In another disappointing outing, the Minnesota Wild stumbled to their seventh consecutive defeat, falling 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. This loss adds to the Wild's recent woes, as they have now lost 13 out of their last 16 games, with their last victory coming on November 7th.

Despite the disappointing result, there were some standout performances from the Wild. Joel Eriksson Ek, the team's leading goal scorer, netted his 10th goal of the season during the game. Eriksson Ek has been a force for Minnesota and currently ranks third in the NHL for power-play goals with six.

However, the Wild's struggles on the penalty kill heavily contributed to their defeat. Minnesota has allowed a league-high 23 power-play goals this season. This trend continued against the Red Wings as they fell into an early hole due to their worst-in-NHL penalty kill. It didn't take long for Detroit to capitalize, with David Perron finishing off an excellent play set up by Lucas Raymond just four minutes into the game.

The Wild also found themselves plagued by costly penalties, such as Pat Maroon's untimely tripping penalty in the third period. These kinds of penalties have been detrimental to the team's success, further inhibiting their ability to mount a comeback.

Throughout the season, the Wild have struggled to find their rhythm and have often had to play catch-up, frequently yielding the first goal of the game. This trend continued against the Red Wings, exemplified by their inability to convert on numerous high-danger chances in the second period. They controlled the play for large portions of the period but were unable to capitalize, allowing Detroit to snatch momentum with a late goal by Dylan Larkin.

Even though Eriksson Ek had a breakaway opportunity late in the second period, it was thwarted by an impressive save from Detroit's goaltender, Alex Lyon. Notably, Filip Gustavsson, who had made game-changing saves in the past, surrendered a crucial rebound leading to an important goal for Detroit.

The Wild's struggles this season have boiled down to their own mistakes and missed opportunities. Their self-inflicted obstacles have prevented them from finding consistency on the ice and achieving the desired results.

With the loss to the Red Wings, the Minnesota Wild must regroup and reevaluate their strategies as they strive to break out of their prolonged losing streak. As the season progresses, the team will need to address their penalty kill and capitalize on scoring chances if they hope to turn their fortunes around.

Despite their recent setbacks, the Wild still have time to turn their season around. However, they must act quickly if they want to avoid falling further behind in the highly competitive Central Division.