As if general manager Bill Guerin needed any extra motivation to go big game hunting at the trade deadline, the Wild once again showcased their seemingly limitless potential on Tuesday night at Grand Casino Arena.
A few hours after Guerin made a minor move to acquire depth center Michael McCarron, the Wild snapped a brief losing streak with an impressive 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was a hot start for the Wild as defenseman Brock Faber cashed in early in the first period to make it 1-0. It was beautiful sequence as Faber took a feed from winger Marcus Johansson near the right circle, then beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy top shelf.
The score held up largely because of goaltender Filip Gustavsson between the pipes. He made 12 saves for the Wild amid heavy pressure in the opening frame to keep the Lightning off the scoreboard.
A snipe from winger Mats Zuccarello on the power play helped the Wild stretch the lead to 2-0 early in the second period before Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov cut the deficit to 2-1 with a snipe of his own.
Though it looked like the Wild be locked in a tight contest the rest of the way, winger Yakov Trenin put forth an outstanding individual effort to make it 3-1. He hustled into the offensive zone at the end of his shift and was rewarded with a goal that took the edge off.
The dagger came midway through the third period courtesy of superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. He corralled a loose puck, dangled through a host of defenders, and found the back of the net to make it 4-1 in favor of the Wild.
As the game wound to a close, superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov finalized the score at 5-1 with backhanded shot into an empty net. In the process, Kaprizov successfully rewrote the record books, passing former star winger Marian Gaborik for the most goals in franchise history.
Related Articles
Wild trade for 6-foot-6 forward Michael McCarron
What are the Wild getting in new addition Robby Fabbri?
US Olympic gold medalists Hilary Knight and Quinn and Jack Hughes appear on ‘Tonight Show’
NHL trade deadline: Wild fully ‘in the game’
Scrappy Blues steal one from Wild with late rally
Leave a Reply