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Searching for first power-play goal, Yeo divides units into young vs. veterans

Wild Jets Hockey

Mike Yeo

AP

The Minnesota Wild have won two of their first three games, but one area that they’ve struggled in is the power play. So far they’re 0-for-11 and are actually negative overall if you factor in the shorthanded goal that they’ve allowed.

Wild coach coach Mike Yeo attempted to address that during yesterday’s practice by creating two new power-play units with one compromised of veterans Thomas Vanek, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Mikko Koivu, and Ryan Suter and the other consisting of the young Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon.

The fact that Yeo has separated his players based on their age was intentional.

“They’re really comfortable with each other,” he told the Star Tribune. “Sometimes the young kids go out there with an older guy and they defer.”

It seems fair to call the Koivu group the first unit given the talent on it, but it sounds like Yeo also wouldn’t mind if this division created some friendly competition between the veterans and younger players.

“I think that young group can really challenge the first group,” he said.

Minnesota is scheduled to play against the Los Angeles Kings at 3:00 p.m. ET today.

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