Your daily dose of Wild news, along with other interesting stories from around the NHL.
Some wins come because of a team effort (almost every one) but those few victories where it was laid upon a couple individuals’ shoulders, those are the magical ones.
On Monday night, it was up to Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Boldy to rescue a mediocre performance and make it their own. The Minnesota Wild ended up earning a 5-1 win over potential first-round opponents, the Seattle Kraken and those two are to blame.
As soon as the puck dropped, Seattle threw everything they had at Fleury but he was proven to be unstoppable for the first 50 minutes of the game. The Kraken finished with 38 shots on goal and 65 shot attempts, and just one of those shots ended up behind Fleury. He was standing on his head through every odd-man rush and penalty kill, helping Boldy eventually get another milestone.
It was Jake Middleton that opened the scoring but Boldy certainly put his own stamp on the offense. A natural hat trick as the Wild’s second, third, and fourth goals of the game to put this game so out of reach and for him to really yell to the world that he is a very good hockey player. Hell, he now has 28 goals and there were periods where he was a little invisible this season.
Thanks to those guys, the Wild are staying in first place of the Central Division, with one point up over the Colorado Avalanche but they have a game in-hand.
That’s Wild
- This fourth line of Mason Shaw, Connor Dewar, and Ryan Reaves, has found their groove and they are an absolute engine. [10K Rinks]
- GM Bill Guerin should be getting some credit for the Wild’s success this season. [StarTribune]
- The Wild are staying in the mix to sign college free agent Jason Polin, who scored a whole lot of goals this season.
Western Michigan free agent, Hobey Baker finalist and NCHC Player and Forward of the Year Jason Polin, who led the nation with an NCHC single-season record 30 goals, has been talking to teams like the #mnwild over the past few days. He hopes to narrow his list down shortly.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 27, 2023
Off the trail…
- Who are some top candidates for NHL coaching and general manager roles? [ESPN]
- Members of Team Canada at the 2018 World Juniors are banned from participating at national team events until the investigation into the alleged group sexual assault has been completed. [DailyFaceoff]
- The Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets have reportedly already discussed a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. [Yahoo Sports]