Third Star- Nino Niederreiter
Mar 3, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki (74) and Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter (22) go after a puck in the corner during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
El Niño made its way into Nashville last week, as Nino netted two very different goals against the top team in the NHL on Thursday, which went a long way towards the Wild’s 4-2 victory in against the Predators. His first goal which ended up being the game winner, was a nice rebound goal Nino netted from crashing the net on a zone entry. The second goal was one of the coolest empty netters you’ll ever see from about 180 feet out, sealing the Wild victory very late in the game.
Nino has warmed up recently, appearing tops on this list last week with a three goal week, and Wild fans can only hope that he can keep it up to add some scoring punch in the absence of Jason Zucker. The acquisitions of Bergenheim and Stewart may crowd the forward lines a little, but it’s safe to say the Wild’s leading goal scorer shouldn’t see any kind of significant disruption in his ice time, and because they bring different things to the team, he could possibly benefit from their addition, as we saw him and Charlie Coyle playing with Bergenheim most of the game last night against Ottawa.