Wild players wanted a stiffer penalty for Zach L’Heureux from the NHL but say they're happy to take matters into their own hands Saturday.
Goaltender Filip Gustavsson struggled and Minnesota's offense couldn't find its rhythm in a 4-0 loss against a team currently outside of the playoff picture in the NHL's Western C
Marc-Andre Fleury came to Las Vegas and got in on the ground ... prior to their 3-1 win in San Jose on Saturday. He added that team captain Jared Spurgeon has begun “hard physical activity off the ice” as he works to return from a lower-body injury ...
Marc-Andre Fleury had 36 saves for the Wild in the latest entry of his rollercoaster week. On Tuesday, he came on in relief of Filip Gustavsson in a come-from-behind win over St. Louis. Two nights later, Fleury was so floored by an illness that he could only stay on the team bench for two periods as Gustavsson played, and lost, versus Colorado.
Without Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota played a smart, poised and gutsy game, pulling away in the third for a 3-1 victory at Ball Arena.
Matt Boldy's power-play goal 2 minutes, 28 seconds into the third period cut it back down to a two-goal game, but Forsberg scored his second of the night unassisted 16 minutes, 20 seconds into the frame, and Brady Skjei scored an empty-netter with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on a Predators victory.
Nashville took over after the rough stuff, led by veteran scorer Filip Forsberg (two goals and assist), captain Roman Josi (two assists) and goaltender Juuse Saros (27 saves), as the Predators continue their second-half reclamation under coach and former Wild player Andrew Brunette.
The Wild have a hard time explaining why there’s been such a difference in home/road splits this season. They boast a .740 points percentage (tops in the NHL) on the road so far, and .500 at home (23rd in NHL). Their Corsi-For per 60 at home in five-on-five play is 54.65 (30th in the league), and 55.03 on the road (23rd).
A couple of weeks ago, the NHL announced the first and second Quarter-Century teams for the Minnesota Wild, and it’s time to take a look at who they chose.
It was a tale of two games for the Minnesota Wild’s defenders. Minnesota was down Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin against the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, Brock Faber returned from his upper-body injury against Nashville.
Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek smiled when asked about two of his longtime teammates returning from injuries this week.
Some of the issues that looked fixed two days ago in a decisive win against the Dallas Stars were again troubling for the Colorado Avalanche in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.