SUNRISE, Fla. — Nick Foligno said there was a time on the bench during Thursday’s game where he just looked over at his younger brother, Marcus, and smiled.
They were playing together in the NHL for the first time as teammates — and, in fact, linemates. It was their first time on the same team since high school.
Surreal.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Marcus said.
“We kind of just had a moment where we laughed,” Nick said. “It’s really special for our family, for us. I think we appreciate it more at the ages we’re at. But just knowing the opportunity we have in front of us, too, right? And we want to make the most of it.”
This was largely the reason why Nick told Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson around the trade deadline that Minnesota was his first choice of a destination, if a trade could be worked out. Nick, 38, in his 19th season, wanted to chase a Stanley Cup with his brother, Marcus, 35, who is in his 15th season.
That it took about three extra weeks from the time Nick was acquired (for future considerations) until Marcus returned to the lineup from a lower-body injury only added to the anticipation. And the duo, paired with Yakov Trenin on the fourth line, wasted little time in making an impact. Three minutes into the second period, Trenin carried the puck wide into the Panthers zone, with Nick and Marcus both driving to the net. Trenin found Marcus, who slid the puck through the pads of Daniil Tarasov.
“It was awesome,” Marcus said. “It was a special moment to be celebrating with your brother in the NHL. It was pretty cool. Hopefully there’s a good picture of that one.”
Wild president of hockey operations and GM Bill Guerin watched the whole milestone moment unfold from the press box and smiled.
“It’s not why I did the deal,” Guerin said, “But I’d be lying to you if I didn’t get some joy out of that. I think everybody does. It’s really special.”
Marcus said the last time they had played together on the same team was in junior high/high school. Hershey High School was having a game between the girls and boys hockey teams. The girls coach called Marcus and Nick’s mother and asked if her boys would play on their sisters’ team. Marcus was in the sixth grade, Nick in the ninth.
“Nick was probably on the first line,” Marcus quipped, “And I was just surviving.”
Whether the Folignos continue to play on the same line remains to be seen, but Thursday’s debut was encouraging. Nick’s ability to play center gives coach John Hynes the flexibility to play up the middle, and pairing him with two menacing forecheckers in Marcus and Trenin, the NHL-hits leader, makes for a formidable trio.
They had a team-best 78.26 Corsi-for percentage in 9 minutes, 22 seconds of 5-on-5 minutes, with the Wild outshooting the Panthers 15-2 when they were on the ice.
“Our forecheck is probably our bread and butter,” Marcus said. “I mean, really, we’ve got to try to hold on to pucks, not throw pucks away It might not be one of the fastest lines. We’re going to be good defensively. We don’t cheat the game. But we want to be someone that a line can go over and lean on the team for 60 minutes.”
Said Hynes: “I liked it — a big, strong heavy line. Really played to their strengths. They played a north-south game. They were strong on the forecheck. They had a nice goal. ‘Trenny’ drives it wide, attacks the D. Moose gets to the net front. I thought the trio did well.”
And, in the third, Marcus set up Nick for a great chance at a goal, sliding a pass across the crease, but Nick was denied.
“Man, I thought I scored, too. It just stuck right in there,” Nick said. “I was like sticky putty on the puck or something right now, but it was a nice play by Marcus. That’s what we want to be, right? We’re not just a bang and crash line. We’re kind of a line that can create momentum, that can create opportunities, scoring chances, and we have the skill to put the puck in the net, and that’s what we want to bring. It’s so important, you can’t just be a one dimensional line. You gotta have all facets, and I think we really take a lot of pride in that, even just in the short time we’ve been together, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
The two boys know their late mother Janis, who died of breast cancer, was watching from above. Their father, Mike, the former NHL’er, was watching from home, Marcus said, though they plan to get him to Minnesota for one of their games together coming up. And Nick, who has no goals (but one point) in 10 games with the Wild, know his time is coming too.
“I probably should have had a couple myself,” Nick said. “I don’t know what the hell I’m saving them for. Maybe the playoffs, hopefully the playoffs.”