The Minnesota Wild won’t be beat in regulation, and they are arguably the league’s top story right now. 

Following a tragic start to this season, where they won just three of their first dozen games, the group seemed mired by the massive contract extension to Kirill Kaprizov. 

Now? The Wild haven’t lost in regulation since Nov. 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes. That’s an 11-game point streak, although their seven-game win streak was snapped in a shootout loss to Buffalo.

Boy, does this group seem rejuvenated. 

Seen as a litmus test on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota played to their structure to a 3-2 shootout win.  

You may know a reason why. 

The Wild rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt, confirmed starter on Tuesday according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, is a lightning rod of puck-stopping, as part of a solid rotation with Filip Gustavsson. 

Wallstedt was sensational in that game, registering 39 saves, and another showcase of his victory swagger celebration. 

The sins of Oilers management past are one of the most recent talking points of the fanbase’s social media — it makes a ton of sense why. 

Edmonton swapped out of the pick in the 2021 NHL Draft to take Xavier Bourgault, who is no longer part of the organization. The Wild were all too happy to select Wallstedt with that pick, who looks dominant in his young career. 

In just nine games this season, he hasn’t lost in regulation, boasting a 7-0-2 record, a 1.93 goals against average, and a .938 save percentage. 

Wow. 

“It’s going to be fun. I’m very excited,” Wallstedt said after practice Monday. “Haven’t played them. I have only seen them a lot of times on TV and social media. So I’m excited. It’s going to be probably a good test for us.”

Only three times in November did the Wild allow three goals, and never more than three. This team is dialling in defensively and with their goaltending. 

Top-line humming

While one piece changes a puzzle, that isn’t the only thing reversing the Wild’s fortunes. 

Mat Zuccarello’s return to the Wild lineup, coming back from a “lower body” injury,  perfectly dovetails with the Wild’s point streak, as they’ve not been beaten in regulation with him suited up. 

The 38-year-old’s presence on the top line just rounds out a lineup that checks hard with a couple of notable weapons. But he’s got superb chemistry with Kaprizov, and that can’t be understated. 

Kaprizov has points in seven straight and goals in five straight, totalling 17-14–31 points, which is roughly top-15 in the league. He’ll continue trending upward if he stays healthy. 

Shutdown

The main shutdown group is Marcus Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy. While Boldy is the sexy offensive driver, with eight goals and six assists in this point streak, Eriksson Ek is getting subtle buzz for the Selke Trophy. 

It’s going to be incumbent with Edmonton to have the last change to avoid these matchups — we’ll see how coach John Hynes approaches it. 

There are massive dropoffs this season in Expected Goals Percentage for some of the league’s best players, as noted in this Monday piece by The Athletic.

Nathan Mackinnon, Connor Bedard, Sidney Crosby, Sebastian Aho, Jack Eichel, Leo Carlsson, and Macklin Celebrini are crater while playing Eriksson Ek compared to against anyone else. 

“They’re getting some hard matchups, but they’re doing a nice job when they have to be called upon to actually defend or check, so to speak. Their attention to detail is excellent. They’re on top of people,” Hynes told reporters on Monday. 

“They’re not giving teams easy offense, which is important. But the thing I really like as well is that they’re making those guys have to defend as well. So they’re not just checking the other line. I think that they’re trying to outplay them on both sides of the puck, and have done a good job.” 

I’m sure the Wild want Eriksson Ek to match up against McDavid. Regardless, this is a game I believe the Oilers are better with McDavid and Draisaitl on separate lines. 

Faber’s responsibility

A word on the defensive corps. 

Former 2024 Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber is a minute muncher at 5-on-5, leading the Wild with 24 more minutes played than Jonas Brodin.

But it’s even wider in all situations, averaging 24:14 a night. That’s actually less than his last two seasons average-wise, suggesting Zeev Buium and Jacob Middleton can take a shift here and there. 

Of course, captain Jared Spurgeon has been the heartbeat of this team for a while, and since his players’ only meeting out of October, the Wild haven’t looked back. 

Notes:Marcus Foligno was placed on the IR on Friday and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.But Vladimir Tarasenko is back in the lineup after missing seven games. He had two shots on goal in 12:40 of ice time upon his return vs the Sabres. The Wild PP is cooking at 24.2 per cent, sixth in the NHL (as of Monday). The PK can still be had at 79 per cent, something the Oilers could exploit.This kicks off a four-game Pacific Northwest road trip tonight, but they won’t play any back-to-backs on this trip. Kaprizov (344 games) on Friday became the fourth-fastest player drafted in the fifth round or later to score 200 goals, joining Brett Hull (280 games), Luc Robitaille (323 games) and Pavel Bure (328 games). Zuccarello had an assist for his 700th NHL point, becoming the first Norwegian player to reach the milestone. He also became the third undrafted player to debut in the past 30 years to hit the mark, joining Martin St. Louis (1,033) and Artemi Panarin (896). Head coach Jon Hynes was appointed to the job on Nov. 27, 2023, and has a record of 90-63-18 since taking the reins. Tyler Pitlick cleared waivers this weekend. The former Oiler has played for eight teams since leaving Edmonton in 2016-17.Last year flipped the usual Oilers vs Wild script. Usually, the Oilers struggle mightily in Minny, while being pretty good at home. The Oilers dropped their lone home contest on Nov. 21, 2024, by a 5-3 score, while beating Minnesota twice away.PRESENTED BY SOUTHVIEW ACURA

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