The Minnesota Wild bring a seven-game road winning streak into TD Garden on Saturday night, where they’ll face the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Minnesota enters at 14-3-4, while Boston sits at 13-5-1. The computer projection model sees a tight one, with a final score of Bruins 4, Wild 3.
Boston has been productive over its last 10 games, going 6-3-1 while scoring 35 goals and allowing 27. The Bruins have also converted five power-play goals on 37 chances in that stretch, a 13.5% success rate.
The Wild have built their record on consistent results in a variety of game states. They are 1-4-5 in overtime games, and in nine one-goal games this season they’ve gone 3-2-4.
Minnesota lost its only game in which it scored just one goal, but it has taken five points from five games when it scored exactly two. When the Wild have pushed past the two-goal mark, they’ve been tough to beat, going 12-0-3 in 15 such games.
Special teams and shot volume have also mattered for Minnesota. In 10 games when the Wild scored a lone power-play goal, they went 7-1-2. They are 10-2-0 when they outshoot an opponent, and even in the eight games when they were outshot, they still managed a 4-1-3 record.
Boston’s splits tell a similar story. The Bruins are 3-1-4 in overtime and have picked up five points in four one-goal games, going 2-1-1.
They’ve lost all four games in which they scored just once, but when they reach three goals or more, they’ve been perfect. Boston has won all 12 games in which it scored more than two goals.
The Bruins have also gone 4-1-0 in five games where they scored a single power-play goal, and they’re 6-2-0 when they outshoot the opponent.
The season-long numbers show two teams with different strengths. Minnesota is scoring 3.33 goals per game and allowing 2.19, while Boston is averaging 3.63 goals and giving up 2.42.
The Wild have the edge in shots per game at 29.2 to Boston’s 27.1, and they also allow fewer shots, 25.9 to 28.4. On special teams, Minnesota’s power play has been far sharper at 27.40%, compared with Boston’s 18.03%.
The Bruins hold a slight edge on the penalty kill, 78.46% to 79.69%.
In Other News...
Wild Suddenly Have A Goalie Dilemma They Cant Ignore
Filip Gustavssons recovery from offseason hip surgery has quietly become one of the more interesting storylines around the Wild, because his return could arrive just as Kaapo Kahkonen has settled in as the teams starting goaltender. Kahkonen has given Minnesota strong play in the crease this season, which has helped stabilize a position that can swing a teams fortunes quickly.
Gustavsson is expected to be back on the roster once he gets medical clearance, and that creates a real roster question for a club that could use help in other areas. The Wild have not made any decisions, and no trade has been reported, but the possibility of carrying two capable goalies or using Gustavsson as a way to address another need is now part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Fans Have A Quinn Hughes Situation Worth Watching
The Quinn Hughes conversation has become one of those slow-burn NHL storylines that keeps hanging over the market, and Bill Guerins latest comments only add to the sense that there is no reason to expect a quick resolution. The Wild general manager said there is no urgency in contract talks with Hughes, while making it clear the defenseman is taking his time to sort out his future.
For Minnesota, that kind of patience may be the only realistic approach, even as the rest of the league keeps churning around blue-line upgrades and trade speculation. Carolina is reportedly interested in Erik Karlsson if Pittsburgh makes him available, Toronto is still hunting for a top-four defenseman despite cap issues, and Erik Johnson has already voiced frustration with the growing number of players asking out before contracts run their course. Hughes now sits right in the middle of that broader uncertainty, and the next step in his decision will be worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Could Be Closer To Dylan Larkin Than This Trade Suggests
The 2017 Matt Duchene deal is the kind of trade template that can linger around the league for years, and it has obvious relevance for the Wild if the Detroit Red Wings ever decide to move Dylan Larkin. Colorado used a three-team structure to solve multiple problems at once, and that sort of setup is the cleanest way to navigate a star player with a 10-team no-trade list while also balancing salary concerns and getting the right return.
For Minnesota, the bigger question is whether the current standing of the team changes how much value its draft picks actually carry in a deal like that. A club sitting in a stronger position is not offering the same kind of lottery-ticket asset as one at the bottom of the standings, which can make the market for a player like Larkin more complicated than the headline suggests. The framework may be familiar, but the details are where this one could get interesting. [Read more 🡒]