Best Road Trip Yet? Wild Wednesday
Best Road Trip Yet?
The Wild are returning home from the 18-day road trip as one of the top teams in the NHL. They went 5-1-1 on the trip, bringing their overall record to 6-1-2.
The Wild’s streak of never trailing in regulation finally came to an end during Thursday’s night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning when Nikita Kucherov found the back of the net in the second period, bringing the score to 2-1. The Wild bounced back though, beating the Lightning 4-2 for their fourth straight win. Their streak of 19 periods for a span of 391 minutes and 31 seconds ranks second in the league behind the 1969-70 Boston Bruins team of 457:21.
Their first regulation loss came a game later where the Wild fell short to the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-5 final on Saturday. It was a sloppy game for both teams, and especially for goaltender Filip Gustavsson. After having one of the best starts to a season in his career, he stopped only 16 of 22 shots on Saturday, resulting in a .727 save percentage. I guess he is human after all.
Flower Send-Off
Last night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins was dedicated to the one-and-only Marc-Andre Fleury as it was his last game in the city that he started his career. His former team and fans could not have given him a better send-off as they showed their utmost support throughout the game since he helped the team win three Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016 and 17.
During warmups, Pittsburgh fans flooded the Wild’s side with signs that read “Thanks for the memories” and “Au revoir, Fleury.”
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Fleury’s name echoed throughout the arena all night long, with the first chant happening while the Penguins showed a tribute video during the first media timeout showcasing some of Fleury’s best pranks while he was with the team. It was emotional for everyone, but Fleury said he could not even watch because he was holding back tears throughout the night.
“I didn’t want to watch or look because my first time back here I looked and got watery eyes and I couldn’t see,” Fleury said. “I didn’t want to look. I just told the ref like ‘Drop the puck. Let’s go.’”
The night could not have gone better for the future Hall of Famer goaltender, where he stopped 26 of 29 shots resulting in a 5-3 victory over Pittsburgh. It was another blown lead for Pittsburgh and their sixth straight loss, but for Fleury, it was his 1028th game and 563rd win. Fleury sits in second place for most wins of all time behind Martin Brodeur with a staggering 691 wins.
After the game, his former teammates Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang along with the fans and his current teammates stayed to give Fleury one last standing ovation with a roaring applause as he skated one final lap.
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“I don’t know... Um... It’s maybe hard to believe... it’s the last time,” Fleury said after the game. “It’s hard to believe. But I’m so appreciative, you know, from the bottom of my heart.”
Who knows, maybe this whole “last year” thing is just Fleury’s greatest prank yet.
Squints Can Fight?
Brock Faber also made a statement in last night’s game by fighting for the first time in his career. Halfway through the second period, Faber and Crosby were wrestling after a collision along the boards when Pittsburgh’s defenseman Jack St. Ivany jumped onto the ice in Crosby’s defense to fight Faber.
Faber definitely held his own, but let’s just say if had been wearing his glasses, they would have been broken. His chain on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
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John Hynes was seen arguing with the official afterwards because the only reason St. Ivany left the bench was to fight, but it was during a line change. St. Ivany did not get called for an instigating penalty, but he was assigned a 2-minute roughing minor along with the 5-minute fighting major, and could receive a call from the league for a potential fine at the very least.
Problems in Iowa
While the Minnesota Wild have had an incredible start to their season, the Iowa Wild cannot say the same. After six consecutive losses, Iowa finally won their first game yesterday beating the Chicago Wolves 3-2.
The scary part? Minnesota’s prospect Jesper Wallstedt was in net for five of those games, posting a record of 1-3-1, a 4.27 GAA and a .862 save percentage. The Wild do not want their future goaltender losing his confidence down in the minors, especially when the original plan this season was for him to be rostered with the Wild as the third goalie.
Looking Forward
The Wild finally return home to face the Lightning on Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday and the LA Kings on Tuesday. Now, if anyone knows anything about a team returning home for the first game after a successful road trip, it is usually not pretty. But if the Wild can continue what they had brewing on the road, they should be okay.
Kirill Kaprizov had his sixth consecutive multi-point game tallying one goal, two assists in last night’s game and is now tied with Vegas forward Mark Stone in the league for most points at 18. Secondary scoring also finally made an appearance in last night’s game with Frederick Gaudreau scoring two goals and Jakub Lauko also scoring. Jared Spurgeon also returned to the lineup last night after being out with a lower body injury since Oct. 12.
After this three-game home stand, the Wild are back on the road, so these next few games will be important to continue the same good habits they developed on the trip.
“Just because we won on the road doesn’t mean we’ll win at home,” Hynes said. “It’s gotta be the mindset and the way that we play. That’s the most important thing now.”
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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