The Minnesota Wild left the weekend with two wins in hand, and the more important part might be how they got them. After stumbling earlier in the week against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, Minnesota went into Seattle on Saturday, Oct. 24, and Vancouver on Sunday night, Oct. 25, and looked much more like itself. The Wild beat the Kraken 5-1, then followed it by starting fast again against the Canucks and holding on for another win.
That was the cleanest sign of the weekend: Minnesota rediscovered its own game. Against the Oilers and Flames, the Wild had struggled on special teams and never really settled into their aggressive, up-tempo style.
Instead, they got dragged into playing the other team’s pace. Against Seattle and Vancouver, that changed.
The Wild were quicker to loose pucks, tougher to push around, and more committed to the way they want to play. It took a little time in both games, but once they found that rhythm, the results followed.
Quinn Hughes gave the trip another layer of drama in Vancouver. It was his first game back there since he was traded to Minnesota in Dec. 2025, and the night also brought his 500th career point.
Hughes spent the first six and a half seasons of his career with the Canucks, putting up 432 points in 459 games, including a career-high 92-point season. The crowd gave him a mix of boos and cheers, but he didn’t let any of it throw him off.
He scored Minnesota’s third goal, the one that stood up as the game-winner, and later set up Kirill Kaprizov for the fourth goal with a sharp pass that sprung him on a breakaway.
The Wild also got scoring from places they need it most: the middle and bottom of the lineup. Blake Coleman, who has been a steady behind-the-scenes piece since joining the team, broke through against the Kraken with two goals.
He opened the season with a goal in Minnesota’s first game and added another in the fourth, but had been quiet since then. On Saturday, he answered after the game was tied and later capped things with the empty-netter.
In Vancouver, Maxim Shabanov and Bobby Brink gave Minnesota the kind of support that matters over the grind of a season. Shabanov got the Wild on the board on the power play, and Brink followed in the second period with a goal that made it 2-0.
Brink had been struggling to produce, but he seized his chance and buried a beauty. If the Wild are going to keep stringing together wins, they need exactly that kind of secondary punch.
The goalies did their part too. Jesper Wallstedt started against the Kraken and was a stabilizing force when the game could have tilted early.
He helped Minnesota keep control while the team was still searching for its footing. Calvin Pickard got the nod against the Canucks in his second start of the season, and the setting was different this time around than his first back-to-back assignment.
He wasn’t under constant pressure early, but he handled what came his way and made the saves Minnesota needed. He did run into a little trouble late, but the Wild still rode his performance to the finish.
Minnesota now has one more game left on the road trip before a single stop at home and then another quick return to the road. The final test comes against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and the Wild will be looking to finish the trip the same way they handled the weekend: by staying in their game and coming home with another win.
In Other News...
Kraken Face A Brutal Test Without Their Most Important Scorer
Seattles scoring depth is about to be tested in a serious way after Jared McCann was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. McCann had already missed the Krakens recent game, and his absence now leaves a bigger hole than a simple lineup shuffle, especially with the team already dealing with other injuries.
The setback lands at a bad time for a player who has been central to the franchise from the start, leading Seattle in goals, assists and points. He had produced eight points in 11 games before the injury, and the Kraken now have to keep moving without the most reliable offensive threat in their lineup for the foreseeable future. [Read more 🡒]