The Minnesota Wild hosted the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday evening, Jan. 23, in their third meeting of the season. After being injured, they welcomed Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon back to the lineup,
Filip Gustavsson has been better than most people's expectations this year after finishing last season with a .899 SV% and GAA of 3.06. His 14.8 goals saved above expected highlights his surprising improvement,
PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (28-15-4) are in action tonight against the Utah Hockey Club (20-19-7) for the third meeting between the two teams this year. The Wild are welcoming Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon into the lineup tonight.
With their need for a strong start to snap their skid, the Wild received it when Spurgeon opened the scoring at 5:43. The defenseman joined an odd-man rush, received the puck at the blue line and lifted a top-corner shot from the slot.
Joel Eriksson Ek added a power play marker in the second period as Minnesota got 18 saves from Filip Gustavsson, winning for the sixth time in their last eight games on the road. Marcus Foligno
In the middle frame, Chicago’s Nick Foligno was whistled for holding Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov, and complained a bit too forcefully about the call, drawing a second penalty. Minnesota made it 3-0 on the extended power play, as Eriksson Ek recorded his ninth goal of the season and second of the weekend.
CHICAGO -- Matt Boldy had three assists, and the Minnesota Wild held on for a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday. Boldy has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games.
It wasn't an overly convincing win, but the Wild got the job done against one of the worst teams in the NHL on Sunday evening. They started hot, then held on and were able to avoid blowing a 3-0 lead in a 4-2 road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
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).
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon were back in the Minnesota Wild lineup Thursday night, but it didn’t give them the spark they had hoped for in a 4-0 loss to the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild found relief from their rut with their most tried-and-true remedy: playing on the road. Like clockwork, they left St. Paul and immediately improved, using a strong start to hold off the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Sunday night at United Center for just their second win in the last seven games.