The NHL schedule-makers have given the Minnesota Wild a tough challenge.
After going 1-0-1 at home to start the season, the Wild embarked on a seven-game road trip that will continue Tuesday night with a game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.
So far, the Wild are 2-0-1 on the trip, including a 3-1 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The Wild, who have recorded at least one point in all five of their games this season, held Columbus scoreless until allowing a goal with 1:25 to go.
Minnesota is just the fifth team in NHL history to not trail in regulation at any point in their first five games.
“It’s just because we’ve outworked the teams we’ve played,” said goalie Filip Gustavsson, a 26-year-old native of Sweden.
Gustavsson is 3-0-1 with a .950 save percentage and a 1.49 goals-against average.
“As a team, we’ve played good defensive hockey,” Gustavsson said. “We trust each other back there, and everyone is doing their part of the job. It’s made me comfortable.”
Minnesota defenseman Jake Middleton put it another way.
“We’re a bunch of junkyard dogs,” Middleton said. “That’s our mentality.”
The Wild are also getting healthier after two forwards returned from injury on Saturday: Marcus Johansson (lower body) and Joel Eriksson Ek (broken nose), who played with a face shield.
Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman (upper body) could return on Tuesday. He skated in practice Saturday and was a game-time decision before being kept out of action. He also skated in practice Monday.
Minnesota’s top scorer is star forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has eight points (two goals and six assists).
The Panthers are powered by Sam Reinhart, who has five goals and seven assists. His 12 points were tied for the NHL lead.
Reinhart, who turns 29 next month, is coming off a career year in which he finished second in the league with 57 goals. He played all 82 games last season, posting a career-high 94 points.
He also leads the NHL with two short-handed goals. The NHL named Reinhart its First Star of the Week on Monday after he produced four goals and five assists in four games.
Minnesota’s Gustavsson was the NHL’s Third Star of the Week.
Reinhart’s teammates rave about not only his goal-scoring but also his overall skills and defensive effort.
“You don’t realize the small parts of the game that he’s good at until you are on the ice with him every day,” Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “You know he can score. You know he makes plays.
“But it’s the defensive part of his game. He plays hard minutes against tough matchups.”
Florida is dealing with the absence of captain Aleksander Barkov (leg), however Matthew Tkachuk announced Tuesday morning that he expects to be in the lineup after missing five games due to a reported illness.
“I am feeling very good,” Tkachuk said on Tuesday morning. “I was never really sick, just had to have a little procedure done. I have been good since then, and just had to take a few days to make sure everything was all settled. Ready to get back into the lineup and help.”
Panthers starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has been solid by going 3-1-1 with an .896 save percentage and a 2.95 goals-against average in five starts.
–Field Level Media
