Wild remain tops in NHL with 5-1 victory over the Ducks

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 7, 2024

Published in Hockey

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Wild keep losing players but not games.

Relying on their most patchwork lineup to date with four regulars missing, they creamed the Ducks 5-1 on Friday night at Honda Center to win five in a row for the first time this season and remain atop the NHL with 40 points (18-4-4).

This is the Wild’s longest streak since they rattled off six straight victories Dec.10-21, 2022.

The new-look top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi had a field day, combining for nine points – including the eventual game-winner by Rossi at 8 minutes, 3 seconds of the second – to continue the Wild’s prowess on the road where they’re 11-1-3.

Not only are their 25 road points tops in the league, but the Wild’s 11 wins are tied with the Devils for first.

But the team that achieved the bulk of that success wasn’t on the ice against Anaheim.

Mats Zuccarello has been sidelined since mid-November and Jonas Brodin and Jakub Lauko the last week-plus, but Joel Eriksson Ek recently joined them on the injury list after he was hurt on Tuesday in the 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks.

Eriksson Ek, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, is now on injured reserve. Brodin (upper body) and Zuccarello (lower body) are also considered week-to-week, but the Wild could get Lauko (lower body) back soon; coach John Hynes wouldn’t rule him out for Saturday’s game at Los Angeles.

Reese Johnson became the latest call-up to crack the lineup, drawing in on the fourth line for his team debut after signing with the Wild during the offseason.

“Injuries are part of the game,” Johnson said. “Whenever those happen, guys are ready to step in and do their job. I just want to do my part.”

As has been the case since this rash of injuries hit the Wild, their leaders picked up the slack.

After a ho-hum first period, the Wild pulled away from the Ducks during the second.

Stationed on the left point during a reconfigured power play in Eriksson Ek’s absence, Kaprizov fed Rossi a cross-zone pass at the back post that Rossi drained at 4:22.

At 8:03 – and just 28 seconds after goalie Filip Gustavsson denied Brett Leason in tight – Anaheim goalie John Gibson inadvertently kicked in the puck with his left skate after Boldy threw the puck toward the net while Rossi was battling in front with a Ducks defenseman, a fortuitous bounce that was credited to Rossi for his ninth goal of the season.

Boldy snapped a six-game drought at 10:51 with his 13th when he polished off a tic-tac-toe passing play featuring Kaprizov and Rossi that dissected the Anaheim defense.

Then 1:21 into the third period, Kaprizov got a stick on a loose puck for his team-leading 17th goal just after a Wild power play (1-for-3) expired; the Ducks went 0-for-2 but spoiled Gustavsson’s shutout bid on a Brock McGinn goal with 3:23 to go in the third period.

Yakov Trenin, during Anaheim’s second power play, capitalized shorthanded into an empty net with 1:17 to go for his first goal with the Wild.

Gustavsson finished with 26 saves, and Gibson had 28 stops.

The three points for Boldy tied his season high.

Rossi, elevated to center the No.1 line with Eriksson Ek out, has at least a point in 18 of 26 games, and his three-point effort tied his career best.

And Kaprizov?

The winger has an NHL-leading 42 points through 25 games after becoming the fastest in Wild history to get to 40, breaking his own record by six games. His seven three-point games are tied with New Jersey’s Jack Hughes for the most in the league, and Kaprizov’s 372 points (in 303 games) passed Ryan Suter for fifth place in Wild history. Captain Jared Spurgeon (394), Zach Parise (400) and Marian Gaborik (437) are all within reach if Kaprizov maintains his current scoring pace, a clip that would put him behind only Mikko Koivu (709).

Kaprizov has at least a point in his last 13 road games and has racked up eight points during the Wild’s win streak — which started vs. the Sabres on Nov.27 when the team began playing without Zuccarello, Brodin and Lauko.

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