After a successful 4-0-1 homestand that righted their season, the Minnesota Wild take the show on the road looking to improve on their 3-4-1 record away from Grand Casino Arena (yeah, that still sounds weird). First up on their three-game road trip will be the somewhat surprising Pittsburgh Penguins (6:00 PM CST, NHL Network, FDSNNO, FDSNWI).
Prior to the season starting, there was a prevailing thought that the Pens would be the lead horse in the Gavin McKenna Sweepstakes as they looked to build for the post-Sidney Crosby Era. Instead, they are sitting atop the Eastern Conference Wild Card race with a 10-5-4 record. Crosby, now very much not Sid the Kid at 38-years-old, is still up to his old tricks with 21 points in 19 games which includes a team-high 12 goals.
The biggest surprise (non-goaltending category) might be Evgeni Malkin. Crosby’s long-time running mate had, by his standards, a very pedestrian 42-point season in 2024-25 and seemed to be aging out of the league. He’s rebounded with 23 points (5 goals, 18 assists) in 19 games, and looks like the player that routinely put up 80 points a season.
It’s been the goaltending that has propelled Pittsburgh to their early season record as Artus Silovs (.917 SV% and 2.44 GAA) and Tristan Jarry (.911 SV% and 2.60 GAA) have been better than expected and have helped bail out a defense that gives up more than their fair share of chances (Penguins are 25th in the league, allowing 28.55 SC/60).
They’ve also excelled at special teams, sporting a league best 34.1% power play unit and the fifth-ranked penalty kill at 85.7%.
Pens Player to Watch - Sidney Crosby - 40 points in 27 games against the Wild throughout his career
Wild Player to Watch - Matt Boldy - 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in his last 6 games.
Fearless Prediction: Wild 4, Penguins 2
Team News
Wallstedt delivers another reason to get Wild fans excited [Gone Puck Wild]
He’s been the backbone of the goaltending this season, and his latest effort was a 42-save performance that just happened to be a career-high.
Inside the players-only meeting that turned around the season [The Athletic]
Jared Spurgeon called the meeting and the players sussed out their issues and intentions in a meeting that took place on the last day of October. They’ve been a rocket ship since then.
NHL News
OHL suspends Luke Dragusica for rest of the season [Sportsnet]
The Brampton Steelheads defenseman is done following his horrendous, two-handed slash to the head of Brady Blaseg. Dragusica will also have to attend counselling as well as perform community service to be considered for reinstatement next season.
Connor Hellebuyck out 4-6 weeks per report [Illegal Curve]
Knee surgery will sideline the perennial Vezina Trophy candidate for 4-6 weeks. The Wild are scheduled to play Winnipeg on Sunday.
IIHF mandates neck guards at all Olympic games [ESPN]
NHL players will have to get used to the protective equipment as the IIHF indicates that all players will need to wear the neck guards that have become more common place since the unfortunate death of Adam Johnson in October 2023 after he took a skate blade to the throat.
From contact to “quiet room” - a look at concussion protocol [North State Journal]
Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen provides a glimpse at what NHL players go through when they enter concussion protocol during a game.
Minnesota Frost News
Minnesota Frost official 2025-26 Roster [Minnesota Frost]
Nine new players join the seventeen returning players to make up the roster that will defend the Walter Cup. The biggest changes come on the blueline where four new players will integrate into the line-up.
Minnesota Frost season preview [The Ice Garden]
After a less-tumultuous offseason, the Frost are back on the hunt for another championship. The fine folks at The Ice Garden predict that Kendall Cooper will win the rookie of the year.