The Minnesota Wild just finished up their second to last week of the regular season and it had some rough spots. They lost some crucial points at the beginning of the week when they were taken down by the Vegas Golden Knights for the second time in three days. Things didn’t get much better as the week continued when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins and fell behind in the race for first place in the Central Division.
The end of the week turned out to be a bright spot however as the Wild found a way past the St. Louis Blues and Ryan Hartman got even more revenge on Blues’ goaltender Jordan Binnington. They also lost Joel Eriksson Ek, Oskar Sundqvist, and Mason Shaw to injury but they gained Kirill Kaprizov and Gustav Nyquist. There were a number of players who climbed the stat sheet and several others who struggled to perform.
Wild’s Variety of Scorers
For nearly a month now Matt Boldy has found himself in the top spot for Wild scorers. In the past three games, he recorded one goal and two assists with all of them coming in their losses. Surprisingly he was held pointless against the Blues but he had a chance with a single shot on goal. He wasn’t as offensively powerful as in past weeks but he was still playing with grit and aggressiveness and helped out defensively as well.
While Boldy was alone at the top, six players were right behind him with two points each. It’s not surprising to hear Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello were among those players, however, Zuccarello had struggled in the past weeks and is finally finding his way back. The other four players were Nyquist, Sam Steel, John Klingberg, and Marcus Johansson.
It’s safe to say general manager Bill Guerin did a good job at the 2023 Trade Deadline since Klingberg, Johansson, and Nyquist were all acquired during deadline week and all have now produced at least one point if not more. The biggest surprise was Nyquist who tallied two points in his first game with the Wild after being traded and missing the last two months of play. Not only did he have to adjust after missing that much time but he was also dealt to a new team. He’s done well so far and hopefully it will continue.
Wild’s Foligno & Dumba Struggle
Marcus Foligno is known more for his physicality rather than his scoring but he’s shown he’s capable of recording points. Unfortunately, this past week he wasn’t able to convert at all and got a little carried away with his stick that resulted in three stick infraction penalties. Luckily, the penalty kill stepped up each time but he can’t be doing that once the postseason starts. The Wild will need his physical presence on the ice and not in the penalty box; it would also be great if he could score a few goals.
Related: 3 Things Wild Need to Improve Before Postseason 2023
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No matter what Matt Dumba does he can’t seem to get himself off the struggle list when it comes to offense. He did have some better defensive play this past week but he couldn’t record any points. His main priority is defense but like Foligno, he’s proven he can score goals and assist on them. For some reason, this season has really messed with his scoring abilities but the postseason would be the perfect time for him to figure it out.
When the playoffs start, a whole new level of play comes out and it can bring out a higher level of play in certain players as well. Both Foligno and Dumba have the potential to reach that higher level and maybe the postseason is exactly what they need to get out of their offensive funks.
Wild’s Final Week
The Wild will finish up the regular season with another three games against some familiar foes in the Chicago Blackhawks, and Winnipeg Jets, and their final game against the Nashville Predators. The Wild need every point they can get if they hope to contend for the first-place spot in their division and they’ll have to play better than this past week.
The Wild’s defense will have to be aware of Andreas Athanasiou, Seth Jones, Jonathan Toews, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Tommy Novak, Cody Glass, and Colton Sissons. Both the Blackhawks and Predators are without some of their top scorers so the Wild will have an advantage but the Jets appear to have everyone intact and are still in the playoff hunt.
The Wild’s offense will have to find a way past goaltenders Alex Stalock or Petr Mrázek, Connor Hellebuyck, and finally Juuse Saros. The regular season is almost over and while the Wild already have a playoff spot secured, they’re still fighting to get that number one spot in the division, and they’ll have to be at the top of their game to do so. If the players on their successful list can keep doing well and bring along their struggling counterparts they’ll give themselves the best chance to win.
