The Minnesota Wild arrived in Vegas but not for the Super Bowl; they had their own game to play on Monday, Feb. 12, against the Vegas Golden Knights. It was a late start for Minnesota fans, but the Wild didn’t seem phased at all, even when they got down in the early seconds of the game off a flukey deflection.
The Golden Knights took the early lead, but the Wild didn’t sit back for long. They went from down 1-0 to up 2-1 in minutes. It seemed like the Wild were controlling the momentum, only for the Golden Knights to respond with a goal of their own right before the end of the period, and they ended the first tied at two.
The second period had many big chances and several penalties, but neither team could score, and it remained tied at two going into the third. The third period was about the goals as the Wild found their way to the back of the net twice before the Golden Knights answered back to keep themselves in it. The Wild kept the Golden Knights off the scoreboard for the rest of the period and even added one more to seal their win 5-3. The night’s talk was about Matt Boldy, and that’s where we’ll begin.
Wild’s Boldy Showing His Offense
Boldy was rather quiet to open the season, but that hasn’t been the case recently, especially against the Golden Knights. He was on a line with Kirill Kaprizov, and they set each other up all night long with some success and some not. Boldy ended the night with one goal and two assists for three points, which led the team, while his linemate Kaprizov had two assists.
The number of shots they each took was almost more impressive than the points. Boldy took seven shots while Kaprizov took six shots, and they also led the team in that department. It took a while, but the Wild’s stars are finally showing their talents, and thankfully, it may not be too late in their season. Boldy and Kaprizov made each other better, and hopefully, this is just the start of many goals for them through the rest of the season.
Wild’s Special Teams Everywhere
Apart from the flukey goal to open the game, the Wild seemed to have the lucky breaks as the Golden Knights seemed to take penalty after penalty when it was only three. They gave the Wild two five-on-three power plays back-to-back, and while the Wild had some great looks, they didn’t score until the end of the power play to tie things up.
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That was their only power-play goal on three chances, but they had some great opportunities and took more shots than usual. Their power play seemed to have more energy than normal, and everything clicked despite only scoring once. On the flip side, their penalty kill needed to be top-notch, and it was nearly perfect.
The Wild allowed just one goal out of five penalty kills while shorthanded against the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights. Their power play success is about the same as the Wild, but they’re still capable of scoring. Thankfully, the Wild’s penalty kill was ready for everything thrown at them, and it played a part in helping get this win.
Wild Doing the Extra Work
What stuck out in this game for the Wild was their ability to do the extra work. They constantly buzzed around the net, looking for those big rebounds or loose pucks. They’ve been lacking that most of the season other than Joel Eriksson Ek’s efforts, of course, and he scored one of his two goals from his favorite spot in the slot.
The Wild must continue incorporating this style into their game as the season continues. They need to crowd opposing goaltenders and wait for those pucks that bounce back out. There’s often been no one there when a perfect rebound comes out, and hopefully, this changes that. They’ve seen what can happen when they continue to pressure in the slot and must always do it.
Wild’s Next Opponent
The Wild will play the final game of this road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, against the Arizona Coyotes. That means they’ll get to see their old friends Matt Dumba, Jason Zucker, and Nick Bjugstad, but they’ll also have to watch out for their scorers. Those players are Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli, Nick Schmaltz, Alex Kerfoot, and Lawson Crouse.
While playing defense, they’ll also need their offense to continue to step up. Hopefully, Boldy and Kaprizov can keep their scoring going and help their linemates. They’ll likely face Connor Ingram, but they could also see Karel Vejmelka in the net. They’re on a good, strong streak, and the Wild need it to keep going this way to keep their playoff hopes alive. The more wins they get, the closer they get to securing a spot.
