The last two weeks have been a busy time for the Minnesota Wild, so busy a weekly check-in couldn’t be finished in time so this will cover the last two weeks instead. They played in six games that included four on the road and two more at home. In their road games, they took on the Montréal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and the Chicago Blackhawks then at home they faced the Canadiens again and the Seattle Kraken.
The Wild finished the last two weeks with a 4-2 record with their two losses coming against the Red Wings and the Kraken. A lot has happened from injuries to new faces and a lot of up-and-down play from their entire lineup. Fortunately, they’ve worked hard to prove they can overcome things, which hopefully will continue moving forward.
Wild’s Eriksson Ek & Kaprizov Lead The Way
The guy that has been taking the brunt of the dirty hits so far this season has finally reached the top of the stat sheet. That player is Joel Eriksson Ek. Last season he had some teeth knocked out and, despite getting them fixed during the offseason, the start of this current year nearly destroyed all that work. He’s taken a number of sticks to the face as well as a face-first fall into the boards, thanks to a hit from behind.
Luckily Eriksson Ek wasn’t injured and was able to get a jumpstart on his game recently. In the past six games, he’s scored two goals and four assists for six points. He also didn’t let himself get pushed around too much, as he threw eight hits through those six games. He even blocked three shots and had three takeaways, but he also had two giveaways which is a risk when trying to make plays as a center.
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During the last couple of weeks, the Wild changed up their lines and it didn’t bother Eriksson Ek or the guy right behind him in points, Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov was up to his typical tricks and scored a team-leading four goals plus an assist for five points in the last six games. He doesn’t usually contribute as much defensively, but he also blocked three shots and had three takeaways with the downside of five giveaways. Hopefully, he can work on those giveaways and have all his stats positive going forward.
Wild’s Dumba & Steel Quiet
Matt Dumba was one of the Wild’s top-scoring defensemen last season but this season, he only has two points so far. These last two weeks, he hasn’t been able to record any points and has been relatively quiet. Thankfully for the Wild, he was only quiet offensively, defensively he still did his job and threw 10 hits plus he blocked eight shots. Unfortunately, he also led the team with the most giveaways at eight, which is not a great stat for a defenseman to have since he’s in charge of getting the puck out of the defensive zone.
Dumba wasn’t the only player who struggled to contribute, there was a forward who hasn’t lived up to expectations just yet and that is Sam Steel who was added in the offseason after the departure of Kevin Fiala. Steel had a very strong preseason and it seemed like he’d be lighting the lamp every other night, but so far he’s only found the back of the net twice plus assisted on another goal for three total points on the season.
These last two weeks Steel accumulated only one of those three points but otherwise, he was pretty quiet. His numbers may be smaller as well because he only had one shot on goal in those six games compared to Eriksson Ek’s 20 shots. However, unlike Dumba, Steel did not produce a lot defensively, with only two hits, two blocked shots, and both a giveaway and takeaway. It would be really great for the Wild if Steel could find a way to score some more goals and help lead his team to some wins.
Wild’s Next Week
The Wild had a quick two-game homestand in between road trips, while their first trip was out east, this latest trip will be out west. Their first stop will be against the Los Angeles Kings and Fiala in the first of a back-to-back; the Kings already beat the Wild earlier this season, 7-6. They’ll then take on the Anaheim Ducks in the second game and finally wrap up the trip with a game against the Kraken.
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On this trip, the Wild will be facing scorers like Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Jaden Schwartz, and André Burakovsky. Their defense and goaltenders will be busy with those players while the offense has to find a way past goaltenders Jonathan Quick, John Gibson or Anthony Stolarz, and Martin Jones or Joey Daccord.
Thankfully this is a quick three-game trip and then the Wild will be back home once again. They need to get back on the winning track and hopefully, they can do that on this upcoming road trip. They’ll have an advantage with Jordan Greenway coming back into the lineup as he could be the spark they’ve been waiting for to get some energy back into this team.
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.
