The Minnesota Wild responded to their poor performance at Target Field for the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. The Minnesota Wild have been playing tremendous hockey since their outdoor game against the St. Louis Blues. As of February 2, they have posted an 8-0-1 record in their past nine games, which gives them a nine-game point streak. Minnesota sits at third in the Central Conference, 11 points behind the Colorado Avalanche who have played four more games than Minnesota, and three points behind the Nashville Predators who have played six more games than the Wild.

During their nine-game point streak, Minnesota has been a significantly hobbled team with many injuries to players such as Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Jordan Greenway, Alex Goligoski, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, and goaltender Cam Talbot. Being able to continue their point streak is outstanding given the adversity they have faced with many key players out of the lineup at some point.

The Wild were able to call up two highly anticipated prospects to the National Hockey League on January 6. The 2019 first-round pick Matt Boldy and 2020 first-round pick Marco Rossi were called up to play against the Boston Bruins. Boldy, a Boston College hockey alumni and Massachusetts native, was able to play in his first National Hockey League game back home where he had over 100 family and friends in attendance. Boston College also paid for a suite for his college teammates to watch their former teammate live out his childhood dream in his hometown. Marco Rossi was able to fly his family in from Austria to make the long-anticipated debut for the 20-year-old.

Coincidentally, Rossi and Boldy were both roommates when playing in the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild, where both individuals were crucial for the Wild’s future.

Boldy recorded his first NHL goal in his first career game, making it an incredible night for the Boldy family and the Minnesota Wild organization. Boldy has been with the club since January 6 and will be for the rest of the season after Wild General Manager Bill Guerin told him he is here to stay. Boldy has recorded four goals and five assists in his nine career games with the Minnesota Wild and has emerged in forward Kevin Fiala since his arrival.

Fiala, a natural goal scorer, faced a difficult start to the season where he only tallied four goals and a total of 18 points in the first 29 games of the 2021/2022 season. In a contract season, you would expect Fiala to be recording at least one point per game, but instead he started the season off with a slump. Since Boldy’s arrival, Fiala has scored eight goals and had 14 points in his last nine games. The chemistry between Fiala and Boldy has shown since they were put on a line together and has provided some crucial depth to the Wild lineup.

On January 31, 2022, the Minnesota Wild reached a contract extension with forward Jordan Greenway for three more seasons at an average of $3 million per season. Greenway has recorded 13 points in 33 games this season. Coach Dean Evanson wanted Greenway to play a more physical role this season, being that he is 6’6”. Greenway’s contract will be necessary for the Wild to continue being a good hockey club these next few years while they still have to pay off the remaining contracts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

Kirill Kaprizov was named to his first All-Star game this year while performing at an exceptional level as of lately. This season Kaprizov has recorded 18 goals and 52 points in just 39 games. In his last 11 games he’s recorded 20 of those 52 points. Kirill has shown himself worthy of his significant contract extension he received this off-season that many believed was excessive for only playing 55 regular-season games in his entire career.

The Minnesota Wild head into the second half of their season with most of their injured players returning to the lineup. Minnesota will be back in action against the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night and look to continue their point streak on the road and prepare for a deep playoff run.