The Minnesota Wild were back at home and looking to take down the Calgary Flames for the second time in a little over a week on Thursday, Dec. 14. They looked to have things under control with a great shot-turned-goal by Matt Boldy under five minutes into the first. The Wild had the Flames on their heels throughout the rest of the first and also a good chunk of the second period.
The Flames found some success when they tied it over 13 minutes into the second. This threw the Wild for a little bit of a loop, and it stayed tied through the rest of the period. The Flames rode their momentum into the beginning of the third when they scored again to take their first lead.
That goal sparked something in the Wild, who responded 45 seconds later to tie things up at two. There were plenty of chances for both sides throughout the rest of regulation, but nothing went in, so, to overtime, they went. Again, despite opportunities for both sides, nothing went in, and they had to move to a shootout where the Wild prevailed and took the win 3-2. The scoring started and ended with Boldy, and that’s exactly where this article will start.
Wild’s Boldy & Faber Shine in Different Ways
Since John Hynes took over the coaching job, Boldy has found his scoring spark. In the past eight games, he’s scored at least one goal in six of those games, plus his first multi-goal game. He’s been a scoring machine, and many of those goals have been absolute gems, including his two goals against the Flames.
Boldy’s gotten his scoring touch figured out, but he’s also been playing a better game overall. He’s getting his stick in the passing lanes and is just a lot more involved in the play from start to finish. The same can be said about his defensive teammate, Brock Faber. With Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin out with injuries, Faber has a lot of expectations on his shoulders.
Usually, the defensive responsibilities would fall to an older player with seniority, but Faber has been one of their top three defensemen all season, right behind Spurgeon and Brodin. He’s made a handful of mistakes, as expected for any rookie defenseman, but the way he can recover is years ahead of most players his age. He’s highly composed and ready to take on any challenge, as he did against the Flames, including a career-high in minutes played with just over 30 minutes.
He led by example, and despite being on the ice for a shift that was over 2:10 during the overtime in which he did have a turnover, he stayed strong. He won a board battle that made him awkwardly fall into the boards, and while he stayed on his knees for some time, he got back up and into the play until he was finally able to get off the ice. Faber took another step forward in his game, as he was relied upon all night and will be for some time to come; thankfully, he’s up for the challenge.
Wild Showing Communication Talents
One of the Wild’s most significant issues all season was their lack of communication, which resulted in almost endless turnovers and issues on their penalty kill. However, since Hynes took over, they’ve refreshed their communication skills and kept things simple. Throughout their game against the Flames, they’d improved their communication, especially in the offensive zone.
Related: Wild Check-In: Boldy Sets Example, Merrill & Duhaime Need to Follow
They were cycling and allowing the defense to get involved deep in the zone, but the forwards covered the open spot on the point, which only happens when there’s talking going on. They had smooth transitions and while there were a few breakdowns that led to Flames goals, they kept to their game with few mistakes.
Wild’s Gus & Special Teams
It’s been a difficult path for Filip Gustavsson in net this season, but lately, he’s found the game he had for most of last season. He’s starting to be more confident in himself, and it’s showing in his play, especially against the Flames and even more so in the shootout. His final save of the night, a glove save, was great, and he looked like his former self.
The Wild found a way to come from behind and win, but something that proved to be a struggle was their special teams. They had three power-play chances and couldn’t convert on any of them. To make matters worse, they gave the Flames three chances on the man advantage and they succeeded on one of them and scored while shorthanded as well.
The Wild were able to sneak out a shootout win this time, but they can’t allow teams to climb back into games like the Flames did, and their special teams have to be better. On their power play, they had started shooting more in previous games but lacked that against the Flames, something they’ll need to improve going forward.
Wild Face Canucks
The Wild will remain at home for one more game on Saturday, Dec. 16, for an afternoon game against the red-hot Vancouver Canucks. They weren’t successful the first go-round, but now they’ll be on their home ice fresh off a come-from-behind win that can motivate them.
They’ll have to keep J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and Minnesota native Brock Boeser off the scoreboard, which will be no easy task. However, while the defense worries about that, the offense must get past goaltenders Thatcher Demko, or Casey DeSmith. Hopefully, they can play with the same tenacity they did against the Flames with some success on the special teams, and they’ll come out with a big win.
