Well, happy that he made it through a big NHL milestone, not happy with the result of the Winnipeg Jets sweeping the home-and-home weekend with the Minnesota Wild. The Jets skated to a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center, handing Fleury a loss in his 972nd start and 1,000th career NHL game.

“I wish it was a win,” Fleury said. “Disappointing. I thought the guys played great tonight. Battled hard.

“Obviously, very flattered by the reception from the crowd, from my teammates. It means a lot.”

The Minnesota Wild and fans recognize Marc-Andre Fleury’s 1,000 NHL games milestone during a timeout on the ice on Dec. 31, 2023. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

That reception started with treatment usually reserved for rookies. When the Wild came out for pregame warmups in their throwback green-and-yellow sweaters, Fleury led the team out of the tunnel. Except no one followed him. The 39-year-old goaltender took a brief lap around the Wild zone before the rest of his teammates hit the ice behind him.

“Yeah, they got me,” Fleury said. “Usually I’m the one that let the young guys go.”

Better late than never? Fleury wasn’t even sure the rookie laps were a thing when he came into the league 20 years ago.

The Wild acquired Fleury during a flurry of moves near the NHL trade deadline of the 2021-22 season. General manager Bill Guerin was busy with moves that included picking up current Wild defenseman Jake Middleton from San Jose. Guerin grabbed Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks. At the time, Fleury stepped into St. Paul having already amassed a 511-297-85 record, 2.57 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in 928 career NHL games. Fleury is also a four-time All-Star (2011, 2015, 2018, 2019).

Fleury’s first few times in the Wild dressing room left some of his new teammates, especially the younger ones, starstruck.

“I remember when I first came up in the league, you wanted to score on Marc-Andre Fleury,” said Marcus Foligno in March 2022. “To have him on your team, it’s exciting.”

Fleury’s won his Wild debut in net, a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Xcel Energy Center on March 26, 2022. Fleury made 23 saves. Perhaps that was business as usual, but what wasn’t so ordinary was fans tossing flowers onto the ice to show support for their new goaltender. Fleury said at the time that it made him feel like a figure skater.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has 550 career NHL victories, one away from tying Patrick Roy. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Since then, Fleury’s play hasn’t wilted too much in goal. He wrapped up 2023 becoming the 10th Wild player to play his 1,000th NHL game in a Wild sweater, reaching the milestone a few days early following the injury to his counterpart Filip Gustavsson on Saturday in Winnipeg. Fleury will likely see the net for a while now, as the Wild announced on Monday that Gustavsson was placed on injured reserve. Through 1,000 games, Fleury is 550-321-93 with 73 shutouts.

On New Year’s Eve, Fleury received a loud cheer when his name was announced as part of the starting lineup. Then at the first TV timeout in the first period, the videoboard showed graphics recognizing his 1,000 games complete with an in-arena announcement of the milestone. Fans rose to their feet for a thunderous ovation as Fleury skated out of his crease in acknowledgment.

He made some strong saves in goal, including a windmill motion for one and a couple of solid pad saves later that got the crowd roaring yet again. The Wild took 1-0 and 2-1 leads but ultimately fell 3-2 with a third-period Jets comeback, spoiling the weekend and Fleury’s pre-New Year celebration as he was denied a victory.

“Tonight again, so many people cheering for my time out there,” Fleury said. “I got some goosebumps and some butterflies. I don’t think no other job in the world can give you that.”

His teammates can’t speak highly enough about the veteran and what he means to the team.

Fellow Quebec native Frederick Gaudreau said he was emotional thinking about the thousand games for his goaltender and teammate.

“The thing that’s crazy about this thing, it’s not so much about the thousand games, it’s about how he’s done it,” Gaudreau said. “He’s the best teammate I’ve ever had. Still having fun.

“I feel very grateful that I’ve been able to share a locker room with him for a few years already.”

Ryan Hartman and Marc-Andre Fleury embrace during a home game Dec. 3, 2023. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Having the Flower in net for his 1,000th game made it a little extra special for the rest of the Wild as well. Foligno called the milestone “unbelievable,” and noted how much easier it can be as a skating player to hit 1,000 games rather than a goaltender.

“We’re so proud to have him here as a teammate, and as good as a player he is on ice, off ice he’s even better,” Foligno said after Sunday’s game. “We’re lucky to have him in our room, and it’s great to be a part of something so special in a player’s career.”

Forward Ryan Hartman also noted how amazing it is that only four goaltenders have reached the milestone, and Fleury is one of them. Martin Brodeur (1,266 games), Roberto Luongo (1,044) and Patrick Roy (1,029) are the other three goaltenders.

“To have the chance to play in front of him is special,” Hartman said. “We obviously wanted to win that one for him.”

The Wild plan to honor Fleury’s milestone during a future home game this season. Some of the recent 1,000 games Wild players were Alex Goligoski, Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter and Eric Staal.

The post Flower’s 1,000th Game appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

“We want to have fun, but we’re still working,” said Wild head coach Dean Evason. “We haven’t had a lot of practice time. It was work today, but it was also clearly fun to be outside and to have the fans. As we’ve talked about, our fans have been absolutely incredible all year.”

Those incredible Wild fans who showed up for the outdoor practice two seasons ago have seen this Wild roster go through some major changes.

It’s amazing how much has happened since the Wild last hosted an outdoor, open-to-the-public practice on Jan. 2, 2020. The most obvious item, of course, is the global pandemic that changed everything before that season was over.

But looking at the Wild team specifically, so much is different. In January 2020, Bruce Boudreau was still the Wild’s head coach. Though he was fired on Valentine’s Day that year. There was also a ton of buzz at the ROC (Recreation Outdoor Center) at the time with the official announcement of the NHL Winter Classic coming to Target Field. That game was originally scheduled for Jan. 1, 2021 before the pandemic canceled those plans.

Following the announcement and practice in early 2020, the media talked with Boudreau and a few players to get their thoughts on the exciting news of playing outdoors. Zach Parise said the Winter Classic coming to Minnesota was “a little overdue.” Ryan Suter reflected on the Wild’s Stadium Series game in 2016 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Eric Staal, 35 years old at the time, looked forward to the Winter Classic having never played in an outdoor NHL game.

That trio no longer wears Wild sweaters. Neither do Devan Dubnyk, Mikko Koivu or Jason Zucker, who played in the Stadium Series game. Only captain Jared Spurgeon and alternate captain Matt Dumba remain from that 2016 squad that played in the Stadium Series. Dumba scored the game’s first goal in a 6-1 Wild win at then-TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota.

The loss for guys like Staal, Suter and Minnesota-native Parise looking to play that Winter Classic is the gain of Minnesota products Nick 

Bjugstad and Alex Goligoski. Bjugstad grew up playing hockey for Blaine High School while defenseman Goligoski represents the North out of Grand Rapids.

“It’s kind of crazy that we get to play an outdoor game in Minnesota with my hometown team,” Bjugstad said. “I’m sure that’ll sink in probably a few days before. That excitement’s there.”

For now, Bjugstad and his teammates got a taste of outdoor hockey at the ROC. It was a typical Wild practice, until the end when players tossed souvenir pucks into the stands for eager fans. The players talked about how perfect the weather would be if they could copy/paste this for Jan. 1. Conditions were so perfect that bundling up in layers wasn’t necessary, according to alternate captain, Marcus Foligno.

“We know it will probably be a little bit colder than today,” Foligno said. “We were all thinking about it (the Winter Classic) out there for sure.

“Obviously being in a bigger stadium. It’s the same thing, you step on that outdoor pond and you feel all the good jitters when you were young again. It brought back a lot of good memories today.”

Some players even stopped to greet fans or sign autographs on their way off the ice. A few players, like Goligoski and Jon Merrill, went back onto the ice afterward with their kids skating around and shooting at the net. Kirill Kaprizov didn’t come off the ice because he was busy passing a puck back and forth with a youngster donning a Goligoski jersey.  

With so many road games and a tiring travel schedule lately, the outdoor practice was a welcome break.

“When you step on the ice in front of the fans in this kind of scenario, you get that childhood feeling again,” Foligno said. “A lot of fun, a lot of smiles on guys’ faces today. We’re all looking forward to that Jan. 1 game.”

The rescheduled Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues at Target Field will also mark the first time the event will be played in primetime. It’s the 14th anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic in Buffalo.

While Evason, Bjugstad and Foligno all agreed that weather conditions were just about perfect for outdoor hockey during Saturday’s practice, Minnesotan Bjugstad acknowledged it might be a different deal in January.

“You feel it out,” Bjugstad said. “Like I said, we’ve all had the cold feet, the cold fingers. I’m sure the adrenaline will just kick in, and it’ll be a game to remember.”

The post Outdoor Appetizer appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The word “finally” seems like an understatement, while also checking in to the cliché column.

Thirteen years after the inaugural Winter Classic. Five years after Minnesota hosted a Stadium Series game. The Minnesota Wild finally have their chance to host the Winter Classic. The game is set for New Year’s Day 2021 at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins.  

Wild forward Zach Parise said the game’s arrival – which will be the 31st NHL outdoor contest – is “a little overdue.”

“You see warm-weather climates getting the game, and you’re thinking, ‘Why are we not getting one? Why haven’t we gotten one yet?’” Parise said.

The news officially broke on New Year’s Day, when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement during this year’s Winter Classic between Nashville and Dallas at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. In a fitting backdrop to the news, the Wild hosted their annual, open-to-the-public outdoor practice Thursday morning at the Recreation Outdoor Center (ROC) in St. Louis Park.  

“It’s pretty interesting timing,” said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s a great excitement-builder.”

So, what took so long for the Winter Classic to come to the place that dubs itself the State of Hockey?

Wild President Matt Majka addresses the media in regard to the 2021 Winter Classic (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

 Wild President Matt Majka noted, “going back in time,” that the NHL wanted the Wild to be a better hockey team and a playoff team with some star power. Those boxes have been checked, he said.

“We’ve been lobbying the NHL for a long time for this marquee game, the biggest game in the NHL annually,” Matt Majka said. “They’ve always said that this market is deserving and our fans are deserving.

“We have been surprised at how long it took to come to the State of Hockey. But all of that’s behind us now.”

The big event will also coincide with the Wild’s 20th anniversary season, “so maybe it’s a good thing that we waited this long,” Majka said.

The Wild’s opponent for the big game is still a mystery. That announcement likely has a “weeks” timeline attached to it, according to Majka. The league is looking at a few factors, including a rivalry opponent, a solid national draw and an opponent whose fans will travel well. Some of the speculation/hopes floating around on social media from fans have been Colorado, St. Louis, Chicago or Winnipeg.

In 2016 for the Stadium Series, the Wild hosted the Chicago Blackhawks, who’ve played in multiple Winter Classics, at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. The Wild won that game 6-1 in front of a paid crowd of 50,426. Only seven Wild players who skated in that game are still on Minnesota’s roster: Devan Dubnyk, Matt Dumba, Mikko Koivu, Parise, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter and Jason Zucker. Dumba is the only one to register a point in that Stadium Series game, scoring the game’s first goal.

Suter reflected on what that experience was like.  

“You walk out there and see all the fans cheering loud,” Suter said. “It’s something I’ll never forget, and I’m sure this is going to be just as special.”

Next year’s outdoor game will be a new experience for much of the Wild’s roster, including veteran Eric Staal. The 35-year-old, who signed with the Wild in the summer of 2016 as a free agent, has never suited up for a Stadium Series or Winter Classic. He’ll finally get to have this hockey feat in common with his brothers.

“They’ve had nothing but positive experiences to say about it,” Staal said. “Pretty cool experience and something that was definitely on my radar of wanting to do before playing this game, and hopefully I get the opportunity next year to do it at Target Field.”

The Wild held their annual outdoor practice on Thursday at the St Louis Park Rec Center. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

The Winter Classic will house about 40,000 fans, though the final number will depend on where exactly the rink is configured on the field. Other MLB stadiums have hosted outdoor NHL games, too, including Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

As Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter acknowledged, Target Field wasn’t a venue built to host hockey in January, so the team will fully winterize the building in preparation. That includes making sure there’s running water for restrooms and fully operational concession stands throughout the park.

“That’s a commitment for us,” St. Peter said. “It was something that was necessary to host this event, and from our perspective, we thought it was worth it.”  

Of course, being in Minnesota, Target Field was also built for days “when the weather would be less than perfect,” St. Peter said. He added that the Target Field has more radiant heat than any ballpark in Major League Baseball with more interior spaces than most other parks, too.

Boudreau, who coached the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field in the 2011 Winter Classic, called the whole experience one of the best of his life. It was everything beyond the game itself that he really enjoyed, like the HBO TV special and the fans lined up along the streets as the team bus traveled from the hotel to the field.

Seeing all those fans along the way – either booing or cheering the Capitals bus – was a cool and memorable sight for Boudreau.

“I think that the state of Minnesota, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and all the other little towns in between here, are going to put on quite a show for the national audience because I think people know this is the state of hockey,” Boudreau said. “They’ll go out and prove how much our people love hockey in this area.” 

The post Better Late Than Never appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Koivu celebrates 1,000 NHL games in storybook style

Bruce Boudreau was frank with the media after the game. He didn’t know what he was doing when choosing Minnesota Wild players for the team’s first shootout of the season against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 1.

After being tied 2-2 through the first three round of the shootout, Boudreau went with the captain, Mikko Koivu, who was skating in his 1,000th NHL game that afternoon in St. Paul.

“Initially, I wasn’t going to put him in because he hadn’t scored in a shootout in like two years,” Boudreau said. “And I figured he was rested because he didn’t play in overtime.

“It was his day, so all the stars were shining in the right direction.”

Mikko Koivu watches his shootout-winning goal hit the back of the net to lift the Wild to a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Dec. 1 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

The 36-year-old center became the 55th player in NHL history – out of 342 players to reach 1,000 games – to hit the milestone with the same organization. In the second period, he earned his 700th career point with the primary assist on Kevin Fiala’s power-play goal for a 1-0 lead.

Once called upon in the shootout, with his family in the arena to watch, Koivu went to his trademark backhanded move to score the game-winning goal against Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop.

The ending doesn’t get much more storybook than that.

“I think if you saw our bench after, you could see how excited the guys were for him,” said Wild forward Zach Parise. “It was the perfect ending to a special day for him.”

The scene Parise referred to was a complete mobbing of Koivu on the Wild bench once goaltender Alex Stalock stopped Corey Perry in the fourth round of the shootout to complete the Wild’s 3-2 victory over Dallas. Boudreau didn’t get in on the mob scene but said “it was pretty cool.”

“And that’s what you love about sports, is watching your team happy,” Boudreau said.

Said Koivu: “To be honest, to me that’s what hockey’s all about.”

The shootout victory was a nice touch on Koivu’s big day, but it also capped a comeback win after the Wild were down 2-1 late in the third period. The Wild, 0-4 in overtime games this season to that point, played their most complete extra session of the season before making it to the shootout.

Any extra pressure for Koivu when his name was called? Not really.

“I tried to look at it as an opportunity,” Koivu said. “Just tried to pick a move that I’m comfortable with. That’s pretty much all you can do. It’s always a challenge to go to the shootout against these goaltenders in this league.”

Unfortunately for Koivu, any good feelings from that game were likely dampened when he sustained a lower-body injury the following Tuesday against Florida on the road. He was placed on injured reserve Dec. 6. Despite that, he was honored prior to Tuesday’s home game against Anaheim to recognize his milestone of 1,000 games. 

Long-time teammates Niklas Backstrom, Kyle Brodziak, Marian Gaborik and Nick Schultz surprised Koivu, joining him and his family for the on-ice ceremony alongside Wild owner Craig Leipold and GM Bill Guerin. Fellow former teammates Stephane Veilleux, Mark Parrish and Ryan Carter joined forces for the “Let’s Play Hockey” call just prior to puck drop. 

“That was something that I’ll never forget,” Koivu told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “They built a culture around here early on when the team first got here and when I first got here. Gabby and Schultzie, they’re the guys that really showed me the way things are done here and showed me the way how we do business around here. Then, obviously Backie coming all the way from Finland and Brodzy.

“I tried calling and talking to those guys in the last couple days and no one answers the phone. Now I understand why.”

They are all part of his storied career, which includes Koivu being named the team’s first full-time captain a decade ago.

“I think everything that I do, and I’ve done, I’ve always tried to do what I believe is right,” Koivu said. “I’m sure I do things different now than I did seven, eight years ago. But I think one thing that hasn’t changed and won’t change is I believe in work and the work ethic you’ve got to put in.”

Koivu and teammate Kevin Fiala celebrate Fiala’s goal set up by the Wild captain’s 700th career assist in his 1000th game in the second period of Minnesota’s win over the Dallas Stars on Dec. 1 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

His lengthy tenure with the club has put his name at the top of many categories in franchise history (with numbers through his first 999 games): Games played (999), assists (496), points (699), plus/minus rating (+70), shots on goal (2,241), power-play points (249), power-play assists (189), shorthanded points (25), shorthanded assists (15), multi-point games (150), face-offs won (10,159) and face-off taken (18,929). He’s also tied for first in overtime goals with 5 and second in goals (203).

He’s only the second Wild player to score 200 goals, with that mark coming Jan. 21, 2019 in Vegas. Gaborik holds the franchise record with 219 goals.

Koivu, a native of Finland, is the third player on the current Wild roster to skate in his 1,000th game. Defenseman Ryan Suter had the honor last October, and the Dallas game Dec. 1 marked No. 1,100 for him. Eric Staal hit the 1,200-games mark right after Thanksgiving. That’s more than 3,300 games between the trio.

Koivu’s milestone might have come last season had it not been for an ACL and meniscus tear in his right knee during a game in Buffalo in early February that ended his season, missing out on the final 29 games.

Of course, like many NHL players, Suter and Staal have played for multiple organizations. Koivu is someone who a player really appreciates once they’re on the same side, Staal said.

“He brings so much to the table,” Staal said. “Eats so many minutes that are important to having success as far as team play goes.”

As for the other side of the spectrum, Wild players Ryan Donato, Fiala and Luke Kunin were just 9 years old when Koivu made his NHL debut. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway were only 8.

Stalock recalled how cool it was as a kid to watch guys like Gaborik and then Koivu lead the way as the Wild’s “star power.”

“Obviously, he’s evolved into a leader, a father, a guy that a ton of young players have come into this locker room and looked up to,” Stalock said. “It’s a privilege for some of these guys to be able to watch a true pro like him prepare.”

The biggest thing Koivu said he’s learned, and is still learning, is dealing with the ups and downs, trying to stay even-keel every day. It goes beyond hockey and is also a good life lesson, according to Koivu.

“If you can keep that attitude and make sure that you control the things that you can, I think that’s when you can feel good about yourself,” Koivu said.

It shows. Stalock said he sees Koivu come to the rink each day with a mission and a drive to get better and strengthen his body.

Koivu is under contract through this season. Might he choose to retire, playing his entire NHL career in Minnesota? It’s a possibility.

Three banners hang from the rafters of Xcel Energy Center: The State of Hockey flag, a 2007-08 Northwest Division Champion banner in the middle and the retired No. 1 for Wild Fans to the right. Might Koivu’s No. 9 be lifted to the rafters as the first Wild player’s number to get that treatment?

It’s a possibility. And he’s built a strong case. 

The post Mighty Mikko Honored appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Wild backup Alex Stalock is always at the ready for Minnesota

Minnesota Wild backup goaltender Alex Stalock took the 4-0 loss as the St. Louis Blues ran their winning streak to 10 games on Feb. 17 at Xcel Energy Center.

That might look like a bad game for Stalock, but it’s tough to pin any of those goals on him as he started his first game since a 4-3 overtime loss to Chicago Feb. 2. From bad penalty kills to odd-man rushes and rough line changes, it wasn’t great hockey from the players in front of Stalock.

“Poor Al, we left him out to dry on both of them,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said of the first two power-play goals from the Blues.

Stalock has played in 16 games this season (12 starts) with a 6-6-1 record. He received the nod Sunday once he arrived at the arena, giving Devan Dubnyk a break after starting six straight games and surrendered 10 goals in two games. The most glaring loss was a 5-4 overtime decision to the lowly New Jersey Devils after the Wild had a 4-1 lead. Dubnyk misplayed the puck on the game-winning goal.

The Wild were riding a three-game losing streak and had gone just 1-5-3 since the All-Star Break/Bye Week.

“I think when you play a goalie every night, that after a while sometimes, unless he’s a Patrick Roy… his game starts to go downhill a little bit,” Boudreau said after the loss to St. Louis. “I thought if we didn’t do it (start Stalock), then we’re just sitting here saying, ‘hey… no matter how good you are, or how bad you are, you’re going back in.’

“Sometimes you have to make them accountable a little bit, too.”

The backup role is something Stalock is used to in his career. The South St. Paul and University of Minnesota-Duluth graduate made his NHL debut with San Jose in 2011 and signed with the Wild as a free agent on July 1, 2016, when Dubnyk was already in Minnesota as one of the best goaltenders in the league. The 6-0, 31-year-old Stalock had a solid year last season, going 10-10-4 (career-high 28 games played, and 23 starts) where he also set career-highs in saves (716) and shots faced (787).

With 22 games left this season, it’s unlikely he’ll see the ice as much as last year. But every season is different, Stalock said.

“At the beginning of the year, I think every coach says: ‘I want this goalie to play this amount of games, and I want this goalie to play this amount of games,’” Stalock said. “I’d say it’s about one to two teams that get that luxury.

“You can’t pick before the year what’s going to happen.”

Stalock’s last victory was a 3-2 shootout win at home against Los Angeles on Jan. 15. Boudreau said at the time how pleased he was with Stalock’s play, “even though he scares me half to death,” Boudreau said, clearly a reference to Stalock’s ability to come out of the net and play the puck.

“We’ve always said he’s going to play more in the second half, we just don’t know when yet,” Boudreau said after that game.

In the back-up goalie role, Stalock has learned the best ways to prepare for games off the ice in order to get his body ready. Mentally, he’ll start thinking about it the night before, when he’s on the bench in a baseball cap watching the game in front of him.

Stalock has the added challenge of getting the second night of a back-to-back situation a lot, too; he’s started in those situations six times this season. It’s not always ideal.

“You often don’t get a pregame skate,” Stalock said. “So, you’ve got to prepare in other ways. I found a routine that seems to work for me.”

Alex Stalock squares to take on a potential shot from Toronto’s Mitch Marner. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

There’s the other part of the back-up role that isn’t ideal either, and that’s coming into the game cold in relief in case of injury or a momentum change. Stalock has relieved Dubnyk three times this season, and though it isn’t always the best of situations to enter, Stalock says he has the “best seat in the house.”

“You’re basically watching the play, what you’d be doing on the ice, just from a different vantage point,” Stalock said. “You’re mentally in the game. If a bad bounce happens or there’s an injury and you’re forced to go in, you’ve kind of been watching. You know what’s going on.”

It’s pretty clear that his teammates love Stalock, too. As the media waited for postgame interviews in the locker room following the shootout victory Jan. 15, captain Mikko Koivu shouted out: “Stalock will talk in the press conference room. Please, one question at a time.”

He was kidding, but it just speaks to the camaraderie Stalock has in the room. They were impressed with his play on the ice, too.

“He was phenomenal,” said Eric Staal after the win over the Kings. “He made some huge saves and obviously plays the puck really well. I think that makes a big difference for our D to be able to break out.”

Stalock certainly isn’t shy about playing the puck either.

He was credited with an assist on Mikael Granlund’s overtime winner Oct. 20, making him the first goalie in team history to record an assist on an overtime goal. It was one of his two assists this season, a career-high. On Dec. 6 in Calgary, Stalock skated in his 100th NHL game, the seventh Minnesota-born goaltender to hit the mark.

He signed a three-year contract extension with the Wild on Jan. 29, good for $2.355 million and locking him up with the club through the 2021-22 season.

Stalock said he’s happy to play for his home state for a team he watched as a teenager. He enjoys playing for the fans and takes pride in playing for the hometown fans.

“You go out to a restaurant or bar or anywhere, all the way up in northern Minnesota, everybody’s got Wild hats on and the games are on in bars and restaurants,” Stalock said. “It’s on us to make them happy, make them proud to be Minnesotans.

“Lucky for me, I hopefully get three more years to do it.”

The post Best Seat In The House appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Wild seek offensive consistency from young Swede

In the first game of the 2017-18 season in Detroit, Joel Eriksson Ek came streaking into the slot and buried a pass from behind the net for the Minnesota Wild’s first goal of the season. It was a highlight-reel play from a Swedish youngster.

Then Eriksson Ek went his next 50 games without a goal. He finished the season with just six goals and 10 assists in 75 games, plus one assist in the playoffs.

Of course he wants to be a player who scores goals, he said.

“I think it’s going to come if you just don’t think about it,” Eriksson Ek said. “Try your best, just work hard in practice, try to score some goals and be a little bit more patient, and you’ll get more opportunities to score.”

Eriksson Ek is in his third season (second full season) with the Wild and is still looking to find his complete game. The offensive production just hasn’t been there yet for the 6-foot-1 center. Just like his quick goal last season, he also scored in his NHL debut in a 2-1 loss to New Jersey Oct. 22, 2016.

Minnesota center Joel Eriksson Ek handles the puck in the Wild’s 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 21, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo by Rick Olson)

But he’s scored just 10 goals and 16 assists in 105 career NHL games. This season is also off to a slow start, hindered also by missing six games with a lower-body injury in October. He had just one goal and one assist in his first 14 games, resulting in coach Bruce Boudreau sending Eriksson Ek to the press box as a healthy scratch Nov. 17 against Buffalo.

“I just think he’s got to be able to make more plays,” Boudreau said, after the Wild’s 3-2 loss to the Sabres. “Defensively he’s good. Effort-wise he’s awesome. Penalty killing is really good.

“We just need to see a little more offensive pizzazz or whatever from him.”

Message received.

Eriksson Ek returned a night later in Chicago, a game the Wild lost 3-1, with one shot on goal and a pair of hits. Still, Boudreau thought he played well and is looking for him to get more opportunities to supplement his already-solid defensive game.

“We hope it gets better or more consistently offensively-minded,” Boudreau said, ahead of the Nov. 21 game against Ottawa.

Eriksson Ek showed a hint of that “offensive pizzazz” Boudreau talked about with a very solid game against Ottawa playing on a line with Charlie Coyle and Jordan Greenway. Many thought Eriksson Ek got his second goal of the season with about four minutes left in the first period, but his shot rang the pipe. Later on the same shift, he centered the puck out front to set up Greenway’s goal for a 1-0 Wild lead.

Eriksson Ek finished the game with an assist, one official shot on goal, three hits and two takeaways – and one almost-goal.

Boudreau said after the Wild’s 6-4 victory that he thought it was Eriksson Ek’s best game, as the forward finally showed how he can shoot the puck like he does in practice.

“I’m probably a little bias because I really like him,” Boudreau said. “I want him to succeed.”

Though age is just a number, sometimes it’s a good reminder to realize this 2015 first-round draft pick is still only 21 years old, still learning the game at the NHL level.

Eriksson Ek has an opportunity to learn from some of the veterans in the dressing room, like center Eric Staal who also emphasized the point about Eriksson Ek being a young guy on the team. It’s about staying with the program, improving every day in practice and just believing the offense will come, according to Staal.

“But overall, he’s a guy that I think Bruce trusts putting on the ice, and that’s what you want as a young guy,” Staal said.

The Wild (14-7-2) are winning games this season, which Eriksson Ek said makes his scoring drought a little easier to take. The mental side may be tough, but he said he’s learning every day from his teammates.

“I think outside the rink you have to relax and get your mind somewhere else,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think that’s a big thing for me, and I’m still learning how to play up here. I’m still 21 years old.”

Ultimately, the Wild have thought from the start that Eriksson Ek would be a third-line center – at the minimum, according to Boudreau. He also hinted about the future, going on to say that when other players move on or retire (hint, hint, Mikko Koivu or Staal), Eriksson Ek could also become a second-line center.

“I know at some point he’s going to be a real good player,” Boudreau said. “Coaches don’t like to have five or six games between good ones, but I mean, he’s going to be inconsistent. That line’s going to be inconsistent. But if they can get some goals and feel comfortable with themselves, it really makes a big addition to our team.” 

The post ‘Ek’stra Points appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

ST. PAUL — Five years ago, Jason Zucker was still trying to break into the NHL with the Minnesota Wild. He was 21 years old and developing his game. He went up and down between the NHL and the minor-league affiliates for a couple of seasons before making it stick.

No longer one of the youngsters that have come up through the Wild ranks, Zucker has turned into one of the leaders for Minnesota. Take the Wild’s first victory this season at Xcel Energy Center over Chicago. He scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, fired a career-high 10 shots and added an assist for a three-point night.

“It was something that we felt we really needed,” Zucker said after practice the next day. “After the first two games, we didn’t really like the start we had.”

But it wasn’t just the offensive performance on the ice that should stand out for Zucker. It’s also what he mentioned to the media following the team’s home-opener loss to Vegas in a shootout.

“We’ve got to get better,” Zucker said. “We’ve got to come out harder. We’ve got to have a better start, and I think that starts with the leaders in this room, the guys that are playing big-time minutes.”

This was after the Wild struggled once again to put out a complete effort right out of the gate, something that’s been an unfortunate trend for the Wild in this young season. Zucker wasn’t just looking around toward the rest of his teammates to do something.

His linemate Eric Staal, a veteran closing in on 1,100 career games and who added a goal and a pair of assists against Chicago, was also impressed with Zucker’s effort against a division rival.

“Obviously a great play by Jason to get it done in overtime,” Staal said. “That’s the type of game that we need to see.”

Though the Wild followed up the victory with a 5-4 overtime loss to Carolina two nights later, Zucker scored a power-play goal with a laser shot just inside the pipe for his 100th career tally. He’s the seventh player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

Now 26 years old and in his fifth full NHL season, Zucker said his place on the team is definitely elevated in terms of leadership.

“I wanted to make sure that I was one of the guys to step up and play well,” Zucker said.

Coach Bruce Boudreau can see the winger’s hunger toward claiming a leadership role as well.

“He’s got to that age where he’s played enough… that I think he wants to be a leader,” Boudreau said.

Zucker made his NHL debut March 29, 2012. During the 2013-14 season, Zucker played 21 games at the NHL level and 22 games in the AHL for the Wild’s new (at the time) Iowa affiliate. He put up just four goals and five points with the Wild and added eight goals and five assists in Iowa. In the lockout-shortened NHL season a year prior, Zucker scored an identical four goals and five points in 20 NHL games while suiting up for 55 games with the AHL team in Houston (24-26—50).

Speed has noticeably always been the asset at Zucker’s disposal on the ice. Though for him, he’d like to do different things using his speed, too, like take the puck up the middle, go wide of the net and just have a diverse playbook rather than simply skate as fast as he can, he said.

“When he’s using his speed and pucks are finding him, he’s going to create offensive chances and try and get up to that pace and be there and find the holes,” Staal said.

Zucker comes off his first season playing all 82 regular-season games and shattering his career-best marks all over the score sheet. He put up 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points, which were all career-highs beating his marks of 22-25—47 (79 games) which set his benchmark in 2016-17.

He also set career highs in game-winning goals, power-play goals, PIM, shots, blocked shots, takeaways and TOI/game last season.

Zucker also wants to stay focused on playing a consistent game. That consistency or lack thereof at times, has been a focus during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 31 career playoff games he has just four goals and four assists, plus a zero-point effort in the five-game series against Winnipeg last spring.

“I think for myself, it’s been the biggest knock on my career is being a consistent player,” Zucker said. “And so I want to make sure that I’m doing that every night.”

Over the summer Zucker was rewarded for his career year of regular-season numbers with a 5-year, $27.5 million contract with the Wild.

“I’m excited to be a part of this team for a while, and I want to make sure that I can be a leader for the next five years,” Zucker said. 

The post Role Change appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Morrissey’s game-changing cross check warrants NHL action

St. Paul — One of the amazing things about sports is how many ways one significant event in a game can be interpreted. No matter how many replays are shown from a multitude of camera angles, at least 20 people in a building of 20,000 can cast doubt upon what they reveal, no matter how unreasonable it may seem.

Exhibit A in Game 4 of Minnesota’s first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets came late in the first period of the Wild’s 2-0 loss on Tuesday night and, in the words of Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, “It cost us the game.”

With Minnesota in the midst of a power play, Wild center Eric Staal positioned himself between the circles in front of the Winnipeg net. That’s when Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey blatantly cross-checked Staal in the side of the neck, dropping Minnesota’s regular-season scoring leader to the ice.

Rather than goaltender Devan Dubnyk leaving the ice for an extra attacker in anticipation of a 5-on-3 man advantage, Staal struggled to his feet before slowly making his way to the bench as play went on.

Staal was rightfully upset after the game that Morrissey did not receive even a minor penalty on the play when a major and an ejection would have reasonably fit the crime.

“I’m the tallest guy in the ice, he cross-checked me right in the neck,” Staal said. “There’s not much more you can say, everyone saw it. I don’t know how no one with stripes saw it but that is what it is.”

Staal was also cross checked in the neck by Winnipeg’s Ben Chiarot in Sunday’s Game 3 win, but Chiarot at least took a seat for his infraction that night.

Asked for his take on the play, Boudreau didn’t pull any punches.

“My take is it’s the same take that everybody in the building saw it is the refs looked at it and decided not to call it because we were already on the power play,” Boudreau said.

To add insult to injury, Morrissey assisted on Mark Scheifele’s first goal of the game less than three minutes later in the waning moments of the first period.

“We go from what should be a 5-on-3 to a goal against eventually, and that’s the game winner,” Staal said. “I’m sure he’s going to say he didn’t mean to, but you still have to be aware of your stick.”

As Staal predicted, Morrissey insisted he hit Staal where he did purely by accident saying, “He’s a big guy and my stick ended up getting up a little bit on him.”

“I watched the video afterwards, and we’re battling in front of the net on the penalty kill,” Morrissey added. “I’m actually looking at the puck on the wall, trying to box him out.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice defended Morrissey saying he’s as clean a player Winnipeg has.

“He’s not even really looking where his stick is at the time he does it,” Maurice deadpanned.

It’s not clear which video Maurice and Morrissey watched, but it certainly wasn’t this one:

The evidence is clear that Morrissey was indeed looking right at his target area and, despite the fact that the on-ice officials failed miserably in this case, some form of punishment is required.

As Wild center Matt Cullen quite accurately said, “I thought that was pretty cut and dry, that was extremely dirty.”

The Wild responded with some solid scoring chances in the second, but Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, as he did all night, stymied Minnesota each time. But it was the chance that Hellebuyck didn’t get a chance to stop that had Boudreau fired up after the game.

“Nino has a breakaway, it’s Morrissey  that breaks it up,” Boudreau said. “He should be out of the game. I’m still a little heated about it but I’ve got to watch what I say. But they were looking right at it and they told us they didn’t see it so you make up your minds.”

Morrissey was asked if he expected to hear from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety regarding potential disciplinary action for the hit. He said it’s out of his control but he was happy to see Staal was OK and able to finish the game.

“I pride myself on playing the game really hard and competing. It’s the playoffs. Everyone’s really aggressive. It was a complete accident. My stick got up a little bit. That’s all I can really say at this time.”

The post A Pain in the Neck appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Offense sputters putting Minnesota on the brink of elimination 

St. Paul – Is it too soon to suggest that the undermanned Wild — they are missing $196 million worth of talent in Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — are simply no match for the Winnipeg Jets?

Coach Bruce Boudreau says no.

Yes, the Wild dropped a 2-0 home ice decision to the Jets Tuesday night and trail 3-1 in the best-of-7 playoff series, but Boudreau insisted that the Wild are not finished.

“They’ll regroup,” he said.

He has to be optimistic; he’s the coach.

Game 5 is Friday in Winnipeg, where the Jets have won 34 of 43 games since the start of the 2017-18 season, and after they shut down Minnesota in Game 4 in front of 19,277 antsy Wild fans, the Wild will need to win three straight to advance.

It’s a tall order without Parise (broken sternum) and Suter (broken ankle), who signed twin $98 million contracts in 2012 as free agents.

The Wild outshot Winnipeg for the first time in the series Tuesday, but were unable to muster a goal againt Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled after two periods in Minnesota’s 6-2 win two nights earlier.

Hellebuyck made 30 saves.

“You knew five or 10 minutes into that game that he was ready and feeling good,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

In Parise’s absence, someone needed to pick up the slack. Well, Jason Zucker, Mikael Granlund, Jordan Greenway and Tyler Ennis each managed just one shot on goal while Marcus Foligno, Matt Cullen and Daniel Winnik each had zero.

Nevertheless, Boudreau pointed out, the Wild battled their tails off and might have taken the game into overtime if not for what Boudreau and everyone in Minnesota’s dressing room called a blatent missed call.

The Wild were controlling the puck on the power play late in the first period with the score 0-0 when Eric Staal, stationed between the circles, got flattened by a cross-check to the neck from Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey.

Staal lay on the ice for a moment, finally got up on one knee, then skated slowly off the ice as play continued.

“He cross-checked me,” Staal said. “Everyone saw it. I don’t know how no one with stripes saw it.”

“My take,” Boudreau said, “is the same take that everybody in the building saw. The refs looked at it and they decided not to call it because we were already on the power play.

“It cost us the game.”

A five-on-three manpower edge might have enabled the Wild to score first, but two additional factors stemmed from the non-call, Boudreau noted, because Morrissey very likely would have been ejected.

First, Morrissey got an assist on the only goal of the first 59 1/2 minutes late in the first period, and second, he made a sterling defensive play to knock the puck off the Nino Niederreiter’s stick to prevent a breakaway later in the game.

An empty-netter capped the scoring with 11 seconds remaining.

“It should have been a 0-0 game going into overtime,” Boudreau moaned.

The first goal — both Jets goals were scored by Mark Scheifele — was all the Jets needed on this evening as their defense yielded hardly an inch all night.

“We didn’t give them a whole lot of ice tonight to stretch out on,” Maurice said.

Especially in the third period, when the Wild tried to push the pace but managed just nine shots on goal.

“They really dug in,” Boudreau said. “They were really good in the third period.”

Staal, Dumba, Granlund and one or two others had Minnesota’s best chances, but Cullen said the team needed to play with a bit more desperation and “we didn’t have enough.”

Parise and Suter are still out. Game 5 is in Winnipeg, where the Jets practically toyed with the Wild in the first two games of the series. Is it over?

“We’ve just got to re-focus and try to get a win,” rookie defenseman Nick Seeler said. “It’s far from over.”

He has to say that, but actually, it’s very close to over … unless the Wild can spring an upset in Game 5 and force a Game 6 back at the X on Sunday night.

The post No Parise, no goals appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

St. Paul – The on-again, off-again Wild have been nothing but “on” at the Xcel Energy Center this season.

While the team’s ride on the road has too often been sabotaged by potholes, Minnesota is simply ridiculously good on home ice.

After scoring a franchise-record four goals in less than 3 1/2 minutes of the second period Tuesday night, the Wild sauntered to a 6-2 victory over Carolina and a remarkable 24-5-6 home record this season.

They have points in 26 of their past 28 home games.

Stunning.

They are zeroing in on the team’s best win total at home: 29 games in 2006-07.

The 2017-18 season just might go down as the craziest of seasons: Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle have missed numerous games because of injuries and neither has 10 goals, Minnesota natives Nate Prosser and Nick Seeler have somewhat surprisingly become regulars on the blue line, and Eric Staal has vaulted himself among NHL leaders in goals.

According to coach Bruce Boudreau, Staal’s production is way beyond anything expected when the Wild signed him to a free-agent deal two summers ago.

“Everything he touches — we should start calling him Midas — everything he touches turns to gold,” Boudreau said.

Staal, who notched his 35th and 36th goals against the Hurricanes, scored just 13 goals during the 2015-16 season, you might remember, before bouncing back with 28 for the Wild last season.

The 33-year-old, who sccored 45 goals for Carolina in 2005-06 when he was age 21, is on pace to challenge that this year. The 36 goals lifted him into a tie for fourth in NHL goals behind Alex Ovechkin, Patrik Laine and Evgeni Malkin.

“I’ve got a lot of work if I want to catch or be around those guys,” Staal said with a chuckle. “I don’t like my chances with those guys, to be honest.”

But the way this season has gone, who can predict anything?

Prosser, who is from Elk River, is another out-of-nowhere story this year; he was reclaimed on waivers from St. Louis for the second time in his career on Nov. 30, when Minnesota had an 11-10-3 record, and in the 42 games he has played since then the Wild are 27-11-4.

He has two goals, six assists and ranks seventh in plus-minus on Minnesota’s roster with plus-8.

Then there’s Seeler, a native of Eden Prairie who sat out Tuesday after a heavyweight bout with Detroit’s Luke Witkowski in a 4-1 home victory Sunday. Seeler, 24, was called up for his NHL debut Feb. 13 and played 11 consecutive games before he was hurt in his fight, meshing so well as an untried rookie that the Wild decided they could trade defenseman Mike Reilly to the Montreal Canadiens.

These exceptional turnarounds and surprises have lifted the Wild into third place in the Central Division and make the team an almost sure bet to reach the playoffs.

On the other hand, however, there’s that pesky issue surrounding the team’s bumpy ride on the road. As they head out on a quick two-game jaunt to Vancouver and Edmonton, the Wild take with them a 14-17-1 road mark.

Boudreau is growing weary of the recurring questions.

“If I knew, I would figure it out and change,” he said. “Why we can play very good defensively at home and then allow all those goals on the road is beyond me. We talk about it every day. Hopefully, we’ll correct it.”

Parise, who scored a power-play goal against Carolina to give him six goals in 28 games, says there is no easy answer to the home-and-away variences.

“We’re searching for that answer, too,” he said. “The only thing we know is we have to be a good road team down the stretch and then — knock on wood — into the postseason.”

Despite an unpredictable season through 67 games, the message after another home win seems to point to a measure of optimism heading into the rest of the regular season. After all, six of those remaining games are on home ice.

The post Home cooking suits the Wild appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.