Wild looking for some toughness after Canadian swing

The Minnesota Wild have lost some of its mojo after dropping five of their last six games. The trip through Canada only netted the team a win in Edmonton before the team lost three straight to Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary. The team wasn’t happy at Monday morning’s practice at TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

“We’re pissed off. We should be,” Wild head coach Dean Evason said Monday. “We got embarrassed for the first time. It’s the first time we didn’t compete in a hockey game. That’s not who we are, we are a group. The group knows that and the team knows that we weren’t a happy hockey club today.”

This is only the second time this season where the Wild has had more than two losses in a row. The team knows if they want to be taken seriously as a true playoff contender they need to right the ship now.

“Guys are pretty pissed coming in today,” Wild forward Ryan Hartman said following practice. “There are still a lot of games to be played, but this is where teams climb the leaderboard or sink.”

The Wild host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Calgary beat the Wild 7-3 on Saturday in Calgary.