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.
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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.
Feb 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild right wing Justin Fontaine (14) celebrates his goal in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Fontaine had a solid week, with a primary assist on Erik Haula’s goal in Nashville, and a goal and another helper against Colorado. Fontaine leads the team in Points/60 right now, which may be a tad on the misleading side, but there’s no doubt that he’s been a productive player when used in the lineup. There’s been much concern about Fontaine’s limited ice time this season in spite of his production, and I think they’re rather valid. Hopefully the production of his line as of late helps that.
Over the last week of so, his line with Kyle Brodziak and Erik Haula has been tremendous, and after essentially winning the game against Nashville, hopefully we see that line together and productive for a considerable amount of time still. Fontaine has been solid lately, and after snubbing him last week, he deserved a spot on this list so his heroics against the Avalanche.
Feb 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Erik Haula (56) scores past Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) in the first period at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Erik Haula has been an enigma for Wild fans this season after an amazing postseason last year led fans into this season with high expectations of the former Golden Gopher. Unfortunately, Haula has not lived up to those expectations, even finding himself a healthy scratch for a stretch during the slums of the Wild’s season. Not to say that he has turned it around completely, but Haula has been better as of late, and this week added two goals and two assists to his point total. John Buccigross from ESPN, tell us how you feel.
Haula grabbed a goal and an assist in both games against Nashville and Colorado, and as mentioned with Fontaine, the fourth line with Haula, Fontaine and Brodziak had a phenomenal week, and in fact, Brodziak narrowly missed this list this week after a goal and two assists last week. The line has been matching up well, and could be a real weapon down the stretch and into the playoffs as a line that can score on a semi-regular basis while playing almost shutdown defense at the same time.
