Other than a post-overtime shootout, pitting skater versus goalie, perhaps nowhere is hockey more a game of man-on-man skill than in the faceoff circle. In fact, his historical prowess at winning possession when the puck is dropped is one of the primary reasons the Wild re-acquired center Nico Sturm over the summer.
Last season, split between the Sharks and the Panthers — where he won his second career Stanley Cup — Sturm won 58.8 percent of his faceoffs. And starting with possession of the puck, especially on defensive zone faceoffs, can be a huge advantage.
After returning from back surgery for the Wild’s game in Winnipeg, Sturm went back to his natural place, taking faceoffs for the Wild. And while he has a goal to his credit already, tipping a third-period shot in Minnesota’s Thanksgiving Eve overtime win in Chicago, Sturm acknowledged that he is taking some time getting up to speed in the faceoff circle.
Entering Friday’s afternoon meeting with the Avalanche, Sturm had won 4 of 16 draws he had taken versus the Jets and Blackhawks, and the 25 percent clip was far below what he expected for himself.
“I think physicality, tempo, skating-wise actually pretty good,” he said when asked for a self-assessment following the Chicago game. “The circle right now is tough; the timing is just so hard. I think I’ve gotten kicked out ten times in these two games.”
In hockey, the home team’s center has a slight advantage, as the visiting team center has to have his stick on the ice first. Perhaps it’s in part because his first two games this season have been on the road, or a lack of practice having missed one-fourth of the season, but Sturm is working to get his groove back in the circle.
“It’s just so hard to get the timing right and guys have probably taken 300 draws already this season, so it’s kind of hard to get in there,” said Sturm, who also comes with a reputation as a penalty killer. “But that will come. I’m not too worried about that. The (penalty) kill obviously has been good, I think a pretty seamless transition. I’m glad I found some areas today where I could help with the team.”
After he got on the board in Chicago at a key time, Sturm’s coach had no complaints about his contributions.
“I think it was a big difference-maker,” John Hynes said of Sturm’s tying goal early in the third period. “We didn’t get much done on the power play. We came out and found a way to score. I think it continued to give us some life.”
Sturm, 30, began his NHL career in Minnesota in 2019 after playing college hockey at Clarkson. After spending time with Colorado, San Jose and Florida, he returned to the Wild last summer, signing a two-year contract worth $4 million. He was injured on the first day of training camp and had back surgery to fix the problem.
Foligno the Wild’s latest injury loss
In the third period of Wednesday’s win in Chicago, veteran forward Marcus Foligno left the game. He was favoring his left leg after getting tied up in the defensive zone with Blackhawks rookie Oliver Moore, who skated with the Gophers last season.
On Friday the Wild announced that Foligno has been placed on injured reserve and is considered week-to-week with a lower body injury. While the team has been winning, their roster of forwards on injured reserve has been growing. As of Friday, Foligno joined Marco Rossi, Vinnie Hinostroza and Vladimir Tarasenko on the injured list, all with lower body ailments.
On Thursday, the Wild called up Nicolas Aube-Kubel from Iowa, and their initial Friday afternoon line chart had Aube-Kubel at left wing on the team’s third line versus the Avalanche. But they got some good news when Ryan Hartman took the ice for warmups, reactivated off injured reserve on Friday.
Hartman had missed the previous four games with a lower body injury.
In a corresponding move, the Wild reassigned Aube-Kubel to Iowa on Friday afternoon. Foligno had played all but one of Minnesota’s first 25 games, recording two assists.
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