The Minnesota Wild’s road trip continued to move along as they faced the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, Jan. 2, in the first half of a back-to-back. They continued to have a fully healthy roster with the exception of Daemon Hunt. The Ducks were without Frank Vatrano due to injury.
Related: Minnesota Wild Candidates for the 2026 Winter Olympics
Filip Gustavsson was in the net for the Wild, while Lukáš Dostál was in the net for the Ducks. The Wild got on the scoreboard first, and they extended their lead throughout the game. The Ducks tried to come back, but the Wild took the win 5-2. This moved the Wild’s record to 25-10-7 and the Ducks to 21-17-3.
Game Recap
The Wild got on the scoreboard first with a goal from Kirill Kaprizov on the power play. Joel Eriksson Ek and Quinn Hughes assisted him, which made it 1-0. That was the only goal of the first period, and the Wild took the lead into the second.
The Wild got the first goal of the second period as well, and it was scored by Danila Yurov. Yakov Trenin and Hughes assisted him, which made it 2-0. The Ducks answered back with a goal from Beckett Sennecke that made it 2-1 in favor of the Wild. Mason McTavish recorded the lone assist. The Wild responded with a goal by Trenin to re-take the two-goal lead. Hughes and Eriksson Ek assisted him. That was the final goal of the second period, and the Wild took the lead into the third.
The Wild got things started in the third as well with a goal from Yurov, his second of the game. Hughes and Mats Zuccarello assisted him, which made it 4-1. Nico Sturm scored for the Wild late in the period that gave them a 5-1 lead. Marcus Foligno and Jonas Brodin assisted him. The Ducks answered with a late goal from Troy Terry. Mikael Granlund assisted him, which made it 5-2 in favor of the Wild. That was the final goal of the game, and the Wild took the win.
The Wild will remain on the road to face the Los Angeles Kings in the second half of their back-to-back on Saturday, Jan. 3. The Ducks will head on the road to face the Washington Capitals on Sunday, Jan. 4.
