The Minnesota Wild continued their road trip against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, Mar. 26. The Wild finally had their entire roster back together as Marcus Foligno returned from an injury. Prior to the start of the game, the Panthers, like the Lightning earlier in the week, held a moment of silence to honor NHL.com Wild correspondent Jessi Pierce and her children, who passed in a house fire over the weekend.
Jesper Wallstedt was in the net for the Wild, and for the second straight game, they jumped out to an early lead. They held the lead up until the final moments of the third when the Panthers tied it. However, just when it looked like the Wild were following the pattern of their earlier loss to the Lightning this week, they scored with just seconds left to retake the lead. The goal held, and the Wild took the win 3-2. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with their goal scorers.
Wild’s Depth Once Again
Once again, the Wild showed how much depth their lineup truly has, as two of their three goals didn’t come from their top scoring players. The first was from Marcus Foligno, who was playing on the same team as his brother for the first time in their careers, and even more unique, on the same line. It was Foligno’s first game back from injury, and he didn’t waste any time.
The second goal was scored by Ryan Hartman, who is one of their higher scorers typically, but he’s been pretty sporadic this season. His goal put the team up 2-0 and gave them the momentum that kept the game in their control. The Panthers did force their way back into the game towards the end, and that’s where one of their big guns came into play.
The hero for the Wild in terms of scoring was Joel Eriksson Ek. It was his second game back from injury, and while he seemed pretty strong in their game against the Lightning, he was even better against the Panthers. He was in his favorite spot in front of the net and was starting to fall when he threw the puck at the net, and it went in. Hopefully, this can get things turned in the right direction for the Wild as they were able to hold on for two points.
Wild’s Wallstedt Game Changer
Although they haven’t had the season they wanted, the Florida Panthers are still a strong hockey team and the defending Stanley Cup champions. They had their fair share of good chances, but Jesper Wallstedt was ready to stop them. The first goal was a tipped shot from Matthew Tkachuk, who was left all alone in front of the net.
The second goal was a 6-on-5 goal, and Wallstedt thought he got to the post in time, but the puck just snuck through. While Wallstedt probably wants that one back, there wasn’t much he could have done for either goal. He was solid all night and even stopped a Tkachuk breakaway early in the game that could’ve changed the outcome of the game if he hadn’t stopped it.
He faced 20 shots and saved 18 of them while his teammates also blocked 20 shots from even getting to him. Although the Wild did give up their lead, they didn’t completely collapse and found a way to get the win, and a lot of that was thanks to Wallstedt.
Wild Willing to Make Changes
Over the last few games, the Wild’s coaching staff, specifically John Hynes, has continued to show they are willing to make changes when necessary, especially when dealing with the recent injuries. Rather than keep the same guys in, they’ve been rotating to make sure everyone is comfortable playing with each other, and no one is getting rusty from not playing.
With the postseason coming fast and the Wild having a pretty solid position, there’s no need to rush players back before they’re ready when they need them healthy in the postseason. They’ve also changed up pairings like splitting Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber. While some probably don’t like the idea, it’s good to have them get used to playing with others because if an injury happens, they may have to, plus they’re the type of players who can make others better.
Related: Jessi Pierce Was Truly One of a Kind
Apart from making line changes, they’ve also given some decent icetime to players like Michael McCarron and Bobby Brink. Both players have been playing with a high level of confidence, and they’ve been rewarded with great scoring chances. Brink even tried to pull a spin-o-rama during their game against the Panthers, and it almost worked.
The Wild will stay on the road for one more game before they head home. They’ll face the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon, Mar. 28. Hopefully, they can take the momentum from this game and use it against the Bruins and come home with another win.
