The Minnesota Wild faced the Vancouver Canucks in their final road game of the season on Saturday evening, Apr. 12. The Wild had a second chance to secure their spot in the postseason and although they won, the St. Louis Blues earned a point and derailed the Wild’s plan to clinch against the Canucks.
The Wild were without Jake Middleton and Jared Spurgeon but nearly lost Declan Chisholm after a hit into the boards. Thankfully, Chisholm avoided serious injury and returned to the game. Filip Gustavsson was back in the net after being pulled the night before in their loss to the Calgary Flames on Apr. 11. The Wild started behind but found a way back in and took the win in overtime. We’ll look at how they did it, starting with who stepped up.
Wild’s Goals From Throughout Lineup
Brock Faber scored the Wild’s first goal, as he read the play perfectly and lined up in the slot just in time to knock in a rebound that had bounced out into the slot. Without his jump into the play, that goal wouldn’t have happened. It’s also important to note that Faber assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime and had over 30 minutes of ice time as two of their top defensemen were out, and he stepped up to help carry the extra.
The next player to step up was one of their depth forwards, and one of their biggest hitters, Marcus Foligno. He’s never been afraid to drive to the net and that’s exactly how he scored against the Canucks to tie the game. He’s been playing that way the last few games and was rewarded for the second time in the past four games. The Wild will need him to keep up this effort to get a win in their final game of the regular season and get themselves into the postseason.
The third and final goal of the game came from who everyone expected: Mats Zuccarello, with Kirill Kaprizov and Faber also assisting. They were passing the puck around in overtime to keep possession, and once Kaprizov saw Zuccarello sneak behind the defense, he sent a pass up, and Zuccarello did the rest to get them the win. This is precisely the type of effort the Wild need as the season ends, and hopefully it’s enough to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Wild’s Gustavsson Strong
It’s been the story for most of the season, but the Wild were able to climb back into the game and secure the win behind Gustavsson’s strong effort on the net. He’s made big save after big save all season, and this game was no different. The game’s first goal got past Gustavsson, but a breakdown from the forwards and defense led to the goal.
Following that goal, he didn’t allow it to shake his mental game and he continued making big saves. The second goal that got by him was on the penalty kill, and although he wasn’t screened, he didn’t have anyone step up to block the shot either. It was a strong shot that got past him; once again, he didn’t allow it to rattle him.
He locked in for the third period and allowed his team to score twice, force overtime, and steal the win. He didn’t have to make any big saves in overtime, but he was ready if necessary. Gustavsson and his teammates made a tremendous bounce-back effort, and hopefully, it will motivate them to keep going.
Wild Remain Strong
The Wild’s fight back against the Flames was too little, too late although it looked like it was going to be a similar story against the Canucks as they went into the third period down two goals. However, they had a better jump throughout most of the game, and at the beginning of the third, they forced the issue. They scored 22 seconds into the third period, which gave them the extra motivation to buckle down even more.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 8-7 Overtime Win Over the Sharks
They put their heads down, continued playing gritty, and got shots on goal. They were rewarded later in the third and nearly came out with the win before overtime. In the extra session they were patient waiting for their turn to get possession and when they found the chance, they took the opportunity to force the Canucks to turn the puck over. Once they did that and had possession, they were patient and waited for the right opportunity to strike, and they secured the win.
Wild Head Home
The Wild will head home to finish up the regular season as they host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, Apr. 15. They’ll need to make this type of effort to finish the season with a win and hopefully secure their spot in the postseason, where they will need to up their level even more. This kind of win is exactly what they need to feel confident about getting more wins.
