The Wild could sure use the reinforcement.
In a narrow loss like the one to the Red Wings, those players could have turned the game in the Wild’s favor, but the team was in control at 2-0 in part because of Lauko.
After Marco Rossi opened the scoring, Lauko redirected in a centering attempt by Devin Shore later in the first period to continue a strong start by the Wild.
Yakov Trenin “did a great job on the boards,” said Lauko, who has three goals and three assists through 34 games. “Shoresy had a lot of speed. It’s just the way we talk about how we need to play, how our line needs to play, go to the net, play that north-south hockey. He made a good shooting pass to the net, and I was at the right spot at the right moment.”
Goals from the fourth line were scarce earlier in the season, but the group has been making a comeback of late and that’s helped the Wild stay ahead of the playoff cut line in the Western Conference despite playing mostly without Kaprizov since the holiday break.