The Minnesota Wild completed up their fast two-game homestand after they took on the Dallas Stars on Saturday night, Nov. 16. Each time these two groups see one another, issues are likely to get tense, and the Wild went into the sport down three of their prime gamers: Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Mats Zuccarello.
For people who haven’t seen the updates, Brodin and Eriksson Ek are day-to-day and will come again quickly, however Zuccarello is out for a number of weeks as he recovers from surgical procedure he had when he left their latest recreation in opposition to the Montréal Canadiens. That meant Michael Milne made his NHL debut, and Liam Öhgren was again from the Iowa Wild.
Wild followers additionally noticed acquainted faces on the Stars’ roster, similar to Matt Dumba and Sam Metal. Dumba made himself observed early within the recreation when he took down Jakub Lauko, which led to an eventual struggle. The sport settled down, and though the Stars got here out victorious, the Wild held on till the tip, with Filip Gustavsson doing his greatest to maintain them within the recreation. We’ll begin with how the Wild discovered their recreation too late and transfer on from there.
Wild Discovered Recreation Too Late
The Wild have been profitable this yr after they got here out and managed the play instantly. In the event that they allowed the opposite crew any room, they struggled, and with out three of their key gamers, that made it even worse. They did have some small slivers of robust play, however then they’d lose the puck and must chase the Stars right down to get it again.
Clearly, the Wild are struggling with out Eriksson Ek, Zuccarello, and Brodin, however they nonetheless have Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, and others. They need to discover a strategy to get their spark again instantly and never permit the opposite crew to determine their recreation. It’s simpler mentioned than achieved, particularly in opposition to a tricky Stars crew with lots of firepower, and the Wild did grasp in there till the tip.
Regardless of making many errors, their efforts all through the sport saved them in it more often than not. Gustavsson deserves lots of the credit score, as he stood tall and made the massive saves when mandatory. He did every thing he may to present his crew an opportunity, and so they lastly discovered their spark, however it wasn’t till the previous few minutes of the sport.
Kaprizov’s aim off of Jared Spurgeon’s shot was precisely what the crew wanted for a lift to get themselves again in it, however they’d simply over 5 minutes left in regulation. They did step up after that aim and managed the play with shot after shot, however they couldn’t remedy Oettinger, and so they discovered a number of pipes that hardly missed being a aim. The Wild must construct off that effort of these remaining minutes and discover a strategy to translate it to their recreation in the event that they wish to win with out Eriksson Ek, Zuccarello, and Brodin.
Wild’s Penalty Kill Stands Tall
The Stars are a crew recognized for getting underneath the Wild’s pores and skin, and whereas they tried their greatest, the Wild held their composure. The Wild caught to their recreation apart from a few fights, which was to be anticipated when these two groups performed. They did wrestle offensively, however they didn’t get out of hand with retaliations regardless of the Stars’ greatest efforts to power their hand.
They performed a little bit edgy at instances and got here near crossing the road however held their composure. The referees additionally allowed each groups to play, and the Wild utilized that to be extra bodily. Apart from the combating calls, the Wild solely took one minor penalty in the beginning of the sport, however they killed it off and didn’t take any extra minors. That penalty kill and the crew staying out of the field have been large elements of their skill to remain within the recreation.
“We knew coming into this season it was going to take a while; it was one of many largest areas we needed to repair and train and get guys to the system we wished to play. Not solely the system, the particulars throughout the system and I feel guys are understanding it, executing it at a excessive stage, the eye to element is robust. The areas that we emphasize in a number of totally different areas on the penalty kill guys are on level with it, however I additionally suppose that’s once more with one thing; generally everybody says the primary 10-20 video games there’s going to be components, there’s a lot of components of our video games which were on level from the beginning till now, the penalty kill was one which was going to take time….” mentioned John Hynes of their postgame press convention concerning the penalty kill being robust up to now few video games together with in opposition to the Stars.
Wild’s Milne Makes Impression
With the accidents to Eriksson Ek and Zuccarello, the Wild needed to make some lineup modifications, and whereas nobody was stunned they introduced in Öhgren, everybody was curious to see how Milne would do. He didn’t get any factors on the board however it wasn’t for lack of attempting. He had an excellent first NHL recreation, and like Brock Faber, he didn’t let any nerves get to him. He was aggressive, went after the puck, and even threw his physique round a bit.
Milne performed heads-up hockey and slot in very nicely on his line with Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko. All three of them had a really robust recreation in opposition to the Stars and used their velocity the entire recreation. They beat the Stars to the puck and used their our bodies after they wanted to. Milne was proper in the course of the motion, and he registered three hits and made an impression on the teaching workers as nicely.
Associated: Minnesota Wild Recall Michael Milne as Crew Heads to San Jose
“I assumed he did good, definitely completely satisfied for him and his household, clearly to get your first NHL recreation is particular and it was good to see him, get to know him previous to this, as a result of I hadn’t seen him and attending to see him tonight I assumed he did good. He’s a fast participant. I assumed he made good selections, he bought his ft moist; it’s additionally some video games you are available to, to in your first NHL recreation, it is perhaps a special type of recreation, however if you’re taking part in a crew like we performed tonight, it’s a tough recreation, I assumed he did nicely,” Hynes mentioned within the postgame press convention when requested his impression of Milne’s first recreation.
Wild Again on Highway
The Wild will head again on the highway to face the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and hopefully, they’ll be capable to use among the momentum they gained from the tip of this recreation and put it in the direction of the start of that recreation. They might even have Eriksson Ek and Brodin again of their lineup, which might be an enormous addition.
At instances, it regarded just like the Wild would fall into outdated habits and let the Stars management the sport, however they discovered a strategy to keep in it regardless of fairly a number of errors. Hopefully, the Wild can piece their lineup collectively and return to the successful observe after they tackle the Blues.
