No matter how bad it’s gotten for the Wild over the past six years, fans have showed up in droves whenever the puck dropped, packing the Xcel Energy Center to the rafters.
That didn’t happen Sunday afternoon when the Wild watched their sellout streak come to an end against the Montreal Canadiens.
The announced attendance was 17,344, marking the first time since Dec. 2, 2013 that the Wild failed to hit capacity. They had sold out their past 230 regular-season home games.
To be fair to the Wild, the wonky 4 p.m. start time probably didn’t help their cause, nor did the fact that the Vikings played earlier in the afternoon. It was also a picturesque fall day in the Twin Cities.
Nonetheless, the fact the Wild didn’t sell out might be an sign of things to come, as the fan base appears to be growing more apathetic to a team that looks to be going nowhere fast.
As bad as the Wild have been this season, the writing might have been on the wall since last season when they missed the playoffs for the first time in more than half a decade.
That prompted owner Craig Leipold to abruptly fire former general manager Paul Fenton in the middle of the offseason, and while the hiring of new general manager Bill Guerin was supposed to inject some life into the franchise, it hasn’t exactly gone according to plan so far this season.
DUMONT DEBUTS
Admittedly, coach Bruce Boudreau didn’t know much about depth forward Gabriel Dumont when the Wild called him up from the minors on Friday.
“We need forwards,” Boudreau said. “He was the one that was recommended about being the best call-up at this time. That’s why he’s here.”
Filling in for injured centers Joel Eriksson Ek and Victor Rask, Dumont centered the fourth line Sunday, flanked by Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman.
“I know what kind of role I need to have in the NHL,” said Dumont, 29, who has played in 87 NHL games during a 10-year pro career. “I’ve been around long enough and played enough in this league to know what’s expected from me.”
SEELER SCRATCHED
Nick Seeler was the odd man out on the blue line once again Sunday. It marks the sixth time this season he has been a healthy scratch as fellow defenseman Carson Soucy appears to have supplanted him on the depth chart.
“It can be draining being out of the lineup for that many games,” Seeler said earlier this week. “As long as you stay mentally strong and persevere and work through it and try to have a good attitude every day, I think that makes it easier.”
