Wild coach Mike Yeo continued, Friday, to talk about the progress his team has made in recent games. At the same time, he understands that such talk can be frustrating when said improvement doesn't result in victories.
"Well, what choice do we have?'' Yeo said after Friday's optional skate. "We have to keep saying that, and every game we'll try to get better. These are good teams we're playing. Not saying we're not good enough to compete with them, that's for sure. Right now, that's where we've gotten to, a point where we have to build it back piece by piece. My sense is that it's coming. We have two choices. We can quit and abandon everything we're doing, or we can keep building onto what we have and see where that takes us. That's the spirit and fight I will bring, and that's the spirit and the fight that I know our leaders and the character of the guys in the room will bring. We're very disappointed with the way things have gone. But how you react is far more important that what has happened.''
In that vein, Yeo said he had considered lineup changes for Saturday's matinee with Boston. But, after having watched Thursday's loss to Washington again, is leaning towards keeping the lineup the same.
"We're still considering that," Yeo said. "Obviously this morning, driving to the rink, you wake up after another not very good sleep and another day and another missed opportunity, ready to pretty much do whatever we have to do. And then, watching the game over again, I have a different feel. I'm not going to sit here and paint a picture of how great everything is. But I feel the last two or three games, despite not getting the results….. There's a little bit of a flame here. And we just have to stoke the fire a little more.''
Yeo said the team created enough scoring chances. If that continues, he said, he's confident the results will change.
Other items from today:
--Most players were out for the optional skate. The one ones missing were Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Ryan Suter and Charlie Coyle.
--Spurgeon, who has missed two games with a deep bruise, is "questionable to doubtful,'' according to Yeo. "But, knowing him, I'm not ready to rule him out," Yeo said. "If he's ready to come out and battle and compete at the level he's capable of, we'd love to put him in the lineup. But if he's not there, then we're confident with the group we have.''
Thanks for your time. Mr. Russo will be with the team Saturday.
