The Minnesota Wild keep stacking wins, and Friday night in San Jose offered more than just another result. It gave them a template.
After beating the Sharks, Minnesota moved to 12-3-3 and sat atop the Western Conference in points. Only the Carolina Hurricanes had more with 28, and the Wild’s case looked even stronger considering 12 of their 18 games had come on the road.
That kind of start would be encouraging on its own. Add in the injuries Minnesota has already had to navigate, and the early-season surge starts to look even more impressive. But the real test has been turning that momentum into something real at Grand Casino Arena.
So far, the Wild have handled that part too. They entered Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-0-1 home record, a sharp contrast to the recent past.
Last season, Minnesota finished seventh in home points with 54 and a .659 points percentage. The two seasons before that were a different story, with the Wild ranking 21st both times at home, finishing with 46 points and a .561 points percentage.
If Minnesota is going to look like a true contender, home ice has to become a strength, not a question mark. Friday’s win over San Jose showed exactly how that can happen.
The first piece is the start. In the past, the Wild often spent the opening period finding their legs, feeling out the game and letting opponents get the first punch in. That kind of slow beginning can be part of hockey, sure, but it also leaves Minnesota chasing the game early and drags the building down with it.
And while some arenas live off noise, Wild fans tend to watch closely and make their own judgments. They pack Grand Casino Arena regardless, but they need more than “ Sweet Caroline ” and “ Livin’ On A Prayer ” to get fully engaged. A quicker start gives them a reason to lean in.
Minnesota also needs to keep creating the kind of chances that put pressure on the other team’s crease. Part of that is the shift back toward a downhill style after what The Athletic’s Michael Russo described as an “East-West” approach when the team let Mats Zuccarello leave last summer. That style change matters on offense, but it also helps keep the defense from getting stuck in passive stretches where an opponent can simply drift to the net and finish with little resistance.
Special teams have been another key piece of the puzzle. Minnesota has had its share of trouble in that area during its contention windows, but this season the numbers have been solid: a 25.2% power play and a 79.8% penalty kill. Even so, the penalty kill has been the more persistent issue over time, with the Wild posting a 74.5% overall rate in 2023-24 and 72.4% in 2024-25.
Friday’s game checked a lot of those boxes. The Wild came out fast and struck first on Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal at 7:55 of the opening period. Maxim Shabanov added another power-play goal in the second, and Minnesota killed off all three San Jose power-play chances.
Shabanov’s goal was the kind that comes from getting to the front of the net. Hughes found Kaprizov in the right faceoff circle, where Kaprizov had already scored earlier in the night, and Kaprizov sent the puck toward the crease. Shabanov was there to finish it and push the Wild ahead.
Jesper Wallstedt took care of the rest. He stopped 23 shots, and the Sharks’ only goal came in a strange sequence when Macklin Celebrini rang a shot off the crossbar and the puck deflected off Wallstedt’s back and into the net. Even then, the performance fit with how locked in Wallstedt has been, as NHL Edge has him in the 90th percentile with an .875 save percentage on high-danger chances.
Minnesota also got production from across the lineup. Shabanov’s goal hinted at a player starting to emerge, Zach Bogosian scored his first goal of the season as part of his Silver Stick tour, and the stars delivered too. Kaprizov finished with four points, Hughes had a goal and an assist, and “ Shout ” kept rolling as the Wild closed out a home win.
That’s the version of Minnesota that can carry over. It’s the one that starts on time, attacks the net, handles special teams and lets contributions come from everywhere. And with Brock Faber, Marcus and Nick Foligno, and Jared Spurgeon returning, the Wild have more pieces coming back into the mix as they try to keep this thing rolling.
In Other News...
Wild Waste Big Night From Maxim Shabanov In Painful Collapse
Maxim Shabanov gave Minnesota exactly the kind of burst it needed, scoring twice as the Wild built a lead and looked poised to keep their point streak rolling. The effort fit the way this group has been grinding through a strong stretch, and for most of the night it seemed like the Wild had done enough to turn a solid home result into another step forward.
Instead, Tampa Bay kept pressing and found a way to flip the game late, with Jake Guentzel driving the comeback before Nikita Kucherov finished it in overtime on the power play for a 4-3 Lightning win. For Minnesota, it was a painful reminder that even a night with a breakout performance and another point in the standings can still end with plenty of frustration. [Read more 🡒]
Predators May Be Closer Than Expected To A Key Prospect Boost
The Wild are still sorting through their own health picture, with goaltender Filip Gustavsson inching toward a possible return from hip surgery and center Michael McCarron dealing with an injury after a recent contest. Gustavssons next checkpoint comes with a doctors appointment on Nov. 17, a date that could help clarify when Minnesota gets one of its top netminders back in the crease.
McCarrons status adds another layer of uncertainty for a team that has been juggling lineup decisions around injuries. He is questionable for the upcoming game after getting hurt in the recent matchup, leaving the Wild to wait on another update while they manage a stretch where even small changes can ripple through the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Get Two Veterans Back As Lineup Questions Suddenly Shift
The Wilds lineup picture changed quickly before their game against Tampa Bay, with veteran wingers Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno both activated off injured reserve. Their return gives Minnesota a pair of experienced forwards back in the fold at a time when the club is trying to steady its group and sort through its options up front.
To make room, Mason Shaw was sent back to AHL Iowa, a reminder that roster moves can shift just as fast as the injury list clears. Marcus Foligno had been out for nearly a month, while Nick Foligno had missed more than four weeks, so Minnesota suddenly has two familiar pieces available again as it heads into a matchup that could help reveal how quickly they can fit back in. [Read more 🡒]