The Minnesota Wild finished their second week with new head coach John Hynes, and while they suffered a couple of losses, they still played better than they did at the beginning of the season. This past week they went on the road for four games to face the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and finally the Seattle Kraken.
They came out of the week with a .500 record with wins against the Flames and Kraken and losses to the Canucks and Oilers. Despite getting their first losses under coach Hynes, their games weren’t filled with mistakes. Other than their slight slowdown in their game against the Canucks, they still played smooth and crisp.
With another week come and gone, the Wild had players step up and also step back. One of the players they hoped would jumpstart their offense finally did under coach Hynes, this week especially, and that’s who we’ll start this article with.
Wild’s Boldy Flourishes & Leads
The Wild had struggled with Matt Boldy’s low production levels since he returned from injury on Nov. 2, but once Hynes took over, he found a way to score goals. This past week, he showed off his actual scoring ability with four goals plus two assists for six points in the past four games. In their two wins, he had the game-winning goal. His six points led the team, and the next closest players were three points behind.
After Boldy, there were three players: Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov, and Marcus Johansson, tied at three points each. Eriksson Ek had three goals, Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Johansson had three assists. Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov are no surprise to this list, as Eriksson Ek has been grinding out points most of the season. Kaprizov has struggled a bit in the goal department but is finally figuring things out.
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It was good to see Johansson’s name on the stepped-up list because, the past few weeks, he’s struggled to produce, and the Wild needed him to find a way. They could still use more production from him as the weeks continue, but some production is better than none.
Wild Need More
A few players always need to improve their game, and this past week for the Wild, that was Jon Merrill, Frédérick Gaudreau, and Brandon Duhaime. Merrill has been playing slightly better than he had at the beginning of the season, but he has only had one block in four games. Every defenseman on the roster should have at least one block per game if they want to continue to win games.
As far as Gaudreau and Duhaime go, they’ve played well, but their offense has struggled. They couldn’t register any points in the past four games, and the Wild need more points from them both. Thankfully, the team has been playing better since being under new leadership, but it will be even better if these players can get more blocked shots and contribute more offensively.
One area the Wild needed a little help in that wasn’t a single-player issue was their overall energy level. They held it together most of the week, but against the Canucks it seemed like things just stood still in the second and third periods. They need to find a way to play consistently with a high level of energy, and that’s something they could improve on as a team, especially as they’ll be without Jonas Brodin for some time.
Wild’s Week Ahead
This next week the Wild will have some days off before they play the Flames and Canucks at home. It’ll be the second time they’ll see both teams in a week, and hopefully, they can take wins from both of them.
They’ll be busy keeping Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes off the scoreboard. However, they must also find ways to get pucks past Dan Vladar or Dustin Wolf and Thatcher Demko or Casey DeSmith. If the Wild can keep their successful list going and have their players who need improvement actually improve, they’ll be able to sneak out some more wins.
Related: Wild’s Boldy & Special Teams Step Up in Win Over Flames
It’ll be interesting to see how Hynes handles more ups and downs as this team continues to find its path. He’s handled everything in stride so far, and if he can keep doing that, he’ll be fine, and so will the Wild, especially Boldy, who’s been able to find his scoring stride.
