The Minnesota Wild took on the Carolina Hurricanes for the second time this season on Wednesday night, Nov. 19, to finish out their five-game homestand. The first meeting went in favor of the Hurricanes 4-3 back on Nov. 6 in Carolina. The Wild looked to extend their win streak after taking down both the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights earlier in the week.
Jesper Wallstedt was back between the pipes after Filip Gustavsson had the previous start. The Wild were hit with the injury bug once again as they added Ryan Hartman to the list; he joined Marco Rossi, Zach Bogosian, and Nico Sturm. The game started out in favor of the Wild, and although the Hurricanes pushed back, the Wild got the win. In this article, we’ll look at some takeaways, starting with the top line’s performance.
Wild’s Yurov Fits in Well on Top Line
With the injuries to the lineup recently, the lines obviously had to be juggled, and that meant Danila Yurov was put on the top line between Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov. While that would be a lot for any rookie, Yurov fit in almost immediately as he helped set up the Wild’s first goal with a great pass to Zuccarello, who took a shot that Brock Faber deflected.
The top line’s success didn’t stop there either, as they scored a crucial goal 15 seconds into the third period to give their team a two-goal lead once again. While Zuccarello and Kaprizov will get most of the attention, Yurov had a strong game as well with two assists, for his first multi-point night of his NHL career. His second assist wasn’t quite as flashy as the first; it mostly deflected up to Kaprizov, but he got it there.
“Yeah, he’s making plays, he’s very responsible, he’s always in the right spot, that offense is gonna come, like I said it’s hard, it’s not that easy, especially as a young guy playing center and having a lot of responsibility and then playing with Zuccy (Zuccarello) and Kirill (Kaprizov)’s a whole beast in it’s own, so I thought he was awesome,” said Boldy about Yurov’s performance.
Wild’s Wallstedt Shines Again
Once again, Jesper Wallstedt came up big for his team against a tough opponent. He continues to find ways to improve his game every time he plays and sees pucks others don’t see. Although he did have a puck slide in off his leg, he didn’t let it affect his mental game and continued to play strong. His speed and ability to see through traffic helped him keep his team in the lead all game until the final few minutes.
He may have had his shutout streak ended, but his great play didn’t. He made some big saves when his team needed him most, and even after giving up two goals in the third period, he didn’t look shaken. The third goal was not his fault, as it slid right under his pad, and there was nothing he could do. That goal forced both overtime and a shootout, but despite it all, Wallstedt stood tall and made a total of 42 saves.
“No, yeah, it was far from it. Credit to Wally (Wallstedt), that game could’ve been a whole lot different but it was one of those nights he played fantastic, he gave us a chance to win, at the end of the day he won it for us, so we know where we have to be better, but two points is two points, we’ll never get mad at that….” said Faber about the overall effort of the game.
Wild’s Overall Play Continuing to Improve
There were still some shaky moments throughout the game and a bit of inconsistency that won’t go away overnight, but the Wild played a pretty strong game. They were more aggressive both offensively and defensively, and they forced the Hurricanes to make mistakes, especially in the first period. There were several times two Hurricanes players collided, and it allowed the Wild to get a scoring chance.
They did let up a bit too much at times during the second and third period, but they snapped back to their game rather than allowing that play to continue. They looked more like a cohesive unit, and they looked more like the team everyone has been expecting to see.
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“Yeah, it didn’t go the opposite way tonight and that’s the important part, a win’s a win when April comes you’re not going to say oh you beat Carolina but you played bad, it’s two points and that’s what matters, no one in this room cares, I think we’ll learn from it, we’ll use it to get better but two points is two points and like I said come the end of the year it doesn’t matter how we played, we won,” said Boldy when asked about the growth of the team and how the game could’ve gone the opposite direction.
The Wild had to fight until the final shooter in the shootout, but they got the win and the two points. They had a strong start to the game, and despite having some lapses, they found a way to dig deep and still get the win thanks to an overall better effort. Hopefully, this can carry over to their road trip, and they’ll bring back more wins.
