Hockey Wilderness

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via If it is possible to have an extremely comfortable hockey game — a plush puddle of athletic performance — it was tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, for the Minnesota Wild. Despite allowing the first goal of the game, the Wild were on cruise control for the entire game. But their version of cruise control where it is just an extremely efficient five-player attack that leads to so many damn goals getting scored. It was a comfy 8-2 win by our favorite hockey club. The entire atmosphere was free-flowing enough for Kirill Kaprizov...

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via C’est bon. The Montreal Canadiens are getting their first taste of the new Minnesota Wild in what should be an interest match-up between one team that can’t stop stomping on lesser opponents, and a much-lesser opponent. The last time these two teams met, was all the way back in October 2019; when a swift home-and-home in the early season was split between the two clubs. First, Montreal earned a 4-0 win, which saw the Wild get heavily penalized with players going to the box such as Jason Zucker, Nick Seeler, Gerald Mayhew, and Luke...

Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via The former Wild forward is back in town with the Habs. The Minnesota Wild are facing the Montreal Canadiens at home on Monday, and along with the visiting team is a familiar face. Montreal claimed now-former Wild forward Rem Pitlick off of waivers earlier this month, and it didn’t take long for him to face his old club. In his return, he was able to reflect on his experience of going through that waiver process. “I’m not going to lie, it was hard,” Pitlick said of being placed on waivers by the Wild. “I loved so many different...

Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via The Lakeville, MN native is facing the Wild for the first time. We all know how big of a deal hockey is in Minnesota, and how many players from here eventually make their way to the NHL. One player that has done exactly that, coming out of Lakeville, Minn., is Montreal Canadiens forward Ryan Poehling as he gets to face his boyhood team for the first time on Monday. The Minnesota Wild was (and might still be) his favorite team in the league, so he was full of giddiness when he spoke with media before puck drop. Ryan Poehling...

Photo by Hannah Foslien/ Kaprizov, Zuccarello, Fiala look to continue point streaks The Minnesota Wild hadn't seen the Chicago Blackhawks since the 2019-20 season. Tonight they take on Montreal Canadiens, yet another squad they haven't seen since Mikko Koivu was the captain on this team. It's only a couple of seasons, but it feels like a lifetime ago for both squads. We've seen the emergence of a new team and a new regime here in Minnesota, while the Canadiens have seen a Cinderella trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to turn back into a pumpkin this season. Scratch...

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports Fiala, Foligno star in dramatic fashion Well, well well. If it isn’t our old friend “tie the game late and dramatically win in OT.” If there were a theme for this team, this would be it. On the second night of a back-to-back, the Minnesota Wild came out slow and sluggish, as if they had just convincingly beaten this same team with a 5-1 win. A night where the Chicago Blackhawks stopped skating after the first 30 minutes and were preparing for the next one. Ten minutes into the first, we got our first goal. Henrik Borgstrom tipped a...

Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via This feels familiar. Just over 24 hours after the puck dropped for their first game, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks are facing each other once again in this home-and-home series. One difference: Jared Spurgeon is back. The Wild captain is making his return from an injury that has left him off the ice since Dec. 16. Over his month-long absence, the Wild have been fairly irregular with their performances, but have steadily become more stable and still scoring a buttload of goals. Spurgeon returning will only enhance that. In...

Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Wild won first game in two seasons 5-1 on Friday night Here we are again, and so soon! The Minnesota Wild will take on the Chicago Blackhawks for the second time in two nights, looking to continue the potent offensive game they displayed in the 5-1 win last night. After not playing against each other since the 2019-20 season, the NHL schedule overlords sure do seem intent on making up for the lost time. There are going to be some notable additions — and subtractions — from the lineup tonight; Jared Spurgeon is likely to return...

Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via The rookie blueliner is getting better and better. I absolutely despise some transactions. Some are great: Trades, rookie call-ups, some guy you absolutely loathe watching play for your favorite team get placed on waivers. But sometimes, it’s just a hollow move that will only leave you wanting more. For the Minnesota Wild currently, it’s having rookie defenseman Calen Addison up here and eventually expecting him to get sent down...but should he? The primary reason why Addison has been given this chance is the injuries to...

Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Sometimes all it takes is seeing an old foe to get everybody on the same page again. Maybe it was the facing the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time since the 2019-20 season, or perhaps it was seeing Marc-André Fleury — primarily responsible for the Minnesota Wild's playoff exit last year — in that red sweater. Whatever it was, the Wild were putting the puck in the net with fierce efficiency last night. Marcus Foligno did his thing right away, starting with some physical play that earned him two minutes in the box for...

It’s been quite a while since these two teams have faced each other. The Minnesota Wild are in Chicago to face the Blackhawks for the first time since before the pandemic. That’s a very long time. Their last game — a 3-2 overtime win for the Wild on Feb. 4, 2020 — featured a Kevin Fiala two-goal performance and an overtime winner from Matt Dumba. Jason Zucker still played on the team, if you can believe that. But this is a different Minnesota team that is full of more high-octane offense and is seeing some of their better players return to the lineup. We’ll have to...

Wild welcome back their top centerman as they take on their division rival It’s finally time for the Return of the Ek. The Minnesota Wild will welcome Joel Eriksson Ek to the lineup in the first of a home-and-home against the Chicago Blackhawks, having missed their top centerman for a month after he suffered an upper-body injury against the Dallas Stars back on Dec. 20, and then a bout of COVID once he was ready to return. Due to rescheduling, the month-long injury/illness stint only cost Eriksson Ek five games, though one was the Winter Classic at Target Field back on New...

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via It’s going to be an interesting couple of months. The NHL trade deadline is just over two months away and no, it isn’t too early to think about it. Next thing you know, after the two-week period of rescheduled games in February, and a little run of games in Canada, the Wild and GM Bill Guerin will be staring at just a few weeks remaining to make their final moves before the likely appearance in the post-season. It’s a scary thing to not be totally prepared, so we’re here to take a step back and think through some options that...

Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via We got some games going on. The Minnesota Wild announced on Wednesday afternoon, their revised schedule that makes up for all the postponed games due to COVID outbreaks or attendance restrictions. All times are in CST. Tues., Feb. 8 — at Winnipeg Jets — 7:00 p.m.Sat., Feb. 12 — vs. Carolina Hurricanes — 7:00 p.m.Mon., Feb. 14 — vs. Detroit Red Wings — 7:00 p.m.Wed., Feb. 16 — at Winnipeg Jets — 6:00 p.m.Fri. Feb. 18 — vs. Florida Panthers — 7:00 p.m.Sun., Feb. 20 — at Edmonton Oilers — 7:00 p.m.Tues., Feb....

It’s a Minnesota Wild prospect report! Every week we will take a look around the Minnesota Wild prospect pool and see what players have had an impressive streak of games. It might be three, it might be five, it might just be one. Let’s look at The Young and Wild. Due to some COVID outbreaks, there were some postponements as the junior leagues were brought back from their holiday break. As old news as that is, there were still some impressive performances from Wild prospects and especially in the Western Hockey League. Pavel Novak After making a brief impression at the World...