Wild sink against Devils, leaving coach John Hynes entirely dissatisfied with their effort

The Devils did most of their damage late, pouncing on the Wild after they were only one shot away from drawing even.

But that was the game coming full circle on the Wild.

They were doomed from the get-go, their slow start catching up to them for a 5-2 letdown Saturday at Xcel Energy Center that was a baffling performance considering the circumstances.

Not only had they just knocked off the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals two nights earlier with a sharp comeback, but a ninth consecutive victory by the Blues earlier in the evening moved St. Louis into a tie with the Wild for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference; the Wild only held on to that berth because they have played one fewer game.

“From the drop of the puck, mentally and physically we weren’t where we needed to be,” coach John Hynes said, “and it lasted throughout the game.”

After getting scored on in the first minute and giving up another goal soon after, the Wild trailed 3-2 in the third period before their rally was axed by Nico Hischier’s hat trick on New Jersey’s lone power play at 14 minutes, 50 seconds that overshadowed Marcus Foligno’s Gordie Howe hat trick.

Tomas Tatar added more insurance with 3:14 to go in the Wild’s third loss over their past four games.

The Wild and Devils will finish their home-and-home Monday in New Jersey, where the Wild will begin a three-game road trip.

“We just had a lot of mistakes in our own end in the third that bit us,” Foligno said.

Their first period was also a struggle.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped the first shot he faced, but the rebound kicked right to Hischier for the put-back only 29 seconds after the opening faceoff.

By 5:46, the Wild were down two after another rebound caromed directly to a Devils player, and this time Paul Cotter banked the puck in off Gustavsson’s right leg.

“We handed them two goals, which is unacceptable at this time of the year,” winger Ryan Hartman said.

The Wild did answer back before the first ended, with Foligno tipping in a shot from captain Jared Spurgeon at 16:31, a deflection from between the faceoff circles that was just the beginning of a busy night for Foligno.

He was cross-checked by New Jersey’s Johnathan Kovacevic late in the first and after falling to the ice, Foligno was also sent to the penalty box for embellishment.

“If I don’t bail out there, I got a hip or groin something going on,” Foligno said. “I got an embellishment warning last game against St. Louis, so I think I’m on their list. So, must have read my name before going out to the ice.”

In his second game back from missing five injured, Foligno continued to be a factor, getting in on the forecheck and then checking Brian Dumoulin into the boards. Kovacevic immediately approached Foligno after the hit, and the two dropped the gloves. Kovacevic was dinged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but the Wild blanked on the power play and went 0-for-2 overall.

The rest of the period was a scrum-fest, with both sides getting tangled up after whistles — including Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, who had 22 saves. Gustavsson finished with 28.

“I’ve got to keep bringing this,” Foligno said. “This is something we need to keep doing, and we need that emotion in the game and if we do that, we picked up our socks after that physical stuff and played a lot better. But just didn’t continue it.”

BOXSCORE: New Jersey 5, Wild 2

NHL standings

Hischier sent another shot toward Gustavsson off the rush early in the third, the puck clipping Spurgeon before smacking into both posts and flying into the net 3:13 into the period.

“A lot of the opportunities they got, we gave them,” Spurgeon said.

Just 2:09 later, Foligno redirected a Zach Bogosian point shot off the post before Hartman buried the loose puck. That assist combined with his earlier goal and fight completed Foligno’s fourth Gordie Howe hat trick.

But it was the Wild, not New Jersey, that faded the rest of the way even though the Wild were rested and the Devils lost at Winnipeg on Friday.

“The readiness to play, the focus level, the attention to detail, the competitiveness that’s required to win, we didn’t have that tonight, which was surprising to me,” Hynes said. “So, some of that’s on me, obviously, and we’ll address it and we’ll make sure that we’re mentally and physically ready to play Monday.”