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Fans boo as Wild unravel in home loss: 'Why don't we get a little bit tougher?'

Originally posted on Bring Me The News | By Joe Nelson | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 9:19 AM ET

It's still early, but after a 4-1 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, the Minnesota Wild might be close to hitting the panic button.

In Thursday's loss, the Wild (3-6-3) were booed off the ice by the fans who stuck around to see them turn a 1-0 lead into a drubbing, as they were outplayed in every facet of the game after an encouraging first period.

Head coach John Hynes dismissed the notion that his team is fragile right now, instead challenging his players to lock in and play harder.

"I think fragile's not a good word. I think it comes down to consistency in our game," Hynes said. "It's about having some toughness to you and digging in, and understanding when we're in those situations that they matter. It's not about being fragile, it's about digging in and competing. If there's a 50-50 puck, you want the puck or you don't want the puck. You gotta out-compete them. In the face-off circle, I think we won one face-off on special teams."

Minnesota has been outscored 47-32 on the season, including getting smacked around by a combined 37-18 in the last nine games, during which they’ve gone 1-5-3.

"We can talk about being fragile, but why don't we get a little bit tougher?" Hynes said. "Why don't we get a little bit harder and more consistent? And if you do that, then you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

Pittsburgh controlled the puck and the pace of play in the second and third periods, erasing the benefit of Kirill Kaprizov giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead with his team-leading seventh goal of the season. A big reason for the dominance was Pittsburgh winning 32 of 51 face-offs. From there, Pittsburgh’s speed and skill on the ice trumped a Minnesota team whose style is supposed to be about checking and slowing the game down.

Hynes doesn't believe the Wild are incapable of playing that style, but he did express concern about his team losing focus and not playing as hard as he wants them to.

"If you look in tonight's game, skating and playing with pace is not a style. Competitive level on the puck is not a style. Digging in on the face-off circle is not a style," he said. "It's what is required to win night in and night out. It's the willingness to do those things regularly. That's what it comes down to."

Wild winger Marcus Foligno said he "could feel" the woeful second and third periods coming.

"It's just mellow and vanilla right now. It's not good enough for the full 60," Foligno said. "It's not our hockey. We check well and sometimes, for whatever reason, just let the foot off the gas pedal at certain times and it's coming back to bite us."

"We gotta suck it up and just play the next game," Foligno added. "I don't really have an answer for you guys. We gotta do it. Action speaks."

The Wild will try to end their five-game losing streak Saturday in St. Paul against Vancouver. The puck drops at 6:10 p.m.

This article first appeared on Bring Me The News and was syndicated with permission.

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