Then you go to (the University of) Minnesota and they always have good power-play defensemen," Hynes said. 

Like Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks. He was at the University of Minnesota the entire time Faber was there.

"He didn't have those opportunities," Hynes continued. "Now, he's grown his game. When we got him, he was raw. He was a physical specimen. He can skate, he defends hard and he's got high character and high compete. I think it's him making an effort to grow his game and us guiding him along in that direction."

Faber, who was on the Wild's first power-play unit the past two games, said he's had to train himself to know that with his mobility and puck skills that it's OK for him to take risks offensively. 

He said he never did that in college.

"I would sit back and just try to not get scored on every single game, and I would not do much offensively at all because just because I hated getting scored on," Faber said. "At this level, I felt like my first year, if I made a mistake I just felt like every time it ended up in the back of the net and that's something that some defenseman will be like, 'Oh, whatever, I'll just go make a play next shift.' For me, I hate that I directly impacted our team negatively by giving up a goal.

"I learn more and more, get more confident, and I try to be as solid as I can be on both sides. I think that just comes with confidence and understanding that if you do make a mistake, you're going to make up for it."

He's learning that from Hughes, who has been Faber's defense partner since the Wild acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12. 

Hughes has helped to fuel Faber's offensive confidence.

"It's hard not to," Faber said. "I think he can make anyone better offensively, anyone in this League, really. You almost have to be because of the way he skates, the way he moves. It's awesome. I've learned so much from him in the little time he's been here. He's so much fun to play with. He's so much fun to learn from."

But Faber is still defensively conscious, which is why when he played for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and the Winter Olympics this year, the coaching staff, led by Mike Sullivan with Hynes as an assistant, paired him with Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes.

They were Team USA's shutdown pair, requiring Faber to play a different game than the one he plays with Hughes in Minnesota. 

It required him to rely on his defensive principles.

"When you play with Slavin, you have to expect that you're taking the other team's top line and you're taking them when you're already in a vulnerable spot in the 'D' zone, so you're obviously going to focus on defense," Faber said.

Faber still does that when playing with Hughes even if the zone starts are more on the offensive end or in the neutral zone. He still hates to get scored on. He still recognizes the importance of defending and the need to be efficient at it, especially with Hughes zig-zagging and dashing his way around the ice.

Hynes, though, said he sees Faber striking the right balance with Hughes that is allowing his offensive game to flourish with little risk.

"He's generating offense and producing offense but he's doing it at the right times," Hynes said. "I think he's playing a really efficient game. When there are opportunities to pounce offensively or use his skill in those situations he's taking advantage of it, but he's not chasing it, so he allows himself to be in good positions to also have juice to defend. He's taking it when it's presented and I think that's why his game is so good right now."