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Like a dinner party guest shouting something inappropriate right as the room gets quiet, the Wild sure did find a way to take a nice, optimistic evening and make it uncomfortable on Thursday.
All the positive energy from a 113-point season a year ago and a nearly flawless preseason was seemingly wiped away in a 7-3 home loss to the Rangers in the season opener.
This is probably a good time to remind everyone to stay calm. Sure, take note of the flaws that presented themselves in the game — most notably an alarming lack of defensive zone presence and suspect goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury, as I talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast.
But just as we should have avoided an overly optimistic response had the score been reversed in the Wild's favor, let's not let one game dictate an overall opinion of this team.
And while we're at it, let's consider the same with the Gophers football team, which stubbed a toe two Saturdays ago with a loss to Purdue but which still deserves the benefit of the doubt heading into Illinois this weekend.
Minnesota won four games via blowout before being humbled by Purdue. The way the offensive line was dominated is a concern — especially if it happens again vs. Illinois — but there should be a certain amount of equity built up from not just the first four games of this year but the entirety of the P.J. Fleck era.
With the Wild, wading into the territory of "expected goals" is a tricky one because the only thing that ultimately matters is actual goals.
That said, the site Natural Stat Trick does suggest this: Based on scoring chances and other game factors, the Wild were expected to score 3.95 goals Tuesday. More interestingly, they were only expected to give up 3.11 goals.
Again, that's concerning when you think about Fleury's performance and the defense around him. But it also means the score was far more lopsided than the game flow might indicate, suggesting it might have just been a bad night and not a bad omen.
When things become trends, it's fair to adjust expectations. Until then, rushing to judgment is just wasted negative energy.
