The Minnesota Wild are navigating an injury crisis during the first week of the season and it has required more out of their star players. With Brock Faber sidelined due to a fractured skull and six other players out against the St. Louis Blues, it required the Wild to be creative to generate offense and it pushed head coach John Hynes to use the trio of Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov to spark a 5-4 victory.
The win was headlined by the Wild’s top line as Boldy recorded his fifth career hat trick in the win. Kaprizov also came through with a goal and three points and Eriksson Ek had a pair of assists in the middle of it to overcome a rare shaky night by goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.
While the Wild’s “Superline” gave them an edge for one night, it’s something that Hynes is relying on more often and Minnesota is reaping the benefits as they try to find their identity with several key pieces out of the lineup.
The Wild’s superline is carrying their injury-plagued lineup
To a casual fan, the pairing of Boldy, Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov makes sense. Each player represents the Wild’s best at their respective positions and with Boldy and Kaprizov combining for 87 goals a year ago, it gives plenty of options for Eriksson Ek to be a playmaker while also using his downhill style to create chances.
However, the Wild have been reluctant to put all three on the same line. One of the biggest reasons has been a style of play as Boldy and Eriksson Ek compliment each other to form a strong shutdown line. While Kaprizov is an offensive player, he also has some shortcomings on the defensive side of his game, which made it a better option to use Blake Coleman in his role as the Wild did early in the season.
The other part of this is the Wild’s roster construction. While putting Boldy and Kaprizov on the top line has plenty of benefits, it leaves the other three lines light on offensive production. Both Boldy and Kaprizov are players that can score with seemingly anyone, which is why they paired Kaprizov with Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov on the top line to begin the year.
Then came the injuries. Faber’s injury was one thing that altered the Wild’s plans but it kept coming with Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno dealing with upper body injuries to deal a critical blow to the team’s forwards. With Rieger Lorenz and Tyler Pitlick getting playing time, the Wild needed a safe floor over the past few games, which led Hynes to use the three stars together more beginning with an Oct. 10 win over the Florida Panthers.
The Wild’s biggest lineup question could be what happens with their “Superline”
The results have been steady offense whenever the three players are on the ice. The trio accounted for 12 of the Wild’s 15 goals over the past three games, where Minnesota has gone 2-1 after Thursday’s win. It also has helped Kaprizov continue a five-game point streak and lead the NHL with nine goals in his first eight games including seven at even strength.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo also noted that Hynes “probably wouldn’t be able to separate them for a while” due to the Wild’s injury situation. But when Minnesota returns to health, that might limit the line to critical situations and help develop other areas of the team.
For instance, the Wild view Kaprizov and Shabanov as a long-term duo and having them play together could get them closer to establishing the type of chemistry that Kaprizov had with the departed Mats Zuccarello. Yurov could also thrive down the lineup – assuming he’s not traded in the near future – and it could lead to a more complete team as players return to the lineup.
For now, the Wild are reaping the benefits of their three stars together and it could help Minnesota get off to a fast start even with several players sidelined.
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