Wild Continue to be Road-Dominating | Wild Wednesday
Wild Continue to be Road-Dominating
The Minnesota Wild have proven they can secure points on the road time after time this season, but when playing at home, it does not seem to be as easy for them. The Wild are 9-1-3 on the road and are tied with the Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils for most road wins this season. At home, their record is 4-3-1, so the Wild must start picking up their home play if they want to remain a serious contender this season.
Minnesota Loves Edmonton
The Wild have dominated the Oilers for years now, especially when playing in Edmonton and they proved that to be the case in Thursday night’s 5-3 victory. Even though two of Edmonton’s goals were flukes and two of the Wild’s goals were disallowed, one from being barely offsides and the other from an early whistle, the Oilers could still not find a way to beat the Wild.
This is the second straight season the Oilers have had a shaky start, but against the Wild, it’s just been one of many seasons of struggle. In the last 24 games in Edmonton, The Wild are 19-5-0 through 15 seasons. In the last six seasons both home and away, the Wild are 11-2 against Edmonton. So, while the Oilers are struggling to win at home this season, the road-dominating Wild took full advantage and secured their 13th win.
Kaprizov Avoids Injury
During the game in Edmonton, there was a moment of panic when Oilers forward Drake Caggiula caught Kirill Kaprizov in an awkward open-ice check that seemed to injure Kaprizov’s knee.
After the collision, Kaprizov slowly exited the ice and went straight down the tunnel. To most of our surprise, Kaprizov was back on the bench just a few minutes later and only missed a few shifts.
He played the rest of the game and was even on the ice with less than two minutes to go up three goals. He missed Saturday’s game against Calgary and underwent an MRI on Sunday which confirmed no serious injury. He was able to return to the lineup for Monday night’s game against Winnipeg. Huge relief for all of Minnesota because a collision like that can easily cause a season-ending injury.
Run, Run Travis
Saturday’s game in Calgary also proved this team’s resilience by coming back from a two-goal deficit with just over four minutes left in the game. The Wild went on a power play where Brock Faber made it 3-2 and then Marco Rossi scored the equalizer to force overtime with just 34 seconds to go. The Wild ended up losing 4-3 in a shootout after having many chances to take both points, but this game is another example of how this team would have never gotten a point if it was played last season.
Forward Travis Boyd also had his Wild debut during this game and he said it will definitely be one he will never forget. Boyd was recalled on Friday after the Wild lost Karpizov and Marat Khusnutdinov to injury in Thursday’s game. Boyd was in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Iowa Wild’s game when he got the call and the original plan was for him to fly into Calgary that same day, but that flight was sold out. According to the Athletic, Boyd had to fly into Toronto that night and did not get to his hotel until around midnight. He caught a flight to Calgary the next morning that landed at about noon giving him roughly 90 minutes to make it to the arena for warmups before the 2 p.m. game.
To make matters even more stressful, there was a snowstorm hitting Calgary that afternoon and combined with the fan traffic heading to the game, Boyd and the Wild’s team services manager, Dom Hennig, decided they would have to take the rest of the journey on foot in order to make it on time.
“Dom and I literally had to get out of our car service and run down the street,” Boyd told the Athletic. “There might be a funny picture coming from somebody here who was in line, but we ran the last two blocks because it was 1:05 (p.m.) and I had 25 minutes to get inside, get my gear on and get on the ice for warmups.”
So, with his hockey bag hoisted over his shoulder and Hennig carrying his sticks, the Minnesota native from Hopkins ran the last two blocks to the arena through the snow all while wearing a suit and dress shoes.
“As a kid growing up in Minnesota, I think everybody wants the chance to put on this Minnesota Wild jersey...” Boyd said. “Crazy 24 hours but at the end of it, it was a very special 24 hours for me and I’m sure my family back home, as well. Chills went down my spine just thinking about that first shift and realizing what was going on.”
Boyd logged just over eight minutes of ice time through 11 shifts in his 297th NHL game and is still on the roster with Khustnutdinov and Jakub Lauko out hurt. Even though there were multiple obstacles along the way, Boyd remains thrilled over the entire experience.
“At the very least, if I never come back up and play again, I've played one game for the Minnesota Wild, and that's pretty cool to say for a kid from Minnesota,” Boyd told the Athletic.
Got Goalied
The Wild faced the Winnipeg Jets on Monday where they certainly were the better team for nearly the entire game, but ultimately lost 4-1. The Wild put up a season-high of 46 shots on goal and were outshooting the Jets 32-13 halfway through the second period. According to MoneyPuck, analytics show that the Wild’s expected goals in Monday’s game was 4.6, but Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck shut down the Wild entirely and is more than likely on his way to winning his third Vezina Trophy.
Former Wild player Nino Niederreiter continues to be a Minnesota killer after he secured the game-winning goal in the second period Monday, totaling seven goals and 11 points in his last 15 games against the Wild. It was a nice shot by Niederreiter, but the goal should have never happened if Joel Eriksson Ek and Yakov Trenin were not tied up with Alex Lafallo at the other end of the ice. Trenin decided to skate back to help defend Ek, which ultimately allowed the Jets to enter the zone on an odd-man rush and left Coach Hynes frustrated.
"I think there's some discussion points we can have on that situation," Hynes told Russo after the game.
Looking Forward
On a more positive note, defenseman Jake Middleton has been incredible this season. He has four goals, eight assists and is a +16 through 21 games. Last season, he only had 25 points and was a –15.
Khustnutdinov is listed as day-to-day, but is expected to return very soon and could be ready to play in Friday’s game against Chicago. Lauko is awaiting MRI results after he sustained a lower-body injury in Monday night’s game and will be out for some time.
The Wild will have a chance to improve their home play on back-to-backs this weekend where they will play Chicago on Friday and Nashville on Saturday after a head-scratching one-day trip to face Buffalo tonight. Gustavsson gets the start and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be in net for the Sabres.
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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