After nearly three weeks on the road, the Minnesota Wild were finally back in the comforts of their home arena to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, Nov. 1. This is the second time these two teams have faced each other in the last two weeks. The Wild did get some edge back to their game as Ryan Hartman rejoined the team following an injury and illness the past five games.
The Wild were coming off a come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Penguins for Marc-André Fleury’s final game in his first NHL home. The Lightning were also coming off a win; over the Colorado Avalanche, who the Wild have yet to see this season. The Wild came out with the win thanks to some known heroes and some who stepped up to shine, and that’s where we’ll start.
Wild’s Likely & Unlikely Heroes Stand Tall
Kirill Kaprizov has been the Wild’s hero this season and didn’t stop against the Lightning. His team may have been down first, but he kept pushing and eventually found the right set-up for Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kaprizov tallied an assist for his 19th point of the season. He also extended his point and assist streaks to seven games, which isn’t a career record yet, but close.
While Kaprizov continued to add to his point streak, one of his teammates, who is more known for his defense, stepped up to help out on the scoring front. That was Brock Faber, who scored his second goal of the season with help from one of the Wild’s other unlikely heroes, Jakub Lauko, who’s had a great season so far.
The Wild had to battle in the third as Kaprizov tallied two goals to bring his point tally up to three for the night and 21 points overall. Matt Boldy snuck in between those two goals with an empty netter of his own. The Wild continue to have production from their expected heroes like Kaprizov and Boldy, plus their unexpected like Faber and Lauko. Marco Rossi even tried to sneak in a goal in the second, but it turns out there were two pucks on the ice, and he used the puck not in actual gameplay, so it was waved off. They will continue to win games if they can keep up this production.
Wild’s Special Teams Struggle
The Wild have had many penalty problems in the past, and at the start of their game against the Lightning, it looked like they might be reverting to old habits as they marched to the penalty box. They had been doing quite well on the penalty kill recently, but it started to fall against the Lightning.
The Wild allowed not just one but two shorthanded goals, allowing the Lightning to score 50 percent on their power play. On the opposite end, the Wild had plenty of strong chances that looked to go in but couldn’t get it done on either of their power plays, something they’ve been strong at all season.
The Wild have been one of the least penalized teams this season up to this point, and those four penalties will make this game the most penalized they’ve been. While four penalties don’t seem like a lot, two goals on two penalty kills are. If the Wild are going to go down this road of getting stuck in the box, they have to tighten up the penalty kill. Hopefully, they’ll find a way to stay more disciplined for the rest of the season and get back to producing on the power play.
Wild’s Even Strength Defense Steps Up
Their penalty kill may have struggled, but their five-on-five defense did well, including Filip Gustavsson. Despite allowing three goals, it would’ve been a lot more if Gustavsson hadn’t been on his game and doing as much as he could. He was getting involved with poke-checks, strong passes, and aggressive play, which cut off some of the Lightning’s potential chances before they started.
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The Wild’s blocked shots also jumped up, which greatly helped Gustavsson. They blocked 18 shots total, with Jonas Brodin taking the lead with five blocks and Jake Middleton right behind with four. They struggled with blocked shots to start the season, but as games have come and gone, they’ve improved and have been willing to block more. Gustavsson can make save after save, but eventually, one or two will get through unless the defense in front of him makes the block before it can get there.
Wild Stay Home
The Wild will remain at home after being on the road for so long, and their next opponent will be the Toronto Maple Leafs. Another team that will be a big test for the Wild as they face some of the NHL superstars Auston Matthews and William Nylander, among many others. Hopefully, this come-from-behind win will give the Wild the momentum boost they need to come out strong against the Maple Leafs.
