The Minnesota Wild are enjoying one of the best starts in franchise history. Despite losing Tuesday 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings, the team currently stands at 8-2-2. But Wild head coach John Hynes indicated after the loss that he’s not exactly happy with a few players and they could be coming out soon, possibly Thursday when the team goes to California to face the San Jose Sharks.
Wild’s Fourth Line Struggles in Loss
The Wild’s fourth line of Yakov Trenin, Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko haven’t had a wonderful start to the season, and collectively the line was minus-2 in the loss to the Kings. The three linemates are all penalty killers as well, and the Wild are 31st in penalty killing at 62.5%. The poor penalty kill is nothing new as last season they were 30th at 74.5.
It appears that Hynes has seen enough and the team has recalled rookie Michael Milne from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. And it comes across quite clearly that he’s going to play, saying there were “some light players” in the loss.
No Risk in Recall
There is zero risk in the recall of Milne who was picked 89th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. See what the kid can bring to the table, if he’s a good penalty killer he might find a long-term home. In 10 games with the Iowa Wild, Milne has four goals and four assists. He’s currently in his third season with Iowa.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 5-1 Loss Against the Kings
It’s become clear that those on the fourth line have become too comfortable. If the Wild believe they are a contender, which they should, they might look to overhaul the bottom part of the lineup to improve the team.
