Such is sports life amid a pandemic.

“I’ve said it before, it’s pretty brutal, playing with no fans, especially on what should be a fun, exciting, entertaining, opening night,” said forward Zach Parise. “You miss having the crowd and that noise, so we’re looking forward to getting some people in the stands here.”

In perhaps the most Minnesota touch of all, the sections of seats behind each of the team benches were filled with various high school hockey jerseys that are normally displayed around the suite level concourse.

The venue hasn’t mattered much so far for the Wild, who won their home opener 4-1 over the San Jose Sharks following a successful four-game California road trip.

It was essentially a one-goal game in the third before Kevin Fiala scored his first of the season into an empty net with 1 minute, 16 seconds to play. Jordan Greenway, who already had four assists to his credit this season, added an empty-netter from center ice with 26 ticks on the clock.

“I don’t think we started great, but we were able to battle through, got some timely goals and when it got down to crunch time, we were able to get the job done,” said defenseman Ian Cole.

The Wild called on Kaapo Kahkonen in to finish the second and third periods after Cam Talbot left with an injury. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

In the Wild’s net, it was Kaapo Kahkonen who earned the victory, having come in to start the second period after starter Cam Talbot appeared to be in discomfort after a play late in the first period. Talbot finished the period and skated out for the second before turning the net over to Kahkonen.

Coach Dean Evason didn’t have an update after the game but said indications are that Talbot’s injury isn’t serious. Kahkonen said he had an idea he might be going in, after seeing what happened to Talbot.

“It’s more mental, I think,” Kahkonen said, of his preparation. “It’s not easy, but you just have to be ready for anything when you’re a backup goalie in a game.”

Joel Eriksson Ek, the team’s leading scorer, added his third of the season to get the Wild going five minutes into the game. On the dynamic line with Greenway and Marcus Foligno, Greenway put a shot on net and Ek was in front to take care of the rest and jam home the rebound. But the Sharks tied it 1:11 later on a Matt Nieto goal.

Minnesota lads Parise and Nick Bjugstad, in his first year donning a Wild sweater, finally got their names on the scoresheet with Parise’s second-period go-ahead goal Friday. Things had lulled even the pumped-in crowd noise into a bit of up-and-down the ice routine in the second period when Parise fired a blast on the Sharks’ net. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stuck his left leg out for the pad save.

But on the same shift, Bjugstad fired the puck on net from the slot. Dubnyk didn’t grab it cleanly, and Parise pounced in his office in front of the blue paint for his first goal – and first point – of the season. Both Parise and Bjugstad had zero points coming into the game.

Parise said he didn’t feel guilty about scoring a goal against his former teammate.

The Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks played in an empty arena Jan. 22, 2021. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“He robbed me on that first one, so I guess we’re even because I don’t know how he kicked his pad out on that for what I thought was an open-net freebee,” Parise said.

That goal left the Wild heading into the second intermission with something they weren’t used to this season: A lead. They used comeback, overtime victories to win their first two games before getting shut out in their first game against Anaheim. The final game of the road trip was knotted at 2 apiece headed into the third, after the Wild had a two-goal lead.

The first half of the third period was pretty even, with the Wild not able to get much going on its third power play of the game. But really, not getting anything going on the power play has been the baseline for the Wild this season. They’re 1-for-23 in that category, although their first couple of games looked a lot better on the ice with the advantage than the stat sheet indicated.

The Sharks pressured a bit late in the game, but Kahkonen held his ground to get his second consecutive win in net.

Kirill the thrill

There was one other move that should make highlight reels, despite the result. By now the hockey world got quite the introduction to Kirill Kaprizov, who had one of the most storybook NHL debuts ever with his three-point game and overtime winner in the season-opening victory in Los Angeles.

Friday, he dazzled with a move with a little more than 9 minutes to play in the third. Taking the puck into the offensive zone fighting his way through a defender, Kaprizov made an in-between-the-legs move with the puck and fired off a shot. Dubnyk made the save, but it was still a play worth a double-take and a gasp at that talent from Kaprizov.

Dubnyk was impressed, too, and glad he made the stop.

“I can’t believe he made that move,” Dubnyk said. “It’s a nightmare when somebody makes a move that’s that slick and puts it in the back of the net, and then you’ve got 365 days to watch it over and over again on the highlights.”  

Devan Dubnyk returned to play against his old team in Minnesota. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Homecoming for Dubnyk

The Wild saw some familiar faces on the opposing bench. Dubnyk started against his old team for the first time. He propelled the Wild to some successful regular-season runs when he was acquired in a trade a few years ago. He finished his Wild career 177-113-28 with a 2.41 GAA and .918 save percentage in 328 games across six seasons from 2014-20.

Dubnyk took the loss to fall to 0-2-0 with his new team this season.

“I was a little fired up and overthinking stuff,” Dubnyk said. “I just wanted to give the guys a good chance.

“It would have been real nice to win, but it was nice to get it out of the way and feel like we played OK.”

Ryan Donato was also back to play his former team, though his stint in Minnesota was much shorter with his 18 goals and 39 points in 84 games across two seasons from 2018-20. Donato tied for a team-high five shots in the game but also ended up with a minus-3 next to his name.

Both Dubnyk and Donato received the video-tribute treatment on the videoboard at the arena for former players during breaks in the action.

The post Happy Wild homecoming appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Of all the trades former Minnesota Wild general manager Paul Fenton made last season, Ryan Donato made the biggest immediate splash.

He came over in a trade with Boston for Charlie Coyle, and in his first game at Xcel Energy Center last February, Donato scored the overtime winner against St. Louis.

“Those are the experiences that you’ll remember,” Donato said after that Feb. 24 games.

Ryan Donato carries the puck up ice in a Sept. 21 preseason game versus the Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

This season has been a bit of a different story, for the Wild and Donato. As the Wild started the season 0-3 getting outscored 14-6, plenty of players on the roster had zeros by their names in the points column. Donato was one of those guys. He had zero points and was a minus-1 twice in the first three games. He was scratched for the Wild’s home-opener against Pittsburgh on Oct. 12.

The Wild finally rattled off wins here and there, but Donato’s slow start continued. He had just two assists in his first 11 games through the first month of the season. His first goal didn’t come until Nov. 7 in a 6-5 loss in San Jose.

Lately, things have turned around a bit. In the absence of captain Mikko Koivu, who is out with a lower-body injury sustained in the Florida game on Dec. 3, Donato is getting his shot to prove himself as a second-line center in between Zach Parise and Kevin Fiala.

Donato set a career-best goal streak at three games with a beauty of a snipe-shot in the second period of Thursday’s 6-5 win over Edmonton; his goal gave the Wild a 4-2 lead. With his assist on Zach Parise’s team-leading 13th goal in Minnesota’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Saturday night, he 23-year-old Boston native has five goals and seven points in his last nine games.

“I’m a guy that always wants to have confidence,” Donato said after the Edmonton game. “And I feel like I’ve always had it. But just to see them (goals) go in, definitely helps.

“It’s trying to stay patient, not trying to force anything, to get those opportunities.”

The tide changed for the Wild a bit, too, as they rattled off a five-game winning streak and 11-game point streak starting in mid-November. They even got themselves back in the playoff picture. Then top defenseman Jared Spurgeon and Koivu sustained their injuries, and the Wild laid an egg in Carolina with a 6-2 loss and then a 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim which kicked off a three-game homestand.

It’s common for key injuries to bring up questions of a team’s depth and a waiting game to see which healthy players might take a step forward.

Donato has helped to fill the void. And so has young defenseman Carson Soucy.

Soucy recorded a pair of assists in the win over the Oilers, playing a big role in the Wild’s first and fourth goals. Down 1-0 in the first, Soucy just missed connecting with Luke Kunin in front. They quickly regrouped, with Kunin sending the puck back out to Soucy who skated to the middle and took a shot from near the blue line. The puck somewhere bounced off of Jordan Greenway’s frame in front before it trickled in to tie the game.

In the second, Soucy helped to create a turnover before passing the puck up the ice to a streaking Donato, who didn’t miss with his blast in tight. Soucy also tussled with Edmonton’s Zack Kassian late in the second period during a post-whistle scrum.

Wild D Carson Soucy looks to break the puck out with Philadelphia’s David Kase in pursuit during Minnesota’s 4-1 win over the Flyers on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Soucy finished the night with his second multi-point night in his past four games and also a career-high plus-4, tying a franchise record for a rookie defenseman in a game. The mark is also tied for first among all NHL rookie defenders this season. The 25-year-old, Alberta native and product of University Minnesota-Duluth has six points in his last six games (3-3—6) after his 200-foot goal into an empty net sealed the Wild’s win over the Flyers on Saturday.

In the absence of Spurgeon, the left-handed-shot Soucy stepped into the role of playing the right side with Jonas Brodin as the team’s second defensive pair.

“Yeah, I mean he’s made it easy for me,” Soucy said. “Lots of times (he) goes back there, breaks the puck out by himself and we’re going the other way.

“Obviously still getting a little bit used to it on the right side, but he’s made it easy for me.”

As Soucy talked with the media after the win over the Oilers, teammate Marcus Foligno playfully shouted “Dr. Souce!” and “Doctor’s in the house!” from the other side of the dressing room. They really do like him, Sam-I-Am.

Soucy made his NHL debut with the Wild in 2017-18 with seven games (four of those in the playoffs). He spent all of last season in Iowa recording five goals and 20 points in 66 AHL games.

Coach Bruce Boudreau acknowledged that “shock is a good word” to describe Soucy’s play. Soucy has turned into a reliable, everyday player for the Wild.

“I think any team that wants to be good has got to have a surprise player come in,” Boudreau said in his postgame comments Dec. 12. “Him and Brods seem to have found good chemistry together.”

Even coming out of camp in this fall, Boudreau went with Soucy, saying at that time that they needed the size – Soucy is 6-5 and 210 pounds – or a right-handed shot, and they went with size. It was a complete turnaround from a year ago and Soucy “had a really terrible camp,” Boudreau said.

This year, Soucy brought the composure with his game, too, Boudreau said.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Boudreau said. “And he was aggressive and he moved the puck well and he defended well. So it was all good.”

The post Donato and Dr. Souce appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

OT winner caps off Donato’s dynamite home debut

Ryan Donato stood in the Minnesota Wild locker room wearing a St. Paul Police Department hat as he talked with the media just minutes after scoring the overtime winner against the St. Louis Blues in his debut at Xcel Energy Center with his new team.

The hat recognized the Hero of the Game. Donato has skated in three games with the Wild and has already been honored with the Hero hat after two of them.

“I like them,” Donato said. “This is the new one to add to the collection.”

Donato earned the fun postgame tradition after giving the Wild a 2-1 overtime victory over divisional foe St. Louis on Sunday evening, only a week after the then-reeling Wild were shut out 4-0 by the Blues. Donato was on the ice with Zach Parise and Jonas Brodin when he fired a shot toward the goal from the top of the circle at the 2:29 mark of overtime. It beat Blues netminder Jake Allen, who stopped 35 shots in the game.

As the home crowd finally had something to cheer about at the end of a game – it was the Wild’s first win at Xcel Energy Center since a 2-1 decision over Columbus on Jan. 19 – Donato and Parise followed suit and celebrated in the corner. The Wild also snapped a six-game home losing streak.

The 22-year-old Donato came over to the Wild in a trade with the Boston Bruins for Charlie Coyle on Feb. 20. He impressed in his first couple games, scoring a pair of assists in his Wild debut during a 4-1 win in New York against the Rangers while playing a career-high 16:58. He became the 11th player in Wild history to have a multi-point night in his Wild debut.

Donato arrived with 6 goals and 9 points in 34 games with the Bruins this season. The goal against the Blues was the 12th of his career.

In Sunday’s game, he was part of the third line to hit the ice in overtime. Talking with the media, Donato gave a “thank you” shoutout to Bruce Boudreau for the coach having the confidence to put him out there in overtime. Donato has a bit more confidence, too.

“It’s huge,” Donato said. “It’s extremely gratifying.

“Those are the experiences that you’ll remember. I’m really happy about that.”

(MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Donato started the game on left wing of the third line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin. Boudreau was forced to switch things up mid-game, however, when forward Pontus Aberg became ill. Boudreau shifted Donato up to play right wing with Parise and Mikael Granlund.

“Ryan told me the other day that he could play right wing,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know if he’s ever played there, or he was just feeding me a line.

“He got his opportunity tonight.”

Indeed, the left-handed shooting Donato said he’s played the position some in Boston and at Providence (AHL), plus he played center at Harvard.

Already having success with Eriksson Ek and Kunin, their line jumped from the start of the game. Donato had the first solid scoring chance but his shot missed the net. He finished the game with two shots and three that missed the net.

The Wild took a 1-0 lead on Jason Zucker’s first goal in 11 games about halfway through the second period.

“Ek and Kunny have been playing really well,” Zucker said. “And tonight they weren’t able to score, but we had other guys score goals. And Donato’s come in and played well.”

St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo tied the game on the power play at 7:26 of the third period, adding to the Wild’s penalty-kill woes of allowing at least one goal in each of the past eight games.

The biggest concern for Donato once overtime hit wasn’t anything about offense.

“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t out there for a goal against,” Donato said.

No worries there. Donato finished with a plus-one next to his name.

Coincidentally, (or maybe not) the Wild are riding a three-game winning streak with Donato in the lineup as the NHL trade deadline approaches Monday afternoon. Donato was happy to seize the moment in overtime to help boost his new team’s hot streak.

“There’s a lot of good guys on this team, and they’re all pushing to get a win,” Donato said. “It’s been a pretty tough road for them in the last couple weeks. I think it was definitely huge for us to get these three wins.” 

The post Hero’s Welcome appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.