Alex Bader
The Minnesota Wild exploded with eight goals in their 8-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. It was a franchise record for the number of goals scored in a single game, and it was the 6th time they scored eight in a game. Since the Winter Classic, the Wild are 6-0-1 and they improved to 25-10-3.
With the Montreal Canadiens coming into the game as one of the worst teams in the league, getting a hot start and not playing down to their level was going to be important for a Wild victory.
The Canadiens entered the game ranked 32nd in the league in goals for, 31st in goals against, 31st on the power-play, 30th on the penalty-kill, 31st in shot differential, and 32nd in shots against.
BADER'S TAKE
This Kirill Kaprizov guy is pretty darn good at this sport called hockey.
He reached 100 career points in 92 games played. It was a franchise record as he became the fastest player to reach 100 career points in a Wild sweater.
Not only did he reach 100 career points so quickly, but he is also on pace to have a 100 point season. He has been on fire over the last couple of months.
He has seven goals and 17 points in his last nine games. Since Nov. 18th, he has 38 points and leads the league with 31 even-strength points.
He is a game-changer and he is what many Wild fans have dreamed of having on their team. He is a natural goal scorer that skates circles around the opposition. He can create plays out of nothing and make passes without looking.
He is a grinder who will fight for the puck in the corner and use his physicality when needed. He is an excellent skater that uses his speed and skating skills to create separation between him and defenders. He has dangles for days and makes professional defenders look silly.
He has a ripper of a shot that would scare any goalie with how quickly he can release the puck from his stick.
He still can fine-tune his art to become even more lethal than he is now, but he is already scary for opposing teams in only his second year in the league. He is on his way to cementing himself as Minnesota's top pro athlete and a huge fan favorite.
He truly lives in the belly of the beast, and he thrives in it.
His lineman, Mats Zuccarello, has four goals and 14 points in his last nine games. In his last 21 games, he has 28 points.
His other lineman, Ryan Hartman, leads the team in goals with 18.
Marcus Foligno is officially having himself a career year as well. He scored his 17th goal which was already a record for him, but he recorded his 27th point which is a new season record in points for Foligno. He has played in 38 games so far, we can expect him to blow past his previous career and season bests.
Sturm recorded the first 3-point game of his career and his lineman, Connor Dewar, got the first goal of his career and also had a multi point-game.
14 players on the Wild recorded a point in the game.
Game Recap:
The Montreal Canadiens came out and scored quickly to get the lead before most fans were settled in their seats. The Minnesota Wild started slow and sloppy.
However, it didn't last long. The Wild kicked it into high gear quickly after giving up the goal.
Jared Spurgeon scored a blaster from the blue line to tie the game at 1-1.
The Wild were buzzing and clearly were the better team.
Marcus Foligno found a loose puck in the slot and he spun around and fired quickly and scored to give the Wild the lead, 2-1. It was number 17's 17th goal of the season. His previous career-high was 13 goals in 80 games, so far he has played 38 games.
With 7:28 left in the first period, Foligno got elbowed and the Wild went on to the power-play for the first time in the game with a chance to grow their lead.
Goligoski was called for interference at the end of the Wild power-play and it gave the Canadiens nearly two minutes with the man advantage.
Former Wild player, Rem Pitlick, was called for tripping and the Wild had 1:00 on the power-play after 4-on-4 for 1:00.
After finally getting back to 5-on-5 play, Dumba got four minutes for roughing and Dauphin got two minutes for embellishment.
After one period the Wild had the lead, 2-1. They outshot Montreal 21-8 in the first period.
Minnesota killed off the power-play to start the second period.
Connor Dewar scored his first NHL goal to give the Wild the lead, 3-1. He has been playing well and the goal was well-deserved.
Right after the goal, it was Nico Sturm who got on the board to give the Wild the three-goal lead four minutes into the second period. Dewar got an assist on the goal and recorded the first multi-point game of his career.
Montreal took a timeout.
Minnesota kept its foot on the gas.
After about five minutes of pressure from Montreal, Kaprizov found Zuccarello who sniped over the goalie's glove from an awkward angle on the goal line. They both have points in their last nine games.
The Wild had the four-goal lead going into the third period, 5-1.
They needed to be solid in the final period to come away with the win.
Kahkonen started the third period and Talbot was not on the bench. It was his first game since the Winter Classic and he re-aggravated the injury.
Evason said that Talbot tweaked his injury, but with the game all but decided going into the third period the coaching staff decided to let Talbot sit. He should be ready to go for the road trip.
The Former Wild, Rem Pitlick, scored his eighth goal of the season against his former team to get the Canadiens back within three, 5-2.
Paquette got called for interference on Dewar and the Wild went on to the power-play.
Matt Boldy scored from a Kaprizov dish to put the Wild back up by four, 6-2. It was Boldy's 3rd career goal. The assist was also Kaprizov's 100th point in his career.
During the TV timeout Kaprizov was recognized in the stadium for reaching the milestone and received a huge roar from the fans.
With 10 minutes left in the game, the Wild had the four-goal lead and looked like they would cruise to their third win in a row.
Jordie Benn scored his first goal with the Minnesota Wild from a pass by Nico Sturm, 7-2 Wild.
Kevin Fiala scored to make it 8-2. He is on a nine-game point streak as well.
Minnesota ran the Canadiens out of St. Paul and back to Montreal with their heads tucked between their legs.
The Wild will face a good team on Friday in the New York Rangers. The Rangers are top in the East and it is always a good challenge to go into Madison Square Garden.
They will need to keep it rolling in the big apple this weekend.
What's Next:
Minnesota Wild (25-10-3 53 pts) vs. New York Rangers (28-11-4 60 pts)
Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Puck Drop at 7:00 p. m. central time
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