Wild's Zuccarello embarrassed after blowout loss: Fans 'deserve more'
The Minnesota Wild left the ice to a chorus of boos following their 6-0 blowout loss at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, and forward Mats Zuccarello couldn't help but empathize with the fans' frustration.
"It's embarrassing to lose like that at home," he told reporters postgame. "I think every single guy in here feels the same way. It's just not good enough."
"Our home fans, they're here every time supporting us," the veteran continued. "They deserve more than that and we all know it. I think we're all disappointed right now. Monday (against the New York Islanders), we gotta show up."
The Wild trailed just five minutes into the contest when Coyotes forward Alex Kerfoot scored on the power play. Arizona carried a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Minnesota has opened the scoring just 19 times in 42 games this season and has been outscored 47-34 in the first period.
"You don't want to chase games," bench boss John Hynes said, per Bally Sports North. "That's not the right recipe to win. Lately, we've been doing that quite a bit. ... Tonight in particular, you're down by three pretty early in the game, so that's a hill you've got to climb out of. But if you're doing that regularly, that's tough."
Hynes took over for the fired Dean Evason in late November, and Minnesota responded by going 11-3-0 in the new head coach's first month.
The Wild have since fallen off a cliff. Saturday's loss marked their eighth in their last nine games, with their only win coming against the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime. Minnesota is now eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Hynes said the team held a players-only meeting following Saturday's shellacking. Zuccarello explained that the players aired out their feelings.
"I think every guy in there feels that they can be better and help the team more," he said. "That's just how it is. Sometimes you go through stretches like this where you feel like nothing is working. That's when you have to believe in each other, give each other confidence. That's the only way to get out of it."
Hynes offered a similar solution.
"You can't just go to a drug store and get confidence," he said. "Confidence is built through your preparation, it's built through your performance. ... You have to be willing to figure it out."
The Wild take on the Islanders on Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
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