The Minnesota Wild were coming off a huge win over the Boston Bruins on the road when they faced the Montréal Canadiens at home on Thursday night (Dec. 21). They added another to their injured list as they played without Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Mats Zuccarello, and Ryan Hartman. Luckily, they started strong with a power play goal by Matt Boldy 13 minutes into the first period. They added to their lead just over a minute later to give them a two-goal lead to end the period.
The Canadiens found the back of the net almost halfway through the second to cut the lead in half and put the Wild on their heels a little. The rest of the period was pretty quiet except for the high number of penalties to both sides. The scoring picked up in the third, with the Canadiens scoring another goal to tie things up at two.
Then it was the Wild’s turn to jump onto the board to retake the lead, only for the Canadiens to answer back with a little over three minutes left in regulation. Neither team could score before time ran out, and they needed overtime. That’s when Kirill Kaprizov stepped up for the second game in a row and scored the winner just five seconds before time ran out. While Kaprizov came up big in the end, the rookies stepped up first, and that’s where we’ll start.
Wild’s Rossi & Faber Put on Show
Boldy may have gotten the Wild’s first goal of the game, but the two players who really shined were Marco Rossi and Brock Faber. Each player had a goal in the game, with Rossi stepping up first to give his team the lead. After having a difficult start to his NHL career over the past couple of seasons, Rossi has found his game. He’s a strong skater, great passer, grinder, and just an overall strong player.
He was open for his goal against the Canadiens as he skated into the offensive zone and tapped his stick to show he was ready for a pass, which he received and buried to give them their second lead of the game. By now, everyone knows how strong Faber has been playing, as he’s played nearly 30 minutes every game that Spurgeon and Brodin have been out. He’s been on the penalty kill and the power play and has basically been their top defenseman.
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He proved he could provide some offense, as he scored from the point on the power play. It seemed like that would be the game-winner until the Canadiens found a way to sneak one in and force overtime. Rossi and Faber have easily been two of the Wild’s best players since the start of the season and have played consistently strong, even during the hard times. Hopefully, they can continue to shine, and their teammates will follow.
Wild’s Power Play Stepped Up
The Wild’s power play was successful for the second game in a row. In their first game, they scored on their single power play chance in their win over the Bruins. This time against the Canadiens, they scored twice out of six power play opportunities. It seems they’ve finally learned it’s better to shoot the puck instead of passing it around and wasting almost the whole power play before taking a shot.
Related: Wild’s Penalty Problems Cost Them in Loss to Penguins
Boldy and Faber aren’t leading the team in shots, but they’ve proven they know when the right time is to take a shot. Boldy’s been on fire lately with his offensive production, and while Faber has been busy keeping pucks out of the net, it’s great to see him add some points occasionally. Especially when he’s filling in on the power play in the absence of Spurgeon.
Wild Haven’t Learned
Under John Hynes’ leadership, the Wild have found a way to pull out a win after dropping an early lead they should’ve been able to hold onto. Many of their issues involve taking undisciplined penalties, and they’ve found themselves in this trap the past few games, but luckily, they have found ways to win despite that. It’s great they can find ways out, but they shouldn’t put themselves in that situation in the first place.
Some of the penalties may have been questionable, but regardless, the players have to do everything they can to avoid taking a penalty. They did allow one goal on the penalty kill, and when they have to kill off so many penalties, their penalty killers get tired.
Despite playing with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, they were still without their top defensemen, which made it hard on the rest. They need to stop taking so many penalties, and maybe they’ll be able to start holding onto leads more easily.
Wild Face Bruins Again
The Wild will face the Bruins for the second time in a week to finish up their season series at home for their final game before the Christmas break. They know they can beat the Bruins even if it requires overtime, and they’ll be at home fresh off another thrilling overtime win. However, they’ll have to stay out of the penalty box because the Bruins have a lethal power play that they witnessed firsthand in their first meetup.
They’ll likely still be without some of their injured players, so the rest of the team will have to continue to step up and find ways to stop David Pastrňák, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, and James van Riemsdyk. Hopefully, the defense will be up to the task, but the offense won’t be off the hook as they try to get past either Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman.
The Wild will need their power play to continue their strong streak and also avoid the penalty box. If they can do that and their rookies step up even more, they’ll be able to secure another win and go into the holiday break on a strong note.
