The Minnesota Wild conclude their homestand on Tuesday night, November 4th, when they host the Nashville Predators. The Wild finally get a win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, November 1st and look to make it two straight wins, something they have yet to do this season. The injured list remains unchanged, but Mats Zuccarello is getting closer to returning to the lineup.
It was the Wild’s 25th anniversary celebration night, and they invited special guests, former goalkeepers Niklas Bäckström, Devan Dubnyk and Josh Harding, to attend the puck drop ceremony. The game started with the Wild dominant, and although the Predators forced overtime, the Wild won 3-2. In this article, we’ll discuss some key points, starting with the power play.
Wild’s power play success continues
The two keys to the Wild continuing to win games are scoring first and continuing to get production from the power play. They both scored against the Predators, with their first goal coming on the power play. Kirill Kaprizov scored and Joel Eriksson Ek converted the goal by covering the goalkeeper.
That wasn’t the only goal of the wild power play, either. After the Predators tied the score at 1-1 in the second period, the Wild’s second team regained the lead. At the end of a very rough power play, Zeev Buium tipped Brock Faber’s shot over the goalkeeper.
“I think we always talk about good power play. Everybody can play anywhere and not feel uncomfortable playing a position you’ve never played before. I mean, when you’re moving and you’re just playing instinctively and just feeling each other out, something like that can happen and Brock (Faber) played great. Who knows, maybe I’ll be a net player,” Buum said when asked how he found himself in goal-scoring position.
Wilder’s Gustafsson steps up
Aside from the Wild’s power play, the main reason the Wild stay in this game is their goaltender Filip Gustafsson. There were many times throughout the game where he had to be ready when the puck slid past his defense and then he made a big save. Even if they end up scoring on the second power play, he has to be ready.
In the second period, especially without Gustafsson, the Wild might have trailed 5-1 instead of leading 2-1. He made save after save when his team seemed desperately lost and struggled to get the puck out of the zone. There was even a save where the puck knocked the stick completely out of his hands. When the team needed him most, he was there.
“… It was a bad hockey game, but if you look at it on the positive side, we got key saves when we needed to, which happens all the time, and I like the fact that these guys didn’t just give in and take a hook or a slash or a penalty to kill the momentum. , and then it ramps up with them. So, that’s what got us into this situation, but when you’re in this situation, I felt like guys worked hard in a positive way,” head coach John Hines said of the Wild getting stuck in their own zone for long periods of time in the second quarter.
Wild’s win wasn’t pretty, but it was a win nonetheless
While it wasn’t the prettiest game by any means, and the team still has a lot of work to do, they still desperately needed the two points to have a chance in the playoffs. It’s clear that the Wild still have a lot to address if they want to continue winning this season, but for now, it’s game by game and a win is a win.
The Wild were strong with two goals, but they had to find a way to clean up the game. They did show some signs of improving their game, but once again they struggled to stay consistent, which they must do if they want to get more “nice” wins. However, this is the first time all season that the Wild have won back-to-back games, so hopefully this is a start in the right direction.
“I feel like that was a theme last year as well. We won a lot of low-scoring games, especially after Christmas, and that’s the team we have. We work hard and that’s the team we are,” Gustafsson said of his minimal turnover margin this season.
RELATED: Madness requires focusing on positives and negatives to win
The Wild will head to the East for a quick back-to-back set. The first game will be Thursday night, November 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes. If they want to beat the Hurricanes, they’re going to have to find a way to drastically improve their game.
