The Minnesota Wild faced another division rival, the Nashville Predators, in their annual New Year’s Eve game on Tuesday evening, Dec. 31, which goes back to before 2020. The opponent hasn’t always been the same, but the Wild have played on New Year’s Eve for quite a while now. Their injury list remained the same as their game against the Ottawa Senators, but the scoring turned up a notch.
The Wild and Predators got things going with two fights in the first three minutes of the game, and then it was all about scoring for both sides. The Wild got things started, but the Predators pushed back all game, and it finally went in favor of the Wild, and they did this without their captain Jared Spurgeon, who left the game due to a slew-foot early in the second period. In this article we’ll take a look at how the Wild came back and pulled out the win, starting with Rossi and Zuccarello.
Wild’s Rossi & Zuccarello Multi-Point Nights
They may have had to play without their star winger Kirill Kaprizov, but the line of Marco Rossi, Mats Zuccarello, and Matt Boldy found a way to put points on the board with the exception of Boldy. Rossi and Zuccarello have found a lot of chemistry throughout the season. While Boldy compliments them, those two have found their own pace similar to Zuccarello and Kaprizov.
While Rossi has been noticed for his contributions, he’s also been overlooked for his play away from the puck. He’s been making very smart decisions and working hard to give his team chances without also handing the puck over to opponents. He led the team with two goals, one on the power play and an assist for three points on the night.
Zuccarello was right alongside Rossi for his goal, and then it flipped as Zuccarello tallied a goal with help from Rossi, and his goal was also on the power play. This was a huge offensive boost the Wild needed, especially from their top line, and hopefully, it continues with Boldy getting in on the action next.
Wild’s Power Play Wakes Up
After having a dreadful last few weeks with a streaky power play that would be intermittently successful, they had been without a power-play goal in the past five games leading up to their game against the Predators, where they tallied not just one but three goals on the power-play. The top unit was the most successful, with two of the three goals coming from those players but the second unit also got in on the action.
This was exactly the response the Wild needed after struggling so long to score while on the man advantage. They broke it open, and hopefully, this will lead to many more future goals as it helped them secure this win, as did their perfect 100 percent on the penalty kill.
While he didn’t score directly, Filip Gustavsson recorded a power play assist as he air-mailed a breakout pass to a waiting Joel Eriksson Ek, who sent the pass over to Zuccarello and got their team back into the game. Gustavsson continues to make Wild history and now NHL history as he’s the first goaltender in NHL history to record a power play goal and power play assist in the same season. Hopefully, he can continue to help them with the big saves like his 43 against the Predators and any points he can find.
Wild’s Scoring Drought Ends
Despite Kaprizov missing these past few games, he still has a large scoring lead over any of his teammates with his 50 points on the season. Boldy is in second place with 31 points, followed by Rossi and so on. While the normal players are at the top of the scoring except Joel Eriksson Ek, who just returned from a large injury absence, a few others stepped up against the Predators and got on the scoring sheet.
Those players were Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, and Marcus Foligno. All three have struggled to find the back of the net throughout the season, and having each player tally an assist in a big win like this will hopefully boost their confidence and allow them to be more aggressive around the net.
Related: Wild’s Marco Rossi Leads in 5-3 Win Over Predators
With another player added to the injured list, the Wild will need these guys to continue to step up, even if it’s not with goals or assists. Their play away from the puck is equally important. Hopefully, they can find ways to dig deep like this as they face tougher opponents in the next few weeks.
Wild Face Capitals
The Wild still have some turnover issues to fix before they head on the road to face the Washington Capitals on Thursday, Jan. 2. They’ll be facing a team that has Alexander Ovechkin back after recovering from a broken leg and a team that has done quite well this season already. Hopefully, this win will give the Wild the confidence they need to come out with another big win.
