Still Number One | Wild Wednesday
Still Number One...
The Wild are coming home from another successful road trip where they secured four out of the possible six points after beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 on Friday, losing to the LA Kings 4-1 on Saturday and winning last night’s game 5-4 over the Utah Hockey Club in a shootout. The Wild are tied at 42 points (19-5-4) with the Winnipeg Jets for the best team in the NHL, but have two games in hand over Winnipeg who have played 30 games this season. With more than a third of the season through, the Wild still have yet to lose consecutive games in regulation.
California Trip
Friday night’s victory for the Wild marked the ninth straight road win against the Anaheim Ducks and they now have a record of 16-2 against them in their last 18 meetings, according to Michael Russo.
Gustavsson was close to securing his third shutout on the season in this game, but with 3:23 left in the game, Ducks forward Brock McGinn put one on the board for Anaheim. Shortly after, Yakov Trenin secured his first goal of the season when he scored a short-handed, empty-net goal, making the final score 5-1.
With a back-to-back the next day, Fleury started against the Kings where he tallied his first regulation loss in seven starts this season. Some people questioned why Gus did not get the start in LA, but I assume it was because Hynes knew they had to win at least one of those two games with the current injuries they are facing and figured that with Gus in net, Anaheim should still be no problem for the Wild.
Luckily for the Wild, they do not play LA again until St. Patrick’s day because two of their five regulation losses this season have come from the Kings.
Jiricek to Iowa
David Jiricek was sent down to Iowa on Monday so he can start playing and become more comfortable since he has only played 10 games this season. Guerin said he wanted Jiricek to meet the whole team and get a feel for how they operate before being sent to Iowa.
“But he wants to play, too,” Guerin told the Athletic. “And it's important for him to go down and play, work on some things that we want to see him execute but get back into playing hockey."
One of the main things Guerin wants to see improve for Jiricek is his skating ability. That was the Jackets’ biggest concern for him because at 6’3” and 203 pounds, his size can make his skating seem a bit awkward at times.
Guerin said he plans to have Jiricek work closely with the Wild’s skating coach Andy Ness to hopefully improve his strides and get him ready for NHL style play. So, if all goes to plan, I am guessing Jiricek will play his first game for the Wild around the first of the year.
Never a Doubt
Last night’s game in Utah started out as a frustrating one for the Wild as they outshot the Hockey Club 17-5 in the first period, but found themselves down 1-0. The Hockey Club actually went up 2-0 halfway through the second period, but Hynes successfully challenged the goal for offsides and is now two for two in successful challenges this season.
Unlike the first period, Utah had all the momentum in the second period, but because of a sloppy line change attempt, Marat Khustnutdinov had a breakaway where he wristed one right past Utah’s goaltender Karel Vejmelka. That was his first goal of the season after a 27-game drought and only his second goal with the Wild.
Just 36 seconds later, Kaprizov tallied another one for the Wild when he broke loose with the puck, scoring his 18th goal of the season.
Clayton Keller tied the game in the third period with a power play goal for Utah, but Marcus Johansson answered right back by scoring just a minute later, regaining the lead for the Wild. Utah went back on power play shortly after where Clayton Keller scored once again, tying the game 3-3.
That totaled the 19th power play goal allowed by the Wild in just 67 chances this season. The Wild’s penalty kill has struggled all season long, ranking third worst in the league. Granted, the Wild are currently without two of their best penalty killers, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin, but like I mentioned, the Wild’s PK has been an issue for quite some time, stemming all the way back to the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Dallas Stars.
Utah still had one more goal to score when Juuso Valimaki found the back of the net with just eight minutes and 15 seconds left in the third, giving Utah the lead once again. With just 43 seconds to go in the third period and an extra attacker on the ice for the Wild, Marco Rossi tied the game, forcing overtime.
After a few chances from both teams in overtime and an insane stop from Gus at the last second when he denied Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz on a 2-on-1 chance, this one resulted in a shootout.
After Boldy scored for the Wild in the shootout, it was up to Nick Bjugstad to keep Utah alive, but he hit the crossbar, ending the game with the Wild winning 5-4... Never a doubt.
Looking Ahead
The Wild are now on a five-game home stand and eight of their next 10 games are at home. The Wild have proven time after time that they can win on the road, so here is another chance to prove they can do the same on home ice.
The Wild face the Oilers tomorrow night, the Flyers on Saturday and the Vegas Knights on Sunday.
Kelly Rivard
Kelly is a Minnesota native and a proud Gopher alumna who enjoys making people laugh and spending time with family. Her skills include going 5/6 on parlays, managing multiple incredibly great (fantasy) sports teams and throwing 30 mph fastballs. When she’s not at the X, Target Field or US Bank Stadium cheering on her favorite teams, you can find her pouring drinks for customers at her hometown pub.
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