ClutterPuck

The Minnesota Wild tried to extend their point streak to 12 in San Jose against the Sharks. Unfortunately, they had to try to do that without their superstar in F Kirill Kaprizov as he was injured in the game against the Winnipeg Jets and is now out for 3-4 weeks. The Wild recalled F Sammy Walker from the Iowa Wild.

The San Jose Sharks are having one of their worst seasons and with a loss in this game, they would clinch their 4th straight losing season. They have just 3 winning streaks on the season, two 2-game winning streaks and one 3-game winning streak. That means all of their other 12 wins were immediately followed by a loss and most of the time by another loss. That has to be hard to watch.

They’ve also beat the Wild twice already this season so let’s see if the Wild can get a win in their last game against San Jose this season so…

Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

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Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Wild projected lineup

Forwards
Sam Steel — Ryan Hartman — Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno — Frederick Gaudreau — Oskar Sundqvist
Mason Shaw — Connor Dewar — Ryan Reaves

Defensemen
Jake Middleton — Jared Spurgeon
Alex Goligoski — Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill — John Klingberg

Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury
Filip Gustavsson

Scratched: Calen Addison
Injured: Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), Jonas Brodin (lower body), Gustav Nyquist (shoulder), Brandon Duhaime (upper body)

Status Report
Fleury will make consecutive starts for the first time since he started four straight games from Jan. 24-Feb. 6. … Kaprizov, a forward, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury; Steel will take his place in the lineup. … Brodin, a defenseman, and Nyquist, a center, each is not expected to play.

San Jose Sharks

Sharks projected lineup

Forwards
William Eklund — Tomas Hertl — Fabian Zetterlund
Andreas Johnsson — Logan Couture — Alexander Barabanov
Noah Gregor — Nico Sturm — Evgeny Svechnikov
Oskar Lindblom — Steven Lorentz — Kevin Labanc

Defensemen
Nikolai Knyzhov — Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro — Derrick Pouliot

Goalies
James Reimer
Kaapo Kahkonen

Scratched: None
Injured: Luke Kunin (knee), Markus Nutivaara (lower body), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Radim Simek (upper body), Jacob MacDonald (undisclosed)

Status Report
Reimer will start after Kahkonen started the past two games. … The Sharks will dress the same 18 skaters they used in a 4-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

Game Recap

1st Period

It took the Wild under 2 minutes to score as Jared Spurgeon jumped up in the play to get a pass from Ryan Hartman that sent him in alone on the goaltender and he went upper right to beat Sharks G James Reimer.

Sharks D Derrick Pouliot pinched but took the body of Sam Steel and the pucked squeaked through. That allowed Ryan Hartman to get to it and send a pass across the ice to Mats Zuccarello. Wild D Jared Spurgeon saw a chance to make it an odd-man rush and center ice was wide open so he called for the puck and then made a move then quickly shot it into the upper right corner.

At first, Derrick Pouliot’s pinch looked like a bad pinch but Logan Couture should’ve made a better defensive play on Ryan Hartman and D Mario Ferraro made a bad read to be aggressive on Zuccarello when he didn’t really need to be.

1-0 Wild

The Sharks had a pretty long stretch of play in the Wild’s zone but they continued playing the great defense that has allowed them to be on their current point streak and most of that was due to the goaltending of Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury. At that point, the Wild were being outshot 10-2 but led 1-0.

2nd Period

The Wild were somewhat victimized by a couple of penalties to Ryan Hartman (one of which was in the 1st period) but then Wild D Jon Merrill took an interference (or cross-checking) penalty off the faceoff and the San Jose power play made them pay for it.

Off of a faceoff win, Erik Karlsson took a shot from the point that hit Jared Spurgeon and deflected right to Logan Couture who had an empty net to shoot at to tie the game.

1-1 Tie

Then with under 4 minutes remaining in the period, for some reason, Sharks F Evgeny Svechnikov got into it with Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury slashing at his stick then sticking his stick in Fleury’s glove. Marcus Foligno ran into him to send a message then he went back at Fleury and slashed at his stick a couple more times and the official had enough so he got 2 minutes for slashing.

As I guessed at the time, seems Quinn benched Svech for this stupidity. Sharks were completely dominating, Wild scored on ensuing power play and took over the rest of the game. https://t.co/9GXl4svp1O

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 12, 2023

The Wild weren’t getting much off of their power play so with 22 seconds left they had a last rush into the Sharks zone. Wild F Marcus Johannson had some speed so he tipped a pass from Jared Spurgeon  over to Marcus Foligno at the left boards then got it back and took a shot that Sharks G James Reimer saved but it was off of his left or far leg pad and Wild F Freddy Gaudreau was driving the net so he pounced on the rebound to put in his 12 goal of the season.

2-1 Wild

3rd Period

The Wild outdid their start of the game when they scored 1:44 into the game by scoring 30 seconds into the 3rd period when they quickly got their forecheck going right away as Matt Boldy kept a puck in and eventually sent a pass back to Wild D John Klingberg for a shot from the point that Marcus Johansson got the tip of his blade on to double the Wild’s lead.

A lot of puck-watching by the Sharks.

3-1 Wild

Unfortunately, the Wild took another penalty when John Klingberg grabbed the jersey of Tomas Hertl. The San Jose Sharks won the ensuing faceoff and got a quick one-timer in the slot that Marc-Andre Fleury saved but the puck squeaked through and was slowly trickling through the crease towards the right post and Tomas Hertl got his stick to it before Fleury could get his glove on it. 

Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason challenged the goal for goaltender interference since Tomas Hertl’s stick went up into/under Marc-Andre Fleury’s mask, arguably keeping him from being able to make a save.

After review, no goalie interference was called on this play. 🤔#MNWILD | #NHL pic.twitter.com/cjVKIySPzb

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) March 12, 2023

This was the league’s explanation:

“Video review confirmed no goaltender interference occurred as Tomas Hertl was making a play on the loose puck in the crease. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.7 which states, in part, the goal on the ice should have been allowed because in a rebound situation, or where a goalkeeper and attacking players) are simultaneously attempting to play a loose puck, whether inside or outside the crease, incidental contact will be permitted, and any goal that is scored as a result thereof will be allowed.”

Hertl was “making a play on the loose puck in the crease” so it’s okay that his stick is under his mask. Well, at least we got an explanation even if it is pretty weak. If you make this a battle for the puck between players instead of a goalie & a player, would that be a high-sticking penalty? Is part of it that Jared Spurgeon’s stick is under Tomas Hertl’s stick so he caused the stick to be there? Do they let the coach know more than their explanation?

3-2 Wild

The Wild had to kill off another Sharks power play since their Replay Challenge was unsuccessful. Wild F Mason Shaw drew a holding penalty 1:04 into that penalty kill and 24 seconds into their abbreviated power play, Mats Zuccarello skated into the middle of the offensive zone and fed Ryan Hartman going up the right side. Hartman took a shot from a pretty bad angle but it caused a rebound that went right to Sharks D Matt Benning but he couldn’t get enough on it to clear it from the front of the net and Mats Zuccarello was right there to pounce on it and once again double the Wild’s lead thanks to more puck-watching from the Sharks.

They just let Zuccarello skate to the front of the net. He actually skated around one player as he was watching the puck. Well, he watched the puck go into his own net! Oops!

4-2 Wild

A 2-goal lead forced the Sharks to pull their goalie with 3:23 remaining in regulation. The Wild took an attempt at the empty net but it went wide for an icing. San Jose F Alexander Barabanov used his speed to get to the outside of Wild D Jake Middleton but he was forced to go behind the net so he tried to get around the net quickly and throw it in front of the net but Jared Spurgeon deflected it away. The puck went right to Wild F Matt Boldy and he threw a backhand from the faceoff dot all the way down and into the net for his 18th goal of the season and another Wild win!

5-2 Wild

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Final
 Minnesota Wild 5 | 2 San Jose Sharks

Goals
MN: 1. Jared Spurgeon(10), 2. Freddy Gaudreau(13)-PPG, 3. Marcus Johansson(14), 4. Mats Zuccarello(21)-PPG, 5. Matt Boldy(18)
SJS: 1. Logan Couture(23)-PPG, 2. Tomas Hertl(19)
*PPG=Power-Play Goal, ENG=Empty-Net Goal

Assists
MN: 1. Mats Zuccarello(40), Ryan Hartman(15), 2. Marcus Johansson(17), Marcus Foligno(13)-PPG, 3. John Klingberg(17), Matt Boldy(26), 4. Ryan Hartman(16), John Klingberg(18), 5. Jared Spurgeon(19)
SJS: 1. Erik Karlsson(64), Tomas Hertl(34)-PPG, 2. Logan Couture(32), Alexander Barabanov(30)

Goalies
MN: 
Marc-Andre Fleury – 35 Saves on 37 Shots, .946 Save%, 21st Win
SJS: 
James Reimer – 24 Saves on 28 Shots, .857 Save%, 17th Loss

Shift Chart

Next Up:

At the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday night at 8:30pm on Bally Sports North! Will the Minnesota Wild make it 3 wins in a row and 13 games in a row with a point?

Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Game Notes are topics we feel need more Clutter from each game as they were either an important part of the game or brought up a topic that could use deeper explanation.

Here are the Game Notes from Tuesday night’s Wild game against the Calgary Flames:

Game Notes
*
Bad Penalty Calls

There was no call when Joel Eriksson Ek got mauled after doing nothing but just being near the Calgary goalie then Ryan Hartman got 2 penalties for doing the same thing against a player who bumped his teammate after the whistle. That doesn’t compute. Hartman deserved one penalty there and he should be a lot more subtle with his retaliation techniques.

Marcus Foligno was called for a slashing penalty when the player he supposedly slashed was the one who brought his stick up to Foligno’s stick but Mangiapane’s stick broke and that seems to be a sign for the officials to call slashing. Hopefully they review all of their calls with the head of officials and adjust even when those are hard calls to make because they happen so fast. That being said, the puck was there so the officials should see the whole play.

To us, the biggest problem with these calls and non-calls is that every official will call it differently. If that is the case and it sure seems like it is then how are the teams, players and coaches supposed to know what they can or can’t do during a game?

Do all the officials tell both teams at the beginning of the games what they will and won’t call? Not likely as that would probably take a while.

**
Should this have been off-sides?

Jared Spurgeon's overtime winner was taken off the board after this was deemed as not having possession

Thoughts?#mnwild pic.twitter.com/lT3XWFU4Zo

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 8, 2023

We alluded to the Cale Makar goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year but, this is not the same exact play. The only thing similar to that play is what defines “possession of the puck” and the only thing we could find in the NHL Rulebooks for 2021-22 & 2022-23 for “Possession of the Puck” is this:

Possession of the Puck – What is it?

So… if Jared Spurgeon was off-sides… then is this off-sides?

Foligno vehemently disagrees with the offside call and brought up this play and wonders the difference https://t.co/20RCxQpNmL

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 8, 2023

https://twitter.com/mikechamp3009/status/1630578098717483008?s=20

That play was called on-sides so what’s the difference? And that my friends is the big problem with the NHL. Those two plays are exactly the same. 

The puck comes off each player’s stick then their skates go over the line then they regain control of the puck but one is called off-sides and one is called on-sides. How can that be? NHL? Gary Bettman? Anyone? Bueller?

They won’t answer me. Do the teams inquire about this? Do they get an answer?

The only thing we could think that somewhat explains possession of the puck is what happens on a delayed penalty. The play will be whistled down as soon as the team getting called for the penalty gains possession of the puck.

If you’ve watched a lot of hockey then you’ve seen that rule called very differently, too. One official will blow the play dead when a player just gets the tip of his stick blade on the puck where another official won’t blow it dead there. 

That must be infuriating for coaches and players because it’s inconsistent and all they want is to know what a rule is and what it isn’t. 

Define the Rules!

What would a lawyer do? 🤔 …

***
It’s Tourney Time!!!

The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament will begin today at 11am on KSTC Channel 45 (812 on cable) with the Single-A bracket, Hermantown against Luverne.

Here’s the rest of the Single-A bracket courtesy of The Rink Live:

The Double-A bracket begins tomorrow at 11am with Maple Grove against Cretin-Derham Hall:

Who you got, “Puckers?

Let us know in the comments!

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Thanks for Reading!!! 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

The Minnesota Wild faced the Calgary Flames for the 2nd straight game but the Flames had a game against the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars in which they gave up a 2-goal lead twice but scored with under 7 seconds to go in regulation to get a huge win for them and maybe a huge win for the Wild.

That win meant the Wild would definitely see a different Calgary team than the one they shut out on Saturday night but it also meant the Wild could get within 1 point of the Dallas Stars for the division lead.

Alright. Enough words. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

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Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Scratched: Calen Addison, Sam Steel
Injured: Jonas Brodin (lower body), Gustav Nyquist (shoulder), Brandon Duhaime (upper body)

Status Report

Sundqvist, a forward, makes his Wild debut after being acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. … Neither Brodin, a defenseman, or Duhaime, a forward, has resumed skating. … Gustavsson and Fleury will alternate starts for a seventh straight game.*
*We’re not sure who’s writing these “Status Reports” but Gustavsson started and shutout the Flames in the last game and started this game. Do better, NHL.com or @NHLdotcom!

Calgary Flames

Scratched: Adam Ruzicka, Dennis Gilbert, Walker Duehr
Injured: Michael Stone (lower body)

Status Report

The Flames did not hold a morning skate Tuesday following a 5-4 win at the Dallas Stars on Monday. … Vladar could start after Markstrom made 29 saves Monday.

Game Recap

1st Period

The Wild had the first great scoring when F Ryan Hartman sent Mats Zuccarello in on a mini-breakaway but Markstrom made the save with his blocker as Zuccy tried to go just over his right pad.

17:45 – Penalty – Calgary – Nick Ritchie for Tripping Matt Dumba

Flames F Nick Ritchie, acquired at the trade deadline for his brother, was forechecking Wild D Matt Dumba hard but Dumba was behind his own net and Ritchie got his stick in Dumba’s feet to trip him. Easy call for the official and one of those plays that makes coaches shake their head wondering why you’d put your stick there.

7:13 – Penalty – Minnesota – Ryan Hartman for Slashing Rasmus Andersson and Cross-Checking Trevor Lewis

After the whistle and Rasmus Andersson bumps Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman took exception to it so he slashed Andersson in the hand then he punched Trevor Lewis in the face and the officials called both of them.

Minutes earlier on a Wild shot on net, Wild F Joel Eriksson Ek stopped right next to Flames G Jacob Markstrom. He didn’t touch him. He just stood there and he was slashed and pushed down and there was no call for anything so you can understand Wild coach Dean Evason yelling at the officials to call it both ways.

4:59 – Penalty – Calgary – Noah Hanifin for Holding

On the Penalty Kill, Marcus Foligno got a chance on a loose puck and his speed gave him a scoring chance. As he went up the left side of the ice, Flames D Noah Hanifin put his left hand on Foligno’s right shoulder then reached around with his stick to try to get to the puck but he made Foligno fall down.

2nd Period

19:35 – Penalty – Minnesota – Marcus Foligno for Slashing Andrew Mangiapane

The replay showed Andrew Mangiapane was the player who slashed up on Foligno’s stick and it’s hard to see how Marcus Foligno did anything worthy of a penalty there.*

*See more on this call/topic in our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article.

15:36 – Penalty – Calgary – Troy Stecher for High-Sticking Oskar Sundqvist

12:31 – Penalty – Calgary – Nick Richie for Cross-Checking Connor Dewar

That’s 2 dumb penalties in the offensive zone for Nick Richie. Sutter likely had a very clear message for him that consisted of very few words.

The power play isn’t producing. How much of that is having John Klingberg instead of Calen Addison quarterbacking the power play’s 1st unit? Klingberg is still learning about his new team while Calen Addison knows them very well.

1:37 – Penalty – Coincidental for Roughing to Matt Dumba & Jakob Pelletier

Some after the whistle scrum penalties. 

19:41 – Penalty – Calgary – Andrew Mangiapane for Interference on John Klingberg

During 4-on-4 play, Andrew Mangiapane was trying to stay onside while John Klingberg was trying to get back in the play and Mangiapane ended up knocking Klingberg down. Mangiapane didn’t like the call but he should do a better job of getting out of the way. Klingberg tried to jump around him which helped make it look worse than it probably was.

3rd Period

The Wild started the period with 1:41 remaining on a power play and the Wild were trying to get the puck to the net a little more but still maybe holding on to the puck too much looking for a better shot or looking for a teammate in better position to score and Calgary G Jacob Markstrom made every save.

Back to work for the Wild who did have some momentum going in the last half of the 2nd period.

The Wild had all kinds of momentum in the first 5 minutes of the period as they outshot the Flames 7-0 but the game was still scoreless.

Wild D Jake Middleton went in all alone off a pass from Oskar Sundqvist…. Save by Markstrom! OHHH!!!

Then Kirill Kaprizov sent Ryan Hartman in on a breakaway and he tried to deke but didn’t get enough on the backhand to get it by Markstrom. Hartman tried to throw back in front of the net but Markstrom didn’t let it get through. Jared Spurgeon then ended up with a great chance on the weak side but Jacob Markstrom made a great glove save to keep the game scoreless.

The Minnesota Wild’s 4th line of Mason Shaw, Connor Dewar & Ryan Reaves had 3 scoring chances on the next shift with the final one off of Ryan Reaves stick that went over the net!

And… this one went to…

OVERTIME!

As the overtime began, Bally Sports North had the “Technical Difficulties” screen on but it went back to live action before the OT began! Geez! That’s not funny!

Filip Gustavsson made a stick save about halfway through the OT on a shot aimed at his 5-hole!

There was a battle for the puck in the Flames zone at the right boards and Andrew Mangiapane won it but Ryan Hartman backchecked to get a deflection on the cross-ice pass to regain possession. Nazem Kadri lazily changed which allowed Wild F Marcus Johansson to pass to Jared Spurgeon at the offensive blue line. He passed it to Ryan Hartman and it was a 2-on-1…

Hartman took a slapshot. Markstrom made the save but the rebound bounce out to Jared Spurgeon and he put it in the upper left corner then tripped over Markstrom and did a Superman before getting jumped on by Hartman!

Jared Spurgeon scores in overtime…but it's ruled offside… pic.twitter.com/heP39H0gpQ

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) March 8, 2023

But…

Was the play offsides?

Jared Spurgeon's overtime winner was taken off the board after this was deemed as not having possession

Thoughts?#mnwild pic.twitter.com/lT3XWFU4Zo

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 8, 2023

Jared Spurgeon had possession of the puck but the puck was in the neutral zone while both of his skates were in the offensive zone and the officials took the goal away! WOW!*

*Who remembers the Cale Makar call in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs? Read about that offsides play which is similar to this play in our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article.

Shootout!

Mats Zuccarello… waits… shoots… Save!

Jonathan Huberdeau came in with speed… shot… Save!

Kirill Kaprizov… shoots… Save!

Rasmus Andersson… waits… shoots… NO!

Freddy Gaudreau… dangle, dangle… shoots and HE SCORES!!!

Nazem Kadri… shoots and HE SCORES!!!

Matt Boldy… waits… dekes… but the puck rolled off his stick!

Tyler Toffoli… waits… dekes then goes 5-hole and Scores! DOH!

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Final-SO
Calgary Flames 1 | 0 Minnesota Wild 

Goals
MN: None
CGY: None
*PPG=Power-Play Goal, ENG=Empty-Net Goal

Assists
MN: None
CGY: None

Goalies
MN: 
Filip Gustavsson – 33 Saves on 33 Shots, 1.000 Save%, 4th Shootout Loss (also a Shutout Loss), 3rd Shutout
CGY: 
Jacob Markstrom – 30 Saves on 30 Shots, 1.000 Save%, 17th Win, 1st Shutout

Shift Chart

We’ll publish Game Notes tomorrow and they will include “Bad Penalty Calls,” “Should it have been Off-sides?” & “It’s Tourney Time!”

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Next up: 

The Minnesota Wild will head up to Winnipeg for a 6:30 CST tilt on Bally Sports North.

Thanks for Reading!!!

 

Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

The Minnesota Wild went up to Canada for a quick 2-game road trip starting in Vancouver against the Canucks. Newly-acquired F Marcus Johansson started his 2nd stint with the Minnesota Wild on a line with Matt Boldy & Joel Eriksson Ek. 

Marcus Johansson said he already feels comfortable back with #mnwild. Living in same building as Ek and Brodin. Playing on line with Boldy. Didn’t feel he brought his best in last stint with Wild, with all injuries. But found his game this season.

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 2, 2023

He ended up replacing another Marcus as Foligno is out with a lower body injury:

Evason said if this were a playoff game, Marcus Foligno would be playing. Just “banged up.” https://t.co/QyDzTSi79w

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 2, 2023

Alright. Enough words. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

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Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Wild projected lineup

Forwards
Kirill Kaprizov — Ryan Hartman — Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway — Frederick Gaudreau — Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw — Connor Dewar — Ryan Reaves

Defensemen
Jake Middleton — Jared Spurgeon
Alex Goligoski — Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill — Calen Addison

Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury
Filip Gustavsson

Scratched: Sam Steel, Dakota Mermis
Injured: Marcus Foligno (lower body), Jonas Brodin (lower body)

Status report

Foligno, a forward, is day to day and could play at the Calgary Flames on Saturday, Wild coach Dean Evason said. … Johansson will take Foligno’s spot in the lineup and make his Minnesota debut after being acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. … Brodin, a defenseman, is not on the road trip and will miss his fifth straight game. … Fleury will alternate starts with Gustavsson for the fifth game in a row.

Vancouver Canucks

Canucks projected lineup

Forwards
Andrei Kuzmenko — Elias Pettersson — Anthony Beauvillier
Dakota Joshua — Nils Aman — Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin — Jack Studnicka — Brock Boeser
Vitali Kravtsov — Aatu Raty — Sheldon Dries

Defensemen
Quinn Hughes — Noah Juulsen
Guillaume Brisebois — Tyler Myers
Christian Wolanin — Kyle Burroughs

Goalies
Thatcher Demko
Collin Delia

Scratched: None
Injured: Filip Hronek (upper body), Ethan Bear (face), J.T. Miller (lower body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ankle), Curtis Lazar (lower body), Travis Dermott (undisclosed), Ilya Mikheyev (torn ACL), Tanner Pearson (hand), Tucker Poolman (undisclosed)

Status Report

Miller, a center who has missed one game, will be a game-time decision. … Hronek is expected to join the Canucks sometime this weekend after being acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday; the defenseman will be evaluated by Vancouver’s medical staff before determining a timeline for his return. … Demko will make his second straight start. … Lazar, a center who has missed five games, resumed practicing Wednesday and could return against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Game Recap

1st Period

44 seconds into the game and the Wild got the puck deep and went to work as Mats Zuccarello found his buddy Kirill at the left side of the net just waiting for a pass to tip into the net!

19:16 – Goal – Minnesota – Kirill Kaprizov from Mats Zuccarello & Jared Spurgeon

1-0 Wild

Wild F Connor Dewar took a delay of game penalty when he accidentally sent the puck out of play a couple of minutes later but the Wild killed it off then drew their own power play when Jake Middleton got a stick to the face from Sheldon Dries.

The Wild couldn’t capitalize on the power play although they did get some good chances then Ryan Hartman got a shot from the slot and hit the post! OHHH!!!

7:29 – Penalty – Minnesota – Kirill Kaprizov for Tripping Connor Garland

Kirill went to the boards to win a puck and he accidentally hit Garland’s left skate and he fell down because of it.

5:57 – Goal – Vancouver – Brock Boeser from Vitali Kravtsov & Connor Garland

Vancouver acquired F Vitali Kravtsov from the Rangers just 5 days ago* because the Rangers couldn’t find a place for him in their lineup. We’ll have to check back in a few years (or maybe months) to see how the Russian forward does when he was given a bigger opportunity. 
*Dare we say this was a Krav-ty trade! I’ll show myself out.

He made a great seam pass for a Brock Boeser* one-timer to the upper right corner to snap the Wild’s penalty killing streak at 27 and make it a…

1-1 Tie

Kravtsov took a look before receiving the pass then caught & passed the puck in one motion as the Wild forgot about Boeser because of too much puck watching and Matt Dumba not having his stick on the ice. That pass can’t get through. 
*Let’s talk about Brock – Check the Game Notes section at the bottom of this article.

Very good period for the Wild as they outshot the Canucks 14-6 but the game is even at 1.

2nd Period

Vancouver had some momentum to finish the 1st and kept it to begin the 2nd period but Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury made a few big saves to keep the game tied at one.

Then 3:40 in, Ryan Hartman fed Kirill Kaprizov for a breakaway… 

And from another angle…

make that 39 for kirill pic.twitter.com/FJwpwxdUWI

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) March 3, 2023

3rd Period

Wild F Brandon Duhaime threw a hit on Vasily Podkolzin and Canucks D Kyle Burroughs took exception to it and as he was in a battle for the puck, he was looking at Duhaime and they threw down their mitts to fight. Duhaime appeared to be winning the fight then at the very end Burroughs caught him in the jaw. 5 for fighting for both of them but there was a delay and Duhaime ended up having to go to the locker room to be checked for a concussion.

Here's the hit, fight, and knockdown between Duhaime and Burroughs pic.twitter.com/jR67q0tKEC

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 3, 2023

Good night Jim Kite here for Brandon Duhaime pic.twitter.com/RGyRvuePkK

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) March 3, 2023

15:12 – Penalty – Minnesota – Connor Dewar for Tripping Elias Pettersson

Connor Dewar then took his 2nd penalty of the game when he appeared to have hit the puck off a Vancouver player’s stick but his follow through hit his skate to trip him.

The Wild killed it off as they will try to start a new penalty killing streak.

12:29 – Penalty – Vancouver – Tyler Myers for Delay of Game

No dice on the power play for the Wild.

1:06 – Penalty – Vancouver – J.T. Miller for Holding Kirill Kaprizov

With an empty net, a loose puck went out to the right side of the Canucks blue line so Kirill Kaprizov & J.T. Miller were in a race to get to it and Miller seemed to give up on it and tried to get around Kaprizov by raising his arm above him and one angle looks like he may have only hit him on the hip to knock him down but the official called holding.

The Wild basically played keep away to begin the power play but Vancouver eventually got the puck and threw a couple shots at the net but Marc-Andre Fleury was there to stop them all for another Wild Win!!!

––––– CP –––––

Final
Minnesota Wild 2 | 1 Vancouver Canucks

Goals
MN: 1. Kirill Kaprizov(38), 2. Kirill Kaprizov(39)
VAN: 1. Brock Boeser(12)
*PPG=Power-Play Goal, ENG=Empty-Net Goal

Assists
MN: 1. Mats Zuccarello(38), Jared Spurgeon(18), 2. Ryan Hartman(14), Ryan Reaves(7) 
VAN: 1. Vitali Kravtsov(4), Connor Garland(22)

Goalies
MN: Marc-Andre Fleury – 21 Saves on 22 Shots, .955 Save%, 19th Win

539th Career Win &…

Marc-Andre Fleury’s 539th victory. He’s now 13 wins from passing Patrick Roy for the second-most in NHL history.

I truly hope #mnwild fans appreciate what they’re witnessing and they they get to watch this guy in his career’s twilight. Special player and person.

Nighty night!

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 3, 2023

VAN: 
Thatcher Demko – 34 Saves on 36 Shots, .944 Save%, 11th Loss

Shift Chart

Game Notes
We’ll get to them ASAP!