The Minnesota Wild took on the Colorado Avalanche back at home on Friday, Nov. 28, after being on the road for the past week. It was Native American Heritage Night, and in celebration, the Wild had their typical broadcast, but they also offered an Ojibwe-language broadcast for the first time in Minnesota, courtesy of FanDuel Sports Network.
The Wild did get Ryan Hartman back from a lower-body injury, but they also lost Marcus Foligno to a lower-body injury. While the Wild have been on a hot streak through the month of November, they met the best team in the NHL in the Avalanche. It was an evenly matched first period that ended with the Avalanche taking the lead, but the Wild fought back and took the lead into the third.
However, the Avalanche are the best team in the league for a reason, and they fought back to force both overtime and a shootout. The Wild scored twice to the Avalanche’s once and took the win 3-2. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with how this was a big test for the Wild.
Wild’s True Test
This was considered the Wild’s “measuring stick” game as they faced the number one team in the league, and they stood strong. Their overall effort was much better than their previous game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, Nov. 26. They did win that game, but their effort was all over the place and almost came too late.
Against the Avalanche, the Wild were strong from the start with both speed and aggressiveness. They didn’t back down, and although the Avalanche got on the board first, the Wild pushed back harder. They made some mistakes as every team does, but instead of getting down or frustrated and allowing more goals against, they tightened up and played their game.
“Yeah, these games are fun. They’re the best team in the NHL right now. So it’s a test, I mean, you’re going to get them throughout the year, you’re going to play a lot of really good teams, them being one. We play them a handful of times, so for us to come out and just kind of step up to the plate, I guess, and be ready to go and find a way to win is huge,” said Matt Boldy about how enjoyable this game was.
Wild’s Kaprizov & Wallstedt Heroes Again
When going against the best team in the league, a team needs its superstar to step up, and he did. Kirill Kaprizov got to play one of the heroes of the game as he scored the tying goal and the go-ahead goal for the Wild. The first goal went in off either his skate or an Avalanche player’s skate, but regardless, because of Kaprizov’s positioning, that puck went into the net and gave his team the motivation to do it again.
The second goal was due to Kaprizov’s positioning as well. He saw Ryan Hartman trying for a wrap-around and went straight to the front of the net, where he was in the right spot to receive a pass and send it past the goaltender.
While Kaprizov was doing his part in scoring, Wallstedt did his job in the net. By now, everyone knows how strong a goaltender he is, but he truly found another level. He made stops against Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon, who has 41 points in 24 games played. He’s earned his nickname “The Wall of St. Paul,” and he continues to get better and more aggressive. Even against the Avalanche, he didn’t back down when they started shooting; he stepped up and cut them off when he could.
“I think exactly what you said, he’s got a high level of skill, he can hurt you in a lot of different ways. He can one-time the puck, he can shoot it, he can tip it, even the second goal..the first goal was kind of that he’s driving into the net, hits it and goes in and then the other one he winds up where he gets a great pass and he triggers the puck…if you’re going to be an elite goal scorer in the league you have to be able to do it multiple ways and he can,” said head coach John Hynes about the type of player Kaprizov is.
Wild Finding Ways
Once again, the Wild found a way to get past a team despite not consistently playing their best hockey. They did look like the better team for the majority of the game, but there were some bigger mistakes that could’ve cost them. Their turnovers are still an issue that needs addressing, and their power play is struggling after starting so hot. Although it was expected that the power play would drop off a bit, as it would be impossible to keep the pace they had, it’s having trouble staying consistent.
Regardless of the continued issues, the Wild are finding ways to win even against the top team in the league. They ended up down early to a very strong Avalanche team, but instead of settling back on their heels, they dug deep and pushed back, something the Wild from October likely wouldn’t have done.
Related: 3 Things the Minnesota Wild Can be Thankful For This Thanksgiving Season
“It kinda says that we’re a better team than them. We beat them, so that felt good. But no it’s..ever since we kind of turned it around a little bit I feel like the style we play has been very successful. Even the games and the times where we kind of go away from it a little bit, we still find a way back, we still stick to our structure and we kind of know that our gameplan is successful when we execute it and I think we’ve done that lately,” said Wallstedt about the win and how far the team has come to get here.
They don’t have too long to enjoy this win as they’re right back at it on Saturday, Nov. 29, to host the Buffalo Sabres and finish off their home back-to-back before heading out for a longer road trip. They still have some things to fix, but they came back against the number one team in the league, and hopefully that confidence will help carry them for some more wins.
