The Minnesota Wild have had a hot-and-cold start to the season. They had wins over the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings, but lost decisively to the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets. Even so, the team is expected to be a contender for a playoff spot by season's end.
But next week they will have a bit more to play for. That's right, on Oct. 20, the Wild will go on the road to take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers made history on Tuesday night following their 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. They are now the first team in NHL history to be unable to score a goal in any of their first three home games of the season. That's not great history to be a part of.
Coincidentally, the Rangers' next opponent at home is, you guessed it, the Wild.
Wild could become first team to end Rangers' goal-less drought at Madison Square Garden
The Rangers are five games into the season, and they are already part of a trivia question. "Which team is the first to not score a goal in any of their first three home games of the season." The follow-up question would be, "which team allowed the Rangers' first home goal to end scoreless drought?" The Wild will certainly not want to be the answer to that question.
The Rangers may not have goals at home so far into the 2025-26 season, but they certainly are not slacking. Just last game against the Oilers, the Rangers had 15 high danger scoring chances, compared to the Oilers' three.
The pressure is on for either Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt. Gustavsson played in three games so far this season, recording 71 saves on 80 shots faced, while posting a 1-2-0 record. Gustavsson also has one shutout to his credit. Wallstedt started just one game, where he stopped 31-of-34 shots faced in Minnesota's 4-3 overtime win over the Kings.
The Wild still have two games left before the Rangers matchup — back-to-back games on the road against the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 17 and 18 respectively. After that, they have the chance to either continue or end history against the Rangers.