Wild's Zucker calls out Boudreau, teammates after 6th loss in 7 games
Jason Zucker is sick of losing.
The Minnesota Wild forward called out his entire team, including head coach Bruce Boudreau, following its 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
"I think more than (a meeting's) going to have to jump-start us to be honest with you," Zucker said, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "It's going to be each individual guy from Bruce on down. Bruce has got to be better. We've got to be better. Everybody's got to be better. That's it."
The Wild have just one victory in seven contests to start the season and are struggling to keep the puck out of their net. Minnesota ranks 30th defensively, as it has allowed 4.14 goals per game with a team save percentage of .870.
Zucker, along with several other key players, including Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello, and Mikko Koivu, have yet to score a goal at five-on-five this season.
"No one else is going to get us out of it," Zucker said. "This is the team we have. We've got to figure it out. We’ve got to be better. This is unacceptable, that’s for sure."
Boudreau, who is in his fourth season behind the bench in Minnesota, said he didn't share a message with the team after the game and that the players "closed the door and had their own meeting," according to Star Tribune Sports' Sarah McLellan.
The Wild will look to bounce back when they host the Canadiens on Sunday night.