Wild Are Showing Why One Line Can't Stop Them
The Minnesota Wild are winning games, but there's more to watch than the results. Several players are contributing, and that could become a key part of what makes this team hard to play against.
Minnesota improved to 11-3-3 with Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The victory extended the Wild's point streak to six games (5-0-1) and gave them five consecutive road wins. Matt Boldy, Michael McCarron, Joel Eriksson Ek and Danila Yurov scored, while Jesper Wallstedt made 23 saves. It was a good night for the top players, but it also showed why a team needs more than its biggest names to keep winning.
Related: Danila Yurov Reveals That Russian Players See Hockey Differently
Boldy and Eriksson Ek Continue to Produce.
Boldy led Minnesota's early attack. He opened the scoring from the high slot, then helped set up Eriksson Ek's goal early in the second period. He finished with a goal and an assist, extending his point streak to six games.
Eriksson Ek also continued his strong run, scoring his fourth goal during that stretch. Kirill Kaprizov has been producing as well, and defenseman Quinn Hughes has added another dimension from the back end. All four players have been riding six-game point streaks.
That's an impressive collection of production. But the interesting part is that Minnesota isn't asking those players to do everything.
McCarron and Yurov Show Why Depth Matters.
McCarron's goal came just 31 seconds after Boldy's opener. It wasn't a complicated play. A pass from Blake Coleman bounced off a Flyers player and landed in front of McCarron, who was ready to finish. Eriksson Ek's goal gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead, and Yurov added an empty-netter late after Philadelphia had made the game interesting.
Those contributions matter. Opponents can spend a lot of time preparing to contain Kaprizov, Boldy and Eriksson Ek. But when other players are finding ways to contribute, defending Minnesota becomes a different problem.
The Wild have also shown that this isn't just one good night. In their 5-1 win over Washington on November 1, Hughes, McCarron, Maxim Shabanov, and Yurov scored. After that game, coach John Hynes talked about the importance of getting contributions throughout the lineup. That's the part worth watching.
Minnesota May Be Becoming a More Complete Team.
The Wild have plenty of offensive talent at the top of their lineup. Nobody should be surprised when Kaprizov, Boldy or Eriksson Ek produces. The more interesting question is whether the supporting cast can keep chipping in when games get tighter, and opponents pay extra attention to those leading scorers.
Minnesota is off to a strong start, and its six-game point streak suggests the team is finding a rhythm. A long season remains, so it's too early to say the Wild have solved every problem.
But if they can keep getting timely contributions from players throughout the lineup, they'll give opponents more to think about than simply finding a way to stop the top line.