Marcus Foligno made it clear after a recent loss to the Vegas Golden Knights that the Wild shouldn’t be trying to keep up with other teams at this point. You should try to get other teams to keep up with them.
« That’s an attitude we have this year, » said Foligno.
Brad Hunt expressed a similar sentiment ahead of Friday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Don’t forget that the wild came into the night with a two game loss.
« We’ve proven to ourselves that we can play with one of the best teams in the league, » said Hunt. « We should think we’re one of the best teams in the league. »
It’s hard to argue with that statement after the Wild boated the Coyotes on their way to a 5-1 win in Glendale, Arizona. In the game, Wild scored goals from five different players, and Kaapo Kahkonen ended the game with 24 saves, his sixth straight win.
« We were very happy with the way the guys reacted, » said coach Dean Evason. « We were definitely ready to play from the puck here tonight. »
With the win, Wild (13-7-1, 27 points) prevailed over the Coyotes (10-10-3, 23 points) for the last playoff place in the West Coast Division. It is never too early to think about these things.
It was a dominant performance from the start when Mats Zuccarello scored a 1-0 at the start of the first half. Kirill Kaprizov supported the goal as this dynamic duo continued to shoot at all cylinders.
That started the blowout, and the Wild extended the lead to 2-0 later in the first phase when Hunt shot a shot past goalkeeper Antti Raanta. It was a cool moment for Hunt considering he was playing his first game in over a month.
« It was great, » said Hunt. “At the same time (Jordan Greenway) did a great game and (Victor Rask) did a great job up front. If they don’t, it won’t go in. You did a great job and I’m grateful it went in.
Not long after that, Kaprizov almost broke Twitter with a no-look pass behind the net to get Nick Bjugstad ready for a tap-in on the doorstep. That made it 3-0 in favor of Wild and brought the game almost out of reach.
« I thought it was an absolute present from Kirill, » said Bjugstad with a smile. « If I had missed this, it would have been a tough question. I’ll take it. »
It felt like the Wild were clearing their frustration with the Coyotes after battling the Golden Knights for a goal in the last two-game series in Las Vegas.
The blowout continued into the second half when Greenway scored the 4-0 on an outlier. He actually ran into Ian Cole’s thug after losing his own earlier in the shift.
« That was a first, » said Greenway with a laugh. “Nobody wanted to give me their cane, and then Coler gave me his two-by-four. Glad I found a way to sneak it in with five holes. »
It was such a night for the wilds, and while Clayton Keller helped the Coyotes cut the deficit to 4-1 in the third period, it was far too little, far too late. Kevin Fiala added a highlight goal for the Wild in the final minutes to make the score 5-1.
« The ability to refocus and play against a good team here and put together a great game was a step in the right direction, » said Cole. « We will continue to take these steps. »
On the subject of matching items
Mark Pavelich, the star of « Miracle on Ice », dies in the MN treatment center
Wild veteran Zach Parise returns from the ground up with Kevin Fiala
Is winger Marcus Foligno a sniper now? Probably not, but Wild loves to see it
Fierce battle to solve Marc-Andre Fleury in the loss to the Golden Knights
Zach Parise is a healthy scratch for the first time in his career as a savage
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