On today's episode of Locked on Wild, we wonder WHY WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE SAME DEFENSIVE 3RD PAIRING DESPITE CONTINUED PROBLEMATIC RESULTS. We rewind to the initial signing of Jon Merrill, and wonder why the decision was made to sign him to a 3 year extension when the results have dropped off every season since. We make the case for Dakota Mermis to just take the job, and talk about why locking in a 3rd pairing is never a desirable outcome. We talk about the rush to sign players to extensions as opposed to simply letting the process play out. We move to the Wild handling their first adversity under John Hynes, and why he said last night's game presented an opportunity for a lesson learned about forcing plays that simply aren't there. We look at the Edmonton Oilers, how they have put themselves back on track since firing Jay Woodcroft, and the keys for a Wild win, which include:

1. Don't hand out Power Play opportunities to McDavid and Draisaitl
2. Make Skinner or whoever is in net for Edmonton earn it
3. Make THIRD PAIRING CHANGES OR RISK ANOTHER BLOW UP

Make sure to join us after the game for another Locked on Wild Postcast where we will break down all of the action!

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