3 Takeaways From Wild’s 2-1 Win Over the Maple Leafs – Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild were in the second game of their three-game homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday evening, Nov. 3. As the season progresses, some games will be a test to see what this team can do. , and this was one of those games. It was a close physical battle that showcased the skill of both teams. The lineup remained the same for their Friday night game, Nov. 1, against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Even Jake Middleton was on the list after his wife gave birth to a baby girl the night before.

The Wild also saw a familiar face in Ryan Reaves, who played for them the past few seasons. He was seen chatting with Marc-André Fleury during the warm-up. The game featured plenty of hits, something the Wild haven’t had to deal with this season. It seemed to slow them down, but they buckled up and got down to business.

It took overtime, but the Wild came out on top thanks to a strong defensive effort that led to a breakaway on the other end. The Wild’s Matt Boldy scored the game-winning goal, and we’ll start this article by looking at the strong defensive effort that got them there.

Staying Committed

It was an odd game with lots of tic-tac plays where the puck refused to stay on anyone’s sticks. As mentioned above, it was also a very physical game, and the Wild regained the physicality but remained composed despite the flow seemingly ending. Regardless, the Wild stuck to their play even if they couldn’t get anything going their way for long.

The top row had solid opportunities, as did the third and fourth even, but the second row struggled, which was evident everywhere in the ranks. Boldy had strong efforts throughout the game, but also had some inaccuracies. He kept at it and was rewarded in overtime when Jared Spurgeon intercepted a Maple Leafs player on a breakaway and sent the puck up the ice to Marco Rossi.

Rossi and Boldy were breaking into the area, and Rossi just handed the puck to Boldy, who took it and secured the win. Boldy is one of those players who knows how to step up when the pressure is high, he did that to score a goal in this one. He didn’t try to get too fancy with the puck and overplay it; he just made a move and shot. Hopefully, the Wild can tone down their play in their next game, and they will get more chances.

Wild’s Gustavsson Confidence Continues

It feels like Filip Gustavsson has been mentioned in every headline in every game he’s played in, and he deserves it. Apart from a few goals this season that he had to give up, he has been playing strong this season. He played decently last season, but this season, he looks like a young goalkeeper with a level of confidence beyond his years.

He was one of the main reasons the Wild forced overtime and ended up winning the game. When his team made defensive mistakes in front of him, he was ready to make a big save, and if he gave up a rebound, he was ready to stop it. Even after scoring shorthanded, he didn’t let it affect his mental game; he remained strong.

Gustavsson has proven himself worthy of the starting role, and hopefully, each of these wins will add to his confidence level. He gets aggressive on plays, which helps the defense, and makes big stops when they need him.

Wild Need to Improve Penalty Kill

Their first penalty kill of the game is something to watch for every penalty. Despite a few good chances for the Maple Leafs, the Wild were coming up short on almost every shot to try and get blocks. Jonas Brodin kept going after the puck and trying to get in the way every time, including swinging his stick really fast to get into passing lanes, and it worked.

Their second penalty kill looked to be going the same way, but they missed a pass in the middle of the defense, leaving Nylander wide open for a clean shot on net, which shouldn’t have happened. There have been some good things about their penalty kill, but they need to continue to improve. They can’t continue to allow goals to be scored when they take penalties.

While the penalty kill was under heavy scrutiny, so was their power play, which came up empty for the second straight game. They had three chances and even a four-minute power play that saw some strong looks, but they couldn’t convert. They began to fall into their usual pattern of passing the puck more often.

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It’s great that they want to get that perfect play, but they need to do so quickly and not let the defense get stopped. Hopefully, this is temporary, and they can go back to scoring goals while assisting the man because they have the talent to do so.

Wild Stay Home

The Wild will finish their three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, November 5. They will see another former Wild player in Kevin Fiala and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who was with the team a long time ago. The Wild will need to get off to a quick start in that game and jump in early because the Kings are another team that will put them to the test. Hopefully they will be able to score on their power play opportunities and stay out of the box to put another win on the board.