As if general manager Bill Guerin needed any extra motivation to go big game hunting at the trade deadline, the Wild once again showcased their seemingly limitless potential on Tuesday night at Grand Casino Arena.
A few hours after Guerin made a minor move to acquire depth center Michael McCarron, the Wild snapped a brief losing streak with an impressive 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was a breath of fresh air for the Wild after frustrating losses to the Utah Mammoth and St. Louis Blues.
“We played good tonight,” superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov said after scoring the 220th goal of his career to break the franchise record. “It was good for us to change our game a little bit and play better and take this win.”
It was a hot start for the Wild as defenseman Brock Faber cashed in early in the first period to make it 1-0. It was beautiful sequence as Faber took a feed from winger Marcus Johansson near the right circle, then beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy top shelf.
That was a sign of things to come for the Wild.
“I thought we played a fast game tonight,” head coach John Hynes said. “I thought we played fast with the puck.”
The lead held up for the Wild largely because of goaltender Filip Gustavsson between the pipes. He made 12 saves amid heavy pressure in the opening frame to keep the Lightning off the scoreboard.
A snipe from winger Mats Zuccarello on the power play helped the Wild stretch the lead to 2-0 early in the second period before Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov cut the deficit to 2-1 with a snipe of his own.
Though it looked like the Wild be locked in a tight contest the rest of the way, winger Yakov Trenin put forth an outstanding individual effort to make it 3-1. He hustled into the offensive zone at the end of his shift and was rewarded with a goal that took the edge off.
“I think that was a big goal for us,” Trenin said. “I think we kind of got momentum off that goal.”
The dagger came midway through the third period courtesy of superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. He corralled a loose puck, dangled through a host of defenders, and found the back of the net to make it 4-1 in favor of the Wild.
“Just got some space there,” Hughes said while lamenting some missed chances earlier in the game. “It was nice to get on the board.”
As the game slowly wound to a close, Kaprizov finally broke through. After hitting the post a few times earlier in the game, he finalized the score at 5-1 with backhanded shot into an empty net.
In the process, Kaprizov successfully rewrote the record books, passing former star winger Marian Gaborik for the most goals in franchise history.
“Now it’s done,” Kaprizov said. “Just need to keep going.”