Beyond spending time with family and friends and eating great food, the other thing I love about Thanksgiving weekend is all the hockey I get to watch, specifically, the Minnesota Wild. Coming into Thanksgiving eve on Wednesday, November 24th, the Wild were on a 2-game losing skid in their Florida road trip. They were hungry but not just for turkey and pie. They were hungry for some wins, and they filled themselves up plenty over the weekend with an appetizer (Devils), main course (Jets), and dessert (Lightning).
Appetizer: November 24th, Wild @ Devils
After no morning skate and some pregame traffic from NYC across the bridge to Prudential Center, the Wild were not expected to win Wednesday’s matchup against the New Jersey Devils. The traffic was so bad the start of the game was delayed 30 minutes.
As usual, the Wild shocked fans by starting off with a 2 goal lead to after 1st period with goals from Ryan Hartman (10) and Nico Sturm (4) shorthanded. Wild defenseman continued to get involved in the offense as Kulikov and Brodin were both credited with assists on these goals.
The 2nd period was goal-less but somewhat exciting as Cam Talbot was standing on his head. Devils started to put some pressure on the Wild, but the period was, for the most part, a back-and-forth style as both teams created solid scoring chances.
The 3rd period started off with a Devils goal 3:08 in which cut the lead in half to 2-1. The Wild continued to get outshot and give the Devils scoring opportunities with back-to-back penalties under 10 minutes left in regulation. The Wild maintained their lead until the empty-net Devils were able to tie it up with 1:07 left in the 3rd.
Overtime was met with scoring chances for both teams, but after 5 minutes, neither team was able to end the game. The shootout was an exciting one for Wild fans as Talbot was able to stop all three of the Devils’ attempts and the lone Wild goal from Fiala to give the Wild the pre-Thanksgiving victory.
With Talbot’s 40 save night and a solid shootout effort, the Wild were able to pull off the 3-2 SO win over the New Jersey Devils. This ended a 2-game skid for the Wild and gave them their 12th win on the year.
Main Course: November 26th Jets @ Wild
Coming into this game, both the Wild (12-6-1) and the Jets (9-6-4) were both coming off the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Knowing this, I heavily expected a low-energy, low-scoring game as I assumed players would still be feeling the food hangover from the previous day’s holiday. I could not have been more wrong.
52 seconds into the 1st period, the Wild got things going with an Alex Gologoski (2) goal. The Wild continued to get lucky as a bad bounce off Winnipeg’s defenseman gave the Wild a 2-0 lead and Mats Zuccarello his 5th goal on the year with Kulikov and Kaprizov credited with assists. This goal was the Wild’s 3rd shot on goal and would hint at a struggling game for Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck. The 1st ended with a 2-0 lead for the Wild.
The 2nd period started off hot for the Wild as Hartman (11) banks home the rebound from Kaprizov’s shot to give them a 3-0 lead. Fast-forward 45 seconds, the Wild scored again for the 4-0 lead and Zuccarello’s 6th goal of the year and 2nd of the game. This goal also gave Kaprizov his 3rd assist and point of the game. Still under 10 minutes into the period, the Wild increased the lead to 5-0 with the second defenseman goal of the game from Jon Merrill (2). The 2nd period ended with a wide, 5-0 lead for the Wild.
The post-thanksgiving feast continued in the 3rd period as Dumba (3) gave the Wild a 6-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. This was now the third defenseman goal in the game as Wild defenseman continue their season involvement in the offense. Just under 5 minutes left in the game, the Jets ended Talbot’s shutout chance by cutting the Wild’s lead to 6-1. Kirill Kaprizov countered that 14 seconds later, giving the Wild a 7-1 lead and adding his 6th goal on the year and his 4th point in the game.
The game ended with an outstanding 7-1 win for the Wild, again proving me wrong with a predicted low-scoring game for the post-Thanksgiving game. With this 7 goal game for the Wild, all but 4 players were credited with a point. Kaprizov shows fans exactly what we have been waiting for with a 4 point game giving him 22 points in 20 games.
Dessert: November 28, Wild @ Lightning
Both teams coming off victoires and a day off in between, the Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning were set to meet for the second time this season and second time in 7 days. The first meeting ended in a shootout with the 5-4 win going to Tampa Bay. The Wild were hungry for revenge and a 3rd win on the holiday weekend.
The Wild broke the 1st period 0-0 tie with a Nick Bjugstad (3) goal 11:03 into the game. That 1-0 Wild lead was only able to stand for about 48 seconds as the Lightning tied it up 1-1 with a goal from veteran Corey Perry (2). The 1-1 tie lasted about another 5 minutes later as Victor Rask got his third of the season. The 1st period ended with a 2-1 Wild lead.
The start of the 2nd period was met with back-and-forth play, but at the 10:36 mark of the period, Alex Killorn tied things up for the Lightning while getting his 8th of the season. The period ended with three scoreless power play attempts for the Wild and a penalty to Matt Dumba with 22 seconds left which left Tampa to start the 3rd with a 1:38 power play.
To start the 3rd, the Wild were able to kill off the Dumba penalty and continue to play hard against the tough Lightning team. At the 10:45 mark of the period, Ryan Hartman broke the 2-2 tie by getting his team-leading 12th goal of the year. The Lightning continued to play hard the rest of the game but ultimately could not get past the Wild defense/goaltending. Foligno solidified the victory by scoring the empty netter with 17 seconds left to give the Wild a 4-2 lead.
Post Thanksgiving
This victory increased the Wild’s winning streak to 3 games and marked the Thanksgiving weekend a success with a 3 game weekend sweep. At weekend’s end, the Wild now stay atop the Central Division in points and also moved up into 8th in the league in points. They continue to stay hot and hope to continue their streak to 4 wins as they are set to play the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, November 30 @ 7 pm CT. This will be the second meeting between these two teams with the Wild holding the 1-0 season series lead. Hopefully, this Wild team can create more room in their stomachs for some more victories post-Thanksgiving.
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