Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
On Monday, the Minnesota Wild had a chance to even a second round series against Colorado Avalanche that, when it got to St. Paul, they were trailing 2-0. It should go without saying, but going back to Denver down 3-1 is not where this team wanted to be.
Yet, here we are questioning how much the MN Wild really want to taste a Stanley Cup, after a 5-2 loss at home that now has them up against a playoff wall. Because in Game 4, it sure didn’t seem like they were desperate for rings or trophies of any sort.
PARKER KELLY NETS HIS FIRST OF THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS!!
THE AVALANCHE RECLAIM THE LEAD IN A WILD THIRD PERIOD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/O3ImFHPSIM
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 12, 2026
Minnesota Wild superstars failed to show up for Game 4 vs Avalanche
The Wild’s superstars, especially, didn’t bring it night. Matt Boldy’s shot was off. Outside of a near miss off the crossbar, Minnesota’s Olympic hero was uncharacteristically hard to find for much of the evening, as were Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes. And in all the littler areas that matter… the Wild were sloppy.
Boldy registered just one shot on goal in nearly 24 minutes. He missed the net six times and finishing a -3. And Kirill Kaprizov wasn’t any better. At least Boldy was trying to put pucks on net. The Wild’s $17 million man registered just one shot in total… and it’s in the box score as a missed shot.
Boldy is starting to see ghosts while Kirill is reenacting 😭 pic.twitter.com/9F5pICnZlS
— x- Jas⁴³ 👻🪽 (@quinnysoda) May 12, 2026
McCarron Melee: MN Wild Forward Calls Out Dirty Avs Player
In front of their home crowd at Grand Casino Arena, off a dominant performance in Game 3, I think we all expected the Wild to bring their best game of the postseason. Instead, they laid an egg. There’s no way around it.
If you need it confirmed, ask head coach John Hynes. When asked during his postgame press conference why his team wasn’t able to do the things in Game 4 that made them successful in Game 3, his response was blunt, and telling.
According to Hynes, the Minnesota Wild “made a conscious choice” not to play a winning style of hockey, in the most important game of their 2025-26 NHL season, bar none.
“I think the style of game that we needed to play to win the game, we made the conscious choice not to play that way tonight”
John Hynes speaks following the @mnwild‘s Game 4 loss.
📺: #NHLTonight on NHL Network has postgame coverage of every game of the #StanleyCup Playoffs https://t.co/IngJU4JeeD pic.twitter.com/HYscgZZk4h
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) May 12, 2026
“I think the style of game that we needed to play to win the game, we made the conscious choice not to play that way tonight. So, we’ll readdress that and get ready for game 5.”
“I thought we turned some pucks over in the defensive zone and we didn’t make some hard plays on a couple of the goals that got scored. We had the opportunities to either get the puck out, or the puck was on our stick, and we made a soft play. And they wound up scoring on two of them.”
John Hynes – Game 4 Postgame Press Conference
Despite not playing their best hockey, the Minnesota Wild had plenty of opportunities to tighten up, and take a game that they should have been desperate to win.
And they outplayed the Avs for much of the last period and a half. To Quinn Hughes’ credit, he showed up in a way his fellow superstars did not, especially late, when the Wild briefly tied the game in the third period
Hughes with the feed, Sturm with the one-timer finish!!!
📺: @espn, @Sportsnet, & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/ZZ7iwcKsrH
— NHL (@NHL) May 12, 2026
But anytime they needed to win a faceoff or a puck battle, as the head coach eluded to, they just didn’t want it badly enough. So now, they go back to Colorado down 3-1, needing to win three-straight in order to take the series.
How feasible is that? Who cares. Just win on Wednesday.
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