Wild Have Solid Lineup Against the Stars But Have Options If Needed – The Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

The NHL postseason will begin on Saturday afternoon, Apr. 18, and the Minnesota Wild will face the Dallas Stars in the second game of the day. The main storyline between these two teams is how equal they are in terms of the talent in their lineup. They both have forwards who can score, defense who can protect their zone, and goaltenders who can stop the puck. 

Something that really stands out about the Wild is the depth they have on their roster. While they have a solid team to choose from, if an injury or two does happen during this series, and it very well might with how hard these two teams will play, they have options. In this article, we’ll take a look at what the Wild’s lineup will look like and the options they have to choose from if something goes wrong, starting with the forwards. 

Wild’s Offensive Threats 

Of course, everyone is aware of the Wild’s top line and that it will be Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman, and Mats Zuccarello. This line has had a lot of success for the Wild over the past couple of seasons, and although they did go away from it for a bit, they brought it back later in the season and are going to start with it for the postseason. 

They have a lot of chemistry, and Kaprizov works so strongly with both of them. He can play on any line, but this line has worked well. Their second line has also been pretty solid this season in Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Marcus Johansson. Honestly, this line has probably been one of the bigger surprises this season for how well they work together. 

Of course, Boldy and Eriksson Ek are similar to Kaprizov and can work well with almost anyone, but the outlier was Johansson. He’s actually been one of the key members of this line and the glue that’s kept it going. This line hasn’t been split up too much during the season, unless it was to work with the first line or due to injuries. 

That leaves the third and fourth lines, which have been bumped around a bit. The third line currently is Vladimir Tarasenko, Danila Yurov, and Yakov Trenin, which has also become known as the “Russian line” and one that’s shown quite a bit of chemistry as well, with players most wouldn’t suspect could work together so seamlessly. 

Finally, the fourth line of Marcus Foligno, Michael McCarron, and Nick Foligno. This line has been changed the most throughout the season as players have come and gone, and new rookies have joined the roster and then been sent down. However, this combination makes for a very strong checking line, and one that’s solid on the penalty kill as well, which they may need in this series.

Wild’s Tightened Defense 

While the Wild have their offense pretty much figured out, their defense is also paired up and ready. Their top pairing is none other than Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, who have been talked about ever since the trade was made back in December to acquire Hughes. 

Most knew Faber had more to his game, and by playing with Hughes, he’s uncovered some of that next level. The one concern with this pairing going into Game 1 was that Hughes was battling an illness and may be understandably rusty when the game first gets underway, as the plan was to have him play. 

The second pairing is their captain, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin. One of their more offensive defensemen in Spurgeron paired with their best stay at home defensemen, Brodin. They pair well together and are likely their most solid pair when it comes to covering both sides of the game. 

The final pairing is Jake Middleton and, as long as he plays, Zach Bogosian, who’s been injured for the past couple of weeks. These two are more of the “wild cards,” so to speak, as they’re not afraid to throw their weight around but also have the ability to score if they get the opportunity. If Bogosian plays, hopefully, he’ll be able to get back into the swing of things fairly quickly because they’ll need him. 

Wild’s Favorite Tandem 

With the forwards and defense covered, that leaves the goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. The Wild did make a bit of a surprising announcement on Friday, Apr. 17, the day before Game 1, when they said Wallstedt would be the starter over Gustavsson. Gustavsson had struggled the past few weeks, but it still seemed to be his net, especially since he has the experience. 

Although it was a bit of a surprise, it also wasn’t a shock as Wallstedt had been playing better between the two, and he’s also proven himself in high-pressure situations like their big win over the Colorado Avalanche back in November. As stated before, the one issue with Wallstedt is that he doesn’t have the experience of the postseason, and to put him in Game 1 against the Stars is quite the high pressure situation. 

While that seems pretty risky, it could be exactly the area that Wallstedt thrives in. It’s very gutsy, but hopefully it will turn out well for the Wild. If not, they have a solid goaltender in Gustavsson to fall back on. 

Wild Have Options 

Game 1 should be very intense and fun, but if it doesn’t go the Wild’s way and they need to make changes, they have options. They’ve elected to go a bit more physical with Nick Foligno in the lineup, but if they want more speed and finesse, they can put Bobby Brink back in. He could fill in for either Nick Foligno or Danila Yurov. However, he’s not as big as the others, so it’s another risk. 

They also have options in Nico Sturm, Robby Fabbri, and if they have to go younger, they also have Hunter Haight and others waiting in the wings. As far as defense, they have Daemon Hunt, Jeff Petry, and, if they choose to go a different route, they have Matt Kiersted as well as others. 

They don’t have a plethora of options when it comes to goaltending, but they shouldn’t need any if Wallstedt and Gustavsson do their part. However, if they have to go to their third option, they have Cal Petersen, who can fill in if needed. Hopefully, the Wild’s top roster steps up and does what’s needed, but if they don’t, they have options to change it up to get the wins they need.