The Minnesota Wild returned home to host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday evening, Apr. 2, after being on the road for the past three games. The road trip ended with a win and two losses, so the Wild looked to redeem themselves on home ice. This was also the first home game since NHL.com Wild reporter Jessi Pierce and her children’s passing, so there was a moment of silence before the game as well as flowers, a picture, blankets, and even a hot dog in her pressbox seat as a tribute to her.
The Wild had all of their regular players in the lineup, and Filip Gustavsson was back between the pipes. The game started out in favor of the Wild, but the Canucks stormed back to tie it and take the lead. The Wild responded and retook the lead going into the third. They added to it in the third and took both the win and earned a playoff spot as well. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with their star scorers.
Wild’s Boldy & Kaprizov Do What’s Needed
Just as they’re expected to do, the Wild’s scoring stars, Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, did just that against the Canucks. Boldy got the Wild on the board first with a goal only he could score. Following that goal, they did fall behind for a period of time, but that’s where Boldy came in once again. He poke-checked the puck off the Canucks defenseman’s stick and off he went on a breakaway that he again snuck past the goaltender to tie the game 2-2.
That was Boldy’s 40th goal of the season, and not to be outdone, Kaprizov scored the next goal off a great give-and-go from his partner in crime, Mats Zuccarello, which gave the Wild their second lead of the game. That was also Kaprizov’s 40th goal of the season, and that set a new franchise record for the first time they’ve had two players hit the 40th goal mark in the same season.
Although he didn’t score a goal, Quinn Hughes deserves to be mentioned as well, as he set a new record for Wild defensemen in a single season with 46 assists; he passed Ryan Suter’s 45 from the 2017-2018 season, and he did it against his former team. Ryan Hartman’s efforts can’t go unnoticed either, as he scored not just once but twice to ensure the Wild held onto the lead.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I think we’re just happy to see them go in and play. I thought, a great 60 minutes and put that all together and find a way to win, but yeah, it’s fun to score,” said Matt Boldy to the media after the game about his back-and-forth scoring with Kaprizov.
Wild Kept Pushing
The Wild got started on the right foot with the first goal of the game, something that has been on and off during the season. Of course, most teams do better when they score first, and the Wild are no different, but it almost didn’t help them against the Canucks. However, despite having their lead deflated pretty quickly, they kept at it and pushed back.
They could’ve easily given in and allowed the Canucks to continue their run, but they fought back and kept pushing until they tied it and took the lead. One player in particular stood out for his efforts, and he’s already been mentioned: Matt Boldy. He gave it his all every shift and was taken down at least once for his efforts.
“Yeah, I would say so, Florida wasn’t a bad game either, we played pretty good that game too…we play a few five minutes really good and then we’re, don’t play very well and then we’re back on it so you know it’s just good for the full 60 minutes, we do it sometimes here and there so we know how to do it,” said Filip Gustavsson in his postgame interview about how the team liked the game.
Wild’s Defense Struggled a Bit
Although the Wild found a way, there is something that has to be addressed, and that is their defense. On both Canucks goals, the player who scored found a way to be completely alone right near the net, and that can’t continue to happen, especially in the postseason. The defense has to cover any player who’s at the front of the net or near their goaltender.
Related: Minnesota Wild’s 3 Keys to a Successful Postseason
Of course, one of those goals was a power play goal by the Canucks, but that shows even more that the Wild have to tighten up their defense on the penalty kill as well. Mistakes will happen, but in the postseason, that can be the difference between moving on and going home. Hopefully, the Wild can shake off those mistakes and tighten them up for the rest of the season.
“Yeah it didn’t feel like I chased it too bad either, it just, as soon as I turned around, it’s already almost hit into (the) net and we’ll have to do something about it,” said Gustavsson when asked about the bounces from the boards and he continued, “…yeah the boards are bad and then the extension in the glass is usually a bad friends too and sometimes they put doors there in the corners too with a lot of edges so you never know what you’re gonna get, just stay in the net.”
The Wild’s homestand was just a quick one-game trip as they’ll head back on the road for a back-to-back on Saturday, April 4, against the Ottawa Senators and then on Easter Sunday, April 5, against the Detroit Red Wings, both are early afternoon games. Hopefully, the Wild can come back from the trip with a couple of wins and continue to head in the right direction.
