St, PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild snapped a two-game scoring drought with a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night. Filip Gustavsson delivered a stellar performance, stopping 37 of 38 shots, while goals from Yakov Trenin and Vinnie Hinostroza secured the win.
“We watched that game (against Ottawa). It’s hopefully a one-off and it’s never going to happen again because it was kind of embarrassing,” Gustavsson said. “Especially personal for me, I want to go there and really show them that they made a bad trade kind of, and we just didn’t show up at all. And then we bounced back in Boston, showed up, we just didn’t score any goals (3-0 loss Tuesday). Today it was like you felt a little intensity in the room and then we got a goal there from (Yakov) Trenin and you know, got some blood in the water there and the team really got going again and felt like we came back to how we normally play.”
After being shut out in consecutive losses to Ottawa and Boston, Minnesota (32-19-4) responded with a strong defensive performance, holding off a Carolina team that had outshot them 39-24 and was desperate to end a three-game losing streak.
“Whether it’s lifting sticks, shot blocking and not allowing second efforts,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought we also did a good job, if the puck was in those areas or below the goal line, we had five players tight. And then when they did get some looks, because they’re going to, I thought ‘Gus’ really competed tonight. In scrums and battles, and it was going to be one where your goaltender has to compete in traffic tonight and he did a nice job.”
Minnesota wasted little time in taking the lead. Less than three minutes into the game, Marat Khusnutdinov set up Trenin with a centering pass, and the forward made a slick move to his backhand, slotting the puck between Frederik Andersen’s pads to put the Wild up 1-0.
The Hurricanes had a prime opportunity to level the score in the second period when Jackson Blake was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway. However, the Carolina rookie failed to get a clean shot off, and Gustavsson turned the attempt aside with ease.
“That’s what’s gone for us here lately,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Can’t fault the effort. I thought we had a good game. We had a good first period and come down [1-0]. We gave up kind of a weird one where we got skated and then they made a nice play. You got to tip the hat. Second period we were kind of even. I thought it was not much going both ways, and then we made another kind of poor decision on the second goal, and they made us pay. So, tough night.
“We definitely had enough opportunities to get more than one goal, but we certainly deserve to get something out of that, but that’s kind of how it’s gone for us this whole year to be honest with you.”
Minnesota extended their advantage just 49 seconds into the third period. Jared Spurgeon’s point shot rang off the post, and amid the ensuing scramble, Hinostroza was able to poke the puck past Andersen. Initially ruled no goal, the play was reviewed and overturned, giving the Wild a 2-0 lead sending the home fans into raptures.
“I [want to] make a move and then I thought goalie [is going to] play more towards me,” Trenin said. “And I tried to five-hole. And then I did. I had all empty net and put five-hole. And I didn’t see the puck, I thought I didn’t score. Then I see it. Phew.”
Carolina continued to press and eventually broke through late in the third. With Andersen pulled for the extra attacker, Sebastian Aho spun in the slot and fired a wrist shot past Gustavsson at 57:12, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Despite a final push, the Hurricanes couldn’t find the equaliser, allowing Minnesota to close out the win.
“We’re a hard-working team,” Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “Hopefully there’s no letting off the gas. We knew it was going to come and it was going to be a grimy goal. We gave them too many tonight, so we’ve got to just bear down on the defensive side of the puck and not give them opportunities that they don’t need to have, and that’s typically how the game goes.”
Key Stats & Takeaways
- Gustavsson’s historic night: With his 63rd career win for the Wild, Gustavsson moved past Dwayne Roloson for fourth-most victories in franchise history.
- Hurricanes’ powerplay struggles continue: Carolina went 0-for-10 on the power play over their last five games and 1-for-25 in their past 10, a major factor in their three-game skid.
- Minnesota’s defensive reset: After conceding nine goals over the last two games, the Wild tightened up, limiting Carolina’s quality scoring chances and getting crucial shot-blocking efforts from their skaters.
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Up next
Carolina returns home to face Utah on Saturday, while Minnesota looks to build on this victory when they take on the New York Islanders the same night.
PHOTO CREDIT: SCOTT ANTCLIFFE
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