from Joe Smith & Michael Russo of The Athletic,

This is a frustrating and tense time for the Wild, their slump casting a cloud on what was supposed to be a fun Global Series trip to Sweden. It is times like this when Cup winners like Maroon, Bogosian and Marc-Andre Fleury can exert their influence and lean on their experience on how to get out of a slump.

“We’ve got to find a way to get back to the basics,” Maroon said. “Focus on what we can control. I don’t think we’ve really had a lead besides the first game of the year. And it’s tough when you’re chasing the game. Then bad habits creep in. In (15) games, we might have had one good start.”

“Every team goes through it — teams that are good, teams that aren’t that good,” Bogosian said. “The little details matter. They all add up in the big picture.”

The big picture right now can seem bleak. Only the worst-in-the-NHL San Jose Sharks have given up more goals than the Wild, and only the Sharks have trailed more often in games, which is stunning considering defense was supposed to be this group’s identity. The Wild’s penalty kill is dead last in the league, having given up a franchise-record five goals in Sunday’s 8-3 loss to the Stars.

“Embarrassing,” said Fleury, who gave up a career-high eight goals in that game. “It’s already happened too many times to us. We’ve got to find ways to prevent that so we don’t have to open up to get back in the game. We need to play our game plan. But we had some good talks to get our spirits up. It’s a long season, but everybody’s good in our conference, everybody’s getting points. We need points, too, and now.

“We can’t wait too long. We’ve got to get going here.”

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