The State of Hockey's Minnesota Wild finished the first week of regular season play with a record 1-0-2. After defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach Dean Evason 3-2 at home on opening night, the Wild lost in a shootout and overtime to the Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets, respectively. The Wild finished the week with four points.
With the team scoring eight goals in those three contests, this week's edition of "State of Hockey... In the State of Hockey" will be comprised of nine takeaways from the week's action.
-I have always been a fan of Dean Evason, and I miss seeing him and his facial expressions behind the bench in St. Paul. His dismissal as head coach was necessary last season, as it was apparent that he was losing the locker room and the franchise needed a change. Not that I will in any way become a Blue Jackets fan due to his hiring by the franchise, but I am excited Evason got another chance to be a head coach in the NHL.
-With only a small sample size thus far, Filip Gustavsson appears to be back on track after a lackluster season last year. Solid in the opener against Columbus (and picking up the win), Gustavsson was perhaps the best player on the ice when the Wild visited Winnipeg. His efforts in goal deserved a better result than an overtime loss, but even that cannot detract from his hot start. He currently has a .944 SV% and a 1.99 GAA. Let's all hope this is the beginning of a big year for Gus.
-On the flip side, goalie Marc-André Fleury did not appear sharp. Giving up four goals on 34 shots versus Seattle, Fleury did not stop either attempt he faced in the shootout that concluded the game. With each goal the Wild offense put up to maintain a lead, the Kraken had an answer. Jordan Eberle's power-play goal in the second period gave Seattle some momentum, which was even more disconcerting as the penalty to start the man advantage should have gone the other way. Nevertheless, Fleury did not come up with enough timely saves down the stretch. I am of the opinion that this was not a game that the Wild should have lost.
-Zach Bogosian's penalty for holding Mark Scheifele's stick in the final few seconds of regulation against the Winnipeg Jets was a play that allowed the Wild to escape with a point but erased nearly all possibility of winning in overtime. I feel as if this was an adequate outcome, as the Jets had the best of the play throughout the night despite the Wild scoring first.
-Matt Boldy is currently on pace for a 136-point season... which is quite a dip from his pace after the season's first game. On opening night, Boldy scored three points (one goal; two assists) against the Blue Jackets to put him on a trajectory for 246 points for the campaign. Scoring 246 points, which would be a lot, is slightly more than Frédérick Gaudreau's current pace of zero points. All kidding aside, I predict Boldy, barring injury, will flirt with a 100-point season, while Gaudreau will most likely score a point at some juncture in 2024-25.
-Captain Jared Spurgeon's injury this early in the season is quite concerning, and not getting much information from the Wild organization isn't putting the collective fan base at ease. The lack of injury transparency by an NHL club isn't new, but given Spurgeon's problems with staying healthy and the overall value he has to the Wild as a defenseman and team leader, I am certain I am not alone in holding my breath and hoping for the best.
-Four things came to mind this week when it comes to Jacob Middleton. First, his interview with Kevin Gorg, while living his "tarps off" mantra, was, as always, priceless. Second, Middleton, who has never been accused of being fast, looks slower than I remember and makes some slow people look fast. Third, I was about to place Jacob outside my circle of respected and tolerated Wild hockey players due to his somewhat uninspired play, but then he went and scored a goal. This keeps him just inside the circle in the subdivision labeled "players I am mostly indifferent about." Fourth, Middleton's new four-year contract that kicks in next season and pays him $4.35 million annually concerns me and will give me night terrors going forward. He does lead the team in blocks and is second in hits during the season thus far, so maybe I'm being a bit too harsh with Middleton.
-Jon Merrill and his creeper stache played in all three of the Wild's games during the week, and I can't remember any particular play where I thought he did something boneheaded. This is a marked improvement based on his overall play from last season, and I pray to the highest of the hockey gods that he maintains this level of "production" going forward. Merrill currently sits at a +1 for the season, and with the recent injury of Jared Spurgeon, good 'ol Johnny Stache will be in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
Next Week's Five Predictions...
-The Wild will win both of the week's games (10/15 @ St. Louis and
10/19 @ Columbus) on the road and double their season's point total.
-Matt Boldy will finish the week on a continued 100-point season pace.
-Johnny Stache will still be the proud owner of a positive plus/minus rating.
-Marcus Foligno will engage in his first fight of the year.
-Kaprizoz/Zuccy hook up for at least two scores during the week.