All Things Minnesota Wild 2022-2023 In-Season Thread

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- — Ryan Hartman scored with 1:11 remaining in the third period and the Minnesota Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Saturday..

The Wild have points in four straight after their franchise-record 14-game point streak was snapped on March 18. Minnesota started the day a point behind Dallas, which hosts Vancouver, for the lead in the Central Division..

One reason for Minnesota’s surge has been the goaltending of Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Gustavsson has been a surprise all season while ranking second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.01) and save percentage (.932) among qualifying goaltenders entering the day. He is 8-1-4 in his last 13 games with a 1.75 goals-against and .946 save percentage.

The veteran Fleury is 7-0-1 in his last eight games with a .929 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against average..

 


VGK makes some minor NHL history tonight; Won their 4th straight game with 4 different goalies. And the goalie carousel continues... 5 goalies played since the All-Star break. WTF.... Just can't seem to stay healthy between the pipes.

Wild and VGK collide in a week, first game of a home-and-home two game series that should have some serious playoff hockey feel.
 
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so a check of the playoff race in the Western Conference.

Central Division: Wild 93 pts in 73 games - Avalanche 92 pts in 72 games - Stars 92 pts in 73 games.

Pacific Division: Vegas 98 pts in 73 games - Kings 96 pts in 73 gms - Oilers 91 pts in 73 gms.
 



so a check of the playoff race in the Western Conference.

Central Division: Wild 93 pts in 73 games - Avalanche 92 pts in 72 games - Stars 92 pts in 73 games.

Pacific Division: Vegas 98 pts in 73 games - Kings 96 pts in 73 gms - Oilers 91 pts in 73 gms.

You figured it had to happen sooner or later but damn, the teams "fighting" for the Wild Card spot in the West don't seem to have any "fight" in them at all. Holy shit.

Seattle, Calgary, Winnipeg, Nashville (and even Dallas to an extent) are all fading fast and hard down the stretch run.

The Wild are leading the Central despite having a considerably worse goal differential than Colorado and Dallas.

First place in both the Pacific and Central is going to be HUGE for whoever can come away winning the division; NONE of the top 3 teams in the Pacific or Central want to get stuck in the #2 vs #3 matchup in the first round. The dropoff from the #3 seed in both divisions to the Wild Card us massive as it stands right now.
 

No one has potted more goals in the NHL in March than Boldy, the winger turning in his second hat trick in five games on Monday to spark the Wild (43-22-9) to a 5-1 rout of the Seattle Kraken (40-25-8) in front of 19,291 at Xcel Energy Center while joining exclusive company for his scoring surge..

In his second NHL season, Boldy is already up to three hat tricks to tie for the second most in Wild history. Not only is he the fourth U.S.-born player to tally three before the age of 22, but since 2000-01 only five NHLers have posted more hat tricks before turning 22 — a list that includes former Wild great Marian Gaborik and current stars Connor McDavid and Patrik Laine..

The Wild are 6-1-2 without injured superstar Kirill Kaprizov, and Boldy's 11 goals over that stretch are tops in the league.

Going back to Feb. 17, the Wild have been on a 15-1-4 run to pocket an NHL-best 34 points and this victory kept them in first place in the Central Division with eight games remaining..


 
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Absolutely awesome game by Gustavsson, EE, Gaudreau and Steel. Tough as nails team.
 

Gustavsson was terrific. Steel’s goal was great work in front of their goalie. And some people (like me) thought goal-scoring would dry up without Kaprizov.
 

Really wish we would have gotten Boldy some line help sooner than the deadline

But glad we did it eventually.

7 games left and a legit shot to win the division and maybe even the conference. Tough schedule though especially compared to Dallas. Colorados pretty meh too but lot of road games at least.

I think we would rather Aves beat Stars on Saturday. No OT regardless who wins.
 





Gunna be a photo finish in this Central Division.

You could say we're skating on...thin ice.
 


Wild now with 97 pts in 76 gms. Colorado 96 pts in 75 gms and Dallas 96 pts in 76 games in the Central. Whoever wins the Central will likely get Winnipeg in the 1st round. finish 2nd place and you're playing Colorado or Dallas.

and odds of overall home-ice advantage fading - Vegas now with 101 pts in 76 gms in the Pacific Division.
 

I expect the Wild to come out tonight like they were shot out of a cannon, and if the VGK start Jonathan Quick in goal like they are expected to (?), this one gets out of hand early. Still hoping the VGK get healthy in goal and Quick never sees the light of day in the postseason.

Wild win, 5-2
 




I mean, he is a terrific skater, but, uhhh, this video isn’t displaying any sort of spectacular ability.

However, he definitely uses the forward-backward-forward skating technique more than anyone I can remember. I started to try it out situationally in pond hockey and it can provide interesting options. It’s not exceptionally difficult to do at slower speeds. I think the best news here is that KK is out there and his movement is free. Good sign.
 


Saying this before the game ends so I don't get accused of sour grapes. 3 on 3 OT sucks.
 


What a shootout goal by Ek. Tough points given up at the end. Wild now 5 points out for the quest for the west.
 

Absolutely brutal loss.

Any chance at 1 seed gone. And winning the central is now slim.

Cannot give that up
 


The Minnesota Wild are heading to the playoffs. Dallas won over Nashville to clinch the Wild a playoffs berth.
 




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