Postgame Hat Trick: Predators 6, Wild 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 6-2 loss against the Nashville Predators at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday night:

1. 9 For All Time
Congratulations to Mikko Koivu, who officially had his No. 9 retired into the rafters of Xcel Energy Center on Sunday prior to the game.
It's been a long time coming for the longtime former (and first permanent) captain in franchise history, who is the Wild's all-time leader in more than a dozen major categories, including games played, assists and points, among others.
On hand to celebrate the occasion were more than 20 former teammates, his brother and longtime NHLer Saku Koivu, his parents and his three children, Sophie, Kasper and Oskar.
Known as Captain Serious -- "maybe a little too serious," as Koivu noted in his speech -- Koivu became visibly emotional when talking about his kids near the end of his remarks, then lost it as the No. 9 banner was raised into the rafters.

It was a touching moment and a rare peek behind the curtain of just how much this honor meant, and how much the Minnesota Wild continues to mean, to the franchise's second-ever first-round draft pick.
Koivu penned a letter to Wild fans that
you can read right here
.
If you missed the ceremony and want to check it out in its entirety, see below:

And please check out all the awesome Mikko Koivu content on our special website,
which can be found here
, over the next few days.
"Win or loss, it's a great event. It's a great recognition for Mikko. Obviously would have loved to have gotten the win for him, it would have made the night that much better. But when it comes down to it, that's a once-in-a-lifetime thing you're able to be a part of," said Wild forward Jordan Greenway. "Inspirational. Obviously, I played with him for a couple years so it was really special to see and even with a loss, it's incredible and something that will definitely be celebrated."
2. Oh, there was a hockey game too
The Wild came out and played a really nice first period, but was just never able to fully get traction on this night.
Minnesota kept Nashville without a shot for the first eight-plus minutes, but the Predators capitalized when they finally did get on the shot chart, as Filip Forsberg -- fittingly wearing the No. 9 -- deflected a point shot right by Kaapo Kahkonen for his 30th goal of the year.

Matt Boldy tied the game five minutes after that, and nearly gave the Wild the lead in the final seconds of the period, ringing a shot off the pipe then watching the puck lie perilously in the blue paint. Unfortunately, no Wild player was able to pounce on it before the clock ran out.
Roman Josi scored his first of two goals when he walked down the slot and backhanded a shot by Kahkonen, but Jordan Greenway answered yet again for the Wild 2 1/2 minutes later.
The dagger came 50 seconds after that, however, when Philip Tomasino gathered a rebound and beat Kahkonen to give the Predators the lead for good.
"This time of year, I think everyone starts to feel it, but we've got to figure out a way to get these points, especially in these divisional matchups," said Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. "Four-point swings aren't good for us the other way, so we've got to find a way."
Minnesota was still within a goal entering the third, but Josi's power-play bomb from the point doubled the lead and the Wild simply had no match on this night.
"It's special teams, right? It's killing us," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "We thought their hockey club was a little bit more committed than our hockey club. A lot of blocked shots. Not that we played poorly. Not that we didn't try. They were just a little more committed than we were tonight in this hockey game. When you do that it's a close game but they were able to push past it and we didn't respond like we normally do."
Evason cited those blocked shots as an example of that commitment. Nashville finished the game with 29, including a couple of biggies, including one where Kevin Fiala had an open net to shoot at.
The Wild had just 12 blocked shots.
"We just talked about it. Our PK has a chance to block a shot and we don't. From the middle of the ice that should be blocked. Kevin has an open net and they block on our power play," Evason said. "It was just a little bit off tonight. Like I said, we thought our first period was real good. But obviously we didn't match what they brought here tonight."
3. Big Rig breaks out
Jordan Greenway tried going far-side roof off the rush in the first period, but saw his shot sail just high and wide of the Predators cage.
Perhaps it wasn't surprising to see him go back to the well in the second.
Leading a 3-on-2 rush down the right side, Greenway chipped a quick shot over the right shoulder of Predators goaltender David Rittich, tying the hockey game at 2-2.

The goal for Greenway was his fifth of the season and his first since he tallied a pair of goals against San Jose on Dec. 9, a span of 22 games.
Greenway's four other goals this season were scored in a span of five games, so perhaps the upcoming homestand will be increasingly fruitful? One can hope, anyway.
"I think I've been doing some good things, but production-wise, it hasn't been A-plus for me," Greenway said. "It's definitely good to hopefully get them in bunches and hopefully it's where the door opens. But we needed a couple more, but yeah it was good."

Loose pucks

• Freddy Gaudreau had an assist on Boldy's goal, giving him seven points in his past 10 games
• Kevin Fiala also assisted on Boldy's goal, extending his point streak to seven games
• Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello saw their point streaks come to a close
• Marcus Foligno tallied the lone assist on Greenway's goal
• Kahkonen finished with 19 saves on 23 shots
• Josi and Forsberg each had three-point nights
• Rittich earned the victory, making 26 saves

Dan's three stars

1. Roman Josi
   2. Filip Forsberg
   3. Philip Tomasino

Highlights