The Minnesota Wild returned home from a quick road trip to host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday evening, Apr. 7. They came into the game on a three-game win streak with wins over the Vancouver Canucks at home and then back-to-back wins over the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, and they looked to extend that streak on home ice.
Their injury list remained the same as over the weekend, with Zach Bogosian being the lone injury. The one switch they did make to the lineup was that they brought in Bobby Brink, and Nick Foligno came out. Jesper Wallstedt was in the net, and the game started out in favor of the Kraken, but the Wild pushed back and got the win. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with their depth showing up.
Wild’s Depth Continues to Show Up
The Wild’s stars have been doing what they need to do the last couple of weeks, but so has the Wild’s bottom six. Matt Boldy got the scoring started against the Kraken with his 42nd goal of the season, but it was Marcus Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko who kept it going. Foligno showed his fighting skills in the first and his scoring in the second as he found a way around the defense and beat the Kraken’s Joey Daccord to tie the game up 2-2 just 38 seconds into the period.
Tarasenko’s goal was a bit more unorthodox as Daccord thought he made the save, but the puck squeezed through and was sitting in the crease behind him, where Tarasenko snatched it and scored to give the Wild their first lead of the game. In the end, it doesn’t matter who scored as long as the team gets the win, but it’s always good to see the bottom six contributing because in the playoffs, it’s a whole team effort.
“Yeah, I would agree, I think the Ek (Eriksson Ek) line and Hartman’s line have played very well the last four the way that they need to and they’re threatening I think obviously Vladdy’s (Tarasenko) been playing really well down the stretch here and you know Moose (Foligno) getting it, I think that’s what you need right? Is you need to be able to have the guys that are supposed to score, score and produce but then I think as it goes through you want to get some action from your defensemen but then I think the depth up front has certainly helped that,” said head coach John Hynes in his postgame press conference about having three lines that can score going into the postseason.
That showed later against the Kraken as Marcus Johansson got on the board with his 200th to give them a 4-2 lead thanks to Boldy’s efforts. Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t want to be left out on that line as he scored an empty net goal late in the third period that gave the Wild the 5-2 lead.
Although he didn’t score a goal, captain Jared Spurgeon needs to be mentioned as the assist he tallied on Tarasenko’s goal tied him with Ryan Suter for the most by a Wild defenseman. Plus, that point also tied him for third most points in Wild history alongside Marián Gáborík.
Wild Strong With Reviews
Over the seasons, especially in the more recent years, the Wild have shown they are quite skilled when it comes to knowing when to challenge calls, and against the Kraken, it served them well twice. The first was Boldy’s goal; it looked like it deflected off his chest and was called a no-goal on the ice. The Wild challenged it, and after reviewing, it hit his stick and was considered a good goal.
Later in the game, the Kraken appeared to have scored, but right after the puck went in, Jesper Wallstedt signaled his glove had been hit. The Wild challenged that call and once again were correct, and it was deemed no goal due to goaltender interference. There was also a moment during the game that the Kraken tried to change on an icing call, and thanks to Joel Eriksson Ek and Boldy, they would’ve gotten away with it.
“Yeah, no, I think right when you saw the replay, it was pretty evident, and then even some of the players saw it, I think live, and then the guys radioed in right away, so I thought it was pretty, one side saw it and everyone kind of agreed with it. Usually, you go back with the guys that make the call because they know all the reviews, they got every angle, and they were pretty adamant right off the bat, so I think it was the easy call for us,” said Hynes in his postgame press conference about the goaltender interference call.
“Yeah, I don’t know if he was trying to tip it or if it was intentional, but I felt right away that I was not able to lift my hand, and looking at the replay after, it was obvious that I was interferred…on the play,” said Wallstedt in his postgame interview about the interference call.
Wallstedt’s Up & Down Game
Everyone who’s watched the Wild this season knows Jesper Wallstedt is a strong goaltender, but he is still figuring out how to play that level consistently. Many have voiced concerns with his play throughout the season, but it’s also important to remember this is his first full season with the Wild, and he’s only 23 years old, which is still young, especially for a goaltender.
He struggled a bit against the Kraken, as the first goal was a deflection off his own player’s skate through the five-hole. The second Kraken goal was another puck through the five-hole, but the defenseman was also late getting there to block. After those goals, however, Wallstedt locked in, and the only goal that got by him was because of interference, and it was called as such.
“…obviously maybe not our best start and they got some, especially the first one, pretty fortunate goal for them, they played a good first period but we kind of felt that we were still in it and it wasn’t our best so we knew we had another level that we could go into and after that I felt that we were the clear better team,” said Wallstedt about the overall game to the media after the game.
Related: Wild Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Team Improvements & Bogosian Injured
The Wild don’t get to spend much time at home, as they’ll head back on the road for one final regular-season road trip. They’ll face the Dallas Stars on Thursday, Apr. 9, the Nashville Predators on Apr. 11, and the St. Louis Blues will wrap up the trip on Apr. 13 before they finish the regular season on Tuesday, Apr. 14 against the Anaheim Ducks. Hopefully, they can keep this winning going and come back from the road-trip with more points.
