The Minnesota Wild didn’t show any signs of a Halloween hangover as they took on the Montréal Canadiens for the second time in a week on Tuesday, Nov. 1. It was also the opening of their quick two-game homestand before heading on the road once again. It was a fast-paced game that kept the Wild on their toes but they were ready and matched the pace throughout the game.
Neither team got on the board until the second period when the Wild went on a scoring rampage and recorded three straight without an answer from the Canadiens. They went into the third period with a 3-0 lead and worked hard to protect it. The Canadiens found an opening in the latter half of the third and got past Marc-André Fleury to take away the shutout. The Wild quickly put an end to that comeback attempt with a late empty-net goal that was the final goal of the night as the Wild won 4-1.
Wild’s Rossi Gets First Point
It only took Wild newcomer Marco Rossi nine games before he registered his first point of the season, an assist on Kirill Kaprizov’s second goal of the game. He’s had quite the season so far as he played in the first two games of the season with minimal minutes before being pulled for a game, and then re-inserted into the lineup with the reward of more ice time.
Rossi wasn’t playing badly before he was scratched, but after he came back he wanted to prove he’d earned his spot on the opening night roster. He’d been getting close to tallying his first point in the last few games, but nothing went in until now and he was paired with the perfect winger to register points, Kaprizov. They ended up being matched together and looked like they’d been on the same line for years when they connected on a deflected pass and scored the goal that put them up by two.
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Hopefully these two get more chances to play together and everyone can see what else they have up their sleeves in terms of goal-scoring. While Rossi recorded his first point, Kaprizov scored two goals himself that extended his season totals to eight goals and 13 points in 10 games.
Wild’s New Faces Step Up
When hearing the news that the Wild weren’t only going to be without Jordan Greenway but also Marcus Foligno and most recently Ryan Hartman, the panic mode may have started to set in. However, the Wild weren’t panicking as they adjusted almost seamlessly without those players. Mason Shaw had another big game for the second consecutive night as he scored the first goal of the game and proved he’s earned his spot on the roster.
The other new face to the roster, who also made his Wild debut was Minnesota native Steven Fogarty and while he didn’t make as big of an impression as Shaw, he made his presence known. He gave the Wild an ample scoring chance on the power play when he drew a tripping penalty against the Canadiens, and it was actually a very dangerous slew-foot play that could’ve seriously injured Fogarty but luckily he was okay. While he was unharmed, teammate Brandon Duhaime was not.
Unfortunately for the Wild, Duhaime left partially through the game with an upper-body injury which extends the Wild’s list to four injured forwards, all with upper-body problems. However, there is some hope as Greenway is said to be making improvements and will hopefully be back soon.
Wild Making Improvements
The Wild started out the season rough and made quite a few mistakes but in their win over the Canadiens, it was hard to believe it was the same team. They could be seen and heard communicating very clearly and with that communication came clean passing plays and fewer mistakes. They were also more aggressive in pressing for the puck, as they jumped on chances rather than sitting and watching the play unfold.
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They had another great power-play performance that resulted in a goal, and out of their 10 games played so far this season, they’ve scored power-play goals in seven of them. While their power play did well, there were some mistakes that included their penalty kill which gave up a goal; and their faceoff percentage was not up to standard at just 38 percent. The Wild did keep up with the physicality but their blocked shots and giveaways need some work. Thankfully they have time to fix those issues before they become a real problem.
Wild Take On Kraken
The Wild’s next opponent will be their first meeting with the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, Nov. 3, as well as their final home game before heading to California for their second meeting with Kevin Fiala and the Los Angeles Kings. The Kraken have been an interesting team so far this season with wins over the Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, all strong teams.
The Wild will have their hands full with the Kraken who seemed to have the Wild’s number last season. Fleury, who had a strong night in net against the Canadiens, will most likely be in net once again and he along with the defensive core will have to be on the lookout for Jaden Schwartz, Jared McCann, Matty Beniers, and Andre Burakovsky. While the Wild’s offense will have to try to get past Joey Daccord since Philipp Grubauer is out of the lineup and Martin Jones did not travel with the team on their current road trip.
Hopefully, the Wild can continue to succeed without their key players in the lineup and get another win at home to give them some motivation before they head out on a tough road trip. If the Wild can play as they did against the Canadiens, with a few things cleaned up, they should be able to steal some wins.
Mariah Holland is a contributing Minnesota Wild writer for THW. She’s been covering the Wild at THW since October of 2020 and specializes in game takeaways and weekly check-ins. She is always looking for different angles to cover the Wild and dig deeper into the stories surrounding the team to help fans connect on a more personal level and to keep an eye on the latest follow her on Twitter @MariahEStark.
