A 4-0 loss to the lowly Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a four-game homestand for the Minnesota Wild Tuesday night, and none of it was pretty.
The Wild went 0-3-1 in the latest home stretch to continue what’s been a brutal season of hockey on home ice inside the Xcel Energy Center. After being one of the best home teams in the league the past few seasons, Minnesota is .500 at home with a record of 13 wins, 13 regulation losses and five overtime losses.
It’s not like the Wild to be average at home. But, somewhat alarmingly, it is like the Wild to underwhelm during longer homestands.
Since the 2011-12 season, the Wild has played at least four consecutive home games 18 times, and they’ve had a winning record in just six of those 18 opportunities.
Four-plus-game homestands since 2011-12:
- 0-3-1 (2018-19)
- 2-2-0 (2018-19)
- 2-1-2 (2017-18)
- 3-0-1 (2017-18)
- 3-3-0 (2017-18)
- 4-1-1 (2016-17)
- 2-2-0 (2016-17)
- 2-2-0 (2015-16)
- 1-2-1 (2015-16)
- 2-2-1 (2014-15)
- 0-1-3 (2014-15)
- 2-1-1 (2014-15)
- 1-0-3 (2013-14)
- 2-2-0 (2013-14)
- 3-1-0 (2013-14)
- 2-2-0 (2011-12)
- 1-0-3 (2011-12)
- 3-2-1 (2011-12)
Playing .500 or worse in two-thirds of the 18 homestands of four-plus games is a trend that needs to turn around. Minnesota should be taking advantage of longer homestands, which in the NHL, don’t often extend beyond four games.
The 18 most recent such homestands have totaled 80 games, and the Wild’s record in those 80 games is 35-27-18. It’s a winning record, but it’s weighted by a handful of dominant homestands while 12 of the 18 were .500 or worse.
Overall, the Wild has a nice home-ice advantage, but it’s disappearance this season is leading us to realize that the Wild has a lot of work to do to make the X an even more intimidating place for opponents to play in.
