Though the Wild is free-falling in the West, general manager Doug Risebrough said he doesn't anticipate a roster shakeup.

"I don't see a lot of big options there," said Risebrough, whose team is 3-9-1 this month after Monday's 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.

"It's obviously the manager's job to search for those things, but at the end of the day, there's no one thing that's going to make things significantly better because of (certain) factors -- some guys are hurt, (and) we have some long-term objectives."

Risebrough is referring to Marian Gaborik's injury (he's missed the last two games and 29 this season and is on the trading block) and the fact that core players like Mikko Koivu and Brent Burns, and even struggling James Sheppard, are untouchable.

"Some guys we want to play so that they can get better by the game. Those players aren't going to be gone," Risebrough said. "There's no doubt you can look for changes, but I'm not sure that there's a big significant change that's going to make a significant difference. We just have to play better."

Coach Jacques Lemaire said the Wild must play a team game because of the lost firepower of Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra.

"If we don't play a team game, we'll win the odd game," Lemaire said.

Asked if that's because of a lack of talent, Lemaire said, "Part of it is talent. Part of it. Look at the lines. Look at how many goals we're going to get. We're better on defense. We're not as good as last year on offense. That's where the team is at now. We lost 60 goals and (Gaborik's) not back, so that's the reason why we have a hard time to score.

"We're among the worst teams in the league in goals for (28th in the NHL). ... The good teams, everyone gets goals."

Of Lemaire's comments, Risebrough said, "I think that's fair," but the GM pinned the lack of scoring on injuries, particularly Gaborik.

"I know if we were playing Calgary without (Jarome) Iginla, they'd look at it differently, too," Risebrough said.

FLAMES 2, WILD 1: The Wild played its best game in Calgary in the past few years, but in the end it still wasn't good enough as Eric Nystrom scored the second shorthanded goal against Minnesota this season midway through the third period.

The Wild suffered its sixth consecutive regulation road loss, one off the team record. It fell to 0-8-1 in its last nine games against Western Conference teams.

Down to five defensemen because Kim Johnsson returned to Minnesota on Monday to deal with a family emergency, the Wild played a strong game and tied the score 1-1 late in the second period on Stephane Veilleux's third goal in five games.

"We're a little thin, and guys played really hard," coach Jacques Lemaire said. "I've got to give my boys credit. They worked all the way to the end. What we want is to play a little more as a team, and I think we did tonight."

But as defenseman Nick Schultz said, "It's another loss at the end of the day."