The Minnesota Wild kicked off a four-game homestand with a late-night puck drop against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, Jan. 22. They had just returned home from a quick three-game stint that saw them come home with a 2-1 record. They caught the Red Wings in the second half of a back-to-back and looked to get back in the win column.
The Wild received a big boost to their lineup upon returning home, and that was the return of Joel Eriksson Ek from an injury that kept him out of the last six games and Marcus Johansson, who missed the past three games. They remained without Matt Boldy, Zach Bogosian, and Jonas Brodin, but Brodin won’t return for some time as he’s been ruled out of the Olympics as well.
In net were the two goaltenders who were traded for each other back in the 2022 offseason: Filip Gustavsson for the Wild and Cam Talbot for the Red Wings. The game started in favor of the Red Wings, and the Wild fought back to tie it. That was how the evening went: the Red Wings scored, and the Wild answered until overtime, when the Wild got the winner. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with how they fought back.
Wild Fought Back
The Wild could’ve easily allowed the Red Wings’ go-ahead goal in the second to put them back on their heels and not as aggressive; however, it had the opposite effect. The Wild came out for the third period with their energy back and some of their spark as they scored early to tie the game up. The goal was tallied by Mats Zuccarello, who already had an assist on the first goal of the game.
The Red Wings responded quickly to retake the lead, 3-2, but the Wild answered back just as fast with another goal by Zuccarello. They nearly had the win in regulation as they had a number of solid chances, but couldn’t get anything past Talbot, and they had to go to overtime. That’s where Kirill Kaprizov took it upon himself after getting a pass from Quinn Hughes to go all the way through the offensive zone and score the game-winner.
“Yeah certainly, we certainly appreciate our fans, I think the buildings been rockin here for a while for us, and we were disappointed we didn’t come up with some more wins on the last homsetand but for the place to basically be packed, and great energy in the building like you said on a freezing cold night at an 8:30, 8:42 puck drop, I’m glad we were able to come through for the fans tonight,” said head coach John Hynes when asked about the packed building on a night when the temperature was dangerously cold outside.
Wild’s Kaprizov & Hughes Becoming Dynamic
It’s usually Kaprizov and Zuccarello who get all of the attention together, and while that did happen against the Red Wings, a lot of the attention was also around Hughes. He assisted on three of the Wild’s four goals, which included the overtime winner, which he set up, and gave Kaprizov the runway to get through the zone and score.
They are the two superstars of the team, and it’s only fitting that they’ve been finding each other a lot on the ice, and it’s expected that they will keep doing that as the season moves along and they continue to get more comfortable with each other. Kaprizov, of course, had the game winner, but he also scored the game’s first goal and assisted on the last tying goal. They each had three points, and if they can continue that, the Wild will continue to win games.
Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov smiles after scoring against the Nashville Predators (Matt Blewett-Imagn Images)
“Yeah, not at that level, I mean I had the opportunity to coach Roman Josi in Nashville, who’s a similar style defenseman to Hughes, a little bit different, but just Hughes’ mobility and his edgework is what I think separates him, that allows him to be able to make those types of plays, and spin out of things…,” said Hynes when asked if he’s ever seen a defenseman that can skate like Hughes.
Wild’s Hartman Stood Out
Many times in the past, Ryan Hartman was noticed for all the wrong reasons as he spent a lot of time in the penalty box or was suspended. However, in the past two seasons, he’s cleaned up his game and has done a lot of behind-the-scenes work as he isn’t scoring as many goals as he has in the past. However, his strong efforts have also earned him a spot on the top power play recently.
Against the Red Wings, Hartman was noticed for his play on both ends of the ice as he was sacrificing his body to block shots but also rushing back to help out defensively when his teammates got caught behind the play. There was at least one instance where he was able to make it back before the defense and broke up a Red Wings chance. He was physical without being too physical, and it helped his team.
Related: Wild Adding Quinn Hughes Has Paid Off in More Ways Than One
“Well, I think that the units been clicking, that’s number one. I do think that the hands match up. I think Tarasenko’s been good on the power play, Hartsy’s (Hartman) been good there so I think prior to the trip, I think the power play had some looks but it wasn’t executing and I think when the power play’s clicking we just didn’t feel like we should break it up and they came through again tonight,” said Hynes about Hartman staying on the top unit despite Joel Eriksson Ek being back.
The Wild will remain home for three more games over the next week and a half. They’ll face the Florida Panthers on Hockey Day Minnesota, Saturday, Jan. 24, and that’ll be another late-night puck drop as they are the final game of the day.
