The State of Hockey... In the State of Hockey (Week Three Edition)

The Minnesota Wild Hockey Club continued their road trip last week with two fantastic wins in Florida as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, but came up short in Philadelphia. The Wild finished the week with four points but will get to return home this week.

Minnesota Wild favorite Jake Middleton scored an uncharacteristic five points during the week, so I offer five takeaways for this week's edition of "State of Hockey... In the State of Hockey.”

-I have a strong distaste for both the Panthers and the Lightning. Beating them both on the road makes me happy and gives me a slight bit of hope that somehow… someway… someday… the NHL will close off the state of Florida to their fantastic product and move the franchises to places like Milwaukee, Portland, Kansas City, Hartford, Quebec City, Hamilton, or Fargo, ND. It should be a rule that you should never be able to get a sunburn right after leaving a game. Windburn? Absolutely. Frostbite? Yes. Hypothermia? I don’t think that is necessary, but it is more palatable than sunburn. Florida retirees… your 25-year-old hockey fan selves would laugh and make fun of your leather skin and convertibles.

-As I stated earlier… what a week for Jake Middleton. Putting up a point in each contest, Middleton scored one goal and dished out four assists on a +6 week. The blue-liner added a goal earlier in the season, giving him six points over the first eight games. For a hockey player who has a career season high of 25 points (during 2023-24), this short burst of offense puts Middleton on pace for a 61.5-point season. Do I think this a realistic season total for Jake…? No… but I see him adding to this somewhat quick offense start here and there and setting a career-high in points for a season. Middleton keeps moving closer and closer to entering my inner circle of hockey trust.

-Somebody fight somebody! Eight games and no fights for the Wild. I mean, our roster doesn’t have as many looking to throw down all-the-time type players, and we haven’t had a ton of reasons to initiate a fight thus far, but this is unusual. Where is Mason Shaw or Brandon Duhaime when we need them? Are you sure that some guy didn’t look at you in a way that was not to your liking, Marcus Foligno?

-Is it just me, or is it incredibly wonderful to continue to watch Krill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello play together? I am of the opinion that they were truly meant to play alongside each other and were only allowed to do so, thanks to the benevolent Supreme Overlord of Hockey permitting this to happen. There is a complete understanding between the two of where each other is going on the ice, and they proceed to connect beautifully and consistently. Could we make Zuccy ten years younger? No… better not ask too much from the Supreme Overlord of Hockey… Saving our secret request with them for a Game Seven win during the playoffs.

-I am beginning to get a fairly loose grasp on what John Hynes is as the coach of the Wild… it has taken a while to get this far, but as a fan who was bitter about the firing of Dean Evason (I still am a bit; love that guy), I wasn’t sure how to handle a coach that couldn’t be more dissimilar from his predecessor. Hynes is certainly even-keel, and we haven’t really seen any large displays or outbursts of anger on the bench. I’m sure it has happened privately, and when it did, it was likely a most effective coaching tool. I also get the feeling that Hynes isn’t “The Voice” in the locker room, and I don’t think he minds. The players are buying into him, and the team dynamics have come back from the depths of Evason’s last days with the Wild.

Results From Week Two Predictions

Prediction #1: The Wild will come out of the three road games (Lightning/Panthers/Flyers) this week with at least four points.

Result: Correct… But this didn’t play out the way I thought it would. I had the Wild splitting in Florida and winning in Philadelphia. As I may have alluded to earlier, I was not at all upset winning against both the Lightning and Panthers, but I was thinking six points after those two games. Greedy? Yes.

Prediction #2: Liam Ohgren will score his first point of the season this week.

Result: Wrong… No points… and I thought this was a lock. Starting to think a quick (or not so quick) trip to Des Moines might do him some good.

Prediction #3: Matt Boldy will get back on the right side of the 100-point-pace with some stellar play this week.

Result: Correct… Boldy had a great week, scoring five points in the three games. This brings his total for the season to eleven points (in eight games). Boldy is back on the right side of the century mark with a 112.8 pace for the year.

Prediction #4: The Wild’s power play scores at least twice during the three contests of the week.

Result: Correct… Three scores… one per contest. Nice work power play.

Prediction #5: Kaprizov ends the week with at least five points.

Result: Correct… Not five… seven! Two goals and five assists and all three games were multi-pointers for Kirill. 

So… A beautiful week going 4-1, so another step closer to taking over the official role as Master Fantastic Maker of Predictions Man. Overall season’s totals come in at a nice 7-3. It would give me fourteen hockey team points, which still wouldn’t give me the lead in the Central Division.

Next Week’s Five Predictions…

-Marc-André Fleury wins in his final trip to Pittsburgh.

-With two Wild players that have currently broken the ten-point barrier for the season (Kaprizov; Boldy), Zuccy and Rossi will both join them by the end of the week.

-Kirill Kaprizov picks up two points in Pittsburgh and runs his streak of two-point games to six consecutive.

-For some reason… I’m seeing the Wild get at least five points in the week’s three games.

-Either Middleton. Foligno, or Bogosian gets in the Wild’s first fight of the season.