It's not a secret that the Wild have been poor in the face-off circle this season. At 49.9% on the year, they rank 15th overall in the league, which may be masking how problematic the face-off dot has been for the team. Mikko Koivu's 55.2% success rate, coupled with him taking the lion's share of face-offs is floating what is otherwise a canoe crewed by termites.
Before we dig in too much, it's worth noting that this analysis should be kept in perspective. Faceoffs are important, they give a team an edge, but they don't single-handedly win games, no matter what the NHL / SAP advanced stats videos seem to indicate.