The Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators faced each other for the second time this season and the second in St. Paul. The first meeting went in the Wild’s favor with a 3-2 overtime win back on Nov. 30. The Wild were still without Kirill Kaprizov, Jake Middleton, and Jakub Lauko, while the Predators were without Cole Smith and Adam Wilsby due to injuries.
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The goaltending battle was between the Wild’s Filip Gustavsson and the Predator’s Justus Annunen. Once again, the Wild got things going with the game’s first goal, but the Predators answered back, and this went on throughout the game until the Wild clinched the 5-3 win. This moved the Wild to a record of 23-11-4 and the Predators to 11-19-7.
Game Recap
The Wild got things started with a goal off Marco Rossi’s belly from a shot by Mats Zuccarello to put their team up early in the first. However, the Predators answered back just past the halfway point of the period with a goal by Colton Sissons to tie it up at one. They would build off that momentum as they added a second goal just a few minutes later to take their first lead and end the period 2-1.
After the Wild lost Jared Spurgeon due to a slew-foot by Zachary L’Heureux early in the second, they found their motivation to score not once but twice. Zuccarello scored their first goal of the period on the power play from Joel Eriksson Ek and their goaltender Gustavsson, who sent a breakout pass to set the whole play up. The second goal was tallied by Jonas Brodin, who already had an assist on the night, and Marcus Foligno and Rossi assisted him.
The Predators once again found a way to respond as they scored to tie the game at three with a goal by Ryan O’Reilly, who former Wild player Gustav Nyquist and Brady Skjei assisted. The game continued its back-and-forth atmosphere as the Wild responded with their second power-play goal of the evening. This time, it was Declan Chisholm from the point, and Ryan Hartman and Marcus Johansson assisted him. The Wild took a 4-3 lead in the third period.
The Wild got the third-period scoring started with their third power-play goal of the night, Rossi’s second, and Brock Faber assisted him to put their team up 5-3. Despite some very close calls, the Wild held onto the lead and took the win to end 2024 on a high note as Gustavsson made 43 saves. The Wild will begin the New Year on the road as they face the Washington Capitals on Thursday evening, Jan. 2. The Predators will remain on the road as they head to western Canada to face the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, Jan. 3.
