The Minnesota Wild finished up their regular season at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, Apr. 14. Both teams already had playoff positions clinched, and the points didn’t matter for the Wild in terms of their spot, but the Ducks could’ve still moved up if they won.
Jesper Wallstedt was in the net, and the lineup was the same as their game the night prior against the St. Louis Blues, except Jonas Brodin came in while Jared Spurgeon came out, and that meant a lot of healthy scratches. Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Ryan Hartman were all out alongside the injured Zach Bogosian.
The game started out in favor of the Ducks, who got on the board first, but the Wild tied it later in the first and then took the lead in the second. They held the lead through the third and took the win 3-2. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways from the game, starting with their young rookies.
Wild’s Yurov & Haight Shine
While this game may have looked more like a preseason roster than a regular season roster, there were still a handful of veterans sprinkled in. Although this is Danila Yurov’s rookie season, he had found a way to work himself into the lineup on a nightly basis, at least at the beginning of the season.
He had played in 72 games up to this point, and although he’s more of a behind-the-scenes guy currently, he’s still making an impact, and he fits in quite well on the Wild’s roster. Against the Ducks, he got his team back in the game with the tying goal and had a number of chances throughout the night.
Another rookie who looked to make an impact was Hunter Haight. He looked strong in the preseason and played eight games earlier in the season, but he couldn’t quite nail down a permanent spot on the roster. Against the Ducks, he showed what he’s capable of with his first NHL goal that also gave his team their first lead of the night. Not a rookie, but newcomer Robby Fabbri scored after Haight and ended up securing the game-winner.
“Yeah, for sure, like I always said, every opportunity to play in the lineup is big, and I’m trying my best to make sure that I stay and keep doing that. So, yeah, it’s pretty nice, good feeling,” said Haight to the media after the game about the progress he’s made from the beginning of the season to now.
Wild’s Youngsters Get a Shot
While the game may have no meaning in terms of playoff positioning for the Wild, it did have some importance for their younger players, and of course, they’re professionals; they want to win. Since they took the opportunity to give many of their top guys a rest, that meant there were quite a few roster spots open for players to show what they have.
The Wild needed to rest some of their players to get ready for the grind of the postseason run, but they also needed to see what their young players could do if they eventually need them during the playoffs. Unfortunately, injuries can happen anytime, anywhere, and they need players who are prepared, and they need to know who they want on their call-up list.
Also, these players have to get some playing time in at this level so they’re ready for that potential call-up if the time were to come. So while this game may seem worthless to most, it does have implications for the Wild roster down the road, especially if the injury bug creeps back in. Plus, some of the veteran players need to stay in a routine of playing if they won’t start the postseason, but may come in later as well.
“Yeah, my goal going into every training camp is to try and make the lineup I think I’ve done a great job development wise and heading into every next season and yeah I feel really good heading into next year,” said Haight in his postgame interview about being able to score in game 82 and the confidence he has going into next season regardless if he plays in the postseason or not.
Wild’s Wallstedt Bouncing Back
Jesper Wallstedt has had an interesting season, as have the rest of his teammates, with their rough start in October to their epic run in November and December, and then the ups and downs in the grind of the regular season, an Olympic appearance, and then the final run to the postseason. He’s been through a lot, and he’s proven he’s not just the Wild’s backup but can be a capable starter as well.
Against the Ducks, the Wild had their share of struggles, and that meant Wallstedt saw a number of chances come his way, and he was ready for them, including having his name misspelled on his jersey as “Wallstead” instead of “Wallstedt. It only lasted through the first period, and then he had a new jersey for the rest of the night.
“…I think it was an April Fool’s joke but a little late because I think I didn’t end up playing that game…,” said Wallstedt to the media about his jersey after the game and continued, “Oh I didn’t even think that Flower (Fleury) could be involved, that’s true too then I definitely think it’s a team job, well done for them. I’d rather take it that way than having my car on cinder blocks or something, so I’d rather have my name a little misspelled.”
One goal did get through on the Wild’s penalty kill, but overall, Wallstedt’s glove looked strong, and he was following the puck well. There was a time in the third period when it looked like the Ducks had him beat, but he swiped the puck with his stick at the last second to thwart that as well, plus a sprawling save a little later on that saved his team’s two-goal lead. The Ducks did score one more goal late to get within one, but that was all they could get through.
“Yeah, obviously, going into it, I knew it was going to be a challenge. It was a back-to-back; we’re resting guys, they’re obviously pushing to not play Colorado in the first round, and they’re trying to get spots in their division. So, I just saw it as a great challenge, I knew I was going to be busy tonight, and I like it that way, I like it, that’s why I’m a goalie, I like (to) try to be the difference maker…,” Wallstedt said to the media postgame about what he thought of the game.
Related: Wild Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Stars Series Fast Approaching and Lineup Changes
That win will do it for the Wild’s regular season, and they already know they’ll be playing the Dallas Stars in the first round of the postseason. At the time this article came out, the playoff schedule had yet to be announced, but it’s expected they will play sometime Saturday afternoon, Apr. 18.
